ALGORITHM vs EXPERIENCE - What actually design structures?

Introduction

With recent massive developments in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, every industry around the globe is witnessing a revolution. And now, even the construction industry, which is long known for its slow adaptation to the trends, is evolving in many ways with rise of AI and ML. And now, among the many, a main question at hand is – Do engineers still need manual calculations?

To understand this, we first need to understand what AI and ML brings to the table for the construction sector.

In present times, many tools are available to ease the complexity of repetitive tasks, hence reducing the time and improving the efficiency substantially. The tools can automate repetitive structural design tasks, can optimize solutions using thousands of iterations, predict failure using historical and sensor data, perform simulations faster than traditional methods. For instance, the most commonly and widely used analysis tools for structures, like ETABS, STAAD Pro, SAP2000, when integrated with suitable AI tools, reduce time and improve efficiency to a significant level. Also, these technologies help with many other time-consuming and laborious tasks like estimation, BOQ preparation, QC, progress tracking and so on. Click here to learn more.

Now, tasks can be automated, efficiency can be improved by reducing time, but still, engineering judgement cannot be automated.

Any tool which is used by an engineer around the world, works on an algorithm. This means, results are based over values. For software, good value means a good result. But engineers don’t just work with numbers, they work with reason. The physics behind a structure, the moments, the reactions, the loads, load transfer paths, structural behaviour, safety checks - technology gives an idea, but deciding if that idea is good or bad, it’s still a work of human intelligence. Conceptual clarity and accountability is still limited to human intelligence. Engineers must validate results, and judge whether the outputs make sense, which is possible only if an engineer has a good understanding of the foundations of the structural physics, which only manual calculations teach.

Also, any construction project in the world never works on constants. On-site conditions can change, drawings can require adjustments as per prevailing conditions, loads may vary, and all reasons as such are still judged, analysed and worked upon manually.

Thus, AI and ML increases efficiency, enhances accuracy and support data-driven decisions, but the engineering judgement is still irreplaceable, and might always be. So, a future engineer is not the one who trusts technology blindly, but the one who analyses, thinks, and validate results.

CONCLUSION

Thus, it can be concluded that engineers still need to learn and perform manual calculations and strengthen their foundations, while also learning to leverage technology for overall efficiency and enhancement. Together, these approaches will revolutionise the construction sector at massive scales.