Companies partner to drive AI in construction

Canada-based construction firm Pomerleau and software and services company Zetane Systems have released a new innovation initiative, partially funded by the Invest-AI program of Ivado Labs, to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the construction industry.

(Photo: Zetane Systems website)

Pomerleau will extend its partnership with the specialised software technology company, having worked on a previous project in 2021. On this project, Zetane Systems will deploy the technology to provide new ways to avoid costs, reduce risk, and optimise pre-construction planning.

Large construction projects require oversight and planning to ensure safety and to adjust estimated project costs and engineering specifications. By training algorithms to identify patterns in information, Pomerleau aims to automate some of these oversight tasks and equip its teams with better decision-making tools.

With construction costs increasing – Statistics Canada says the price of non-residential projects is up by 8.3% and residential projects by 20.3% in the third quarter of 2021 – new technologies that help keep costs down and productivity up are vital. 

Eric Lessard, vice president of technology and innovation at Pomerleau, said, “This project is another example where Pomerleau is at the forefront of innovation by leveraging the technological prowess of the Montreal startup ecosystem and the generous support of Ivado Labs’ Invest-AI program. We chose Zetane because of their unique methods and tools, and our specific needs, to produce AI solutions for industry by their team of skilled industrial AI specialists.”