Building Surveyors stand on the brink of a significant transformation according to the RICS, driven by the potential of AI to bring forth a wave of innovations that will revolutionise traditional practices. Here we will first consider how AI will impact Waterproofing, RCI and Contracting via Building Surveyors
In the past Surveyors relied upon Waterproofing manufacturers to carry out a roof survey and then write a Specification to repair an old Roof. The manufacturer would then give this specification to 3 Approved contractors who would tender for the work only using exclusively the waterproofing and insulation of the Specification company. Now this disruptive AI technology will redefine the role of these professional Surveyors across the property Lifecycle. Using Drones operated by the Surveying practice or by the Drone companies themselves, surveyors will capture roof images and records fed into the AI algorithms to analyse roof defects, including metal corrosion water damage and leaks. Using AI and new rival search engines to Google such as –
- Perplexity AI -includes Open AI’s GPT-3 model to offer direct answers to questions.
- You.com allows people to control their search, time and privacy.
- Komo AI prioritises speed, privacy and ad-less browsing experience
- Exa.ai searches using natural language and was developed for AI applications that offer AI Chat conversations.
- Ecosia is a green and ethical powered search engine that contributes profits to planting trees.
Virtual Assistants for Building Surveyors -every building surveyor will have their own Virtual Assistant who will respond to voice commands hold conversations and be like a senior employee. The Assistant will take action on behalf of the user, rather than sending the user to a Google search engine result page. A good example of this would be if you ask your Virtual assistant what anti-corrosion product for the metal roof “cut edge” corrosion has the highest C5 anti-corrosion Certificate -there is only 1 answer Rayston PU ZN Primer. The Virtual Assistant will set appointments, do content creation, database management, social media management and Lead Generation and Specification comparisons.
Multiple specifications using alternative materials from Multiple Contractors – rather than having 1 specification and 3 installed costs from 3 friendly contractors, the Building surveyor will have his Assistant compare the Specification of 3 or 4 waterproofing companies and the Assistant will have a typical Fixed Price List to compare the prices of multiple contractors.
Virtual Inspections – using drones and remote cameras to access structures without physical presence is becoming more regular with AI. This is also improving safety, efficiency and data accuracy. One of the leading RICS Technical partners is Impact Aerial (www.impactaerial.co.uk) who provide a drone/aerial filming service. However, for the moment human experience is still required. The integration of AI data analysis with Impact Aerials services and some human insight will ensure a great survey report which can be used for building maintenance reports every few years
Will Surveyors Embrace Robotic Installation – we are working with one UK Roofing contractor working with a large Surveying company in London is utilising a Robot to re-waterproof a 13,000 sqm flat, old bitumen roof. The approved waterproofing is BBA Pure Polyurea. Because the robot does not get tired and can work all day the installation cost was reduced by more than £25 per sqm.
The prediction now is that within the next 6-18 months almost all roof renovations of size greater than say 1000 sqm could be renovated using a Robot Spray. These Robots can control the thickness of the sprayed waterproofing (usually 2 kg per sqm) using very accurate electronic controls. The Robots can be adapted to work with standard spray units, low-pressure equipment and even airless spray. These Robots are made from a lightweight aluminium structure and are highly manoeuvrable and can run between 1-8 Km per hour, and the speed of the spray gun is adjusted to match the Robot’s speed. The Roof Surface does not even have to be perfectly flat as the Robot can cope with a 10 % inclined plane. The Robot only weighs 213 kg and it is packed into a crate that has the size of only 200 x 100 x 80cm. Note 3 men applying conventional torch-free bitumen waterproofing can lay approx. 300 sqm per day but the Robot can lay 1800 sqm per day
Wright’s Law – Theodore Wright was an aeronautical engineer who in 1930 noticed that aeroplanes were getting cheaper in a predictable way. Wright found that the second of any particular model of the aeroplane would be 20 % cheaper to make than the first, and every -time cumulative production doubled, the cost of making an additional unit would drop by a further 20 %. Wrights law is simple-the more you make the cheaper it gets. Today a new fully enclosed Spray Robot will cost about 13,000 euro and if the Roof Renovation is between 2000- 5000 sqm then the extra Capital cost of the Robot purchase is only between- £6-£2.50 per sqm. So, the Robot will pay for itself on the first large flat/ low slope roof, and the Robot will go on working for the next 15 years, for FREE.
Choice of Spray BBA Waterproofing-
Rayston Pure Polyurea BBA with the highest fire rating in Europe -or equivalent BBA Polyurea
Spray applied PMMA or PUMA ( but has heavy smell / odour )
Spray applied Acrylic, however, by using airless spray normally you can only get a very thin layer of waterproofing (0.5kg) with 1 pass. Most Acrylics do not have any independent Certification such as a BBA
Other single layers 2kg per sqm, spray systems-there may be other systems?.
