EFFECT OF ROBOTICS ON THE EFFICIENCY OF NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Keywords:
Construction, Industry Efficiency, Productivity, RoboticsAbstract
The construction sector has long been a pillar of national development and is not exempted from the current wave of fourth industrial revolution equipped with various means of automation like robotics. The research examines how robots affect the efficiency and productivity in Nigeria's construction industry, with a particular emphasis on Abuja. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were distributed purposively to professional in 20 construction companies sampled in Abuja from both public and private construction firms and one hundred and seventeen (117) were retrieved given 78%of level of response. Also descriptive analysis and the student t-test were used to analyse the objectives and hypothesis respectively. The findings showed that there were a number of important challenges to the widespread use of robotics, such as low skill levels, expensive acquisition prices, and worker concerns about losing their jobs. The results show that robots significantly improve labour productivity, resource management, and project delivery speed; industry stakeholders' high favourable impressions are indicated by the mean ratings. The results were corroborated by the t-test analysis, which shows a substantial effect on construction operations with p-values less than 0.001 and t-statistics of 3.38. In conclusion, the construction firms in Abuja have a lot of room to improve efficiency via the use of robotics but with a lot of barriers that need to be overcome. Therefore, it is recommended that stakeholders in construction industry and investors should invest in workforce training and engage with legislators to develop frameworks that are supportive of the integration of technology.