A Review of 3D Printing in Construction and its Impact on the Labor Market

Md. Aslam Hossain, Altynay Zhumabekova, Suvash Chandra Paul and Jong Ryeol Kim
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Md. Aslam Hossain: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan
Altynay Zhumabekova: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan
Suvash Chandra Paul: Department of Civil Engineering, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Dhaka 1230, Bangladesh
Jong Ryeol Kim: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan 010000, Kazakhstan

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-21

Abstract: Construction industry is very labor-intensive and one of the major sources of employment in the world. The industry is experiencing low productivity with minimum technological innovations for decades. In recent times, various automation technologies including 3D printing have received increasing interests in construction. 3D printing in construction is found to be very promising to automate the construction processes and have the potential of saving laborious work, material waste, construction time, risky operation for humans, etc. There has been a comprehensive body of research conducted to understand the recent advances, future prospects and challenges of large-scale adoption of 3D printing in construction projects. Being one the labor-intensive industries, this study also investigates the possible impact on the labor market with increasing adoption of 3D printing in construction. It is found that 3D printing can reduce significant number of labors which can solve the labor shortage problem, especially for the countries where construction is heavily dependent on immigrant workers. In contrast, 3D printing might not be favorable for the countries where construction is one of the main workforces and labor is less expensive. Moreover, 3D construction printing will also require people with special skills related to this new technology.

Keywords: 3D construction printing; additive manufacturing; workforce; construction labor; immigrant workers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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