How Are They Converging?
Sometimes, it can be confusing to differentiate between Manufacturing and Construction. Doesn’t it? Well, it will be more confusing since major contractor services companies are now using high-tech equipment, narrowing the gap between manufacturing and construction.
Let us explain the difference between manufacturing and construction and how their convergence will improve efficiency.
Difference Between Manufacturing and Construction
It is easy to think of manufacturing and construction as sibling industries. But they have their differences. The basic one is that the manufacturing industry makes products, like chairs, television, and automobiles, while the construction industry makes buildings and infrastructure.
1- Type of Clients
You can also see the difference as manufacturers don’t make products for specific customers. For example, a tool manufacturer will make the tool available in the market. Anyone interested can purchase.
While the constructors have specific clients for which they do a specific type of construction, it can be making a house, a factory for a person or making roads for the government. You won’t see any contractor making a road without a contract.
Moreover, the products made by a manufacturer are alike, and a lot in numbers. While the constructor makes specific products according to the client’s need, and most of the time, they are unique.
2- The Workforce
Both manufacturing and construction industries use labor, but their usage varies. Manufacturing industries can outsource their products for manufacturing to developed countries, and some to the opposite, but the construction companies cannot do so.
A construction company cannot build and transport a warehouse in Saudi Arabia to Europe. The workforce needs to be in place.
3- Use of Technology
One of the significant differences between the manufacturing and construction industries is the use of technology. With the advancement in tech, the manufacturing industries adopted it and used it for automation and increased production quality and quantity.
But this is not the case with the construction industry. Although there has been an advancement in recent times with 3D printing and analysis technologies, the adaptability is not the same, and there is a reason for that.
The constructors cannot take the risk with technology as manufacturers can. If a manufactured product fails, the maximum damage will be a complaint to the manufacturer. On the other hand, if a bridge or a building fails, it can cause loss of life. That’s why the construction industry cannot play much in the technology field as the manufacturers do.
How Are Manufacturing and Construction Converging?
You have seen significant differences between the manufacturing and construction industries, and now you will not be confused about them. But with all these significant differences, how are they converging now?
The answer lies in the last difference we mentioned: The use of technology. Construction companies like DTC are now focusing more on using the latest technology to increase their efficiency while ensuring safety in conventional construction methods.
The technologies like 3D Printing, Pre-Fabrication, and Modular Construction can help to manufacture with less labor, more cost-effectively, faster and with fewer materials as needed in traditional methods.
With innovative approaches in design methodology and modern technology integration in construction, big companies like DTC are narrowing the gap between Manufacturing and Construction.
Final Remarks
Manufacturing and Construction can confuse you if you don’t have much information about any one of them. But even after knowing all the significant differences, thinking that both manufacturing and construction industries are converging is a happy surprise.
When construction companies start to take construction projects with a manufacturing approach with the help of technology, the efficiency will increase by leaps and bounds. And we’re seeing precisely this with DTC, a leading construction company in the Gulf.
