Brayman Construction, and affiliate Advanced Construction Robotics, based in Saxonburg, Penn, were recognized as the most innovative construction firms in the nation after developing Tybot, an autonomous construction bot that can tie rebar “day or night without breaks or injuries,” according to information from the AGC, which gave out the inaugural innovation award.
“Construction firms like this have the skill, ingenuity and determination to overcome any challenge,” said Eddie Stewart, AGC president “These contractors are proving what dedicated construction professionals can accomplish.”
Steward is also the president and CEO of Caddell Construction, based in Alabama. Recently, a report from Market and Markets showed automated construction is expected to surge in coming years, with a compound annual growth rate of close to 17%. By the year 2023, the automated construction industry is expected to reach $166.4 million.
Brayman Construction, an AGC member, beat out Sundt Construction and the AGC Oregon-Columbia Chapter, to take the top honor. Stephen Muck, the chairman of Brayman and co-founder and president of Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR), said automated labor is crucial to reducing workplace injuries.
Construction crews are only responsible for completing 10% of a bridge deck rebar project before Tybot can begin tying together intersections. “We see a future where the robots will do the backbreaking, repetitive, and less safe work, while creating new types of jobs for existing workers like supervising, servicing, and maintaining these robots. These integrated crews will improve the productivity of the entire industry, allowing the rising demand to be met.”
Brayman founded ACR with the aim of “commercializing autonomous products to help solve industry-wide challenges,” including addressing the industry’s labor shortage, according to information from the AGC. As a result of being recognized as the top innovative companies in construction, the AGC awarded Brayman a $10,000 grand prize, the AGC Oregon-Columbia chapter a $5,000 second prize and Sundt Construction a $2,500 third-place prize, according to the trade organization.
The AGC Oregon-Columbia chapter was recognized for creating an Educator Externship Program to address the construction industry’s workforce shortages, while Sundt was touted for creating an electronic estimation toolkit to “help streamline the construction estimation process.” Brayman is working toward a long-term transformation of the construction industry by developing a number of autonomous products through ACR, with an aim toward “enhanced productivity, improved safety, increased profits, and reduced schedule risk,” according to the award-winning company.
“In the celebration, the AGC of America recognized 100 years of service to the construction industry as well as future industry innovations and technologies,” according to a statement from the trade organization. “The Innovation Award encourages trailblazers within the industry to provide solutions to the challenges affecting construction. These challenges include labor shortage and lack of diversity, technology advancements, jobsite safety, sustainability, and project complexity.”