The construction industry is slow to adopt new technologies. The implementation of digital technologies and remote operations using robots were considered farfetched affairs and unbelievable approaches. However, the effect of COVID-19 on clients and construction companies put high pressure on construction managers to seek digital solutions and justified the need for remote operating or distant controlling technologies. This paper aims to investigate the state of play in construction technology implementation and presents a roadmap for developing and implementing required technologies for the construction industry. The COVID-19 disruption required new methods of working safely and remotely and coincided with the advent of advanced automation and autonomous technologies. This paper aims to identify gaps and 11 disruptive technologies that may lead to upheaval and transformation of the construction sector, perhaps in this decade. A road map for technology implementation can be helpful in developing business strategies at the organizational level as a theoretical measure, and it can facilitate the technology implementation process at the industry level as a practical measure. The roadmap can be used as a framework for policymakers to set industry or company strategies for the next 10 years (2030).

Digital transformation has become a pressing concern for the Australian government in the wake of COVID-19. While a thriving construction industry is key to Australia’s economic recovery, the promised land of Industry 4.0 continues to elude the sector. Unlike the mining industry, which has obtained government funding to future-proof its workforce, the building industry remains at risk of being left behind because it has failed to prosecute the case for its own planned Fourth Industrial Revolution. A consistent approach to both sectors is needed to mitigate against asymmetries in the workforce and assist those transitioning from sectors devastated by COVID-19 by providing them with the high-tech skills which fortify the link between wages and employment. SMEs given their limited resources are also vulnerable, and the sector has been rocked by waves of insolvencies in recent times. Achieving Industry 4.0 success has long been a goal among industry academics yet hardly any attention is paid to the institution or its failures. This study subjected 59 authoritative articles to bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review and identified a dearth of research on how best to regulate Industry 4.0 and deliver the standards on which construction and mining businesses will depend when making the choice to commit to Industry 4.0. Nevertheless, there are valuable lessons to be learnt when it comes to supporting SMEs and workers embarking the risky business of Digital Transformation.

The outbreak of the Delta Variant of COVID-19 presents a natural experiment without modern precedent. As authorities scrambled to control the spread of the disease in Australia’s largest cities, construction workers were allowed to keep working on site without the benefit of mandatory vaccination, unlike their peers in healthcare, defense, education or aviation. Using publicly available COVID-19 surveillance data, we analyzed the geographic spread of the Delta Variant and its relationship with construction in both cities. The period of this study covers the identification of the first case of community transmission to the achievement of 90% full vaccination in the eligible population. We show how the risk profile of construction workers varies according to socio-economic status such that Machinery Operators and Drivers were most at risk, followed by Laborers, owing to where they tend to live in each city. Moreover, these highly mobile workers may unknowingly serve as vectors for the spread of infectious disease to the most vulnerable communities in an urban setting. Remarkably, we also found that the risk profile of construction businesses can also be described similarly in terms of annual income. Sole traders and small businesses were mostly located in vulnerable areas, which presents threats to business continuity that public policy must address. We observed that the first eight weeks of an outbreak are critical; after this time, vulnerable workers and most construction businesses will see steep rises in their exposure to the risk of infection until the disease is brought under control. Accordingly, we recommend short, sharp pauses of all construction works on site to control the spread of future pandemic outbreaks once cases of community transmission are detected. Fiscal policy must support workers and small business owners, so they are not forced to choose between their health and earning a living during these periods. The government and trade unions must commit to mandatory vaccination for construction workers to safeguard their communities. Health authorities must continuously engage with particularly vulnerable workers as immunity wanes and vaccine boosters become necessary. Digital disinformation must be tirelessly countered by consistent expert medical advice at all levels of the industry.