Análise do uso de tecnologia da informação advindas da indústria 4.0 em construtoras de Santa Maria/RS

Abstract

The civil construction sector is one of the most important sectors of the Brazilian economy. Despite this, there is still a resistance to transformations and changes in this market, especially when it comes to new technologies adoption. Since the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as 4.0 Industry, the market reality digital transformation has become increasingly fast. Therefore, new opportunities for improvement in the construction works have emerged through technologies such as the internet of things, autonomous robots and augmented reality. These technologies aim to improve performance in the civil construction sector by reducing costs and increasing productivity. Based on this context, this assignment aims to understand and analyze the use of information technology, based on the 4.0 industry concept, in construction companies located in the town of Santa Maria/RS, Brazil. For that, the first step was to build the historical evolution until the 4.0 industry based on the existing literature, which included how this concept is applied in the civil construction sector, as well as its technologies, benefits and implementation challenges. Based on that, an interview questionnaire was applied to representatives of construction companies from Santa Maria. By doing that, the goal was to understand the technological context of these companies. In total, 09 interviews were carried out, although 29 companies were contacted to participate in the study. From this data, it was possible to conclude that the subject is seen as an important topic by local professionals and the benefits that come from the use of these technologies are clear to them. However, it was also clear that there are still barriers that hinder the 4.0 Industry expansion in the local economy, such as the lack of needed technical knowledge in the work teams and the difficulty of adapting current processes to the new reality. As a consequence, it is possible to conclude that the companies’ reality is quite heterogeneous, once the technologies use percentage varies from 0% to 71%. Therefore, it was not possible to identify a clear technological pattern according to the company's profile, either by size or by age. However, when it is considered the local general average, the technological use rate is 37% and the main benefits perceived by the companies are construction works management improvement and less rework needed in projects.