Construction Professionals’ Awareness of Automation and Robotics in South Africa

dc.contributor.authorMbhalati, Kurisani Luther
dc.contributor.supervisorJenika, Gobind
dc.date.accessioned2025-02-05T11:34:00Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024
dc.description.abstractIn South Africa, the construction sector, which accounts for approximately 3% of the GDP, is essential for economic growth but struggles with issues such as falling productivity, quality concerns, and safety risks. The adoption of robotics and automation could address these challenges, offering more reliable and precise quality, boosting productivity, cutting costs, and increasing safety by automating dangerous tasks. This cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the awareness of automation and robotics among South African construction professionals through a quantitative survey. Additionally, the research sought to capture the professionals' opinions on the benefits these technologies could offer to construction projects and identify the barriers to their wider adoption as perceived by these professionals. Findings indicated a varied level of awareness among construction professionals, with high familiarity in technologies like Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and lower awareness in emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR). Moreover, the professionals acknowledged the benefits of adopting these technologies, notably highlighting increased productivity and safety as key benefits. They also identified significant barriers to adoption, citing high acquisition costs and socio-economic concerns over job displacement as major obstacles, particularly in a context of high unemployment rates. Considering the construction industry's role in economic growth and recognizing the dip in productivity, alongside the industry's reluctance towards innovation, the study recommends focused educational initiatives and promotional activities for robotics and automation. It further stresses the need for policy changes to ensure the safe and efficient implementation of these technologies. Moreover, from a governmental standpoint, the study suggests providing incentives to businesses to encourage the adoption of robotics and automation in the construction industry
dc.description.submitterMM2025
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law and Management
dc.identifier.citationMbhalati, Kurisani Luther. (2024). Construction Professionals’ Awareness of Automation and Robotics in South Africa [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg].WireDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/43784
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/43784
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights© 2025 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolWITS Business School
dc.subjectRobotics
dc.subjectRobotics
dc.subjectAutomation
dc.subjectConstruction
dc.subjectAwareness
dc.subjectBarriers
dc.subjectBenefits
dc.subject.otherSDG-8: Decent work and economic growth
dc.titleConstruction Professionals’ Awareness of Automation and Robotics in South Africa
dc.typeDissertation

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