Top Trends in EPC Industry

Vishal Pratap Singh

The India power EPC market size was estimated at USD 13.8 billion in 2022. During the forecast period between 2023 and 2029, the size of India's power EPC market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.94%, reaching a value of USD 45.36 billion by 2029. Growth of the EPC Industry in developing countries is driven by increasing infrastructure development expenditure by governments to sustain future economic growth. Increasing urbanization due to a growing population globally and rising disposable income is expected to drive global construction market revenue growth.

“Cleaner technologies are being deployed in many public infrastructure development projects to have a lower carbon footprint,” says Rakesh Verma, CEO of Simon India.

The EPC Industry is leveraging technology to make construction management and site operations more efficient and sustainable. The increased demand and regulations have created newer ways of construction that adhere to worker safety and regulations. Hence, startups are increasingly innovating around prefabrication, worker safety and construction robotics.

Protective Equipment

The EPC Industry has witnessed a rise in machines capable of identifying common safety issues and eliminating threats one at a time. Some material-moving mules transport heavy or hazardous materials and task robots to construct scaffolding or lay bricks autonomously. Wearable innovations are making their way to the job site with work boots that connect to Wi-Fi and alert others if a person has fallen.

"Advancements in automation technology offer numerous benefits in industrial settings. These advancements influence safety protocols by reducing human errors, enhancing monitoring and control, and allowing for predictive maintenance and remote operations," James Large, Vice President - Asia Pacific Region at Pilz.

The reliance on 3D printing continuously increases, resulting in decreased transportation risks. Environmental sensors that detect noise, heat and wind at construction sites provide warnings to evacuate construction workers and move costly construction equipment in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.

Efficient Technology

The biggest differentiator for builders and developers this year will likely be technology in construction, specifically the innovations that can enhance efficiency. Industry experts believe that blockchain technology can improve relationships in the construction industry. It is considered as a powerful component in providing a more secure and fast-moving workflow that allows all involved parties access to improved productivity.

"Knowing what to invest in and ensuring that new methodologies are launched accurately and quickly comes down to three things – what you have, what you know, and who you know," Zoya Brar, Founder, CORE Diagnostics.

Robotics and Automation

The construction Industry continues to be one of the most labor-intensive industries. It includes many repetitive and time-consuming tasks that can be done faster through robotics and automation. The robots which are used in construction also reduce human induced error and losses due to fatigue. For example, collaborative robots automate bricklaying, welding, rebar tying, painting and many such repetitive tasks with great precision.

"Industrial automation has ushered new ways that machines and human effort can collaborate to increase efficiency and reduce complexity," Dr. Hisahiro Nishimoto, Director, Division Manager-Factory Automation & Industrial Division, Mitsubishi Electric India.

Robotics solutions also automate heavy equipment and fleets for excavation, transportation, load lifting, concrete works and demolition. Ultimately, it increases the safety of construction workers and significantly reduces operational time. Construction automation using robots increases the project's overall productivity, reduces labor requirements and provides safety for dangerous or hazardous tasks.

Building Information Modelling

Building planning and designing is a collaborative process that requires inputs from multiple stakeholders, including engineers, architects, builders and clients. The traditional method makes it difficult to visualize changes in real-time as everyone works on their unique files. It results in generating multiple versions of the same plan and causes confusion. Advanced Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools solve this problem by providing a central database and enabling everyone to work on a single shared model.

"Building Information Modeling (BIM) plays a pivotal role in minimizing errors and conflicts throughout the design and construction phases by fostering a comprehensive and collaborative approach to building projects, "Harsh Pareek, Regional Sales Director, India and SAARC, Trimble Solutions.

Green Buildings

Sustainability is the main focus of many emerging construction projects across the country. Identifying sustainable materials or processes for construction projects is time-consuming and expensive. Green building is a popular concept that adopts environmentally friendly measures from pre-construction planning up to project closure and decommissioning. Green buildings optimize energy and resource utilization, reduce waste during construction and enable buildings to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

"Sustainability in companies goes beyond environmental and societal benefits; it also leads to cost reduction," Vinay Sheel Bansal, Head of Supply Chain and Procurement at Gharda Chemicals.

Challenges Faced by the EPC Industry

Safety Issues
Construction work is known for its reliance on highly physical and manual labor. Construction sites present many hazards to their workers. The injury rate of workers in the construction industry is higher than the average of all other industries. The EPC Industry is reported to have the highest accident rate of all other major industries, with the annual resulting cost estimated at $12 billion. Construction activities such as lifting, pulling, bending or pushing could result in injuries that last a lifetime, further reducing productivity within the industry and increasing labor shortage.

FEED Issues
Many EPC companies are also experiencing the common internal process challenge of having issues with front-end engineering and design (FEED) due to constant changes during the execution process. Data is isolated in spreadsheets or disconnected tools and is not available to inform the work of others. When data is added from another specialty, it is often entered manually, which may introduce errors or omit valuable information.

Future Scope
All these developments mentioned above will require extensive up-gradation of processes and people in the EPC Industry. Extensive retraining and re-skilling initiatives must be adopted to retain and keep the existing experienced engineering talent viable because people are the real brain and backbone of the industry.