Smart Construction Sites in KSA: Challenges and Prospects

Due to the emerging technologies revolution worldwide, the need to exploit and employ innovative technologies for other functions and purposes in different aspects became a remarkable matter. Saudi Arabia is considered as one of the powerful economic countries in the world, where the construction sector participates effectively in its economy. Thus, the construction sector in KSA should convoy the rapid digital revolution and transformation and implement smart devices in sites. A Smart Construction Site (SCS) includes smart devices, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Building Information Modeling, Geographical Information System and cloud information. This paper aims to study the level of implementation of SCS in KSA, analyze obstacles and challenges of adopting SCS and find out the critical success factors for its implementation. A survey of close-ended questions (multi-choices) has been conducted to professionals in the construction sector of Saudi Arabia. consequently, five close-ended questions with multi-choices type have been also prepared, these questions have been derived from a previous study implemented in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Dominican Republic (DR), these questions have been rearranged and organized to fit the structured survey in order to place the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in comparison with the United Kingdom (UK) as well as the Dominican Republic (DR). total of one hundred respondents have participated in this survey from all regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: southern, central, western, eastern and northern regions. The drivers, obstacles and success factors for implementing smart devices and technologies in KSA’s construction sector have been investigated and analyzed. Besides, It has been concluded that KSA is on the right path toward adopting smart construction sites with attractive results compared and even better than the UK in some factors.