"She believes the plan should be accompanied, at the state level, by incentives and support to initiate the change, since most of the country's construction companies would not be able to afford the initial investment, and this would create an unequal market with the large contractors." - Engineer Francia Alcántara.
SANTO DOMINGO.- The terms automation/mechanization have become part of the public agenda in recent weeks, after President Luis Abinader announced that "foreign labor has its days numbered" in the Dominican Republic and that his government will promote actions to reduce that dependence in construction work and other sectors of the national economy.
In fact, during his weekly meeting with the media on Monday, November 6th, Abinader announced the availability of funds to launch the foreign labor mechanization program, aimed at impacting the agricultural and construction sectors. He stated that the project has an investment of 3 billion pesos, financed through the Development and Export Bank (Bandex).
The president explained that the main objective of this program is to reduce dependence on cheap foreign labor and to make national production more efficient.
Civil engineer Francia Alcántara, a specialist in project management, believes that Dominican engineers are not prepared for this process, neither economically nor technologically, because property prices have been established taking into account the traditional construction model.
“In the sector, we are not economically prepared because the sales costs of completed constructions depend on the market price, which is based on traditional Dominican construction, where labor costs are lower and more accessible than the cost of technology/automation. Similarly, in technological terms, there is no direct return on investment between implementing technology and increased revenue from sales,” the expert responded when consulted by El Inmobiliario.
He explained that in the case of residential tower construction, for example, between 30% and 40% of the total project cost corresponds to labor, although if it is road infrastructure, machinery takes care of most of it.
The prominent professional, with more than 15 years linked to the construction market, assures that she has always been a champion of the use of technology and automation in any construction process.
He believes that, although the financial return is not direct, the rework, the quality of the finish, the peace of mind of knowing that what is in the plan will be in the project, the guarantee in the investment of those who finance and the time savings, outweigh the economic challenges that could arise from automating the processes.
However, he believes that the plan must be accompanied, at the state level, by incentives and facilities to initiate the change, since most of the country's construction companies would not be able to afford the initial investment and this would create an unequal market with the large contractors.
The architect also believes that, in the case of Dominicans, their integration into the workforce must go hand in hand with a multidisciplinary plan that includes technical education to train new generations in process automation and, at the same time, raise the quality of work. “This will make working in the operational side of the construction sector a ‘decent’ job, and more young people will want to enter this market,” she says.
Construction labor
When asked about the processes or stages where labor is involved, the engineering professional explains that in the case of the construction of a residential tower, for example, it is involved "in the construction of the concrete structure such as the making of beams, columns, slabs, steel reinforcement and in the surface finishes such as plastering, placement of stucco, porcelain tile, floors, stucco, etc.".
In a potential mechanization program, Alcántara states that any component that can be prefabricated could be replaced by a machine, resulting in significant savings in personnel during the installation process.
“To illustrate, I can install a sanitary branch line simply by connecting the inlet and outlet to the system (that is, the “maneuvering unit,” as it’s commonly called, comes with all the pipes pre-assembled), and instead of having a crew, the work would be done by one skilled worker plus an assistant. Similarly, and with the same effect, ordering pre-formed steel from the factory eliminates the “steel cutting and shaping” activity on-site.”.
