Identifying the Important Effects of Implementing Various Development Trends in the Infrastructure and Construction Industry

Despite its enormous importance to the economy, the construction sector has long been marked by several negative factors. These include low productivity, weak technological development, significant changes in demand, and a lack of professional personnel, as well as environmental restrictions. In order to address these issues, several development trends are being introduced to gradually reduce their impact on the entire sector. Among these trends are those that monitor factors of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Additionally, there are technological development trends such as Construction 4.0, environmental trends based on the circular economy, and process trends like lean construction. All these efforts are applied to varying extents and at different implementation speeds. Fundamental problems arise when these development activities intersect and negate each other´s positive effects. For example, increasing the rate of technological development in the construction process can directly contribute to reduction in the number of jobs. Moreover, the low qualifications of the affected workers prevent them from finding employment in other industry. This article presents an overview of these findings and proposes solutions for the situations that are already emerging.