Comparing Vulnerability to Adverse Events in Construction Processes Performed by Human–Robot Collaboration and Traditional Crews: A Case Study in Drywall Finishing

Construction projects are exposed to adverse events during their execution. Proactive planning around these events is challenging due to the complex resource interactions, constraints, and interdependencies. Although human–robot collaboration (HRC) has the potential to improve productivity, quality, and safety in construction, its overall impact on project vulnerability remains uncertain due to the new resource interactions, dependencies, and technical challenges it introduces. This paper aims to explore how the application of HRC in a subset of construction tasks, specifically in the drywall finishing process, affects the vulnerability of work processes to disruption under simulated adverse events. To evaluate the vulnerability of work processes, two metanetwork models of the drywall finishing process are developed using jobsite observations and worker interviews. The first model represents the traditional human-crew process, whereas the second model modifies this baseline to integrate a semiautomated robot named “Canvas” in an HRC application. These models link worker and robot, equipment, material, and task nodes together based on their required operational interdependencies, providing a means to analyze the functioning of the work process before and after simulated adverse events using social network analysis techniques. The results identify the conditions under which HRC in drywall finishing, and in some cases HRC more broadly, makes the work process more or less vulnerable to adverse events. For example, the absence of a specialized operator can prevent 37.5% of tasks from being completed, highlighting a key condition that increases vulnerability in HRC workflows. The findings of the research will aid project managers by enabling more resilient planning of HRC applications, as well as providing guidance to robotic manufacturers seeking to improve the integration of their systems on construction projects.