The Masonry Workforce and Automation

The masonry workforce faces shortages as it enters the future. Retiring masons are not being replaced by younger masons at an equal rate. The result is that the supply of skilled masonry workers does not meet the demand for this critically necessary skilled workforce to assemble masonry buildings and structures. This is not a sudden development; the industry has been aware of this troublesome trend for decades now. We need more masons.

Many commendable efforts are underway to recruit new masons into this important workforce, including efforts by the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) and BAC’s educational and training organization, the International Masonry Institute (IMI). Additional recruitment efforts to help grow the skilled masonry workforce are underway by the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and several other regional and local masonry education and recruitment organizations.

Regardless of these excellent efforts to recruit new masons to the workforce, the supply of new masons simply does not meet the current demand for masons, nor is it expected to meet the growing demand in the future. What will be done to help supply the demand for masonry construction?

Part of the answer is to provide the masonry workforce with the tools, materials and techniques which will make human masons more efficient. This includes semi-automated methods and more fully automated assembly methods and equipment to help meet the demand for beautiful masonry buildings.

This includes lift-assist technologies, such as the MULE (Material Unit Left Enhancement) provided by Construction Robotics, to help masons work faster and more efficiently. It also includes exoskeletal equipment, provided by several companies, which are attached to the body of a human mason. It also includes much more fully automated systems, such as Fast Brick Robotics’ (FBR) “Hadrian X” robotic assembly system. The Hadrian X does not use mortar, but rather employs construction adhesive instead. At some point, this is no longer traditional masonry (without mortar) but becomes something else.

In my own experience, there has been resistance in the industry to adoption of semi-automated and fully automated masonry assembly methods and equipment. This is understandable! Masons don’t want to lose their jobs and be replaced by robots. The beauty of block requires the touch of a human mason.

Our company (Spherical Block, LLC) has been investigating new technologies, with a focus on semi-automated assembly tools and materials, for over a decade. I addressed this when I was invited to be keynote speaker at the North American Masonry Conference by The Masonry Society (TMS) in 2019, and was asked to talk about “Innovation in Masonry Today.”

Interest in these approaches has been growing slowly and steadily over the years. The path forward includes those processes and equipment which can help assemble masonry faster, more safely and more efficiently while providing the beauty of block to our buildings well into the future. This will require human masons, and the value that they add to our built environment. Using new tools, techniques and materials, masons will add even greater value to the world of construction. 

 

Masonry as a Career

Today’s economy seems plagued with chronic unemployment. For many open jobs, the number of unemployed exceeds the positions available. Wages for much of today’s service economy are depressed, leaving people underemployed. Not much satisfaction in flipping burgers or serving meals.

Masons are in pretty high demand right now. The wages are fairly respectable, ranging from around $40,000 per year up to around $80,000 per year, depending largely on location. This seems like an odd circumstance to me. Remember the ”Jetsons” cartoon? By now we are supposed to have buildings made in a matter of minutes, done completely by automated robotic equipment.

Many people today tend to be critical of organized labor, or unions. The fact is that the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Union (BAC) is an excellent organization that provides highly trained and skilled laborers who will do the job right. If you really want a great job done, with excellent workmanship, go with the union masons. If you are a mason, and you want to be paid well, go with the union.

Masonry as a career is not for everyone. It is hard work, requires skill and manual dexterity, and the work days are long and tough. But if you enjoy working with your hands, masonry can be very rewarding. You are building structures that should outlast other forms of construction, and can aspire to the highest forms of art and architecture.

Finally, there is a huge demand for skilled masons overseas, especially in Europe right now. It could be an exciting adventure, well paid, new surroundings and interesting work. If younger people are considering their future, masonry might be a career worth looking at. You can be making good money doing important work early in your career.

Or there are positions in the service industry. You want fries with that?