Buildots Launches Intelligence Lab, Construction’s First AI-Powered Research Hub

Buildots, a construction intelligence platform based in Chicago, has officially launched the Buildots Intelligence Lab, an AI-powered research hub aimed at providing the construction industry with free benchmarks and operational insights. The lab aggregates anonymized data from global construction projects to enhance understanding of productivity, scheduling, trade performance, and delivery risk, addressing a long-standing industry challenge of inconsistent data for project performance evaluation. Roy Danon, co-founder and CEO of Buildots, stated that the absence of macro-level truth hinders performance and contributes to stagnating productivity.

The Buildots Intelligence Lab will publish research across three key areas: standardized metrics, industry benchmarks, and insights into hidden patterns or early warning signs in project delivery. This research will be accessible to construction professionals, academics, analysts, and media organizations. Initial findings highlight substantial discrepancies between project plans and actual site execution, particularly in data center construction, where a 20% to 50% gap was identified between planned and delivered weekly mechanical, electrical, and plumbing output, indicating a major source of schedule delays.

Further research revealed that the final 20% of an activity often consumes 27% of its total duration, suggesting systemic late-stage slowdowns. The lab also found that top-performing MEP teams can work up to three times faster than average teams. Schedule adherence varied by project type, with data centers showing approximately 57% adherence, following healthcare projects. This initiative comes as the industry faces increasing pressure to improve predictability, cost control, and accelerate timelines, especially in complex sectors like data centers.