Tag Archives: Construction

What AI Can’t Replace in Engineering

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the world today, including the construction industry. With AI, we can now analyse data and run complex simulations almost instantly. In construction for example, AI supports and optimises the use of BIM and other digital tools for scheduling, cost estimation, and even hazard identification.

Yet amid all this technological acceleration, a common question emerges:

“will humans compete with AI in the future?“

However, from my perspective as an engineer, the question that we should be asking is:

“In the future, what truly differentiates engineers from AI?“

I believe one of the key differentiators is engineering judgement. Today, there are many capabilities that AI performs better than humans, such as faster calculations and large-scale data processing. However, AI cannot take responsibility for decisions. AI cannot judge and decide.

http://www.gapingvoid.com

Engineering judgement is the ability to interpret data, understand context, evaluate trade-offs, and make decisions. While in construction context, the judgement need to consider safety, ethics, and long-term consequences as well. At the end, it is humans, not machines (or AI), who are held accountable.

AI can analyse and optimise.
But only humans can judge.

If engineering judgement that differentiates engineers from AI so the next important question that should be raised is:

“how do we develop this judgement?”

From my experience, there are two elements that play a crucial role: formal engineering education, and first-hand project experience

Formal education which through schools or universities provides engineers with foundational theories, frameworks, and problem-solving approaches. This knowledge shapes how engineers think. However, classroom knowledge alone is not enough to develop engineering judgement.

Judgement develops when theory is tested against reality. In construction projects, we usually face tight deadlines, budget constraints, site limitations, and often incomplete information. These exposure to project challenges can gradually strengthen engineering judgement. My interactions with senior engineers and experts clearly demonstrate how deeply their judgement has been shaped by years of experience in the project.

Actually, the importance of understanding fundamental engineering principles became especially clear to me a few years ago while I’m still work a lot with BIM. During a BIM session I delivered at a university, one student asked a question I still remember clearly:

“Is it still important to learn basic structural analysis when we already have BIM?”

My answer was immediate:

“Yes! absolutely.”

In many cases, BIM is merely a tool. Without a solid understanding of engineering fundamentals, it becomes a classic case of garbage in, garbage out. Models and analysis may look impressive but without proper judgement, the outputs can be misleading. Today, In the midst of increasing AI adoption, that question still stay with me, and sometimes I asked myself:

“What should future civil engineering students learn in class? Will they still study fundamental like structural analysis or geotechnical engineering the way we did?”

My answer remains exactly the same as the one I gave years ago:

“Yes, absolutely.”

Because learning engineering fundamentals: understanding frameworks, engineering mechanics, and problem-solving approaches remains essential. AI does not replace engineering thinking. It supports and enhances our ability to analyse and optimise, but it does not decide for us.

Again, engineering judgement stands on two pillars: strong fundamental engineering knowledge and project experience. As AI becomes more embedded in engineering workflows, the real risk is not that engineers will become obsolete, but that they may become over-reliant on AI without sufficient understanding or judgement.

The future does not belong to engineers who merely operate AI. It belongs to engineers who:

  1. Master fundamentals
  2. Understand the project
  3. Exercise engineering judgement through experience

In the end, engineering is not just about computation, calculation, or analysis.
It is about responsibility.

Geoteknik!! Yaaaay

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Suasananya sekarang lagi panas-panasnya pemilu, beberapa jam dari sekarang kita sebagai warga negara yang baik bisa turut andil dalam penentuan arah bangsa kita ini. Nah, tapi gue nggak mau bahas soal pemilu ini dulu, tapi tentang geoteknik.

Buat yang belum tau geoteknik ini apa, geoteknik ini merupakan salah satu kelompok keahlian di teknik sipil. Di ITB sendiri ada 5 kelompok keahlian di prodi teknik sipil dan gue rasa rata-rata tiap universitas juga sama. Berikut ini penjelasan singkat tentang kelima kk itu.

  • KK Rekayasa Struktur, yang pertama adalah kk struktur, mereka yang bergerak di kk struktur ini mengurusi masalah struktur atas bangunan. Banyak yang bilang kalau struktur ini merupakan KK yang teknik sipil banget dan lain sebagainya. Struktur biasanya nggak jauh dari gedung, jembatan, dan lainnya.
  • KK Rekayasa Geoteknik, Berikutnya adalah kk geoteknik, kk dimana gue berada, geoteknik ini menangani bagian bawah struktur, alias pondasi. Intinya mereka yang bergerak di bidang geoteknik ini berkutat di bidang perkuatan dan stabilisasi tanah, termasuk perkuatan lereng dan daerah reklamasi.
  • KK Rekayasa Transportasi, Sebenernya dulu pas gue masuk FTSL (Fakultas Teknik Sipil dan Lingkungan) gue baru tau kalau kk ini termasuk salah satu sub jurusan yang ada di Teknik Sipil. KK Transport ini mengurusi berbagai macam transportasi, baik transportasi darat, laut serta udara. Yang ditangani itu lebih ke prasarananya seperti jalan, bandara serta pelabuhan. Selain itu juga sistem pergerakannya.
  • KK MRK, Manajemen dan Rekayasa Konstruksi, mereka yang ada di kk ini mengurusi manajerial proyek mulai dari penyelenggaraan proyek, sistem lelang, kontrak, penjadwalan, pembiayaan, alokasi sumber daya. Intinya mereka sangat dibutuhkan dalam keberjalanan setiap proyek
  • KK Teknik Sumber Daya Air, biasanya disingkat TSA, dibanding kk lain, TSA ini paling sedikit jumlah mahasiswanya. TSA ini terbilang cukup kompleks karena berkaitan dengan banyak variabel yang tidak pasti. Bidang yang ditangani TSA ini seputar bangunan air, seperti bendungan, bendung, tanggul, juga sistem irigasi serta drainase.

Nah, dari kelima kk diatas gue mau bahas lebih jauh tentang geoteknik. Awalnya gue kira geotek cuma ngurusin pondasi aja, ternyata nggak. Seorang geotek bertanggung jawab terhadap struktur bangunan bawah suatu konstruksi. Konstruksinya sendiri macem-macem bisa gedung, jalan, bandara, dan lain sebagainya. Selain itu seorang ahli geotek juga mengurusi soal stabilitas lereng, bagaimana lereng-lereng diberi perkuatan agar tidak longsor. Nggak cuma itu aja, ada juga soal soil improvement. Intinya cakupan kk geoteknik ini cukup luas.

Hasil pen-subjurusan kemarin menyatakan kalau gue masuk geoteknik. Hal yang selanjutnya harus gue lakukan adalah mencari topik TA. Topik TA gue cakupannya sekitar topik-topik yang udah gue sebutkan diatas rencananya. Gue sedikit tertarik dengan soil improvement. Soil improvement ini cakupannya juga cukup luas dan belum spesifik. Beberapa contoh soil improvement diantaranya metoda stone column, sand column, pvd dan geotextile. Well, sebenernya gue sedikit digantungin sama dosen wali gue dan doi baru ngasih kepastian sekitar seminggu lagi. Jadi gue juga belum tau dengan pasti topik gue nantinya apa secara spesifik.