Pizzarotti launches construction industry's first AI Academy

Artificial intelligence is making its official entry as a strategic subject of study in the construction sector. And it does so under the aegis of Italy's third largest player, the Pizzarotti Group of Parma, which has just kicked off an initial package of four training modules on what generative AI is, how it is applied in the company, and how it transforms products and processes. This is the first step in an internal course dedicated to the entire workforce at all levels - today the Emilia-based big company has 12,000 direct and indirect employees and a turnover of EUR 1.2 billion - from which a real structured AI Academy will take shape in the coming months.

"The decision to launch an Academy on Artificial Intelligence stems from the experience we are having with the order for the railway link under Florence, for RFI, in which we have also negotiated at a contractual level the introduction of AI tools to monitor the behaviour of the buildings above the huge tunnels we are digging a few tens of metres below the city centre," explains Riccardo Garrè, CEO of the Pizzarotti Group. Sensors, software, and algorithms allow us to control, interpret, and predict risks on the surface, and these are applications that will change the way we work on all construction sites and respond to the imperatives of sustainability, safety, corporate social responsibility, but also better operational efficiency and easier reporting'.

The Academy will explore the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) through a 4-hour online video course with virtual characters, divided into four modules: the first one, on AI fundamentals and the crucial role of data (quality and reliability), was released a week ago and has already gathered 40 per cent of registrations among workers. The second, on subcategories of AI (machine and deep learning, generative AI) and concrete application cases, will be available before the summer; while the third and fourth modules will be available in the autumn and will address the various applications of AI in finance, transport, commerce as well as its limits and (fourth module) the AI-driven transformation of business, processes and work.

"Without the involvement of people, there is no technological change, and the real risk is not AI but how we approach it," explains Denise Po, the group's Innovation Director. "We are now also starting to plan customised use cases to meet specific business needs, always with the aim of increasing internal knowledge and skills to accelerate the integration of AI into business processes. Thanks to the automation of activities and analyses of documents and masses of data and variables, we will be able to simulate processes in different contexts, develop site plans to optimise and accelerate work, minimise risks and increase safety, for example by monitoring the use of personal protective equipment'.

The company has historically been a forerunner in innovative training activities and in the application of new technologies in the construction sector, one of the most impervious to change, not just digital change. "In 2023 we provided over 36,000 hours of training, 40% more than last year, from training for new recruits to refresher courses for technicians, of which over 9,400 hours were on health and safety alone. And we are talking about activities that do not only concern the headquarters in Parma, but all personnel worldwide,' emphasises the CEO. Last year Pizzarotti launched the 'Field engineers graduate programme', a two-year training and mentorship programme to attract high-potential young engineers, who, after onboarding at the Parma headquarters, are seconded to construction sites alongside experienced tutors. And it is also one of the industries subscribing to the Distretto Italia project promoted by the Ministry of Labour with Anpal Servizi and the Elis Consortium for the orientation of young people and the placement of profiles at risk of marginalisation in companies.