THU AM News: Construction tech use still in ‘adolescence’ despite interest in AI, cybersecurity; New commercial building codes to start Sept. 1 after Supreme Court ruling

August 7, 2025

— Advanced technology use in construction is “still in its adolescence” despite many companies planning to integrate AI, according to a report from Milwaukee-based advisory firm Wipfli.

The company this week issued its latest report on the state of technology in construction, which relies on survey results gathered from businesses of varying sizes across the country. It found that while firms in this industry are investing in AI, cloud-based platforms, cybersecurity and green building technologies, “many struggle to optimize the tools they already have,” authors wrote.

While 82% of respondents said they have an AI strategy, most are at the “entry level,” using consumer-grade tools for tasks rather than fully integrating the technology into business operations or strategic decisionmaking, the report shows.

At the same time, 73% of respondents say they plan to invest in cybersecurity, reflecting the industry’s rising concern over data breaches. Eighty percent of respondents say they had at least one such breach over the last year, and almost half had three or more incidents.

“Even the biggest firms have blind spots in tech adoption,” said Brad Werner, partner and construction and real estate industry leader for Wipfli. “The real play now is scaling beyond pilots — turning tech from a sidecar into the engine for sharper, faster decision-making across the enterprise.”

The company conducted the national online survey in the spring, tapping 308 construction and real estate leaders. A third of the represented companies had less than $50 million in annual revenue, a third had between $50 million and $250 million, and the final third had more than $250 million.

The largest firms tended to have a higher level of tech maturity, showing their greater resources are being invested into applications like AI and data analytics. But even less established businesses are exploring these technologies, as 66% of the smallest firms in the survey say they have an AI strategy.

Wipfli says its findings suggest cybersecurity is “a concern and a priority, but not yet a strength” for the industry, noting construction companies are particularly vulnerable. That’s due at least in part to widespread use of mobile devices for financial transactions in the field, authors note, as well as frequent, large wire transfers.

Across eight different security categories the survey asked about, at least 70% of respondents said they were currently making or had made improvements in the last year.

See more in the release and report.

— DSPS has announced new commercial building codes will kick in Sept. 1 after the state Supreme Court last month ruled GOP lawmakers had been improperly blocking their implementation.

Still, the Department of Safety and Profession Services said it will also accept plans submitted under the current code through the month of September to ease the impact on the building industry. Then starting Oct. 1, all commercial plans submitted must meet the upgraded standards.

Brad Boycks, executive director of the Wisconsin Builders Association, said there are concerns about the implementation date, though DSPS has told industry stakeholders it will conduct webinars to go over the new codes and post answers to questions it receives to help guide builders through the transition.

“We do have some concern that this is a tight turnaround for a significant change to the commercial building code, but also recognize the department has stated they’re going to do everything they can to make sure it’s a smooth transition,” Boycks said.

The agency first sought two years ago to implement changes to bring Wisconsin in line with the 2021 International Building Code standards. But the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules blocked implementation of the changes.

The state Supreme Court last month ruled the Legislature can’t indefinitely block administrative rules in a lawsuit Dem Gov. Tony Evers filed over the building codes and other proposals from his administration.

The changes impact commercial buildings, including multi-family residential buildings. DSPS Secretary Dan Hereth submitted the required adoption order to the Legislative Reference Bureau to complete the promulgation process.

The agency also plans to have relevant exams upgraded starting Oct. 1 to reflect the changes.

“We’re ready and willing to help the building industry and its associated professionals implement a modernized code,” Hereth said. “These groups are our partners in building safety, and we look forward to working with them through the coming months, just as we have throughout this process.”

Some of the coming changes included higher insulation standards and stricter air leakage control, and Hereth said the upgraded codes meet “the Evers Administration’s goal of bringing Wisconsin closer in line with international building standards and improving safety.”

JCRAR voted 6-4 in fall 2023 to block implementation of the rules amid lobbying from business groups concerned over the costs.

John Schulze, director of legal and government affairs for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin Inc., said the group is concerned the changes will drive up the costs, particularly amid ongoing issues with supply chains, labor shortages and inflation.

“When buildings get too expensive, they just don’t get built, period. That’s what our concern is,” he said.

— The State Building Commission has approved $110.2 million in projects around Wisconsin, including infrastructure upgrades at state facilities, demolishing aging buildings and more.

Gov. Tony Evers yesterday applauded the approval of “these critically important projects” including “essential” upgrades to Universities of Wisconsin campus facilities.

Along with demolishing old buildings at UW campuses in Oshkosh, Platteville and Parkside, the commission approved installing new water systems at UW-Green Bay and improvements to UW-Stout’s Robert S. Swanson Library and Learning Center.

See the full list of approved projects in the release.

— Wisconsin insurers are proposing a wide range of rate increases for next year’s ACA marketplace plans, from 6.6% up to 34.5%.

These proposed premium increases were filed with state regulators by health insurers for Affordable Care Act-regulated health plans for 2026, according to a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Across all 312 insurers in the ACA marketplaces, the national median proposed premium increase is 18% — about 11 percentage points higher than last year. And the average proposed rate increase for these insurers is about 20%, KFF reports.

In Wisconsin, the median proposed increase is 12.9% and the average is 16.1%.

Report authors note rising health care prices “stood out as a key factor” driving costs in 2026 based on insurer documents. Provider consolidation was also referenced by some insurers as playing a role, as hospital mergers and acquisitions are seen as contributing to higher contracted prices for services and less innovation.

“Insurers cite increasing cost and utilization of high-priced drugs as well as general market factors, such as increasing labor costs and inflation, as contributing to premium increases,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, most insurers are assuming the enhanced premium tax credits will go away after they’re scheduled to sunset at the end of this year, barring action by Congress to extend them. KFF says this assumption is driving proposed rates up by 4% on average.

Adam Vanspankeren is the navigator program manager for Covering Wisconsin, a program of the UW-Madison Divison of Extension that helps state residents get connected with health insurance. In a recent interivew, he said the expected loss of expanded subsidies “is terrible,” but noted standard marketplace subsidies would still be in place.

“We saw it before the expanded subsidies were in place, the prices could be such that the subsidy is still significant, and significant enough to offset a lot of plans on the marketplace,” he said.

Still, he added the loss of expanded subsidies will have the biggest impact on people who are middle-aged and making mid-level income.

“The lowest-income people tend to get the highest tax credits, the highest subsidies … and then people who are at higher incomes can afford their insurance, even maybe without the expanded subsidy,” he said. “People in the middle tend to get squeezed the most.”

Among Wisconsin insurers’ proposed rate increases, the three highest are UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc. at 34.5%, Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation at 30.8% and Security Health Plan of Wisconsin, Inc. at 24.3%.

The three lowest are MercyCare HMO, Inc. at 6.6%, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin at 6.9% and Network Health at 9.8%.

A spokesperson for the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance says the agency has received rate filings from marketplace health insurers and is “in communication with them about their proposed rates.” OCI will release final ACA rates for 2026 in the fall.

See the KFF report.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— The chair of Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission is suggesting GOP U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany’s call for the agency to “resist pressure to close any coal-fired plants prematurely” is misplaced and he should be directing his comments to utilities.

Chair Summer Strand wrote that’s because the PSC doesn’t have the power to approve power plant retirement decisions, which she wrote are made by the operating utility after consultation with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.

“The Commission does not dictate the type of generation resource power providers seek approval of, and the standards for approval do not vary by project type, they are the same regardless of generation source,” she wrote in yesterday’s letter.

Tiffany, R-Minocqua, wrote a letter to Strand in June that “coal-fired plants are a backbone of baseload power and cannot simply be replaced with intermittent generation provided by wind and solar.”

In the letter, the potential GOP guv candidate raised concerns that special interests that he referred to as “anti-human groups” have mobilized against coal-fired power plants as well as natural gas. Relying on a grid powered by “unreliable wind and solar energy” would be a mistake, he added, and the state needs “dependable, reliable, low-cost electricity – not market distorting subsidies and Madison mandates that prioritize the politically connected over prosperity.”

Tiffany also warned against putting “all of our baseload eggs in one basket by relying too heavily on a single form” of generation.

Strand replied the state’s current mix is about: 35% natural gas, 30% coal, 15% wind/solar, 15% nuclear, 3% hydropower and 2% other.

“Ultimately, the makeup of Wisconsin’s generation mix is and will continue to be driven by utility and energy provider planning decisions, and not Commission mandates or regulatory overreach,” she wrote.

— The latest episode of “WisBusiness: the Show” features Hilary Pham, founder of Equability, a category winner in this year’s Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

The company, which launched in 2020, modifies clients’ clothing to make them more accessible, typically for people who’ve lost dexterity for various reasons. Its services include adding Velcro, magnets or snaps to clothing such as jackets or jeans, replacing zippers and other fastenings that are more difficult to use.

Pham says her journey began when her mother was diagnosed with arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome about 13 years ago, making it more difficult and painful for her to dress herself.

“I was just watching her slowly throughout the years, just taking a little bit longer to get ready, and not being able to ask for help as well,” she said. “She would just really want to struggle through it and be independent, so I think my sisters and I kind of looked around and realized, I think there are a lot of other people who are also struggling with these things.”

Pham says many people struggling with mobility and dexterity want to keep wearing the clothes they love, and Equability aims to make that possible.

Watch the show here and find more episodes here.

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