In recent years, intelligent construction hoists have gradually become a new favorite in the industry, with various new products and technologies emerging one after another.

On March 21, the China Construction Machinery Association organized a scientific and technological achievement appraisal meeting in Liuzhou, Guangxi, for six scientific and technological achievements of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd. The scientific and technological achievement of the Liugong Jianghan intelligent construction hoist passed the appraisal.

Also in March, the Wuhan stop of the 2025 upgraded XCMG intelligent construction hoist ZSC200/200FS1 observation and promotion event came to a successful conclusion. Dozens of representatives from the Hubei Construction Industry Association, construction units, and construction leasing clients gathered at the site of the China Construction Science and Industry Corporation complex project to experience XCMG's new intelligent hoist equipment in an "immersive" way.

Even earlier, at bauma China 2024, the unattended intelligent construction hoist exhibited by Zoomlion also attracted much attention, and its intelligent operation and control system drew continuous exclamations from the audience. At present, Zoomlion's unattended intelligent construction hoists have achieved the delivery and use of thousands of units in more than 20 regions across the country, continuously creating value for customers, leading the technological upgrade of unmanned intelligent construction hoists, and injecting new momentum into the development of the industry.

The Outlet for Intelligent Construction Hoists Is Arriving

1 Policy Support Provides Safeguard

Policy guidance and support have created a favorable environment for the development of intelligent construction hoists. On February 8, 2024, the Suzhou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau issued the Notice on Comprehensively Promoting the Application of Intelligent Construction Elevators in Our City, specifying that government-invested projects newly started after May 1, 2024 should fully apply intelligent construction elevators, with the proportion not lower than 50%; social-investment projects newly started after October 1, 2024 should, in principle, fully apply them where conditions permit. The notice also made detailed provisions on equipment information registration, expert demonstration, inclusion in the supervision platform, installation and testing, process control, and routine management, safeguarding the promotion and application of intelligent construction elevators at the policy level.

On July 22, 2024, the Xiamen Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau issued supplementary quota standards for intelligent freight construction hoists, covering usage fees, entry and exit fees, installation and dismantling fees, etc., applicable to machinery for transporting materials during construction within a building eave height of 50 meters. Intelligent freight construction hoists do not require a professional operator for each unit; one person can control multiple units, improving material transport efficiency and saving 60% of labor costs. The introduction of this policy provides a pricing basis and policy support for the promotion of intelligent construction hoists in the Xiamen area. The successive introduction of policies in various regions fully reflects the government's attention to and promotion of the intelligent construction hoist industry, providing strong safeguards for the industry's development.

2 Strong Market Demand Drives Growth

The current development status and changing demand of the construction industry have provided broad market space for intelligent construction hoists. With the gradual disappearance of the demographic dividend, the labor shortage in the construction industry has become increasingly serious, and the number of construction workers in China is expected to plummet, making the construction industry's demand for automated equipment and robots increasingly urgent. Intelligent construction hoists do not require dedicated driver operation and can achieve 24-hour continuous autonomous operation, effectively solving the problem of labor shortage and reducing labor costs.

Safety and efficiency have always been the focus of the construction industry. Traditional construction hoists have certain safety hazards and relatively low efficiency. Intelligent construction hoists integrate functions such as intelligent call systems, safety monitoring, and fault self-diagnosis, enabling real-time monitoring of operating status, timely detection and handling of safety hazards, and greatly improving the level of construction safety. At the same time, their efficient transport capacity and precise control functions can also effectively improve construction efficiency. Against the backdrop of continuously rising requirements for safety and efficiency in the construction industry, intelligent construction hoists, with their significant advantages, have become an ideal choice to meet market demand.

Difficulties and Challenges Faced

1 Industry Standards Are Still Incomplete

At present, intelligent construction hoists are still in the early stage of promotion, and industry standards are still incomplete. Currently, it is mostly OEMs working with relevant associations in various provinces to jointly compile and formulate group standards. For example, the Shandong provincial group standard Safety Technical Regulations for Intelligent Construction Hoists, released on September 1, 2024, involved the participation of XCMG and Dahan Technology. Even earlier, the group standard Technical Regulations for Intelligently Controlled Construction Hoists for Both Passenger and Freight Use, led and released by the China Construction Machinery Association in 2022, involved deep participation by Zoomlion.

In addition, many relevant associations are also organizing the drafting of standards for intelligent construction hoists. In December 2024, approved by the China Engineering Construction Standardization Association (CECS), the compilation of the engineering construction group standard Technical Regulations for the Application of Intelligent Construction Hoists, led by the China Academy of Building Research Co., Ltd., was launched and is planned to be submitted for approval before the end of December 2025. On January 14, 2025, the first meeting of the drafting group for Guangdong Province's Safety Technical Standard for Intelligent Construction Hoists was successfully held in the meeting room of the Guangzhou Construction Industry Federation.

The release of the above group standards for intelligent construction hoists has undoubtedly provided a solid guarantee for the safe development of the industry, but at present, it is still far from enough. In the future, the entire industry still needs to work together to continuously improve the formulation of industry standards.

2 Costs Remain High

The research and development and manufacturing costs of intelligent construction hoists are relatively high. The realization of their intelligent functions requires support from a large number of advanced technologies and equipment, such as high-precision sensors, intelligent control systems, and remote communication modules, all of which increase the hardware cost of the products. The research and development process requires substantial investment of manpower, material resources, and financial resources for technical research, testing, and optimization, which also significantly raises the product development cost.

The maintenance cost of intelligent construction hoists is also relatively high. Due to their technical complexity, once a fault occurs, professional technicians and equipment are needed for repair, and the difficulty and cost of repair are higher than those of traditional construction hoists. The relatively high cost makes the selling price of intelligent construction hoists comparatively expensive, which to a certain extent limits their market promotion and application. Especially for some small and medium-sized construction enterprises with relatively tight funds, the higher procurement cost may deter them.

Looking ahead to 2025, the development prospects of intelligent construction hoists are very optimistic, but achieving leapfrog development will probably not be easy. However, we believe that with the continuous improvement of industry standards, continuous technological breakthroughs, and the further release of market demand, intelligent construction hoists are expected to occupy a more important position in the construction industry in the future.