Cleaning up the drywall finishing process

• Finishing time cut from 7 days to 2
• 99.9% of sanding dust captured
• Lower fall and injury risk crew-wide

DPR Construction actively looks outside its own walls for innovations that can improve how its self-perform crews work, and Canvas's worker-controlled robotic drywall finishing machine became one of the clearest examples of that approach. Canvas automates the mudding and sanding portions of drywall finishing, the parts of the job most associated with heavy machine sanding, repetitive stress injuries, and fall risk from elevated work.

DPR became an early adopter of Canvas, working with the company for several years to help refine the machine specifically for self-perform drywall crews. "DPR has been working with us for several years to refine our drywall finishing machine and make it more useful for self-perform drywall crews. As an early adopter, DPR has embraced the technology for its ability to improve safety and quality metrics, with an eye toward increased productivity," said Jill Lonergan of Canvas.

Like much of the construction trades, DPR Construction's self-perform drywall crews were contending with a shrinking pool of skilled tapers and finishers, even as the manual methods used to install and finish drywall had remained largely unchanged for decades. Recruiting and training enough qualified craft workers to keep pace with project schedules was an ongoing challenge, and the labor-intensive nature of the work made it harder to attract new workers to the trade.

The manual finishing process also took a physical toll on crews. Hand- and pole-sanding produced heavy airborne dust that increased silica exposure, working from ladders, scaffolding, or stilts to reach elevated areas carried fall risk, and the repetitive motion of machine sanding contributed to musculoskeletal strain over time. Finish quality could also vary from crew to crew depending on individual skill and technique, making consistency harder to guarantee across projects.

Before Canvas, DPR Construction's self-perform drywall crews finished walls and ceilings entirely by hand: taping seams, then mixing and applying joint compound with trowels and pneumatic sprayers, and hand- or pole-sanding each coat once it dried. Reaching elevated ceiling areas meant working from ladders, scaffolding, or stilts for extended periods, and sanding produced heavy airborne dust that crews worked through with only basic respiratory protection. Achieving a smooth, finished surface depended heavily on each individual finisher's skill and consistency, and the fully manual process took considerably longer per area than DPR's later Canvas-assisted timelines.

Canvas cut DPR's typical drywall finishing timeline from about seven days down to roughly two, while its automated sanding system captures 99.9% of dust produced during the sanding phase, sharply reducing airborne particulates on site. Because the robot handles the physically taxing parts of the job, mudding and sanding, DPR's Canvas Certified Finishers can complete elevated work from the ground rather than from ladders or scaffolding, cutting fall risk, and avoid the repetitive-motion sanding that has historically driven musculoskeletal injuries in the trade.

Jack Poindexter, DPR Construction's Northwest Self-Perform Work Group Leader, noted that DPR invests heavily in its thousands of craft workers, including its drywall crews, and saw the Canvas partnership as a way to protect that workforce while giving them a new, transferable technology skill. Faster, more predictable finishing schedules also give DPR's project teams tighter cost and schedule control on self-perform drywall scopes, while consistent robotic application helps standardize finish quality across crews and projects.

DPR Construction craft team members have completed training and certification on the Canvas system as Canvas Certified Finishers, preparing them to deploy the technology on upcoming self-perform drywall scopes. Cande Talavera, one of the DPR craftsmen who completed the training, described the machine as approachable to learn: "I was excited to try the Canvas machine and put my hands on it. It was easy to learn and will limit the hard work tapers have to do." DPR is one of six general contractors and wall-system subcontractors named as Innovation Partners in Canvas's early partner program, alongside firms such as Webcor and Swinerton, reflecting a broader industry push to bring robotics into self-perform drywall work.