It’s time to rethink tech trends in the construction industry.
While it’s easy to focus on the cutting edge of research and development, there is a quiet tech revolution underway. As attention focuses on the transformational potential of robotics, 3D printing and other exciting innovations, everyday construction professionals are turning to easy-to-adopt technology that addresses common jobsite pain points.
Fighting Inertia
An ongoing trend in the construction industry is the friction between the need to boost productivity and labor shortage on one hand, and the traditional reluctance to embrace new technology on the other.
New technologies have a hard time breaking into the industry for a variety of reasons. Some smaller companies are dependent on legacy systems that aren’t compatible with the innovations of today. Many construction professionals are busy people running single-proprietorship businesses who are late adopters of technology in their daily lives.
Whatever the reasons, the construction industry no longer has a choice. Productivity gaps must be addressed. Dodge Data & Analytics said, in the fourth quarter of 2017, 26 percent of contractors surveyed believed their jobsites to be inefficient, but only 11 percent said their jobsites were very efficient. Sixty-one percent said their jobsites are neither very inefficient nor very efficient. Drilling down into the issue, 44 percent said labor productivity impacts jobsite efficiency, and 29 percent pointed the finger at jobsite logistics.
To compete in the modern marketplace, construction companies must make a change. Labor shortages and increased competition make productivity and efficiency a priority, and technology can help.
Everyday Innovations
Many of the important tech trends for 2019’s construction industry don’t involve new technology, but now existing technologies are finding a new niche in construction applications. These innovations are poised to help project managers, superintendents, subcontractors and developers collect the hard-to-get data that will help them address inefficiency and lost productivity.
The best way to deal with inefficiency is to discover where and how it’s occurring, but project managers can’t be everywhere at once. It’s time to leverage today’s tech tools to create greater jobsite visibility and harness that vital data. Not all tools are created equal, though. They represent an investment, so it is important to find the tools that will collect the right data for a given situation.
Putting these trends to use will help improve visibility and automate data collection, allowing managers to identify ways to work safer, smarter and faster.
Turnkey Tech
If efficiency is the goal, tech solutions must be easy to use or they will fall by the wayside over time. Fortunately, the best, most innovative data-collecting tools for the construction industry are tailored with simplicity in mind. Intuitive smartphone apps and wearables make tasks as easy as ordering a pizza or clipping something to a belt.
Construction field management smartphone apps for the jobsite come with many functionalities, including the ability to easily generate reports and timecards in the field. Some software packages even bring real-time video to a manager’s desktop for site monitoring and efficiency insights.
Keeping Track
The most valuable assets on a jobsite are the people who work there. Managers need to know that workers’ time is being used effectively, and they’re safe and avoiding hazards. That’s where wearables come in.
Wearables are designed for every worker on a jobsite to use. They clip onto the pocket or belt like a pager or step tracker. There are many brands of construction wearables available with various functionalities. Some automatically log time starting when the worker arrives on-site, eliminating the need to fill out time cards. They record steps, track location and send alerts to supervisors in the event of a trip or fall. Superintendents can send evacuation or safety alerts via wearables, increasing employee safety.
GPS asset management technology, like wearables for employees, tracks the movement and location of vehicles and equipment, preventing loss and providing valuable data insights. Is a truck making unnecessary trips? Is there a more efficient route through the jobsite for earth-moving equipment?
Using Jobsite Data
If a company has invested money and time into data collection technology, how can they leverage that data into valuable, actionable insights without going back to school for a data science degree? What’s the use of data if a company can’t use or understand it?
Fortunately, there are software tools available to distill jobsite data into useful, pertinent information. Software companies have developed customizable platforms to make data easy to collect and understand. These platforms are available across multiple devices from desktops to smartphones and can deliver jobsite analytics in real time.
Project Management
In addition to familiar all-in-one project management software suites, tech companies are developing hyper-focused, smaller-scale solutions that solve just one or a few workflow issues or pain points. These solutions are called best-of-breed and might be the best choice for some companies.
Best-of-breed solutions can work together with all-in-one solutions in a hub-and-spoke model. The lightweight, affordable apps feed data into the office system, delivering holistic project management functionality with the right solution for each work location.
Efficiency Equals Profitability
Innovations for turnkey data collection and analysis take the guesswork out of site management, allowing managers to make informed decisions about workflow and processes. These decisions directly impact a construction company’s bottom line, making the difference between profit and loss. Those who are struggling with profitability should first look for efficiencies, but get solid data first. Construction companies are quietly adopting technology to address small issues on their jobsites, and this slow, discrete revolution may be the biggest, most exciting innovation in the field today.
