Construction is one of the most dynamic industries. Projects are constantly shifting, changes are made to plans and execution strategy and there are countless internal and external factors that can put projects at risk. Because of this dynamic nature, the software and technology industry overlooked the construction market to focus their efforts on low-hanging-fruit industries that were less dynamic and required less mobile functionality and fewer customizations from one company to the next.
All of that changed around 2010 with the introduction of smartphones. Within a few years, there were countless new entrants in the construction tech space offering digital point solutions for nearly every process.
The Evolution of Construction Software
Construction technology has come a long way in the last decade. Initially, most software offerings were point solutions that focused on digitizing and streamlining core processes. Essentially, the goal was to make projects and planning more efficient.
After that, mobile functionality took precedence. Construction firms were looking for solutions that could be used both on the job site and the office in tandem. This meant cloud-based solutions with mobile applications became a top priority when evaluating potential software. Contractors wanted solutions that allowed them to make updates in real time and also improved visibility across the organization. While efficiency still reigned supreme, the push for mobile functionality helped to improve collaborative efforts.
For the last few years, the construction tech industry has worked to eliminate the fragmentation between software solutions and siloed data. That has led to what could almost be considered an ‘integration race’ with each developer building integrations into their point solutions before their competitors. This race is still underway as 30% of engineering and construction firms are still using applications that don’t integrate, according to a study by FMI.
Then came COVID-19. The global pandemic forced contractors, architects and engineers to quickly shift to working remotely. While efficient cloud-based solutions had been a top priority in recent years, the pandemic created a sense of urgency with software companies to automate workflows and improve digital collaboration.
Though the construction technology industry is relatively new, the evolution of software solutions happens fast. Over the course of a decade, software has gone from basic point solutions to integrated, collaborative, cloud-based solutions, most of which having mobile capabilities. What’s next?
From Efficient to Effective
Contractors that have spent any time evaluating software solutions will have undoubtedly heard the buzzwords “streamline” and “efficiency.” Construction software can certainly deliver on efficiency and streamline manual processes, but the next step for the leading software companies will be providing solutions that drive the effectiveness of those processes through data intelligence.
The FMI study also revealed 95% of data in the construction industry goes unused. That data can (and should) be used to inform decision making for nearly every phase in a project’s life cycle. Software that streamlines core processes can help to drive efficiency, but software that analyzes the project and workforce data and surfaces it in concise summaries and reports can help with decision making and in turn, drive effectiveness. That’s intelligence.
What Exactly is Data Intelligence in Construction?
Data intelligence provides a comprehensive view into a contractor’s project pipeline, people and organizational growth. It helps to create optimal organizational strategies by offering actionable insights into company needs, successes and also areas for improvement.
Intelligence is used to drive decision making by taking key data and painting a clearer picture of different strategies and potential outcomes. Here are examples of how point solutions are evolving from efficient to effective.
Workforce Management
The workforce management and resource planning process is a clear cut example of the evolution of point solutions. For nearly three decades, Microsoft Excel had been the tool of choice for workforce management. It required manual data entry and while the risk of human error was ever-present, it was certainly an upgrade from whiteboards and the pen to paper approach from days of old.
Then came workforce management solutions. Software such as Bridgit Bench, Smartsheet and Anaplan helped to streamline the workforce planning process with intuitive software. These solutions eliminated the need for manual spreadsheets and allowed contractors to be more efficient with their planning process and staffing meetings, opening up more time to spend on other priorities.
These workforce management solutions underwent the same evolution as the rest of the construction technology industry. They added integrations, mobile applications and ramped up collaborative features, but how do they continue to add value?
Intelligence is how—by taking an organization’s unused data and turning it into a decision-making tool. In this example, by analyzing and surfacing relevant data, contractors are better equipped to make decisions regarding their workforce strategy. Insights into future project demand can help contractors inform recruitment strategies, identify pinch points where workforce supply exceeds project demands and create adaptive scheduling to ensure their team is productive.
Jobsite Risk Management
With so many variables affecting each project, jobsite risk management has traditionally been a reactive process. Software today has helped contractors mitigate those risks faster, but what if they could be leveraging their unused data to make project risk predictable and preventable?
Software companies such as TouchPlan are helping to better predict project risk by analyzing project data and providing visualizations that allow contractors to see, in real time, the risks that are occurring on their job sites. By surfacing this information, contractors are able to better understand project dependencies and predict project risk.
Preconstruction
Construction projects are won and lost in the planning phase. With so many moving pieces, it can be incredibly difficult to create an optimal project strategy to maximize profitability.
Alice Technologies is just one company using artificial intelligence in its preconstruction planning solution to help contractors leverage their data to optimize project strategies. By using existing project and workforce data, contractors are able to simulate multiple construction strategies to help inform project bids and reduce risk more effectively.
Organizations can often be intimidated by the prospect of big data and how it actually works. However, new construction technologies and software developers have made it increasingly easy to capture and leverage key data points. When evaluating potential point solutions, contractors shouldn’t hesitate to ask about data analytics and intelligence and if those are included in the solution roadmap.
