When completing a project at home, it’s annoying to have to make multiple trips to the hardware store before and during the job. Frustration from that experience sets the tone, and chances are more mistakes will arise that day.
Now imagine the frustration craft professionals feel when they get to a jobsite and cannot get to work because the proper drug testing or safety documentation was not sent over ahead of time. This can be a significant hindrance for the foreman onsite who needs his people working so they can continue to meet the fast-paced schedules that projects demand.
Technology today allows for information to be accessible at all times. It’s possible to dispatch workers with all of their individual information so they can be allocated to any jobsite at any time and get to work without waiting for the office to send the files over.
Preparedness helps with competence and confidence. It lets workers focus on what is most important: their safety and the task at hand.
Contractors barely have time to think because every schedule seems to be fast-tracked, and few owners care about leveling the workload because their project is the most important. In addition, the labor shortage is affecting onsite productivity as well as increasing the competition on corporate culture.
Productivity
What better way to not only get more productive capital dollars, but also engender a sense of respect among the workforce, than by providing access to pertinent information when needed? Think technology to do that costs too much? Take a look at what it costs when information is not readily accessible.
Consider an average construction company with 20 employees who make $29 per hour (Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average). As a subcontractor that typically works for a general contractor, one employee performs about six projects per year.
Because many general contractors have a site-specific orientation program, part of the onboarding process is providing safety and training documentation. If every craftworker spends one additional hour in that process due to lack of documentation, its costs that small business nearly $3,500 a year with the labor force alone. If office personnel (billed at the same rate) spend an hour per instance, it doubles that cost.
If a company has 50 employees, it would cost $17,400, and with 200 employees it would cost $69,600 for just one hour of lost time per project. If it seems like this should be chalked up to the cost of doing business, think again. Companies utilizing technology for onsite verification could spend 75 percent less time by simply having the information readily available to every employee when necessary. That’s thousands of dollars added to the bottom line.
Safety
As prime contractors and construction managers look to make more money due to competitive fees in the marketplace, Contractor Controlled Insurance Programs will only become more common, and safety cultures will increasingly become pushed as part of that process. Corporate prequalification programs have been the norm for years, but as the culture becomes more conscientious of regulatory licensure and training requirements, the reduction of workers’ compensation claims and the need to repair reputation after a serious incident, worker qualification inspections will continue to rise.
Should a contractor be worried about OSHA when it comes to producing this information? Many say no and are willing to take a chance because the average compliance officer is responsible for roughly 59,000 workers. But interestingly enough, $5,591,284 in fines from OSHA citations last year were related to the ability to produce training documentation. Just one OSHA fine of $12,934 would be more than most technology programs available on the market to assist in this process.
Just looking at project onboarding, technology access and usage can result in thousands of dollars saved if utilized correctly. As contractors adapt to technology and its impact on productivity, it has to be less about the ease of office personnel and more about the impact of productivity in the field.
Reevaluate the company’s use of technology and consider if it truly impacts the most expensive part of the process: time onsite. Be prepared and build employee confidence by providing them with on-demand access to information.
