Construction projects run behind schedule and over budget for many reasons, but much of it involves information management. Between multiple trades, design changes, and keeping the whole team on the same page, elements fall through the cracks. While the right software can help tremendously, there are some programs that save time and others that merely add another password to the mix.
The construction industry is notoriously behind in technological advances. Part of this stems from job site conditions; part of it comes from “this is how we’ve always done it” mentalities. Yet companies implementing new technologies are enjoying streamlined efficiencies leading to fewer delays, more effective communication, and documentation that assists when problems arise.
Documentation That Doesn’t Take Hours
Photo documentation winds up being a time-consuming exercise in frustration when someone documents photos with a phone and must go back and organize them later. By the time someone asks for an image, it falls midway down a series of hundreds of unhelpful album titles. Many construction observations also fail to communicate what’s happening on site to those off site effectively, resulting in delayed communications when approvals are needed.
Modern reality capture software helps photograph a comprehensive digital construction site. Whether using 360-degree photo systems or scanning mechanisms, digital models are created that render virtual representations of anyone who needs to walk through it without being physically there. Time is saved by not having to schedule specific site visits for various stakeholders or engage in searches across complicated image libraries. If you want to see how it works in practice, Check This Out for what this digital documentation looks like in action.
The advantage isn’t prettied up images. It’s a reduction in the back and forth when someone doesn’t understand site conditions or progress, meaning instead of playing email tag or waiting for the next site meeting, people can learn virtually what they need to see.
Scheduling Software That Gets Used
Construction scheduling extends from Gantt charts. The larger the better; however, schedules are out of date as soon as they’re printed. Furthermore, often only one person has access to the original paper copy with a backing computer file. Even with the best intentions to edit the program, when changes occur (and they always do), a project now exists to notify everyone else with an updated schedule.
Online/cloud based scheduling systems make schedules universally accessible for anyone who requires one. When there is a delay or job completion ahead of schedule, schedules update in real time; subcontractors know when they’re called to the site, and project managers can assess opportunities for conflict mitigation before they turn into change orders.
The difference is mobile access; superintendents and foremen can update their task statuses on their smartphones instead of waiting until they return to the trailer. While this may seem insignificant, it substantiates real world schedules as opposed to fictitious wish lists no one respects.
Communication Platforms for Construction
Email threads get out of control on construction sites within minutes, compounded by ancillary misunderstandings. A question comes through from one person, three people respond, two are CC’d again, and it’s unclear whether a given answer is correct or relevant unless someone goes back into the thread three days later.
Construction oriented messaging platforms allow professionals to communicate by project/trade/issue, integrating documents/drawings into relevant discussions that remain in one forum page rather than scattered across countless inboxes. When a new stakeholder joins the team, they can catch up on the back and forth without redundantly asking questions that were answered long ago.
Further, these platforms provide timestamps for accountability. When push comes to shove about something that was instructed or received, there’s no arguing when searchable terms clarify who said what when.
Digital Punch List Management
Paper punch lists involve clipboards and excess work for everyone involved. Someone walks the site with a pad and pencil noting deficiencies which they must then type up later and email around; contractors receive it with scratch off notes about items completed, but that process repeats with even more paper.
Digital punch list apps eliminate much of the redundancy. Issues get uploaded with photographs taken on the spot and assigned responsibility/ownership for remedial action which is tracked until completion; everyone can see what’s open without waiting for emailed spreadsheets; and work is completed faster without fighting over what’s open.
That’s time saved: what used to take hours of administrative attention now occurs in real time as movement happens throughout the building.
Helping Technology Work on Real Job Sites
The biggest barrier of entry to new construction software isn’t financial or capability; it’s user buy in. When people can’t get behind technology because of extensive training requirements or faulty conditions in the field, it becomes another oversight, and teams revert to their old systems.
Time saving tools come from systems that deliver obvious solutions without creating new headaches, that run on tablets/smartphones that can withstand construction employment conditions, that don’t require twenty steps just to accomplish a basic task, and that allow new users access without “learning courses.”
There are enough moving parts in construction; software should not be one of them. The right tools should feel as if they’re taking away barriers rather than adding them. When they do, people naturally adopt them, and time saving measures naturally follow.
