From experienced contractors with established work crews to new businesses just starting out with a few key workers, construction success depends on two main variables. The first is the quality and character of the team members. The second is the quality and character of the information used to make critical business decisions.
As projects cycle through the construction triangle, jobsite labor, and equipment costing information is what determines how much useful intelligence comes out of the project evaluation phase. This business intelligence determines how accurate estimates will turn out to be for future projects. And the performance of field crews in the execution of projects on the ground is what ties the whole process together and, ideally, pays all the bills and puts a decent profit back into the business.
Skilled Workers need Accurate data
The construction industry finally is making significant progress in the massive shift towards mobile cloud-based information technology, like busybusy that has long been predicted. The industry is also experiencing an ongoing massive shortfall of skilled workers. This shortage is forecast to continue for the foreseeable future, with serious consequences for recruitment and retention of high-quality workers, supervisors, and project managers.
In order to move ahead successfully, contractors will have to leverage and dovetail these two issues together into one solution. Fortunately, the pool of talent that will produce the next wave of construction workers is going to flow out of the generation of digital natives that have never known a world without smartphones and portable digital intelligence.
Implementing Construction Software
Major construction software vendors such as Autodesk, PlanGrid, and Procore are revolutionizing the way major construction projects are managed and executed. They are also influencing the way employees are trained and utilized on the job. Labor is still labor, but machines are supplying the lion’s share of the muscle on most jobs, and increasing jobsite automation will only increase that specialization over time.
That means skilled workers need to be technically advanced and will require ongoing training to keep them in control of the machines and equipment carrying out the majority of the workload. It also means they will expect a high level of safety and security to be provided in all areas of the jobsite. These standards will apply to all suppliers and subcontractors, so building a culture of safety will be an essential part of team development for construction companies that intend to grow.
Digital integration in Construction
In order to qualify as a subcontractor or principal partner in any midsize and larger construction project, businesses will need to have a digital interface that integrates with the major site software building management system used by the owner or general contractor.
So if your business is still running a paper-based operation across all functional areas, this means it’s time to break the digital barrier. It’s time to take the first step toward becoming the kind of business that will satisfy the expectations of clients, partners, and workers alike. It’s time to start generating and using the data and management analytics that they, and you, will all need to thrive in the emerging world of digital construction. Learn how busybusy can help your company take the first step toward digital integration in construction!
