Construction Technology – Make Your Business CRAZY Efficient

by Jeff Hester

Last Updated on January 28, 2019

Technology continues to shape the way we work. From smart devices to cloud computing, technology changes workflows, teams, and outcomes for companies in a wide range of industries.

Regardless of whether it’s in a large corporation or a startup, digital tools can help teams complete tasks more efficiently.

By successfully implementing digital technology into work, many industries are able to reap the time-saving and productivity-boosting benefits allowed by modernizing the way they work.

However, in construction, many teams still aren’t using technology. This effectively hinders them from attaining higher levels of productivity.

With the numerous capabilities of modern digital tools, there’s no question as to whether they can help construction teams perform better. If teams can use them on-site, in planning projects and communicating with clients and subcontractors, they can accomplish more in shorter amounts of time, as well as produce better work for clients.

Let’s have a look at the different technologies that can be of great use to construction teams.

Time and location tracking apps for easier team management

Due to the nature of the work in construction, time and location tracking go hand-in-hand. The two features combine to produce unquestionable proof of work and make the managers’ jobs easier.

Tracking each hour worked by team members

Monitoring the hours worked by each crew member has been one of the biggest management problems for contractors. Finding ways to accurately track where and when crews are working is a challenge that team leaders have been dealing with for a long time.

A lot of teams are still using paper-based timesheets. While they can provide project managers with a general idea of how long the team members have worked for the day, they can be easily manipulated.

This leads to time wasted on investigating discrepancies in the recorded hours.

Accurate time tracking software eliminates this problem. With time tracking apps for mobile devices, every minute worked by the team is automatically recorded and stored. Both managers and business owners can access this information at any time.

Know where the team has worked throughout the day

Keeping an eye on each crew member in a construction team is inefficient, not to mention physically impossible. It’s important to make sure that everyone is doing their job, but the more relevant tasks should always be the priority.

GPS location monitoring makes an otherwise impractical task simple. With location monitoring features, team leaders can get insight into what the crew has accomplished for the day. The data gathered also serves as proof that the work has been done, for both contractors and clients.

The latest update to GPS tracking is geofencing, which automatically starts and stops time tracking as someone enters a job site. It’s a simpler way to keep track of team hours so that estimates and invoices are easier to generate and more accurate.

Building information modeling: seamless project planning

Project failure can be caused by many factors, but poor planning has always been one of the leading culprits. Proper planning provides the best foundation to a successful project. It should be executed very carefully, and all factors surrounding the project should be considered. Otherwise, future complications like reworks and additional costs are inevitable.

Building information modeling software is excellent for construction projects. BIM apps make sure that team members are in-sync so they can plan and work together effectively. Other benefits of BIM software include risk mitigation, reduced errors, and prefabrication.

The main feature of BIM software is 3D modeling. It is used to detect structural problems in the early stages of the project. However, BIM software comes with other useful features like cost estimation and scheduling, as well. These features can be integrated into the 3D models to make sure that plans are as detailed and accurate as possible.

Virtual reality: Improve training quality and client communications

When talking virtual reality, entertainment and media are often the first applications to come to mind. However, VR’s impressive capabilities make it a valuable asset to have in a construction team.

Better training, better output

Providing in-depth training to crew members is crucial in a time when a large part of the workforce approaches retirement. Stepping in will be the newer and less experienced generation.

Virtual reality allows the crew members to understand and navigate around the site better than floor plans and blueprints. It gives them a clearer understanding of the project and helps them operate on-site more effectively.

Communicate with clients more clearly

In addition to being excellent for training purposes, virtual reality also helps client and contractor communicate better. Ineffective communications, per Coreworx, is the primary contributor to project failure a third of the time.

With virtual reality, clients can see the projected output early on so they can inform the contractors of misunderstandings, and if any adjustments are necessary. This greatly decreases the possibility of reworks—and in the worst case scenario—project failure.

Artificial intelligence: the next frontier

Significant leaps in artificial intelligence have been made in recent years. With the wide range of capabilities AI has, it has the potential to be a fully reliable support system for construction teams.

AI can affect construction in a variety of ways. When fed with information about the project, AI can aid architects and engineers in creating construction plans. Robotics can help crew members perform physically demanding tasks easier.

Further, AI also has administrative capabilities to assist team managers. When workers input absences into the system, the AI can automatically assign the task to another crew member to keep the flow of work going.

The future of construction

New and more advanced technologies are being developed by the day. Despite being slow in adopting technology, a change in the way construction teams work is inevitable.

Construction teams can look forward to a more streamlined work process, with support from the latest digital tools. Technology moves improvements forward, and if teams can take advantage of this, they can discover more efficient ways to perform their jobs.

Author’s bio:

Dave Nevogt has created several million-dollar companies, and is the co-founder and the current CEO of Hubstaff, a time tracking software for on-site work crews with online timesheets, scheduling, billing and invoicing.

Dave Nevogt

Co-founder, Hubstaff

https://hubstaff.com

@hubstaff