The construction industry suffers from a chronic disconnect between what happens in real time at the jobsite and the decision-making activities occurring back at the office. This information asymmetry where one party has better access to critical data than another impacts productivity, cost control, schedule compliance and profitability.

Construction companies are revolutionizing the ways they gather, analyze and report on field data to improve their project performance, profitability and competitiveness.

TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS ALSO CREATED OBSTACLES

Over the past several decades, technology to support office- and shop- based activities has proliferated—from estimating, scheduling and accounting to BIM and fabrication. Meanwhile, field operations have benefited from site-oriented technologies such as automated timekeeping, cameras, drones and IoT for site monitoring and progress tracking, ruggedized tablets and increasingly sophisticated robotics.

However, these office and field advances typically operated as discrete “silos of excellence” for their small groups of users. As a result, site data would still require manual transfer to office systems and decision-making was based on outdated information. Contractors had more data than ever before, but less actionable intelligence.

THE DRAIN ON PROFITS

A financial impact of that gap is revealed in the Top Business Issues for Specialty Contractors study focusing on the root causes of profit margin erosion for

five types of specialty trade contractor (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, steel and concrete).

• While the average gross profit margin reported is 21%, respondents say they are losing about 6% to a variety of inefficiencies.
• They cite poor project reporting between field and office as one of the main reasons for this profit erosion.
• The lack of standard methods, appropriate technology and mobile tools to streamline communication are named as top causes of this poor communication.

TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING TO ENABLE CONNECTIVITY

Encouragingly, there is a growing recognition across the industry that connectivity, not just capability, is the key to optimizing technology’s potential. The convergence of mobile networks, cloud computing and multifunctional software platforms now enables integrated digital workflows that make it easier to share information reliably with the field and among project partners. Technology tools that work well together can leverage field data for better decision-making and can also ensure that all the work done in preconstruction is implemented effectively in the field.

CONTRACTORS ARE PRIORITIZING FIELD DATA

The Improving Efficiency with Field Data & Construction Project Performance Metrics study illustrates this growing focus on connected field data. It examines how general and trade contractors gather, store, manage, secure, analyze and report on five aspects of field activity—project progress, work hours, productivity, safety and equipment management:

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents have actively improved their field data gathering and analysis capabilities over the previous three years.
• They report numerous benefits from these efforts, including better budget and schedule compliance, improved safety performance and greater productivity and profitability.

The findings about their plans for handling field data further reinforce this dramatic shift:

• Where paper forms and spreadsheets were once dominant, only 17% predict a continued reliance on them in the future.
• Over 80% say custom and commercial software will be their main tools going forward.
• Mobile capabilities of cloud-based solutions will be a top driver for migrating away from legacy, premise- based software.

INTEGRATED DIGITAL WORKFLOWS HELP TO IDENTIFY ROOT CAUSES OF FIELD-RELATED PROBLEMS

Newer field technology solutions are designed from the ground up to enable integrated multiparty workflows, where digital tools share data seamlessly and key tasks are automated to facilitate collaboration and efficiency.

The Connected Construction SmartMarket Brief examines the root causes of construction operations problems related to five specific field-focused activities: field ticket management, crew time entry, work order management, safety process management and work progress tracking. It reveals that:

• About 90% of general and trade contractors who actively deploy integrated digital workflows to conduct these processes report they can trace the root causes of the construction operations problems they experience.
• By contrast, less than half of those who do not leverage integrated digital workflows for these processes are able to identify these root causes.

The inherent visibility and record keeping of digital workflow processes are essential to help construction companies analyze and reduce field-related performance issues and optimize the value of field data.

Achieving a seamless information flow between jobsites and project offices will enable real-time decision-making based on current, complete and consistent data. Companies that learn to treat their field data as a strategic asset will gain sustainable competitive advantages through improved project performance, enhanced profitability and the ability to tackle increasingly complex projects with confidence across distributed teams and locations.