There’s perhaps no industry where even the tiniest inefficiencies can have a major detrimental effect on the bottom line more than in construction. A project’s inherent complexity, the industry’s strict regulations, as well as continued macroeconomic uncertainty make maximizing jobsite productivity paramount to construction’s success.
Yet, many construction firms still haven’t embraced technology to maximize project efficiency. And as a massive worker shortage continues to plague the industry, it’s arguably more important than ever that construction leaders turn to digital solutions to get more done with fewer resources.
In my nearly 15 years in construction, I’ve witnessed the evolution the industry has embarked on with technology. I’ve seen firsthand as contractors moved away from paper-based workflows in favor of digital ones—and the exponential benefits that have resulted. And in my current role as a director of partnerships at construction technology company Bluebeam, I have a front-row seat for how the continued digitalization of the industry is solving some of its most complex problems, all while evening the playing field for even the smallest contractors to compete with some of their larger counterparts.
Still, I also understand why many in the industry remain wary of adopting digitalization and new technology.
The market is flooded with solutions, making it dizzying when it comes to trying to understand what will work for a business’ needs. Moreover, change is hard. When you have a tried-and-true process that has worked for your business for a long time, it can be difficult to shift course and adopt something new—especially if the new technology is something you don’t fully understand.
The good news: At the same time, it’s never been easier to embrace new construction technology. The competitive landscape ensures that the best, most efficient solutions are being made. And new distribution and business models for many of these new solutions ensures that you can test a new technology before a broader implementation at little to no initial upfront cost.
Here are three ways construction business leaders can approach adopting new digital technologies.
Don’t Overthink Your Initial Steps
Adopting technology for construction applications requires a certain amount of consideration and preparation. Still, don’t delay your steps too much that you perpetuate continued inefficiencies. The constraints on time and efficiency on your crews are most likely here to stay for the foreseeable future, as skilled tradespeople will be in high demand for some time amid an industrywide worker shortage.
The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2023 to meet the demand for labor, according to a February 2023 report from Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry trade group.
These trends point to two things: (1) continued inefficiencies may lead to worse and slower outcomes—in other words, you will remain in “status quo” mode, not being able to improve output—and (2) as your teams see these inefficiencies, they may become more likely to find an employer who is more “tech ready” than their current employer. This second topic is even more detrimental, as it could lead to further workload and backlog challenges.
In short, get started. Sign up for a demo of a piece of hardware, equipment or software that you think might help your company. There might be some sort of demo software to try for a couple weeks or a hardware or tool that allows you to borrow or rent for little to no upfront cost. This may seem counterintuitive, as there are so many other things on your plate—but, in my experience, construction managers who devote some of their time to finding more efficient ways to work through technology tend to be more able to navigate changing environments more effectively.
Be Discerning
Not every product will work for your firm, regardless of what you hear. The challenge here for all construction management experts is to find the tech stack that will work best for their situations. Some vendors provide spectacular products for interior finishing solutions, but are weak for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) applications. Others are great for enterprise customers, whereas still more are designed with small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB) in mind.
One of the benefits of this process is that you might be able to skip some steps, as you may be able to adopt solutions that others had to figure out for themselves.
An example of this is reality capture (LIDAR, or Laser Scanning). Twenty years ago, this technology was largely used by surveyors and geomatics experts and required special training. Over the years, the technology has gotten better, smaller and faster. Now, it is much easier to get started with reality capture than it was even 10 years ago. You wouldn’t have to grow with the technology as others had to.
You can get started now and benefit from the many iterations that have brought things to where they are. The same holds true for many other digital construction workflows. Take some time to find the current state of a workflow that is important to you, learn whether there might be a more modern way to approach it, confirm whether that solution applies to your work situation and, if so, move forward.
You Are Probably Farther Along Than You Think
Despite its reputation as a laggard, the construction industry is doing some great things with technology. Even if you feel like you’re “behind,” it’s likely you’re much farther along than you think. Every construction manager that I have met is vetting, adopting and/or using new technologies. Still, there is a long way to go to get more work done more efficiently.
In the end, it’s important to give yourself, your colleagues and your project stakeholders a little bit of credit for the good work that they have been doing to improve the state of digital construction.
