The key factor in carrying out any construction work is good communication. Everyone working on a project needs to know exactly how they fit in, what exactly their role is and what is expected of them – this includes the project manager.
Countless projects fall off track, sometimes due to completely unforeseen circumstances. But things often go wrong as a result of poor communication, especially between those on site and those in the office. When things go really wrong, it can lead to accusations and, in the worst cases, the hands of lawyers, as a project becomes famous for all the wrong reasons.
Anyone reading this who thinks they already have first-class communication and that this doesn't apply to them is on a slippery slope. There are always new ways to connect your teams and increase collaboration across the supply chain.
But construction is an industry of strong habits. Excessive administrative work, lack of standardization and a litigious culture are considered by many to be part of the job. Needless to say, this shouldn't be the case.
After all, you didn't get into the construction industry because of the endless reports, long meetings and unnecessary phone calls. You decided to work in construction because you wanted to be an active part of interesting construction projects and make a difference.
Why a strong digital culture matters
Parts of the industry remain resistant to technology and still rely on legacy pen and paper systems. Planning and organizing projects through paper-based methods means that tracking everything can be very difficult. This can cause errors and confusion, especially if vital documents go missing for any reason. And if you haven't agreed a standardized approach with your subcontractors, this can also cause a number of problems.
This is where digitalization comes into play. Establishing a strong digital culture may require some investment, but the benefits can be extremely rewarding – increased productivity, less administrative work and less stress and frustration for the people involved. You never know, you might even hand in the scheme before the deadline!
But you need to have everyone on board. The digital transformation of an organization is a collective effort that cannot be imposed by the CEO. It must start on site and return to the office.
Additionally, you should always keep in mind that standardization is a vital component of a healthy digital culture. And the reason is simple. If you have subscribers who use different software, applications, or technologies that are not up to date, this can create its own problems, such as lost information, miscommunication, and project interruptions that could have been avoided.
80% of the construction process is always the same
Sometimes construction people think it's impossible to get their crews to follow a certain standardized way of working. They perceive pre-designed and standardized processes as useless or very difficult to implement because everyone has their own way of doing things.
Therefore, it will never happen that every team takes the time to use a tool to fill out checklists, share progress updates, or create an issue list. But this is far from the truth.
No matter what your construction project looks like, in the vast majority of cases, 80% of all construction processes remain the same. You can build a bridge or a school or a hospital, but you will always need to keep your teams connected if you want to deliver successful projects on time and on budget.
Ultimately, it's more about finding the right workflow and the right construction-specific tools that can support this paradigm shift.
Only then will you be able to bridge the gap between website and office and, more importantly, add context to all your data. In other words, to ensure that your short-term planning is inextricably linked to your master schedule and that project teams can make intelligent decisions based on this dependency in real time.
Eliminate excessive administrative work and pave the way to trust
Many project managers spend up to 40% of their day on administrative tasks. And the main reason behind this is, of course, the general culture of blame and lawsuits in construction. By spending all this time chasing updates, writing reports, or just attending meetings, project managers try to protect their problems from costly mistakes or misunderstandings that could delay their project.
It goes without saying that such an approach should not be the norm for the industry. However, this is due to a lack of clear communication and continuous collaboration between different teams.
As a result, project managers have to rely on micromanagement and double-checking with their teams, going on-site to really see what's going on. Or, at best, they need to request an inordinate amount of updates from their teams via WhatsApp, calls or email.
And this approach still doesn't work in many cases because the shared data is static. In other words, it lacks the necessary context that would allow project managers to track the impact of each update on both forecasts and the master plan.
Again, it becomes evident why tools like Excel and WhatsApp are not suitable for construction. They were not created for this industry and are therefore unable to support the complex processes and interdependencies that accompany each project. This is where all project managers need to focus their efforts to reduce administrative workload and restore trust in contractual relationships.
Do you have the right tools to connect your work to the office?
It’s now clear why choosing a digital tool designed for the construction industry is so essential. But before that, it's crucial that project managers understand that the tools they use simply aren't good enough.
In many cases, construction professionals think that emails, WhatsApp notifications and Excel spreadsheets are the best allies in the effort to maintain project communication. But the truth is that these same tools are your biggest enemies in the success of your projects.
At this point, it is important to say that all the tools mentioned above are perfect for small day-to-day interactions or tasks in our personal lives. But this is a totally different context and cannot be compared to the complexity of a construction project.
That said, as a project manager, you need a digital tool designed for people on the ground, that enables real-time communication and paves the way for seamless collaboration. By investing in a single source of truth updated in real time, you can ensure that all project teams are on the same page and that different teams can make informed decisions without always waiting for you to take action.
