Making Technology Work for Project Managers and Last Planners

The rapidly changing customer needs, economic uncertainties and growing demand for better housing and infrastructure are at the epicenter of the technology revolution we are seeing in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.

The progress made since the turn of the century in building technology solutions to improve design and execution is pretty remarkable.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is at the center of ongoing revolution in the AEC tech industry. BIM has been proven particularly effective in the design and coordination stages. And then there are mobile devices, cloud computing, drones, laser scanners, VR headset and 3D printers that are driving the next phase of the tech revolution in the construction industry.

While the innovation teams in your organization should definitely be looking forward and experimenting with the latest and greatest technologies available, you should put significant effort on making the technology work for the people on the job site, the project managers, project engineers, superintendents and the last planners.

Without the right collaboration and documentation, that fancy 3D Concrete Printer will still print the wrong-size footing.

Technology has not trickled down to the construction workforce yet to a point where the labor productivity is improved. There is plenty of low hanging fruit.

• No job site should have paper forms to record activities and track progress. Mobile apps should be deployed.
• Real-time punch lists should be utilized at all times.
• People on the job site should be able to easily access the latest and greatest information anytime, anywhere.
• Reporting should not take hours but seconds.
• Data re-entry should be eliminated completely.
• Coordination and collaboration should be facilitated by improving processes and implementing proven technologies.
• Data should inform day-to-day decisions of project manager and superintendents.

You may face several challenges during the transition including resistance to change and technical challenges. Here are few tips to help you overcome the those challenges.

How to overcome the challenges of using technology for improved team communication and construction productivity?

• Acknowledge that there will resistance to change and take an active role providing leadership during implementation. Ultimately, you may need to mandate change, which is not ideal. You want as much buy-in as possible.
• Appoint internal champions for this cause.
• Provide periodic educational and training sessions.
• Start small and scale as people get more comfortable with new technologies.

Builderbox.io is a Construction Project Management and Production Controls platform that makes it really easy to transition from paper and email based workflows to mobile and cloud based technologies.

Familiar people-centric online behaviors make Buidlerbox.io truly unique and puts the focus back on the people. After all, buildings are built by people, not sheets of drawings.

Project Managers and Last Planners are improving team communication using the cloud based technologies and mobile apps

As the conductor in an orchestra, the construction Project Manager has to keep a large, diverse group in sync and work together towards a common goal. Builderbox is helping customers effectively manage entire teams with our task module which keeps everybody accountable with real time reports and robust notifications and reminders.

Project Engineers are automating workflows and leveraging technologies to free themselves from repetition.

The construction Project Engineer is often burdened with highly repetitive tasks that use up the bulk of their time. Rather than constantly putting out fires, customers use Builderbox to automate the most common tasks and be proactive to work on what was planned, instead of solving yet another crisis.

Architects and Engineers are staying engaged and seeing their design intent realized.

With Builderbox, the Design Teams are staying engaged, and keeping a stake in the quality of project delivery throughout the construction project with a better way to track communication.

Safety inspectors have a way to report in real time across a project portfolio and identify hazard trends to prevent tragedy before it happens.

Construction is an inherently dangerous activity but it need not be. With Builderbox, Safety Inspectors manage risk across projects with our Auditor checklists. Checklists work right on your mobile phone and walk you through the inspection process.

Owners are taking charge of the data format across projects, and realizing gains in productivity by standardizing how contractors interact with them.

Building owners want to feel confidence in your construction team and that starts with communication. Using Builderbox, construction clients are staying informed of project progress with our Activity Stream and Dashboards.

Check out Builderbox at www.builderbox.io and see for yourself how to leverage technology and join the productivity revolution.

For more insights follow our blog at https://blog.builderbox.io/

And follow us on Twitter: @builderboxio @David_Bldrbx @Porwal

This article was first published in Construction Executive Newsletter