Industry lead at Dropbox Shirin Arnold, examines how technology and data innovation can be better utilised by the construction industry
Construction is an industry embedded with creativity and innovation – whether it be in terms of data and technology such as new structural designs, or ground breaking techniques for more sustainable materials.
Our approach to creating and implementing these new innovations is essential as the number of construction projects continues to rise following the post-pandemic slump. According to the ONS, the UK construction sector is rebounding, after a 2.4% increase in construction output (in volume terms) in February 2023.
Crafting the right strategy is critical to meet this demand. There is growing utilisation of techniques such as modular construction, sustainable building and computer-aided design – but the workplace technology we use alongside these techniques is just as important when thinking about how we can continue to revolutionise within the construction sector.
The coronavirus pandemic caused many businesses to adopt more digital solutions in their construction processes. Collaboration tools and cloud-based platforms allowed teams of designers, engineers and stakeholders to continue work on projects, despite COVID restrictions in place.
Fast forward to today, with the industry making huge strides in its approach to technology, problems with fragmented communication, data security and digital investment continue to linger.
Here are my tips for how construction leaders can adopt digital solutions that can help them meet demands for greater efficiency, sustainability and employee wellbeing.
Starting with a strong foundation
Unlike larger firms, smaller construction companies often have a harder time raising the capital and resources to invest in – and experiment with – technology. This also results in a lowered ability to invest in building greater digital knowledge for their teams that can help them  anticipate potential opportunities with a digitised business strategy. As a result, it is significantly more difficult for smaller construction companies to keep pace with larger players in the market.
Tackling this issue means that these smaller firms must start by adopting more accessible technologies that can provide high returns for little capital investment. That means starting with smaller changes like introducing cloud-based collaboration tools. These can allow companies to create a foundation of digitised folders and paperwork that can allow them to start better managing their processes. At the moment, UK construction workers spend an average of 91 hours a year, per employee, on paperwork – including 15 hours searching for mislaid documents – so this alone is a game changer.
With this bedrock in place, businesses can begin to automate more of their administrative processes later down the line, with a view to free up more time to invest in tools and training that can help them overcome challenges faster. These incremental changes can also help leaders to combat traditional mindsets embedded in the industry that instinctively look to push back against innovative technology.
If construction companies neglect to make these changes to transition from disparate, slow legacy systems, they will find increasing roadblocks in their success – especially to overcome challenges that need new solutions, like labour shortages, supply chain disruption and economic difficulty.
Harnessing data and technology in your business approach
Embedding better digital processes also calls for better management of your data and information. Especially as embracing digital technology enables you to collect more data across the business. However, having more data means nothing if you don’t know how to handle and use it for more actionable insights.
With growing volumes of data generated from construction projects, businesses need to match this with a strategy that aims to keep them accessible and secure so they can be put into action. Some companies are still relying on storing their files in siloed systems located on their on-site premise servers. This system encourages data fragmentation, greater time spent processing data and an increased possibility of errors and version conflict. Businesses feel the negative effects of this through visible mismanagement and time lost on admin.
But work processes aren’t the only thing that suffer as a result of storing data in on-premises servers. Often, businesses with these methods don’t have sufficient recovery processes, which means that they encounter significant vulnerability to backup challenges. On top of this, due to the age of many of their servers, it can cause security issues. These security risks, often flagged in security audits, cause even more wasted time that can eat into the timeline of construction projects, and waste resources.
Securing your technology and managing your data well is a non-negotiable when digitising your business processes. With this, it enables greater freedom to access and manage your files from anywhere, so that you can make better, data-driven decisions.
Eliminating fragmentation with flexible technology
In digital transformation, one issue remains common: the lack of connection and communication between tech tools. Without this seamless integration of technology, businesses can remain slowed down by clunky switching from system to system.
A disjointed stack of different technology quickly results in construction teams that are overwhelmed with unnecessary amounts of software programs that cause them to spend more time managing admin, than projects. It also means that there are barriers in the way of extracting powerful insights more quickly. An important way of solving this fragmentation is enabling a centralised environment where teams can access data in one centralised place.
It also allows companies to take advantage of the resources they have when they are facing higher demands. PlanGrid, and FMI Corp, found that construction workers lose almost two full days of work each week as a result of avoidable issues like searching for project information, so gaining this time back is hugely beneficial.
Lack of integration, also often means a lack of visibility. This leads to inefficiencies, delays, and potential errors if businesses are unable to connect and integrate digital solutions into their existing technology. Improving these connected processes can up the pace of project delivery and improve the quality of service.
On top of that, integration means that more people can access project information from anywhere – meaning that they can jump in to adjust documents in real-time as changes occur with the critical field teams. Having all parties aligned with these updates as they happen can help avoidable mistakes in communication.
One of the most important investments for construction companies right now – no matter their size – is to look at how to step up their approach to data and technology. This will allow businesses to spend more time and creativity making more innovations for our built environment that accelerate us towards a greener, smarter, more connected future.
