Before embarking on any construction project, companies must take into account a multitude factors, including the various hidden costs of construction that could have a considerable impact on the final outcome, says Re-flow
Given the current trend of escalating costs and diminishing margins across the industry, failure to account for these hidden costs of construction projects can culminate in substantial financial losses.
With material prices rising across the board impacting 62% of all work and only 20% of businesses reporting an increase in their workforce, while workloads continue to rise, the sector continues to remain in a precarious position.
In the absence of frameworks that can effectively adapt to these emerging circumstances, such uncertainties are bound to generate more financial losses – many through unexpected hidden costs.
Bringing all major operational processes under one ‘digital umbrella’
Leading the pack amongst sustainably growing construction businesses is field management software, such as Re-flow.
Supplanting manual paper systems and siloed, legacy software frameworks, field management software brings all major operational processes under one digital umbrella that enables businesses to streamline their operations, become more reactive to unexpected circumstances and increase long-term profitability.
Unexpected labour expenses can be a major hidden cost in construction. This can include the cost of overtime, health andsafety training, and other mandatory expenses that are not always accounted for in the budget. If a project experiences delays, companies may be forced to pay overtime to meet deadlines or pay additional training and safety fees to bring additional workers onto a project.
Eliminating tedious manual processes
Re-flow functions as a platform of tools that allows businesses to completely eliminate tedious manual processes such as transcribing data, chasing phone calls and emails and redoing incorrectly completed forms. Among these is the system’s automation functionality, which allows users to create custom workflows such as pushing notifications when defects are registered or updating job progress in response to submitted form data.
Larger enterprises are also benefiting from eliminating company-wide data and communication siloes by integrating Re-flow as part of a wider ERP. With a REST API and several out-the-box integrations for accountancy and CRM systems, the software can seamlessly work with any third-party software with the appropriate connectors.
This enables operatives and back-office staff alike to become more flexible and do more with their time. The system’s scheduling and live user tracking capabilities also provide a detailed overview of operative statuses, qualifications and locations. If more manpower is required, dashboard users can be more reactive and quickly reassign the best-suited available operatives to efficiently rectify unforeseen roadblocks.
In an industry landscape marred with a myriad of unexpected obstacles that can cause delays, having the breathing room to adapt can be the difference between completing a project on time and missing a deadline.
Safety is one of the major hidden costs of construction
Implementing safety measures is another crucial construction process, but these measures come with a cost. The cost of safety equipment, training and regulations must be accounted for in the budget. Once time and money have been committed to health and safety measures, it is imperative that all operatives are current and compliant. Failure to do so can not only incur additional costs from retraining staff or redoing poorly completed forms but also leave them liable to paying the HSE’s FFI costs and major fines should serious breaches be identified.
Re-flow comes equipped with a suite of powerful features that enable businesses to master their HSE management. Starting with the system’s comprehensive form functionality, enforced completion processes, drop-down fields, the ability to attach photographs as well as automatic date, time and location tagging ensure that forms are thorough, detailed and leave no room for confusion. Once submitted, forms are fed back instantly from the site to the office and stored within the system’s central cloud database.
Submitted form data can then be used to make better-informed decisions. For example, fatigue tracking ensures operatives aren’t assigned to work past their limit, while custom forms can track specific KPIs used to generate reports bespoke to any business goals. Not only does this ensure that the back office is current with activities onsite but also enables robust and detailed audit trails to be built quickly and easily. All these features come together to provide businesses confidence that no corners are being cut, and that they’re not leaving themselves vulnerable to unexpected fines and fees.
In summary, construction businesses face many hidden costs, including those in environmental sustainability, labour expenses and HSE management. Re-flow field management software helps businesses avoid these costs while streamlining operations, improving safety and becoming more sustainable.
Daniel Moyse
Sales Manager
Re-flow Field Management
Tel: +44 01392 547002
*Please note: This is a commercial profile
