Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog
Save money on your construction projects with these six cost-saving methods that use technology.
If there’s one thing all contractors are interested in, it’s cutting costs. Construction projects all too easily run over budget and behind schedule, and in an industry with thin profit margins, that can be a big problem. Luckily, the construction industry is beginning to innovate by introducing new technologies which help increase productivity, reduce costs and provide sound ROI.
Find out how your construction contracting business can benefit from today’s popular and up-and-coming technology tools with these cost saving ideas for construction companies.
1. Improve Project Planning and Execution with BIM
Building information modeling (BIM) is growing increasingly popular in construction, and for good reason. This 3D modeling tool establishes one master design for everyone to work from, all the way from the planning stages of a project through execution. BIM can even help building owners with maintenance down the road.
Because everyone involved in a construction project can reference BIM models as needed, there’s less confusion, fewer mistakes and consequently fewer delays. This makes BIM an effective cost-cutting measure, since it streamlines projects.
2. Keep Better Track of Materials and Equipment
Having a master inventory and tracking the usage of all the materials, tools and equipment on your jobsites sounds like a basic thing to do. But keeping it updated and accurate isn’t always easy. Software applications can simplify these processes by tracking everything in one place and enabling real-time updates to your inventory and fleets so everyone sees accurate data from wherever they’re working.
An accurate inventory will help prevent material and equipment loss, so you won’t waste money replacing missing or misused items.
3. Prevent Safety Issues with Drones and Automation
t’s face it: An incident on your jobsite is bad news for employees and the company’s bottom line. But today’s new technologies make it easier to monitor safety and avoid common injuries.
Drones, for example, can be used to monitor jobsites and record video that gets sent back to management. This helps identify safety hazards quickly. You can also use drones to perform inspections in areas that might not be safe for employees and avoid putting them in dangerous situations.
We’ve also seen recent examples of automation in construction that prevent repetitive use injuries. This bricklaying robot, for example, lays bricks fast and can take strain off workers.
Innovations like these can both prevent injuries and remove employees from hazardous situations. Plus, they can boost cost savings by increasing efficiency.
4. Improve Field Communications with Mobile Solutions
Communicating by phone, email, paper documents and other traditional methods may be comfortable for people, but it also takes time. If an employee can’t access information in the field quickly, that’s time wasted, and that time costs money.
Mobile technology like smartphones, tablets and software apps are making it easier for employees in the field to access the information they need quickly, and that’s helping them get tasks done faster and stick to timelines.
5. Rethink Project Management
Collaboration software that’s hosted in the cloud makes it easier for managers to keep projects on schedule. Using this software, you can house all project information in a single location that provides needed visibility throughout the lifecycle of a job.
In particular, a solution like this reduces profit fade by helping you stay ahead of scope changes. When a change occurs, it’s updated in the software and relevant parties are quickly notified so they can make appropriate adjustments.
6. Improve Productivity and Meet Deadlines with Integrated Software
One of the biggest benefits of the types of software we’ve mentioned so far is that many of them can work together. If you select an integrated construction software solution, you can connect construction accounting and ERP solutions, project management and service management software, business intelligence and reporting tools, human resources solutions, mobile tools and cloud-based data sharing portals, equipment and material tracking tools and much more — all using the same sets of data between.
That saves countless hours having to rekey data or rely on third-party software integration programs to connect and convert data. In addition to reducing headaches for your team, that time saved is money saved.
