Technology

Integrated Mobile Technology Streamlines Communication and Keeps Projects Profitable and On Schedule

Integrated communication management reduces delays, rework and changes—and makes them easier to handle.
By Peg Landry
May 25, 2022
Topics
Technology

Delayed communication can have an enormous impact on the schedule and budget of any project. While reliable, effective mobile technology solutions can connect field teams with project managers or keep architects, designers and engineers in the same loop, most communication platforms for AECO companies are limited. There is still a heavy reliance on email, which can actually hamper communication if it's not managed correctly. Connecting all project team disciplines across a given project with real-time updates can prevent the slowdowns, risk and added costs that can result from delayed or incomplete communication.

With a truly integrated and interoperable office and field communication solution, project teams have a powerful tool to improve productivity and reduce risk. Solutions that work across multiple platforms and connect all the members of a project team throughout the life of a project eliminate the familiar communication silos that prevent teams from achieving full success.

Optimizing productivity with integration

In the 2021 JBKNOWLEDGE ConTech Report, an annual survey of industry trends, almost half of respondents (45%) said they consider mobile app integration to be very important. The productivity costs of siloed technology solutions are clear. More than half (51.3%) of JBKNOWLEDGE survey participants said they transfer data manually from one application to another. Nearly as many (40.6%) reported using spreadsheets, while 15.3% said they just don’t transfer data at all. Spreadsheets and manual transfers slow workflows, introduce delays in communication and increase the risk of human errors. When data isn’t transferred and remains siloed, the benefits of connection and real-time communication among all project team members are lost.

Communication and coordination are critical for optimized productivity in the field. While most field mobile apps are sufficient to keep project managers and superintendents connected, full integration provides a powerful boost so the entire project team, from design to subcontractors and office staff, has real-time access to updates and all project documentation.

For example, if an issue is uncovered in the field that requires a significant change, field personnel usually generate a daily report or field report that includes images and detailed documentation of the issue. However, this report is often emailed to the project manager, who in turn emails it to the responsible party. If a change order is required, the office staff then must track down the associated documentation. With integrated mobile applications, this information is immediately available to all relevant parties, including the design and administrative teams, giving them a heads-up on the issue, so they can prepare. Integrated mobile applications can also provide real-time changes to drawings out to field, eliminating the need for new drawings to be hand-delivered onsite. This not only prevents delays in construction, it also can prevent rework. With fully integrated project technology, teams have real-time automated access with custom notifications to the updated drawings and plans. Administrative teams back in the office have the information they need to keep the project moving forward.

In addition to current drawing sets, integrated mobile apps allow field teams to mark up drawings or take photos that can then be shared with the entire project team through a central platform. Here are some of the other crucial advantages of integrated and automated project communication:

  • Real-time automated updates versus email: Email communication is most often the culprit of siloed communication. While email has transformed business and personal communication, it is no longer the best answer for most modern communication workflows. Communication directly through a mobile application notification integrated with a construction administration platform can reduce risk by automating communication and making information available to the full team immediately, rather than depending on email.
  • The near-zero punch list: The traditional approach to generating and managing punch-list items can be transformed with integrated mobile apps. Punch lists are usually generated when the project is nearing completion, when budgets and schedules are typically tight. Mobile apps for punch lists—integrated with daily reports, for example—enable teams to address issues as they arise. With integrated project technology solutions, however, punch-list items can be added throughout the project timeline. By updating the punch list as soon as it's created and uploading the new information to a central platform accessible to the full project team, management of the punch list starts at the beginning of a project. It’s no longer a last-minute source of stress.
  • Closing out close-out risk: Errors and non-compliance issues found during the walk-through often result in rework. This delays close-out, which can delay payment. But with effective integrated real-time field communication solutions, errors don’t just appear at the very end of a project. Accessibility and transparency ensure increased accuracy, reducing rework, frustration and delays.

While delays, rework and last-minute changes are inevitable in the construction industry, integrated management of communication reduces their likelihood—and makes them easier to address when they do occur.

by Peg Landry
Peg Landry is content marketing strategist at Newforma, the leading provider of project information management (PIM) software for architects, engineers, contractors, and owners worldwide.

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