DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Construction reframing to a tech company mindset

“If there was ever a time to double down on operations management software, it’s now."

Peter Ciceran | Updated on 22 July 2022

Construction reframing to a tech company mindset

As the construction industry faces increasing market headwinds, developers and contractors who embraced digital solutions during the pandemic are now realising the benefits. They are adopting a tech company mindset by digitising their systems.

With building approvals at their highest in 2021 compared with the three years prior, the pipeline is in better shape than it was pre-pandemic, which will help companies to deflect some market challenges.

But as uncertainty rises, fighting the reflex to bunker down will be critical to protecting operational gains that have been made post-pandemic.

If there is anything to be learned from the past two years, it’s how swiftly markets can rebound and how quickly digital transformation across the industry can happen when it’s needed. Culture change is often the hardest part of digital transformation but due to pandemic-induced regulations, much of the heavy lifting was done over 2020-21.

Dubbed the ‘great accelerator’, Covid forced unprecedented digital adoption across the construction industry; mobile QR scanning and daily declarations became commonplace and complete digitisation of paper-based workflows and document collaboration was implemented to accommodate remote workers.

This broadscale implementation of digital processes has come with substantial unintended benefits. The construction industry has leapfrogged years of time-sapping objections and digital adoption is now a decade ahead of where it would have been. This is impressive progress for an industry that is often said to be lagging in digital adoption.

You're also a tech company

What some construction companies may not realise is that the past two years of industry digitalisation has put them in a far stronger position. There has been a seismic shift in attitudes towards adoption of construction software.

Digitisation has become accepted by the workforce majority, with the benefits of introducing digital processes being experienced every day, rather than simply read about in a software brochure. Workers are more open to digital change.

Simpel chief executive Kurt Robinson has 20 years in property and has seen the industry swing between ‘feast and famine’. He says the current market conditions could prove decisive for the industry.

"If there was ever a time to double down on operations management software, it's now. Construction software has begun to differentiate successful businesses from those who stagnate and businesses who go digital have more levers to pull and more data to guide decisions.

Developers and contractors need to see themselves as tech companies adopting data-backed decision making and continuing a path of innovation.”

Kurt Robinson, CEO | Simpel

Unlock operational benefits

With a solid pipeline of construction projects that will see companies through this year and into 2023, faster project completion is essential. Navigating current challenges will be achieved through well-executed project management coupled with a powerful operations system that eliminates any urge to micromanage and has zero requirement for large sweeping change.

While we can’t forget the old saying, ‘What gets measured, gets managed’, getting involved in back-office processes and being drawn into the day-to-day minutiae is counterproductive to achieving project outcomes of speed, efficiency and quality.

Instead, applying systems leverage to help digitally manage projects end-to-end delivers comprehensive oversight and control that negates the need to look over everyone’s shoulder.

Maintaining full oversight over your projects with real-time data updates will help you avoid or resolve delays faster, and digital collaboration ensures smooth and efficient communication between all members of the team.

And it’s even easier if you don’t keep it to yourself. Construction software facilitates sharing of daily project insights that your whole team will rely upon to make critical decisions as you shift to a tech company mindset. This helps keep everyone out of the weeds and focused on driving outcomes.

“Management no longer wants to be the absolute gatekeepers of project information. It is inefficient and slows the project down, especially when margins are low and productivity is critical. Bringing your team into the project from the beginning allows them to make more informed decisions that align with the business interests,” Robinson says.