Almost Half of Construction Managers Use Manual Methods to Collect Data

Failure to implement digitized systems results in many hours organizing data, incomplete data, and missed change order opportunities.

A survey conducted by workflow software company TrackVia shows 47 percent of construction managers still use manual methods to collect important project information despite the potential benefits of using digital data collection, according to ConstructionDive.

The survey also revealed many companies use multiple data systems to process and store job-site information. Almost 90 percent of the 500 executives surveyed said they spend 1,300 hours annually trying to organize information from various systems into data they can use; this reportedly is 400 percent more time than it takes managers who use a single system. Additionally, 59 percent of managers said they receive incomplete information about work quality when using manual systems, and 65 percent said they miss change-order opportunities.

Seventy percent of survey respondents said they need reliable data to identify "potential issues before they become big problems," and 52 percent said they believe many challenges presented by manual data collection could be eliminated by using digital data collection.

According to a 2017 McKinsey & Company report, many construction companies lose interest in a digitized system because they do not get the payoff they expected or they encounter enough problems during attempts at company-wide adoption that management's enthusiasm for the technology fades. Some cited reasons for these issues include company leaders' lack of commitment to see the adoption process through; insufficient explanation of the technology's benefits; insufficient training; and lack of integration with legacy systems.

The McKinsey report said construction companies could take steps to try to successfully incorporate digitized systems into their companies, including creating a focused and organized digital strategy that includes establishing goals and determining gaps in the current system; making projects a testing ground for new technology; and restructuring business processes around digitization.

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Editor’s note: This article was first published on NRCA’s blog and can be viewed here.