Can You Run a Construction Project on Your Phone? Why Mobile Devices are the Way to Go

Posted on April 5, 2017 |

Can You Run a Construction Project on Your Phone? Why Mobile Devices are the Way to Go

Today, construction professionals are just as reliant on mobile devices as they have been on their desktop computer or paper processes. However, many companies have failed to ditch their paper documents and manual processes despite their negative effect on productivity and the bottom line. If your construction company is guilty of this, take a look at these facts about the detrimental effects of paper documents:

— Construction companies are losing $1.7 billion on average due to outdated processes.
— Construction companies can lose up to $3.5 million searching for or recreating documents.
— It takes an average of 18 minutes to search for a paper document.
— 70% of business would fail should a disaster occur that would compromise paper documents.

Paper documents are tedious to create, and even more difficult to keep track of. What is the solution? Ditch those outdated manual processes and paper documents and go digital! Believe it or not, construction projects can be run entirely from your phone or mobile device!

Table of Contents

Here are some ways that mobile devices outshine manual documents:

Site Inspections

A survey conducted by Construction Business Owner displays a trend toward mobile technology in the construction industry. The primary reason identified for using mobile technology was inspections. Traditional paper or Excel sheets used to conduct inspections have many inefficiencies. For example, the entries are limited to text only, whereas mobile apps allow for relevant photos and documents to be attached. Traditional inspection sheets are subject to misunderstanding and inconsistent or incomplete entries. Mobile apps allow for forced response, ensuring no inspection document is incomplete. Mobile apps also have the ability to set entry requirements for certain fields. This means that if an entry is intended to be a numerical entry, only appropriate numerical entries will be accepted. Mobile applications also have the ability to verify that site inspections occurred, which will improve safety and accountability.

Documentation

Mobile applications will keep track of all relevant documents while automatically tagging those documents with time, date, and location. This record keeping will not only protect the construction firm from costly litigation but will also ensure that information is available to all relevant parties at any given time.

Work Orders

Work orders were the second most important reason identified for using mobile apps in construction. Using mobile technology, workers can receive these work orders via their mobile devices, and begin working immediately. Workers are also able to refer to previous work orders, which will allow them to compare and contrast ensuring higher quality work for the current task.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Utilizing mobile applications will allow you to accomplish more within the scope of your budget and timeline. By doing so, your construction firm will incur fewer costs and fewer delays. This, in turn, will increase customer satisfaction by consistently finishing projects under budget and within the given timeline.

Increase Accountability

Mobile technology also improves accountability of workers in the field and ensures that they are spending their time doing productive work that will move the project along. By utilizing geo-tracking, mobile timecards, and equipment tracking, managers will be able to view the productivity levels of their workers.

Get Paid Faster

Paper invoices can get lost or contain errors, causing delays in payments from customers. Mobile technology allows the subcontractor to send out invoices directly from his or her device to get paid more quickly and have a permanent record of all invoices.

Improve Communication

Mobile applications bridge the gap between the field and the back office by allowing for fast, real-time information sharing and collaboration. At any given time, workers in the field or employees in the office can communicate with each other or check on the status of the project as a whole.

Increase Mobility

A mobile app allows field workers to be “at the desk” while they are on the go. These workers will no longer have to worry about finding and keeping track of multiple paper documents. Everything that these workers need can all be accessed on their mobile devices. With less of a focus on organizing paper documents, workers will be able to focus more on the job at hand.