The Mental Toll of Project Documentation on Trade Contractors

There is a mental health crisis in construction and at least some can be blamed on project documentation. 

Construction job sites “are considered to be high stress environments,” write Carlos Gómez-Salgado and fellow researchers in a study review published in Frontiers in Public Health. Field teams are increasingly becoming overwhelmed by just about every aspect of their jobs, including budgetary constraints, physical risks, unrealistic deadlines, unforeseen delays, long hours, and project documentation. 

As a result, mental health problems are increasing.

According to a study by The Center for Construction Research and Training, 43 percent of survey respondents reported experiencing an increase in the frequency or level of anxiety and depression between 2019 and 2020. 

While the nature of the business lends itself to creating those high-stress environments, there are things trade contracting companies can do to mitigate the anxiety construction workers suffer. One of those things is improving your project documentation processes. 

Why Do Construction Workers Find Project Documentation So Stressful?

Documentation is critical to construction projects. Essentially, “if it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done,” as the team at Perlo Construction explains. While the concept is simple enough, many construction workers have to fight against poor document management processes which is leading to high levels of anxiety.

Some of the most common, and stressful, project documentation challenges trade contractors face include: 

• Document accessibility. This is particularly challenging within companies that still rely on physical paperwork that must be completed manually. Field teams often struggle to find the documents they need when they have to sift through huge binders or folders of papers, and that’s assuming they have the right binders and folders on hand at the site. Companies that use digital tools for document control aren’t always exempt from this problem, though, because many use multiple different platforms which leads to information being stored in different places. This makes it more difficult for all project stakeholders to find the documents they need.
• Document version control. Construction companies, especially those that still use paper, have trouble with version control when so many different teams are working from different versions of the same document. The front office may make a change that isn’t immediately communicated to field teams who could simultaneously be making on-site modifications of their own. This crossover of alterations can lead to wasted labor time and even project delays.
• Change request delays. Any modifications requested by the client must go through appropriate approval processes. Each stakeholder must review the change order, update documents, and share the latest document versions with everyone. In the meantime, field teams are sitting idle and falling behind on their timelines. 
• Managing photo documentation. Photographs are a critical part of project documentation, but manually developing photos to attach to paper documents is a time drain for everyone involved, and can lead to project delays. Also, the volume of photographs taken on a project can get difficult to manage and properly file away.  

All of these challenges in project documentation are contributing to the mental health struggles facing today’s construction workers. Not only do field teams have to physically labor all day long, but they also have to stop and take the time to document everything they do. When those processes are disjointed and complicated, they become a source of frustration and anxiety. 

Digital Software Takes the Stress Out of Project Documentation

Nobody working on a construction project should have to stress over project documentation. There are ways to streamline those workflows and manage documentation that can alleviate the pressure of this task and reduce the mental health strain it causes. 

One of those ways is to utilize a centralized, digital construction project documentation tool. 

The key purpose of such software is to get all project documentation and information in one easy-to-access place so that all project stakeholders are up to date at any given moment. This helps ensure projects stay on time and on budget, relieving workers’ stress. 

Construction project documentation software also helps alleviate stress by automating some manual tasks associated with project documentation that are time-consuming for trade contractors. Not only does this save workers time, but it also helps reduce the risk of human error inherent with manual documentation. 

A U.K. market research company, YouGov, notes that construction workers spend about 90 hours per year on paperwork, specifically 40 hours on reading papers, 38 hours filling out forms, and 14 hours searching for documents. That’s a substantial waste of time. 

“There was paper everywhere,” says Van Huynh, project manager for DTA Electric. At least there was before the company subscribed to eSUB. With eSUB Cloud, Huynh was able to streamline operations significantly, moving from a reactive to proactive approach. Functions including project management, bidding, field communication, and day-to-day operations were managed under one system instead of the company relying on paperwork and spreadsheets. Huynh calls eSUB his online assistant, which helps him keep track of everything. “Without eSUB, I’d need two assistants, and they’re very hard to train to understand the business and the process,” he says.  

A digital platform gives that time back to workers so they can be more productive during the working hours and break away at the end of the day, thus protecting their mental health. 

To see how eSUB Cloud can streamline project documentation, schedule a demo today.

Images used under license from Shutterstock.com.