Technology Impact Report for 2020: Electrical Contractors

eSUB Construction Software regularly surveys trade contractors to drive product development and uncover key trends. Results included 500 respondents from large and small enterprises across over 20 skilled trades. The information below are the results on the impact of technology for Electrical Contractors. 

Industry Outlook for Electrical Contractors

Because of the critical role that electrical systems serve in our buildings and infrastructure, Electrical Contractors remain very busy. While many in the industry are cautious regarding an eventual downturn in the market, many Electrical contractors are relatively optimistic with a nice backlog of projects. The majority of Electrical Contractors are managing more than 21+ commercial construction projects at a given time. Implementing technology for Electrical Contractors is important to manage the multiple projects at a given time.

Project Management Features Most Used by Electrical Contractors

Managing long-term commercial construction projects is complex. Many changes can occur throughout the project, and Electrical Contractors must be proactive in maximizing productivity and profitability. To do so effectively, Electrical Contractors rely on software to manage their core project management processes. The most used project management features for Electrical Contractors include:

Measuring and tracking job site activity is critical to project profitability. Therefore, a key piece of technology for Electrical Contractors is to streamline the connection between the field and the office.  Documentation in the field through daily reports, field notes, and timecards are critical for connecting the office and the field. Electrical contractor software like eSUB automates these mundane tasks, so Field Supervisors can complete paperwork quickly and efficiently to share in real-time with the office.

In the process of building, conflicts need resolutions to changes in scope that occur. Electrical Contractors are experiencing an increasing number of RFIs and Change Orders on projects. Many times, designs and specifications are not fully completed or completed in a rush for timely contractor bidding. This becomes onerous as this changes the scope dramatically between what is bid (based on erroneous and incomplete designs) and what needs to be built.

Change orders are one of the leading causes of payment disputes, which is why proper documentation and approval of change orders are critical to mitigating risk and protecting profits. eSUB allows Electrical Contractors to manage change order documentation, procedures, and workflow to ensure you get paid for change orders. Most importantly, eSUB enables Electrical Contractors to manage change order documents and job costing internally while maintaining strong collaborative relationships with their General Contractors.

Strategic Goals of Electrical Contractors

At the beginning of the year, many companies develop strategic initiatives for their company and team members. These initiatives are tied to making operational improvements to improve productivity and grow revenue. Adopting technology is a driving factor in enabling a company to achieve its strategic initiatives. Over 80% of electrical contractors that have adopted eSUB have been able to accomplish the following objectives:

eSUB empowers an organization to accomplish its strategic goals. More importantly, the individuals within the organization gain significant time savings in their adoption of eSUB.

Field Supervisors report saving at least one hour per day. Daily reports and timecards are completed quicker and with much more accurate information. Features like talk-to-text also provide significant time savings and capture more detailed information on job site activity. With less time spent on paperwork, Field Supervisors have more time available to mentor their crew and drive their productivity. They can even make it home earlier to coach their son’s baseball team.

Project Managers are the core users of eSUB in the office. 80% of Project Managers report saving 1-4 hours per day, depending on the number of modules they are using in eSUB. Using eSUB centralizes all project information and serves as the single place they need to go to manage their projects. It automates their tasks and shows them what to focus on.

Because of the time savings that users are experiencing, in addition to enabling them to achieve their strategic objectives, 92% of Electrical Contractors believe that eSUB delivers value to their organization.

Technology Ecosystem of Electrical Contractors

Electrical Contractors utilize a variety of systems to accomplish their work. Managing drawings and plans effectively is critical for Electrical Contractors. Ensuring that you have the most updated drawings from the General Contractor and sharing that with the field team, in a timely manner, minimizes rework and keeps profits in your pocket.

Project managers can attach drawings and files from other systems to an eSUB document. Backup documentation of drawing markups is critical to getting RFIs and Change Orders approved in a timely manner.

Accounting solutions used by Electrical Contractors are incredibly varied. There are general accounting solutions and accounting solutions developed specifically for construction like Viewpoint’s Spectrum and Vista, Foundation, and ComputerEase. Also, Quickbooks is a prevalent solution among Electrical Contractors. It is one of the easiest to use accounting solutions, not just for construction but across a variety of industries.

Many of the larger Electrical Contractor companies utilize Sage, which is why eSUB has developed an integration connector with Sage 300 CRE. The eSUB-Sage 300 integration keeps everyone on the same page and streamlines the sharing of information to minimize double entry. Regardless of which Accounting solution Electrical Contractors utilize, eSUB can export timecard information into any system that can receive an import file.

Whether you are already using eSUB, other project management software, or just beginning your construction technology journey, we hope you find the results of this survey helpful in developing your strategic initiatives around improving operations and technology adoption.