Over the past few years, there has been a renewed focus on the concept of productivity in the construction industry, especially as organizations move towards digital construction.

As projects have become more complicated (new HVAC, Electrical and Control Systems), the level of complexity has increased significantly (building designs such as LEED certification). Furthermore, schedules have been compressed by Owners, and as a result, Contractors have looked for ways to reduce cost and improve margins through labor productivity. Contractors have traditionally used professional grade equipment and tools to build projects. They are willing to pay a premium for a high-quality tool that will drive more production, last longer, and not break down on them at the most inopportune moment!

There is a certain tendency to buy a brand that your family or company has depended on, such as trucks, tools and heavy equipment. This tendency has slowed the migration to new digital tools that have emerged into the market over the past few years. So how can Contractors put the PRO back into their PROduction?

1 – Upgrade to PRO grade digital tools.

When looking to upgrade your paper-based workflows there are a few routes to consider. Digital tools will help advance the ball forward on the quest to improve workflows. They will also help unlock the data in pdf documents required to make better and faster decisions.

There are lots of free consumer-grade solutions out there that are tempting options for contractors. Contractors should evaluate these options through a Technology Committee to ensure the technology solutions they are considering can pass their requirements for security, scalability, and implementation.

2 – Start measuring current workflow stats.

The old saying of “what gets measured, is what gets done” still rings true for construction project sites today. In order to improve or optimize your workflows, you must first know how your teams are performing currently. Start by looking for workflows that seem to trouble multiple employees. Workflows ripe for digitization include multi-step processes such as safety inspections, time cards or plan markups. Begin by meeting with a few employees to map out the workflow. Consider how many steps are involved, how much time does each step take, is there a certain order that the steps must occur?

3 – Set SMART Project specific productivity goals.

Once you have established the steps involved in a particular workflow, the time required to complete and the order to complete the workflow then discuss with your team what kind of improvement goal you want to set. Perhaps it is to reduce the number of steps from say seven to five. Decide how this reduction will occur and be measured. Set a start and finish date for the project and evaluate your results at the end.

If this is the year for your company to get serious about PROduction then consider investing in a few new technologies. In particular, if you are looking for a digital solution for your time tracking then consider contacting the Rhumbix team today. We would like to speak with your team today about how Rhumbix can help your team put the PRO back into your PROduction.

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