With both digital and cultural shifts on the horizon, construction is heading for a major change in the coming years.
Advancements in machines, measurements, and monitoring are transforming jobsites and their related processes as we know them. However, as an industry very much set in its ways, change to culture and technology can often be met with some resistance in construction, with progression often shunned in favor of “the way things have always been done.”
But with a new data-led age of transparency beginning to emerge, we have to ask ourselves - is the age of negotiation coming to an end? No room for debate.
Earthmoving is a game of quantities - ‘how much does it cost to move this much by this date?’ Measurements and timelines form the backbone of our industry, and the corresponding figures are the most common point of contact between all key stakeholders. Despite their significance, these numbers often come up for debate. When the data that enables projects to run, be tracked, and billed becomes in some way subjective, we encounter a whole host of problems.
You’re looking at the lost time, wasted resources, inaccurate timelines, and most importantly, tension and lack of trust.
Many contractors will know the familiar feeling of having a client ‘check’ the work being done. Whether it’s visiting the site to see it for themselves, laboriously poring over reports that have been provided, or over-reviewing timelines and estimations, people, in any industry for that matter, like to know that they’re getting what they’re paying for. But this need to double-check, debate and negotiate doesn’t come from just anywhere. It stems from decades of miscommunication and mistrust between contractor and client when it comes to tracking progress, and accurate billing.
Without a shared data view that all parties can access and trust, this will always be the case. Numbers will never be taken at face value, and time will always be lost in additional confirmation. Sometimes, this ambiguity may benefit the contractor and allow them to invoice more, and sometimes it might benefit the client and get them a slightly better deal.
But rather than a continuous series of wins and losses swinging perpetually between client and contractor, why don’t we create a system where neither party is inadvertently duped or misled at any point in the process?
Time for trust in construction!
With an audited and agreed set of data driving any quantity calculation, there’s no room for debate. Shared data sources are vital to a quantitative industry like earthmoving, and in order to maintain trusting stakeholder relationships, they’re absolutely essential. In situations where additional work may be required unexpectedly, quick, accurate, and trusted measurements allow fast actions and prevent timelines from being pushed back more than they need to.
Here’s an example. A contractor was on site and realized that extra work needed to be done to extend a parking lot. Rather than instigating a several-day-long back-and-forth exchange to establish measurements and costs, the site engineer simply sent over an image of the Smart Construction Dashboard showing the client the exact area requiring the additional work.
From this, the measurement and resulting cost were immediately visible for everyone involved, in a way that can’t be misunderstood or argued. The job could then freely proceed in the way it needed to, with full cooperation and trust between stakeholders.
The oncoming digital transformation is of course going to cause technological change within construction, and we’re seeing it already. However, it isn’t just the job itself that’s set to change. Digital transformation has the power to change the relationship between stakeholders and the wider culture of trust itself in the industry. The digital transformation of the construction means that transparency and visibility are inevitable in client relationships, and the truth can no longer be hidden on either side.
By leveraging a shared data view of all job sites with Smart Construction Dashboard technology, we can usher in a new era of genuine trust and understanding within construction, which will lead to increased efficiency, and save resources for all parties involved.
