Performance is about doing the job right the first time, but nearly a third of all work is fixing items initially done incorrectly. Rework can have a devastating impact on productivity, profitability, and performance, accounting for between 2% and 20% of a project’s total cost. Nearly half of all rework is the direct result of poor communication among stakeholders and bad project information.
The field team can only do their job effectively if they’re provided with accurate and up-to-date information.
Performance pain points for specialty contractors
Ensuring top performance comes down to quality assurance and quality control. Make sure everybody knows what they’re supposed to be doing when they go into an area.
Deficiencies in processes and technology limit the ability to perform your best work and create safe working conditions. When teams and data are siloed and disconnected, internal systems are poorly equipped to pass relevant information down the line, field teams often wind up with the wrong information, with no knowledge of where to find the right information. This results in idle job sites and misinformed work.
A disconnected data environment can bring communication between office and field to a standstill. In the old days, if a project manager handed a field team member an incorrect document and walked away, it could be days before the error was caught and addressed.
When teams and data are connected, the right information is always there when it’s needed
Specialty contractors need the ability to track performance. Construction-specific solutions provide ease of adoption by the most critical members of any team: the field.
When teams and data are connected, workers can easily find the information they’re looking for right when they need it. They may be confident the information is up to date and accurate, so they can focus on tasks that keep the project safe, within budget, and on schedule.
Change mismanagement is an enemy of productivity in construction. To go back and redo work, absorb new information, or fold it into an existing plan is difficult. Opening up silos and creating an environment where information flows freely and ends up in the right hands is the best way to avoid these costly and time-consuming scenarios in the first place. You have to make sure any changes, any marked-up drawings, and any approved submittals with different notes reach all stakeholders.This is done by process, accessibility, and standardization.
Standardization reduces the chances of passing along wrong information. Just as importantly, though, it gives the field an efficient and reliable process by which they can acquire the right information.
Any changes or RFIs that affect the drawings are posted in one place for all to see. It’s all in the cloud, and everything is crystal clear. Doing this gives workers confidence in knowing the work they’re doing is correct, enabling them to work safely and more productively. Everyone is on the same page, so workers are no longer stopping or slowing down to double or triple check the information put in front of them.
Equally as important, it empowers the field to know they are doing what they’re company wants rather than what’s wanted by another trade or the customer onsite.
Doing things right the first time
As specialty contractors grow and scale, so does their tech stack. But when it comes to enabling the field to focus on the tasks that drive performance, sometimes less is more. A tool purpose-built for construction focuses on the right data and presents it in a form your teams are used to seeing, whether by spec section, by project, or by cost code.
At the end of the day, performance is about assuring workers that what they’re doing is right. They don’t have to worry about missing an email with a major change. All they need to do is check their phone that’s right in their pocket.
Helping workers do the right things the first time is about having a plan and creating clarity and visibility to make them feel part of that plan. A timely flow of information enables workers to be proactive in their work instead of reactive. And it builds trust when the path you’ve laid out for them is the right one.
For more information about equipping your field teams with the right information to ensure maximum performance, read our Top 10 Challenges Facing Today’s Specialty Contractors.
Leave a Reply