It’s no secret that construction projects can be complicated. There are simply too many agents involved in a project and a strong need for empowering the communication between the construction site and the office.
However, in many cases, this can be much harder than it sounds. Coordination between the various project sides can be proved to be very tricky if there’s no real-time exchange of information and feedback.
For that reason, the construction industry has started investing heavily on technologies that facilitate real-time collaboration and connect the project team on and off-site.
Without further ado, though, let’s take a look at the most noteworthy benefits of real-time collaboration for construction:
It Boosts Productivity
According to McKinsey, the average efficiency in construction is 30% at the moment. The number is disturbingly low and it is mainly due to two factors.
Poor data management and broken communication. With that in mind, it becomes clear that real-time collaboration could solve several serious problems during the construction process.
The faster updates will signify faster decision-making. This will be eventually beneficial for the whole industry as the efficiency rates will be increased while the set deadlines will be easier met.
It Adds Flexibility
Today’s cooperative tech tools have proven to allow for more flexibility during the building process. Unhindered accessibility to the project’s information means more freedom and the ability to instantly provide valuable feedback for the development of a project.
In that way, it’s easier to make last-minute changes and prevent costly mistakes. Furthermore, real-time digital tools can help people who work from the office to stay up to date with what’s taking place on-site regardless of their geographical position.
It Minimizes Repairs
As we mentioned above, the efficiency rate in construction is approximately 30%. From this percentage, 10% will need to be reworked. Repairs are natural to every construction project, but real-time collaboration can help a lot in their minimization.
By being able to exchange data and feedback in real-time, it becomes easier for the right people to receive the right information faster and act on them accordingly. This can be valuable for a project both in terms of money and time.
It Tackles Disputes
When you are working in construction, disputes are unfortunately part of the game. Nevertheless, a real-time collaboration tool can help a lot with tackling such disagreements thanks to the data-driven generated reports.
In that manner, you can closely monitor the progress of every single aspect of your project and prevent time-consuming disputes. This may also help you with saving eventually a fair amount of financial resources.
Fewer Delays
Effective communication in combination with fewer disputes and a decreased need for repairs means faster completion of the project. It doesn’t take much to understand that an optimized flow of information can accelerate the progress of a construction project.
The fewer obstacles emerging in the daily lifecycle of the project the easier to meet the set deadlines. Simple as that!
New Type of Workforce
Digital tools are changing the construction industry and real-time collaboration is a fundamental part of this strategic shift. The whole sector will have to adjust to a new reality and modify to a significant extent the way people work.
Because of this, the new type of job openings will be generated in the construction. The need for more technologically savvy and skilled workers will emerge. This is a great opportunity for the industry to improve its profile and become a provider of promising long-term career choices.
It Charms those Who are Tech-Oriented
As a natural continuation of the point mentioned above, tech-oriented individuals will start being more interested in pursuing a career in construction.
On-site, more tech-savvy have been found to prefer the use of cooperation tech tools since such tech tools form a huge part of their everyday life.
Millennials, in particular, have developed a particularly strong connection with new technologies and real-time collaboration can also be part of the game.
Automatic Weekly Reports
If you have worked in construction, you know very well that reporting everything that happens on-site takes a lot of time.
Nevertheless, the use of real-time collaboration tools would make it easier for construction managers to keep good track of the project’s progress and avoid spending 2-3 hours per day just for documenting what took place on and off-site.
A huge time and productivity saver in other words.
What the Future Holds for Construction
Real-time collaboration is already changing the construction industry and the general feeling is that the transition to a new way of working on and off-site will continue.
The onset of digital technologies is expected to disrupt the industry even more. In a nutshell, here are some remarks about construction’s future:
More Automated Way of Working
The automatization of the construction process will be heavily encouraged, as it will save a great amount of time and financial resources for the industry in the long-run.
On top of that, a lot of the busy work will be tackled and the collaboration of the different project will be mainly focused on strategic planning.
BIM Technology
One of the biggest challenges that construction is already facing has to do with the transition from full collaboration to full integration of the construction process.
To put it simply, an optimized workflow where every project party can access every piece of information without limitations could be the future for the industry. This will signify a remarkable acceleration of the whole construction process.
Robotics
The use of robotic technology in construction can take real-time collaboration to a whole new level. The first self-driven vehicles and construction machines (eg. automatic bricklayers) have already appeared and introduced to the construction process.
The ability for them to function autonomously will facilitate the human-machine real-time collaboration and allow for remote control of the construction site. A big step for the industry in any case.
Conclusion
All in all, it becomes evident that real-time collaboration has a plethora of benefits for the construction industry. It’s proof that, if the digital tools are used smartly, the building process can be remarkably optimized in many ways. A brighter day for construction is closer than we think.
About the author:
Anastasios Koutsogiannis is Content Marketing Manager in GenieBelt.
