Yes, the old ways worked, but the new ways work better — much better. Making your construction operation a mobile-first operation is a game-changing decision that synchronizes your people and sharpens competitiveness. Migrating project plans, change-orders and key reference information from blueprints, binders and sticky notes to a mobile platform will revolutionize your work from the office to the field.
Paper Can’t Be Trusted, Easily Used or Easily Shared.
The idea that a tangible document is somehow more reliable than digital data is an illusion. Modern digital platforms are designed to keep data safe regardless of where it goes or how it’s used. Paper can be destroyed in an instant while digital data can be easily backed up, archived, duplicated and shared on devices that follow you and your team.
Mobile devices help protect data so make sure you use rugged devices such as commercial digital two-way radios and tablets to match construction site realities. Cell phones just aren’t made for that kind of environment and day-to-day abuse. It’s true that no device is completely immune from catastrophe, but continuous backups to remote cloud storage keep data safe if a device happens to fail.
Mobile devices are also easier to handle at a job site. Rather than shuffling through pages and fumbling for pens in all kinds of weather, crews can use mobile devices to quickly log their time, fill out reports and complete checklists. Digital inputs also improve accuracy and encourage more precise communication that’s clearer and easier for team members to pass around than a system based on photocopies or constant printing.
Discover a New World of Productivity and Efficiency.
When documents are digitized on mobile platforms, they’re ready to go when you need them to make better, more informed decisions on the fly. You can absorb changing information from a job site faster and immediately circulate it to tighten information gaps that slow work progress. A digital process also cuts down on having to interpret poor handwriting and sorting through paper folders and notebooks. And think about how much easier managing becomes when feedback from your crew is funneled into a single app or similar portal that replaces emails, voicemails and scribbled notes.
Keeping information centralized in the cloud rather than tracked on paper makes it more useful and streamlines your processes. Crews have access to information in real-time, including updated or additional information as it becomes available. The result is powerful — a faster and smarter workflow at a job site that boosts efficiency and speeds productivity. Your people are put in a stronger position to do their jobs and be more responsive to real-time conditions.
Mobile devices allow your team to accomplish more and accomplish it quicker without sacrificing the quality of their performance. In fact, their performance will be enhanced with current, intelligent information always at their fingertips. More informed workers coordinate better, adjusting their effort and strategies for optimal results. And when you take advantage of mapping, navigation and all kinds of other software readily available on commercial tablets and two-way radios, you can take both productivity and efficiency to a whole new level.
Smart Tools for Safer Work.
Safety is everything at a construction site. Crews that stay in close communication are less likely to trigger accidents, injuries and all the related losses in time and productivity. Using mobile devices clarifies and simplifies communication. Workers can connect directly to each other and managers back at the office, ensuring a better understanding of tasks and challenges unfolding in the field. Sensitive or dangerous maneuvers involving equipment and materials are safer when they’re guided by well-informed, real-time communications.
Mobile devices can immediately circulate alerts in a crisis, shortening response times that help minimize danger and damage. A one-touch emergency button on two-way radios can quickly connect a lone worker to help. And powerful device controls can give you the ability to manipulate and track devices remotely in a crisis. There are even apps that allow you to interrupt regular communications to send an emergency message to one or more workers at the same time.
A Mobile-First Team is a Powerful Team.
What could be a smarter investment than tools that make your team safer, more productive and more efficient? While simply connecting a crew at a job site with mobile devices is a huge step forward, imagine what’s possible if your entire construction business embraces a mobile-first approach. Accurate, evolving information streaming up and down the chain strengthens your overall performance, better aligning your resources with your business goals and enhancing your work environment.
If you’re looking to migrate to mobile devices or upgrade to devices perfectly matched for construction businesses, Commenco can help. We partner with reputable software companies to embed intelligence, applications, and utilities into our hardware to give you the best solution for your environment. Talk to us about your needs and we’ll either find the right option or custom build the technology for you.
