Build Back Better with One Platform Technology

Brandon Oliveri-O’Connor, Procore’s Director of UK&I, shares his thoughts on the current state of construction and the major trends set to shape it in 2021.

By now, remarks on the bizarre, volatile, and exceptional nature of 2020 have become entirely commonplace. Yet, for construction, the year really did change everything. For one, social distancing measures did much more than bring “business as usual” to a temporary halt. While safety concerns around the pandemic made onsite work more challenging, in particular.

Digitalisation helped many in the industry resume work in an effective as well as safe manner, allowing for communication and information-sharing between remote teams as well as clients. The advantages of a one platform approach have become clear and we can expect this type of technology to remain crucial in 2021, too. A single platform acts ultimately as a source of truth for an entire project that all stakeholders can operate from – whether it’s to access files or to check in on a project’s status, wherever they are.

Of course, no platform can do it all, and the best and most modern construction platforms take this limitation into account by offering seamless and simple integration with other applications. This has long been a key trend for construction software, but in 2021, we can expect even higher levels of communication between different applications and programs, which will make management quicker, and processes more transparent. This was the case for Hertfordshire-based Pexhurst, a fit-out and refurbishment contractor: thanks to adopting one platform technology, they have been able to share live photo updates from their sites and even hold Zoom meetings with their clients when they were unable to visit sites in person due to restrictions.

The future of construction is data-focussed

The first generation of data-oriented platforms gave teams the much-needed space for information-sharing and communication, but they did not take into consideration more far-reaching business needs for complete transparency and efficiency. 2021 will herald a new chapter in the development of construction’s data use. Integrated data, offered by collaborative, intelligent software that can analyse as well as collect information, will be enormously useful in the years to come. Software like this can do much more than allow teams to collaborate or access information: intelligent analyses of KPIs, metrics, predictive models and much more is made available with its support.

Integrated data can even have a positive financial impact on the industry, as it can lower the overall costs of communication and information distribution, which often account for a substantial part of project expenditures.

If businesses are looking at siloed data, they may as well not be using it at all, as without looking at the full picture that integrated data provides – what we see as a ‘complete data journey’ – they may not be able to make the most informed decisions.

Placing client experience at the heart of the business

Increasingly, contractors are relying on tech to support their existing client relationships as well as build new ones, by for example, ensuring that projects are run smoothly while communication is maintained. While this is already a step in the right direction, contractors can do more to reshape the way in which they communicate with customers on platforms.

One key opportunity for improvement lies in standardisation. In the past, and sometimes even today, contractors used several distinct platforms simultaneously, which made it impossible for customers to gain an overall view of a given project’s status and to navigate construction processes.

Modern construction tech takes on a different approach. One platform technology makes it possible for customers to have access to a single source of truth. Using this method, they can see all the relevant information about projects as well as more specific processes (such as workflows, RFIs, snagging, and submittals) in one place for maximum transparency. Customers can log on at any time to get an idea of where things are, assign and respond to RFIs using forms in an application, and use photo functionalities to track progress, without having to make on-site visits.

This approach transforms customer experience as it not only brings them on a project’s journey and keeps them in the loop, but is a major step up from having clients navigate through shared cloud spaces or email chains in order to get status updates. In the years ahead, the widespread use of one platform technology will allow for major developments in customer experience – and this remains one of the key indicators of project success.

After the year of change comes the year of development

2020 has made it more difficult for construction as well as other sectors to foretell and prepare for the difficulties ahead. However, the fluctuation of circumstances and general unpredictability has challenged the industry in a positive way, encouraging it to innovate in ways it may not have previously done. In 2021, this newfound adaptability will continue to drive development, helping the construction industry not just survive but thrive through unparalleled challenges.

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Trends 2021: Sustainable Building

Steve Bennett is the Managing Director of Dura Products, a company that recycles plastic waste to manufacture sustainable road kerbs and combined kerb and drainage (CKD) systems. In this article, He discusses the need for sustainability in construction, and why this will drive an increase in use of recycled materials.

The UK Government’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lays out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to work towards. They include combatting climate change, sustainably using natural resources, restoring and conserving ecosystems, and making human settlements sustainable[1]. The government has set ambitious recycling and carbon emission targets. For example, its 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy aims to eliminate avoidable waste of all kinds by 2050, whilst its Clean Growth Strategy outlines plans for decarbonising all sectors of the economy. The primary aim is to decrease the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050[2]. Consequently, it is no surprise that sustainability will be a prime focus across all industries in 2021, and construction is no exception.

The construction industry must innovate to ensure sustainable development, as it is currently the largest consumer of natural resources in the UK. It uses approximately 400 million tonnes of materials and produces a staggering 100 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste (CDW) each year[3]. This consists of materials such as plastic, concrete, metals, and glass, and accounts for just over a third of all waste sent to landfill. Furthermore, 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions are generated by construction activities, with this number rising to 45% once the entire built environment is taken into account[4]. Evidently, there is an urgent need for improvement in the way we manage our waste, and the materials we use.

Landfill receives nearly a quarter of all waste generated in the UK, with plastic making up a sizeable portion of this. The material has a very bad reputation, as its adverse effects on our planet are commonly reported, however, industry in general is heavily reliant on plastic for a variety of applications because it is durable, versatile, and cost-efficient. Historically, plastic was largely accepted as a created single-use commodity and sent to landfill or worse still, it was simply discarded and dumped. It has been obvious to many over recent times that this practice cannot continue hence the drive for more creative ways of dealing with waste. When there is a common and genuine desire for change then with a little innovation it is surprising what can be achieved. Since 2003, when we first started using recycled plastic, we have found that vast amounts of plastic waste are recyclable. As the demand for recycled material grows it prompts a continuing improving cycle creating new separation and recovery technologies that are inexpensive, increasingly prevalent and accessible.  The key issue has been improper management, which is unfortunately still a common occurrence that leads to high levels of polluting waste entering landfill. Innovative solutions applied in recent times has transformed waste plastic into a commodity, creating products that can be used again and again driving a circular economy.

The future of plastic in construction will incorporate its ability to be recycled and transformed into a range of products. Using recycled materials brings additional advantages, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, because recycling generally requires fewer intensive processes when compared to the extraction and processing of raw resources. For example, we estimate that our plastic road kerbs, which are comprised of 88% recycled polymer, have diverted over 200,000 tonnes of plastic from entering landfill, and saved a total of 12,000,000 kgs of carbon from entering the atmosphere.

Recycled plastic brings other advantages due to its lightweight and strength. In the construction sector, they enable solutions that provide for safer working conditions. The reliance on heavy machinery, cutting tools, site resources and managed risk can be reduced considerably. Known risks such as airborne silica, musculoskeletal disorders are reduced. Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic has caused great disruption to the industry, with social distancing a requirement for the safety of workers on site. Our recycled plastic Durakerb at 6kg is 90% lighter than traditional products which allows one-operative installation within the restrictions.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest obstacles in the adoption of recycled plastic is cost. Contractors can be hesitant to use green materials as they can be more expensive to produce than building supplies from raw materials. However, cost-effective potential of recycling must be considered as it saves on disposal and landfill fees, as well as installation costs as plastic can be installed faster by fewer workers, due to its lightweight properties.

The recycling of materials is crucial if we are to develop sustainably, and so it will remain a key policy for everyone going into the future. In using recycled materials you are turning “already created waste” into a commodity and therefore actively reducing its impact on the environment. It is also important to educate the industry on its economic advantages too. As the sector recovers from the impact of COVID-19, the use of recycled materials in construction provides improved customer perception, which could be the winning factor in securing new business opportunities.

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[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-sustainable-development-goals/implementing-the-sustainable-development-goals–2

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-strategy

[3] https://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Reducing%20your%20construction%20waste%20-%20a%20pocket%20guide%20for%20SME%20contractors.pdf

[4] https://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/climate-change-uk-construction-industry/

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UK Government Plans to Transform Procurement

New plans from the UK Government are set to overhaul the procurement rules, cutting red tape and making it easier for small businesses to win public sector contracts.

The measures, which were launched last month, have been developed over the last 14 months by a team of specialists in international procurement and set out in a Green Paper. The aim is to take advantage of new powers the UK now has due to the country leaving the European Union.

Each year, government in the UK buys £292 billion of services from the private sector. These new measures will transform the current procurement regime to put value for money at the heart of the procurement approach, allowing greater flexibility for buyers and enabling government to be more strategic in order to save taxpayers’ money.

The measures will also drive increased competition through simpler procurement procedures.

The changes to the UK procurement rules will make them more modern, flexible, innovative and diverse, by allowing government to consider wider social value when picking suppliers. This will also ensure that taxpayers’ money goes further and brings wider benefits for society.

Proposed changes to the rules include:

• Removing over 300 complex regulations, to create a single uniform rulebook.
• Overhauling inflexible and complex procedures, replacing them with three simple modern procedures. This will allow more freedom for suppliers and the public sector to work together and innovate.
• Allowing buyers to include the wider social benefit considerations of potential suppliers, such as economic, social and environmental factors, when assessing who to award a contract to, while also still considering value for money.
• Giving buyers the power to properly take account of a bidder’s past performance, allowing them to exclude suppliers who have failed to deliver in the past.
• A new unit to oversee public procurement, with powers to improve the commercial skills of public sector contractors.
• A single digital platform for registering contracts, improving transparency and making life significantly simpler for business.

Cabinet Office Minister Lord Agnew commented:

“The measures outlined will transform the current outdated system with new rules, providing flexibility to the public sector and less burden on business.

“These long-standing plans have been developed with international procurement specialists and will help unleash innovation across the country and provide a fairer system for small businesses.”

The plans will also make procurement more transparent and effective during times of crisis when government needs to act quickly to ensure vital goods and services are bought. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK, along with many other countries internationally, has relied on direct awards to ensure that vital supplies, such as life-saving PPE, can be bought quickly and to high standards.

The new measures will bring more competition into this process, by changing the rules to encourage more competitive buying in a quick timeframe. This will allow for multiple companies to bid for emergency work, without slowing the process down in times of emergency.

While suppliers of all sizes will benefit from the changes, SMEs – who feel the effects of long, bureaucratic and costly processes more – will benefit in particular. One tangible example is providing registration information on a ‘tell us once’ basis, which will help small firms by saving them time and resources.

The Green Paper will also bring forward extra measures on transparency, meaning taxpayers will be better informed about how their money is spent; as well as the ability to exclude poorly performing companies from winning valuable contracts and preventing spurious legal challenges from unsuccessful bidders, which all too often delay public sector projects and lead to spiralling costs.

Awarding authorities will also be encouraged to consider how public contracts can support social or environmental issues or promote local communities, small businesses and charities. The rules will also provide more flexibility to allow contractors to take account of wider government priorities and support work to build back better from the pandemic.

When public bodies are considering how social value benefits can be delivered through their contracts, the new rules will make it possible for them to consider the full value to society and not just the public body undertaking the procurement. This means more and wider opportunities to deliver social value through public contracts.

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Construction & infrastructure review 2020

Construction & Infrastructure review: The key to recovery

2020 was a tumultuous year, no one could have foreseen the rapid changes the country underwent in March and April and the impact the COVID-19 would have.

Inevitably, construction performance dipped as the country went into lockdown, with figures taking a huge knock. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics for the period to August 2020 indicated that infrastructure was the only element of the wider construction and infrastructure sector to have returned to pre-pandemic levels of output, with infrastructure output in August 0.6% higher than in February. This was achieved thanks to a 10.9% increase in output in the three months to August 2020 compared with the previous three months.

While the sector has, inevitably, been affected by the ongoing economic uncertainty, the outlook remains positive, with housing being a major factor in recovery. According to the latest figures released in December, IHS/CIPS* PMI marketing activity showed sustained recovery across the construction sector, with the latest index recording 54.7, up from 53.1 in October and registering above the 50.0 no change value for the sixth consecutive month.

For infrastructure, the outlook overall is good, with Civil Engineering returning to growth in November, registering at 52.3.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics in December for UK construction output**, show that, whilst the pandemic is still having a biting effect across much of industry, construction is steadily recovering. The latest figures record that construction output grew by 1.0% in the month-on-month all work series in October 2020. Increases were seen in both new work (0.3%) and repair and maintenance (2.3%); which helped the figures rise to £13,066M. This is the sixth consecutive month of growth for construction output, but the smallest monthly increase in that time.

The long-term effects of the pandemic and current lockdowns and tiered areas can still be seen, however, with the figures still well below pre-lockdown figures – by some 6.4%.

All sectors of the industry saw growth in October, apart from private new housing and private commercial new work. The only sector to recover completely is infrastructure, which is now recording output levels above the April decline.

The figures show that both infrastructure and public other new work were both more resilient to the lockdown effect, showing smaller drops in work at the beginning of the crisis and consistent growth ever since, albeit relatively small.

The construction industry as a whole has shown its resilience to the changes, bouncing back to growth under extraordinary circumstances where other industries have struggled.

Infrastructure has underlined its importance to the economy and construction sector. Before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the UK was set for major investment into infrastructure projects designed to connect the country to unleash growth outside the south east.

As we head into 2021, it is clear, given the National Infrastructure Pipeline 2020/21 and recent ‘Getting Building’ fund announcement, that the outlook for Infrastructure is good with many opportunities across the public sector as a whole.

And momentum is building, with the long-awaited and highly anticipated National Infrastructure Strategy finally published alongside Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review, the country can plan its national infrastructure priorities and delivery of the projects.

The Strategy sets out a bold ambition of improving the country’s infrastructure and making it fit for the future. Much of the document follows on from the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘level up’ the country and his plan of ‘Building back better, building back greener’.

The government wants to use infrastructure to unite and level up the UK, delivering a stronger Union, thriving regions, cities living up to their full potential and revitalised towns and communities. To deliver this, the Strategy records investment across the country, prioritising those areas that have received less support in the past.

The publication of the ‘Construction Playbook’* is another important step for the industry – a guide to procuring, design, developing and constructing all government projects – all indicate that the UK is serious about investing in infrastructure, providing a wealth of opportunities for suppliers.

The Construction Playbook is focused on getting projects and programmes right from the start; whether the delivery of a school, hospital or major infrastructure project, the Playbook will transform how public works are assessed, procured and managed.

The Construction Playbook sets out how the government and industry can deliver a world-class sector – improving productivity in construction safely, delivering skilled jobs across the country to level-up the economy and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The publication is the result of extensive collaboration from across the public and private sectors to bring together expertise and best practices. It builds on the National Infrastructure Strategy and the National Infrastructure Commission’s advice, to transform infrastructure networks over the next decade and beyond, building back better, faster and greener

The government’s ambition is to deliver excellent public works and see improvement in that delivery; from environmental credentials, to future-proofing of these projects, innovation, effective contracting, a better supply chain and the inclusion of SMEs, to resolution planning and financial monitoring.

Central government will bring up to £37Bn of contracts across economic and social infrastructure to market over the next year. To meet this ambition, the delivery of projects needs to change. From building schools, hospitals and prisons, to major infrastructure and the wide range of construction, engineering and other works projects and programmes undertaken by the public sector, the government has set out a commitment to delivering better, faster and greener solutions that support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and build the economy of the future; all while improving building and workplace safety.

The construction sector is key to the UK economy, contributing £117Bn to the UK economy in 2018 and supporting over two million jobs and it is clear that the opportunities available in 2021 will be vast.

To find out how to make the most of these opportunities, listen to our latest Q&A with our sister brand, Tracker.

 

*https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/941536/The_Construction_Playbook.pdf

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How Covid will Affect the Future of Public Spaces

Robin Barber, product owner of built environment at Arcus Global, explores how Covid will affect the way public spaces are designed and used in the long term.

The days of cramming into a packed shop or willingly standing like sardines by a busy bar have been over for some time. Shops are implementing queuing systems outside the store fronts. City centre roads have been narrowed or shut to allow cafes to extend outdoor dining spaces into the street. Floor stickers to remind us of the need to keep two metres away from others are abundant.

These temporary accommodations have allowed for social distancing, but what happens now that sunny days are rare, daylight hours are shorter and the weather is worsening? We have seen the proposed reforms in the ‘Planning for the Future’ whitepaper. They are all well and good, but I believe particular attention should be paid to how Covid will affect the way public spaces are designed in the future. We cannot pretend that it won’t.

Designing future public spaces

Now that many city centre roads have been closed to accommodate social distancing, the benefits have been numerous and the changes are already being maintained as permanent in many places. In the West country, The Bristol Street Space programme has been developed to offer more space and support local businesses, part of an existing wider initiative to make the city centre more accommodating for pedestrians. This programme, currently in its initial six-month trial period, has been hailed as an early success. Arrangements for street closure were completed in a matter of weeks.

Low-cost and scalable adaptations can play a big role in shaping and implementing pilot projects that will shift into a permanent rethink of how we interact and live. For these initiatives, the involvement of all stakeholders across the entire process is essential. Citizens, local businesses, councils and the tech companies they collaborate with to implement new measures, all have a vested interest in making changes work in the long term.

Housing developments for future needs

City centres aside, we can’t forget that new housing developments are not immune to the change either. We will now have to think about the way in which we construct spaces for new homes. Will housebuilders now need to rethink the habit of cramming as many homes into as small a space as possible? I think so.

No-one will doubt the care many house builders take in optimising the space available for new homes, but priorities may now have to change. It’s a known fact that illness spreads more easily in areas with a denser population, and developments where people cannot walk and go about their daily lives at a safe distance from strangers should not continue as the norm. Not to mention the design of the houses themselves, which will have to accommodate a large number of people now working from home on a much more regular basis. In fact, ONS figures from October show almost a quarter of employees now exclusively working from home.

One of the problems in the recent whitepaper is that design seems not to be taken into account. This isn’t about fashion versus function. It’s about building spaces based on how people will actually use them in the future.

What planners can do

Accessibility has never been so high up on the agenda – we now live in a hugely changed society, and our previous approach to public spaces isn’t something that I would want to return to. Everyone from planners to registrars is working to improve spaces for local citizens, so why would we abandon that to go back to something that is familiar, but ultimately less safe? If we prioritise flexibility and accessibility, then we know that public spaces can adapt and improve.

Planners and housing developers need to start thinking of how Covid – which is not going away completely any time soon – will affect the use of their spaces in the future. Designing larger spaces and accommodating for social distancing could well become the norm, so local plans should absolutely reflect that shift. Zoning and categorising are one thing, but the devil is in the detail, after all. We should not only design our local places with buildings in mind – physical space and the people moving through it should be considered too.

To do this, a cloud-based digitally enabled process from start to finish is a vital ingredient. Digitising planning processes can lead to the faster development of these radically different public spaces. As we’ve all found from this year, speed is of the essence in changing public spaces to adapt to the pandemic.

Look more closely at existing spaces and how they can be permanently adapted for the post-Covid world. Can those street closures become permanent? Can we hand the city centres back from heavy traffic over to pedestrians once and for all? Can we rethink the way we design our local places so that space, not profit, is the priority? Which tech can we use to speed up the process? Work has to begin now.

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Has COVID Changed Health & Safety Forever?

Lesley Macleod is CEO of The Association for Project Safety, and Shachar Harari is chief business officer & head of Cardo Crew. In this feature, they write about how the Coronavirus pandemic could have changed health and safety forever

Remember the halcyon days of 2019, where Britain’s departure from the EU and the upcoming general election was all anybody was talking about? This time last year, terms like ‘social distancing’, ‘lockdown’ and ‘self-isolation’ would have seemed completely alien to us, and somebody wearing a facemask in a supermarket would probably have warranted a second glance. Who’d have thought that 2020 would be the year when we’d have to knock elbows instead of shaking hands, or abandon going into the office altogether?

The fact is, things have changed. Even with vaccines now firmly on the horizon, there are elements of this so-called ‘new normal’ that are likely to be with us for years to come – perhaps even forever. As we approach the 1-year mark since the COVID-19 pandemic upended our lives, it’s time to reflect on how it has altered the workplace and, crucially, how many pages have had to be added to the health and safety rule book.

Early on in the pandemic, the government was urging the public to work from wherever possible. This is good advice during a viral outbreak, but the operative words ‘wherever possible’ made this a hollow sentiment for construction workers, NHS employees, emergency services staff, teachers, bus drivers and more – all of whom were rightly regarded as ‘essential workers’ who needed to turn up and do their jobs in order to keep the economy – and the country – moving. It was these frontline industries that had to take the first, unsure steps into the unchartered territory of the ‘new normal’, accommodating perspex screens, hand sanitiser and PPE into their every-day working lives. This set the precedent for the rest of us and established the working norms that would act as a blueprint for businesses of all types when they were eventually allowed to reopen.

Health and safety has always been labyrinthine by nature. So many of its achievements come through a process of attrition, gradually shifting the needle to make things incrementally better for workers. This year, however, has not afforded the luxury of time to any of us. Health and safety has had to adapt instantly, with the government whipping up COVID-19 workplace safety guidelines in a matter of weeks. Some of these changes will be small and temporary, such as the need for social distancing, whereas others may be more fundamental and long term, such as the need for better air filtration systems in office buildings or the use of contactless cards to gain entry. These long-term adaptations will help us in the event of future pandemics which, following the year we’ve all just been through, seems like a good idea.

One demand that is shared by virtually all workplaces – particularly those on the frontline – is the need for safe communication. Typically, these industries might have relied on push-to-talk radios or intercom systems to relay critical information, but in a post-COVID world, these technologies come with associated risk. We’re therefore likely to see wireless communication technology excel rapidly in the coming years, to the point where teams over entire construction sites, warehouses or hospitals can stay in touch with one another without any kind of physical interfacing.  We’re already seeing this concept being adopted with the likes of ‘smart PPE’ – personal protective equipment such as helmets, visors or overalls with hands-free ‘mesh communication’ technology actively built-in. Mesh communication networks are self-sufficient with a radius measured in miles rather than meters, meaning the ability to communicate travels with the team, wherever they go, instead of being anchored to a base-station or fixed-line network.

Take the PRO-1 from Cardo Crew as an example. The PRO-1 is a lightweight mesh communication module that can be fitted into various PPE such as helmets, visors and ear guards. With it, teams of up to 15 people can engage in two-way hands-free communication up to a range of 3,000 meters, dramatically reducing risk and increasing worker safety in busy environments.These are the kinds of changes we’re likely to see influence health and safety in the coming months and years. As well as tangible measures such as hard hats and non-slip surfaces, we’re likely to see more ‘intangible’ measures centred around things like air filtration quality, person-to-person proximity and the number of surfaces an employee has to come into contact with in order to carry out their job effectively.

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2020 Taught Us to Digitally Transform to Support

Matt Zilli was appointed CEO of Clarizen, a global leader in collaborative work management software, in April 2020. He has over 15 years of experience in go-to-market execution, building and leading world-class customer-facing teams, and directing global marketing, sales and customer success campaigns for some of the world’s most recognisable B2B software brands. In this article, Matt shares his insights on the technology that will move the needle for the construction industry in 2021.

COVID-19 brought unprecedented challenges to the construction industry, changing the way companies work and communicate with one another on an extraordinary scale. Some companies are more adaptable than others and continue to work effectively, but for the vast majority of businesses, COVID-19 has left significant gaps in efficiency and productivity.

Being prepared

2020 has shone a light where companies genuinely are on their digital transformation journeys, and it’s clear that for many in the construction industry it’s not very far. No one could have predicted the global pandemic, but the crisis has highlighted how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected.

The UK Government’s Construction 2025 report noted that two-thirds of construction contracting firms are not innovative, which is inhibiting technological progress in the sector. On top of the impact of COVID-19, the ongoing failure to deploy new technologies is having an adverse effect on many construction firms, causing significant delays in meeting timelines and hampering visibility across projects.

The inability to track project variables such as whether materials will arrive on schedule and the right workers will turn up onsite, along with the additional impact of social distancing and other safety measures, are compounding challenges the industry faces around productivity and effectiveness. The result is that the slow digital transformation is hampering firms’ ability to complete projects on deadline and within budget. What’s more, the ongoing uncertainty of what Brexit will bring means that construction companies need to take new approaches and employ new technologies that ensure they are more agile than ever.

As business owners look ahead and plan for 2021, it is vital to implement a strategy to make them efficient and more collaborative. Utilising tools that improve business agility and allow companies to progress on their digital journeys will mean that they are far more likely to gain a competitive edge and succeed.

Moving to a modern method

The construction industry must move to a more technologically-driven approach to become more streamlined and productive in 2021. Deploying robust project management technologies is critical to achieving this aim. Work management and workplace collaboration solutions enable construction companies to address all aspects of a project’s lifecycle, starting when a project lands on a stakeholders desk through to when crews begin onsite and complete the work.

A great deal of planning goes into any project before construction can begin. Using a cloud-based work project management tool streamlines enterprise planning processes, and provides the necessary context and visibility required to facilitate collaboration among all parties involved in a project. Within the construction industry, project portfolio managers and others engaged in the planning process gain the ability to evaluate whether a company or team can take on new projects, and then prioritise them based on the company’s strategic goals, resources and financial position.

Technological tools enable portfolio managers to track progress on all aspects of a project, including schedules, risks and financials, while providing real-time status updates to other stakeholders.  Cloud-based project management solutions are not new to the construction industry, but companies that have dragged their heels in adopting digital technologies now face a greater urgency than ever after facing tough year in 2020 and further hurdles in 2021 – such as continuing issues due to COVID and the impact of Brexit.

Facilitating more collaboration

Project management tools allow for greater and more productive collaboration within project teams, among stakeholders, in individual businesses and across the industry. A work management platform gives everyone a clear view of all ongoing and completed work — including tasks, priorities, resourcing and deadlines. It can also provide senior management with oversight of critical projects, helping feed into tactical and strategic decisions. The ability to share all relevant and timely information helps make work processes smooth and enables efficiencies.

In addition, work management tools help prevent silos from developing within organisations in which the workforce is spread, and team members isolated – which has become more of an issue during the COVID crisis. This is vital to ensuring that opportunities are not missed, goals remain aligned, business continuity is maintained, and productivity is kept up.

Embracing technology to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world

The UK construction industry needs to position itself at the forefront of smart construction now. Adopting innovative technology will enable business owners and project managers to have full visibility and understanding of the performance of their assets, both during construction and through the entire project process. The result will be more jobs completed on time and on budget and in a secure way.

There has never been a more critical time to invest in tools to unlock a new depth of productivity and cost-effectiveness across the construction sector. In an era where embracing uncertainty seems to be the only choice for many companies, business leaders must look at technologies that enable them to adapt quickly to both positive and negative changes. The future is becoming less predictable, and the construction industry must do everything it can to prepare for and succeed in a rapidly changing world.

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