It’s an interesting time for the construction industry. Historically construction has had a reputation for moving slowly when it comes to adopting modern technology, but recently that’s not what I’ve noticed in the field. The construction industry is at a turning point, looking to overcome its long-time challenges by adopting new technology.
REVERSING STAGNANT PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS
Nearly all U.S. sectors have increased productivity in some shape or form, but construction has seen little to no improvement in productivity for several decades. Stagnant productivity levels in construction is cause for concern as construction projects become increasingly more complex. Many factors have led to poor productivity on construction projects. These range from inadequate planning and scheduling to lack of collaboration and communication on a project and inventory delays causing idle time on site.
Luckily, new construction methods, such as offsite or modular construction, are a trend that has been proven to increase productivity on construction projects. For this reason, technology such as building information modeling (BIM) is gaining pace and being adopted much faster.
BIM is moving companies away from a traditional document-driven process to integrated data-driven processes and systems. The successful company in the future will be a construction, manufacturing and service hybrid business. The use of modular and offsite manufacturing is growing rapidly as construction sites become more like final assembly operations. These changes will drive project delivery efficiency and quality as well as improve health and safety and reduce project risk. That’s something I think all industry leaders can get onboard with.
MIXING OLD AND NEW CONSTRUCTION METHODS
Traditional construction systems consist of contract and project lifecycle management (PLM), asset lifecycle management (ALM), human resources and finance. New models include lean modular manufacturing, BIM, an integrated supply chain that empowers collaboration with partners, logistics and shipping, plus asset and service management for aftermarket services.
The successful company will mix traditional construction systems with new digital models by adopting technology that can support the new hybrid model that the industry needs. Modern technology can also enable opportunities for revenue after project completion. Actionable IoT data drives business value from aftermarket contracts for operation, maintenance and service (OMS). Adopting a hybrid model and modern technology will keep a construction company agile, able to meet future client demands and provide aftermarket revenue opportunities.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
As I meet more construction industry leaders, I am learning about the challenges and opportunities of the industry. Success in the industry hinges on seeing the challenges in the offing and being prepared for them as they approach so that you have the flexibility to optimize every project. That is why IFS offers a comprehensive suite of business applications that are designed for enterprises in the industry, with the added power of software from areas you might not even have considered; like project management, for greater total control of your business; or manufacturing, to streamline transition to modular construction; or financials, and project cost control, or asset and facilities management. The solution gives you real-time insights into all aspects of the asset lifecycle and the ability to measure and control your business. IFS helps you manage the future, not the past.
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