Undoubtedly, construction technology has helped many general contractors and project managers save time and money. However, implementing new technology in your organization is easier said than done; you must put in some work first.
The construction industry is competitive, so businesses must keep changing their methods and use new technology to stay on top. Every change comes with its own set of challenges. So, when businesses plan to bring in new technology, you must consider what problems your construction crew may face as they adjust, adapt, and accept the change. As a result, you will review and evaluate thoroughly the construction technology and determine how it will help the people using it. Before any change can be made, the reason must be clear, understood, and in line with the improvement of operations, revenue growth, and the company’s general goals.
In this article, let us look at some of the top challenges construction companies face when adopting new technology and some tips to overcome those challenges.
Top Challenges Of Construction Companies When Implementing New Technology
Many general contractors and project managers want to implement new technologies to streamline processes and boost productivity and profitability. However, with so many options nowadays, knowing which kinds of technology are worth using and which are not is critical. Investments in new technology may seem intimidating, but it will change how you handle your projects once you successfully implement the new technology.
In this section, let us look at the common challenges businesses face when adopting new technology in their daily operations.
Using Technology To Keep Up With Trends
As mentioned earlier, many technologies in the market are available, but some may need to be right for you and your company. Even if the technology is helpful, it may only help certain businesses depending on its features. So the most important thing to do before you buy any new tech is to do a lot of research on it, make sure you know how to use it, and where it will improve your operations. It might end up hindering your processes rather than streamlining them.
Crew Are Resisting The Use of The New Technology
Some people are open to figuring out how to use new technology. Others might resist and will not make any changes to their current routine. They may think that their current tried-and-true systems and processes are already effective and that using new technology might slow them down. So if you want the new technology to work in your company, you must convince your staff to use it. It would help if you tried to show them how it would help and get them excited about it.
Lack of Resources and Training
If your company implements a new piece of technology, then your workers must be trained on how to use it. Even if the new technology is something you have used before or is relatively simple, you still need to do some training sessions so your staff can see how it helps with the daily processes. Include the cost of training in your estimates before you start using the technology, and then do the training.
Lack of Data Monitoring
One of the best things about new technology is that you can handle a lot of different data points to get a clear picture of how it is being used and how well it works. You may think monitoring data and progress can be time-consuming and seem pointless, but this will give you good insights into how your staff uses the technology and see if any items need improvement.
No Good Digital Transformation Strategy
Without a thorough plan that covers the use of the technology and its benefits, your crew may have a hard time understanding the change and may ignore it, sticking to their old ways. It is important to create a clear picture of the technology and what it will do. The benefits and effects of the change must be laid out in a detailed strategy program, which should also consider the effects on the business, its workers, suppliers, and customers.
Lack of Communication and Feedback
It helps to inform everyone that the integration is coming for early and quick adoption. That way, the new change will not blindside and stun your crew. Sharing the transformation strategy early on can make them feel that their opinions matter. It might be best to show the new services and how they will help the organization and the person from a financial and logical point of view. Make sure that everyone knows why the new technology is better than what they had before. Be open to their feedback and comments as well.
Possible Instabilities In The Technology
Before any new technology can be integrated or used, the people in charge must study and look for possible risks that could make the new technology useless or hard to use. To avoid this, a pilot run will be needed to test the idea and show that it is technically possible. Try tapping in some of your employees to do a test run and seek their feedback.
No Contingency Plans
No doubt, every new technology has risks and weak spots. This cannot be stressed enough, but before any technology is used, you must have a specific plan for how it will be used. Preparing a contingency plan for what will happen if things do not go as planned is better.
Tips to Helping Your Construction Crew Use New Construction Technology
Construction technologies are getting more complicated, so employees must be trained differently to boost their productivity and efficiency. This means that the same construction crew can finish more projects in less time. It will be important to determine what special technologies are used for and who does what with them.
As a project manager, you should know exactly where your team can improve, what processes slow down progress, and where time and money are wasted. You know that the way you build homes could be better. You want to use new technology to solve certain business and operational problems, and you have looked into the project management software choices and found the right one.
In this section, we listed a few tips on how companies can plan a good training program for construction crews to implement the new technology successfully.
Know Why You Invested In This Technology
This starts with you knowing the what, why, and how. As the manager, you must first convince yourself that the new technology is a good investment before you can convince your construction crew. Set up a one-on-one demo where you can ask questions and see the system in action. This is a great way to make sure you understand what the new building technology can do for you. This is the fastest and easiest way to figure out how much your investment is making you back.
This will help you explain the benefits to your team, especially the main people using the software. You should be ready to show that you can help and work with the new technology.
Explain The Benefits of The New Technology
The last thing a company owner or a project manager should do is make workers feel like changes are being made for no reason. Before starting the training, explain the benefits of using new building technology and how it can help the daily processes. Employees want to know that the tech-based building training they are getting is for a reason or will help them reach a goal. Explain that new technology makes workers more productive and helps them finish projects faster. Please explain how to keep building workers interested and motivated while being trained. This is a great way to clear up confusion before it happens. It can also improve client communication and let builders focus on completing the work instead of putting out customer support fires.
Enjoy The Process Of Learning and Improvement
Even if you have been in the industry for a while now, it can still take some time to learn something new, whether it is new construction software or equipment. It would help if you encouraged a good learning environment where your crew should not be afraid to make mistakes and try out the changes. Figure out how to use the learning curve instead of fighting it.
Expect A Learning curve
No matter what system you have in place now, whether it is a different software, an old ratty notebook, or no system, implementing a new technology requires a lot of patience. Even if your current system is slow and clunky, it is familiar and is the path of least resistance in the immediate future. Let your team know that you expect a learning curve, and they should, too, but that the grass is much greener on the other side once they master the new tool.
Create An Efficient and Effective Training Plan
Now that everyone is on board, make a plan for the training. Make a good program instead of using new technology and leaving workers to figure it out independently. In your plan, it is important to make sure people know what to do and who to ask when they have questions.
Some groups might hold in-person training sessions, while others might look for ways to teach people online. No matter what works best for your team, try to ensure events are interesting and easy to attend and give people chances to try their new skills in the field.
Ask for Comments and Feedback often
Remember to ask your team what they think about new rollouts. It’s important to consider using feedback forms to find out how building training could improve in the future. The people in charge should pay attention to both positive and negative comments and make changes based on what they hear.
