How to Become a Construction Technology Savvy Company | Innovation

While the construction industry isn’t traditionally thought of as one of the most technologically advanced industries, most of us have come to terms with the fact that a certain amount of tech savviness is necessary to survival. In fact, if you’re like most companies, you’re probably piloting a construction technology or three on one of your projects this year.

We would never suggest that you shouldn’t add technologies on a project basis, but we believe the companies that will ultimately succeed over the next 5 to 10 years will do more than that. The companies who will be on the leading edge of the next generation, are those that fundamentally change how they approach construction, from thinking of themselves as construction companies, to thinking of themselves as technology companies that do construction projects.

We believe this is true whether you are a mega corporation or a small, privately held, local construction company. Size doesn’t matter. Mindset and approach does.

Becoming a truly “ConTech savvy” company in this respect requires more than just swiping a credit card to buy some software. It takes planning, thought, clarity, focus, and determination. We can’t tell you exactly what that will look like for your company, but here are some pro-tips from visionary construction technology leaders:

• Create a big picture vision for the future that aligns to your business and project goals.
• Examine where you are now and what it will take to achieve those future goals.
• Implement plans to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
• Understand how technology will impact your business and their goals.
• Focus less on what’s possible now, and more on what could be possible in the future.
• Identify the right personnel to champion, investigate, implement, and gain buy-in 
• Assign internal task forces to identify and test new and emerging technologies.
• Support innovation on every project with task forces, support groups, and executive backing.
• Align your ConTech vision with how you talk to customers, and how you differentiate from your competitors.

READ: 5 Steps for Introducing New Construction Technology to Your Projects

Why You Need a Unifying Construction Technology Platform

Organizations that approach their ConTech in this way, will require a unifying platform to connect the elements of their strategy-aligned technology system. Unfortunately, many companies are still missing this mark.

A study by KPMG shows that nearly half of construction organizations use multiple software platforms that are manually monitored, rather than a single, fully integrated project management information system (PMIS).

When construction technology is implemented without a unified platform, it may provide benefits to a single project or piece of the workflow, but the information and efficiency remains siloed and fragmented, while the organization as a whole fails to benefit from the improvements.

The companies that are doing it right are starting with a big picture view, and then “eating the elephant” a bite at a time. By starting with a roadmap and a unified vision and platform, leading organizations are able to transform their companies steadily and reliably, with less risk and more profit than those who take a haphazard approach.

Ready to transform your organization in a steady, strategic way?

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