Commercial construction has historically been slow to adopt new technologies. Just this year, the construction industry was ranked as “the least technologically competent” by a survey of workers covered by Construction Dive. We at Clearstory happen to disagree and believe our industry is ready for technology and innovation.
Want proof? The highly collaborative nature of projects, the constant changes and unexpected challenges on jobsites, and the need for purpose-built, task-focused tools are just a few reasons. As the industry continues to grow and evolve, there's recognition that technology can (and should) play a critical role in improving efficiency, productivity, and overall project outcomes.
But it needs to be the right technology, and the way technology is offered and evaluated by teams needs adjustment. Too often, well-intended software solutions fail to make the mark with field teams, project managers, and supervisors who need simple but powerful tools to solve challenges and get tasks completed quickly. When software hinders rather than helps those efforts, it faces an uphill battle to adoption.
Here are the top five things commercial construction technology needs to succeed on the jobsite, with a specific focus on Change Orders and Time & Material Tickets:
1) Technology Needs to be Ridiculously Easy to Use
There’s simply no time for learning curves on today’s dynamic construction projects. Technology needs to be incredibly easy to use, with a fast, intuitive, and visually compelling interface that communicates vital information at a glance, often in low light, noisy, or weather-adverse environments.
“Field teams are all used to technology by now, but their biggest harp is when they’re presented with something that’s difficult to navigate,” says Clint Badger, the Phoenix Regional President for Cherry Coatings, an ENR Top Specialty Contractor working on diverse projects including data centers, commercial buildings, hotels, processing plants, and hospitals.
On any kind of jobsite, successful construction tech is also easier to use when it’s purpose-built and laser focused on solving a specific industry challenge, rather than trying to be a generic, one-size-fits-all solution.
2) Technology Needs to Provide Value for All Stakeholders
Beyond ease of use, construction technology needs to provide value to all stakeholders on a project, including project Owners, General Contractors, and Specialty Contractors. Tools and systems forced from one party onto another often struggle to achieve wide adoption on the jobsite, and can contribute to strained relationships when there's a perception that only one stakeholder is reaping all the benefits.
Technologies that provide mutual benefit to all parties help foster deeper collaboration, tend to facilitate better communication, and boost stakeholder sense of ownership, buy-in, and teamwork on a project.
For example, traditional T&M Ticket and Change Order processes can be slow and cumbersome, leading to delays and unforeseen costs. By implementing a cloud-based Change Order Communication Tool designed to provide transparency to all stakeholders in real-time, the alignment and approval process is accelerated, Change Orders are closed faster, and all stakeholders win.
“When the GC has their method of tracking Change Orders, and then the subcontractors have their methods of tracking change orders, there’s a disconnect between what’s happening in the field and what stakeholders are communicating to each other,” explains WEST Builders senior project engineer Derik DeLonzor, who has started using Clearstory’s cloud-based, shared COR Log to align with trade partners on all of his projects.
3) Technology Needs to Directly Contribute to Improved Productivity and Efficiency
A no-brainer for sure, but ultimately, the goal of any construction technology must be to improve project outcomes. This means that the technology needs to directly contribute to improved productivity and efficiency, eliminate obvious hurdles to improved productivity and efficiency, or both. It should also help to keep projects on time and on budget, rather than adding or contributing to delays and cost escalations.
“We want to make sure technology is adding day-to-day value by driving efficiency, project predictability, and transparency with clients,” says Kelsey Gauger, a Vice President of Operational Excellence at Suffolk Construction, where teams have been investing heavily in data, technology, and innovation for the last two decades to provide more predictable outcomes.
In commercial construction, many project teams are still tracking field-directed work manually with triplicate carbon copy T&M Tickets. Hand-written, error-prone, and extremely time consuming paper tickets follow a long, risky chain of custody as work often requires multiple signatures before tickets are physically delivered back to the home office, only for more time-consuming and error-prone data entry into systems of record.
Change Order Requests, as well, are still commonly burdened by assembling COR Logs with approved T&M Tickets, jobsite photos, spreadsheets and assorted back-up documentation, then emailed back and forth between stakeholders in yet another time-consuming process that quickly renders the information out-of-date.
4) Technology Needs to be Scalable and Adaptable
Construction projects vary greatly in size, scope, and complexity. Therefore, the technology used on these projects must be able to adapt to different kinds of projects easily. It should also be easily scalable across large commercial construction contractors who are already juggling multiple technologies within their tech stack.
Additionally, successful technologies should integrate seamlessly with the most popular ERP, project management, and project financial systems. Finally, technology should work and provide value to multiple job roles, from project managers to supervisors, field workers, and executives.
5) Technology Needs to Make People Feel Good
While productivity and efficiency are important, it's equally important to consider the human element. Construction is a highly stressful industry, and technology can help to improve morale by leading to improved stakeholder relationships and the elimination of drudgery and manual tasks.
Traditional methods of Change Order and T&M Ticket communication can be slow and inefficient, leading to frustration and misunderstandings. At their worst, Change Order disagreements can land project partners in no-win negotiations or even entangle them in lawsuits. By providing real-time visibility, updates and metrics, using a cloud-based Change Order Communication tool instantly aligns stakeholders to streamline communication and improve collaboration and trust to create a more positive work environment.
Conclusion
As the construction industry evolves, the right technology can be the difference between a project that thrives and one that struggles. By focusing on ease of use, delivering value to all stakeholders, driving efficiency, and fostering collaboration, innovative solutions like Clearstory empower teams to cut through the noise and get the job done. When technology is scalable, adaptable, and designed with the end-user in mind, it transforms more than just workflows—it reshapes the way the industry operates. Ultimately, success comes from tools that not only work but elevate everyone involved in the process.
Ready to see how easy it is to put Clearstory to work on your next project? Schedule a free demo today.
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