Construction and Real Estate

The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility

Part 5: Mobilizing

In the construction industry, decisions aren’t confined to a desk or executive boardroom. Many of the most critical business decisions happen on the jobsite. Consequently, it’s not surprising that it is here—amid the mud, brick and rebar—that the use of mobile devices is exploding. In fact, according to a McGraw-Hill industry survey, 93% of respondents use some sort of mobile device on their construction sites.

How are the best-run construction firms deploying mobile solutions? What are the most important considerations before purchasing tablets, smartphones, and mobile solutions? And what business benefits can you expect to gain from anytime, anywhere connectivity? This e-book aims to answer these questions and provide tips you can use to ensure your business visibility is as mobile as you are.

Whenever. Wherever.

Sage Construction and Real Estate The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing

93% of construction professionals use some sort of mobile device on their construction sites.

Sage Construction and Real Estate

ContentsWhat your peers say about mobility 04

Why mobility matters: learn the three C’s 05

The role of the “cloud” in mobilizing 06

Mobility spotlight: collecting and approving field employee time 07

Securing mobile devices and your company data 08

Buyer’s checklist for mobile and cloud solutions 09

Three factors to consider before buying a mobile device 10

Learn more about the five types of visibility every construction firm should have 11

The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing

The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing 4

In their own wordsWhat your peers and experts say about mobility.

Sage Construction and Real Estate The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing

5Sage Construction and Real Estate The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing

Why mobility matters: learn the three C’sMobility is without a doubt changing the way we work—especially for those working in the field. When asked how “anytime, anywhere” connectivity helps them be more efficient, construction professionals most frequently responded with one of three answers: convenience, communication or collaboration.

1. ConvenienceWhen field personnel have to call office staff for the latest project information or are tied to the job trailer to request or submit reports, it can interfere with project progress. Mobile solutions enable these frontline workers to access details and execute tasks with a smartphone or tablet. It’s convenient and it keeps projects moving.

2. CommunicationAccording to an ENR survey, communication is the number one way mobile tools improve jobsite productivity.* This communication can entail simply taking pictures with the mobile device and sharing them online with the project team. Or the level of communication can include deeper capabilities, such as accessing back-office financial data on demand or submitting and approving employee time worked on a project on mobile devices.

3. CollaborationGeneral contractors ranked collaboration as the second most important overall factor for using mobile tools in an ENR study. It’s easy to see why: A construction project can involve thousands of decisions, made by dozens of people, from multiple companies. Time is money. So when a significant issue arises, such as a flooded foundation that requires engineering and retrofit, the speed at which the issue gets escalated and communicated to the engineering firm, subcontractors, owners, and other stakeholders has a direct bearing on how profitable the project is.

* Engineering News Record, August 2012 construction survey

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The shift from email in the office to “email everywhere” was the first baby step in what is becoming an all-out sprint toward connectedness. With the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, contractors are looking for new ways to access information and execute tasks on the go. Cloud-based software and apps—particularly those connected to back-office systems—are key to enhancing workforce productivity and the expediency of informed decision making using mobile devices.

The most useful cloud applications for construction are those that push meaningful information to field personnel in digestible bites to support decisive decision making at the job site, and those that enable project leaders to execute tasks (such as collecting and approving labor time remotely) and instantly share information with the home office. No matter what the cloud solution is used for, simplicity is a must.

The role of the “cloud” in mobilizing

1. Flexibility and scalability 58 %

45 %

42 %

40 %

35 %

2. Reduced operating costs

3. Efficiency

4. Reduced capital costs

5. Redundancy and disaster recovery

Source: 2011 IBM Tech Trends Report, published by IBM’s developerWorks.

Top five motivators for adopting cloud technology

Mobility spotlight

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Mobility spotlight: collecting and approving field employee time

A cloud-based solution for time entry and approval can boost business performance.

1. An employee enters his time from a jobsite using his smartphone.

2. The superintendent, working in the field, approves the time report on his tablet.

3. The project manager, working from home, reviews and approves timesheets.

4. The payroll administrator, at the office, processes the information.

5. Project managers are able to understand the true impact on the budget.

6. Workers get paid via direct-deposit—on time, and accurately.

The Construction Executive’s Guide to Business Visibility: Mobilizing

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Securing mobile devices and your company dataThe productivity benefits of mobility are clear. However, as the number of employees who do their jobs outside the secure boundaries of your home office increases, so too does the risk of compromising your company data. What follows are four suggestions for developing an enterprise mobile security policy.

• Determine if you will issue company-owned devices, enable employees to bring their own device (BYOD), or do a combination of both. Understanding the costs involved and your risk is very important in this step.

• Specify which devices your company will support, including which mobile operating systems. If you are supplying the devices, clarify who is eligible to receive them.

• If your employees are able to use their own devices for work, consider using a container approach, such as mobile device management (MDM) software, which keeps corporate information separate and appropriately secured.

• Specify and communicate security guidelines to guard against a data or security breach. These guidelines should include password protection, autolocking, and encryption. Put into place the ability to enable a “remote wipe” if a device is lost or stolen.

Suggestions for creating a mobile policy:

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Buyer’s checklist for mobile and cloud solutions and appsThe era of business mobility has arrived. But investing in mobile and cloud solutions for the construction industry requires special consideration. To achieve maximum value, use this checklist to help ensure you’re investing in a solution that will hold up to the demands on the job site and wherever else your work takes you.

The Solution:

Is designed for the construction industry.

Has the ability to connect to your office systems, such as your job costing and payroll software.

Enables your selected construction project team to work together with shared information.

Provides full administration control over who sees what project and which details.

Maintains projects, people, documents, and/or back-office financial and operations data securely.

Makes it easy to invite new people from various companies to a project.

Documents projects from preconstruction through post-construction services.

Requires little or no training.

Is accessible anytime, anywhere.

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Three factors to consider before buying a mobile device

1. DurabilityCan the device stand up to the rugged conditions of the job site? Some mobile device manufacturers are introducing more durable models. There are also rugged cases you can purchase as accessories.

2. Screen sizeIf you are going to review documents and drawings, it’s important to choose a device with a screen that’s large enough for proper display.

3. Network speedProject managers won’t wait around for connectivity. Look for a 4G LTE device that can handle the data-intensive apps and programs.

© 2018 The Sage Group plc or its licensors. All rights reserved.

Learn more about the five types of visibility every construction company should have:

1. Reporting 2. Monitoring 3. Analyzing 4. Predicting 5. Mobilizing