The construction industry has been a laggard in taking advantage of all the benefits offered by digital transformation. The KPMG “Global Construction Survey: Make it, or break it,” details exactly how bad the situation is. Less than half of the construction companies it surveyed, 48 percent, say they have already developed a data/technology strategy or road map. And 57 percent say they are “followers” or “behind the curve” when it comes to the use of technology. Only five percent say their organizations are cutting edge.
Room for Industry Improvement: Only 5% of construction companies think their organizations are on the cutting edge of digital transformation.
But it’s one thing to know that construction companies in general are behind the curve. It’s another thing entirely to find out whether your company is a digital laggard. Now, though, there’s one way to find out how far along the path to digital transformation your company is. LetsBuild has released a free online Construction Maturity Digital Ladder (CDML) to determine your construction company’s digital maturity.
The assessment takes approximately eight minutes to fill out and asks questions such as how frequently your company reports progress on your constructions sites, whether your schedule matches the reality of what’s actually happening in the field and whether your company stores data in a common data environment (CDE).
Judging by what CDML has found out, few construction companies are taking advantage of digital technologies. Only 35 percent of companies who have taken the test get progress reports from the field daily, while 39 percent report weekly, and 26 percent do it monthly.
The survey concludes: “It doesn’t take much to understand that if our goal is high productivity, reduced building cost and fewer reworks, these numbers are simply not good enough. In the worst-case scenario, stakeholders in construction must report from the site at least once a day.”
Other findings are even worse. Only seven percent of companies “are confident that their program reflects reality at any point.” In addition, the report says, “Only 3% of the construction sector stores its data in a CDE, while 8% reveals that they have started a CDE project but they are not fully there yet.”
Only 7% of construction companies “are confident that their program reflects reality at any point.”
All this, even though digital technologies can lead to tremendous benefits, including cost reductions of up to 45 percent for every construction project, according to McKinsey.
LetsBuild concludes, “Considering that we are referring to a sector with a productivity gap of $1.6 trillion, 80% budget overruns and an average 20-month delay per project, it becomes clear that data-driven decision-making and a standardized construction process could be the key to a future of positive margins and boosted productivity.”
The Best Path to Digital TransFormation for the Construction Industry
In order to take advantage of digital technologies, construction firms need simple ways to begin to digitize their manual and paper processes. One easy way to get started and scale quickly is by using the best mobile app development platform in the market, Alpha Transform. Alpha TransForm lets construction companies build applications that tie construction sites directly to back office operations, improve logistics, make sure that construction documents are always within reach, and cut down on mistakes and rework. It can also streamline inspections and dramatically improve data capture.
To see how Alpha TransForm can help, check out how the Building Engineering Company used it to increase inspection throughput, improve data accuracy and make data available to the company’s systems immediately. And read how mobile apps can help solve the construction industry’s labor shortage.
You can try Alpha TransForm yourself, with free access to a pre-built building inspection app you can customize for own construction company.
Powerful Data Capture Apps for General Contractors, Inspectors and Supervisors
Safety Inspections • Non-Conformance Reports • Gemba Walks • Inventory • Certifications and Training • Punch List • Workplace Wellness •
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