Why The Construction Industry Is Embracing Collaborative Tech

Today, the construction industry widely uses Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to create realistic models before construction even begins.

GPS and drones to survey and map areas, and Enterprise Resource Planning solutions to manage complex areas including customer interaction, stock control, and more. Clearly, the construction industry had been impacted by technology in more ways than one.

However, one area where the effect is most profound is collaboration, communication, and project management. While other industries have readily accepted these gifts of technology with open arms, the construction industry is still struggling to integrate them into their primitive workflows. Despite the initial hitch, the future of collaborative tech in the construction industry looks brighter than ever before and modern work management solutions are making it even easier.

With easy to integrate models like KanBo, construction companies can embrace the change in no time. In order to stay competitive, construction leaders are envisioning a future with technology at its forefront.

The technological revolution has resulted in a complete overhaul of how businesses and industries function. Among these impacted industries is the construction industry which has always been slow to adopt new technology. Despite this aversion to change, contractors, architects, engineers, and suppliers have already shifted to working and collaborating digitally.

From video conferences to making digital orders and collaborating on project plans and documents in real-time, the uses of collaborative technology in construction are limitless. Those in the industry who have adopted these practices have seen results far beyond their expectations.

How technology is changing the construction industry?

When it comes to emerging technologies, the construction industry has always been slow on the uptake. However, today’s technology has the capability to supercharge construction workflows and accelerate processes. The major innovation in construction tech comes in the form of useful insights that we are now able to derive from real-time data. big data and artificial intelligence, builders have the power to tap into a whole new world of real-time information regarding materials, design, and processes. This not only optimizes the construction workflow but can also help predict the course of the construction project.

Being able to predict the future of a construction project is no longer science fiction and industry giants are taking note. Top construction companies are already pouring investments into technology that shows promise. Despite this paradigm shift, many companies still rely on primitive methods to sift through all the data that surrounds a construction project.  These gaps can easily be bridged with newer and faster-to-implement models like KanBo software for construction industries. Companies that have implemented such models have seen a clear boost in multiple aspects including timelines, productivity, collaboration, and more.

While previously, the construction industry only consisted of planning, designing, building, operating, and maintaining infrastructures, today, construction is expanding to include:

• digital specialists,
• software engineers,
• cybersecurity specialists,
• and project managers. 

This shift says a lot about the trajectory and future of the modern construction industry that will surely be heavily reliant on technology.

Goals and Objectives for Sustainability the United Nations Has Established a Standard for Construction Organizations

It's not only about bringing operational efficiency when it comes to achieving operational agility and responsiveness; it's also about ensuring that consumption and production objectives are fulfilled to the letter. When pursuing agile and adaptable business processes, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs has established a number of goals for large-scale enterprises to consider.

Developing infrastructure that is resilient and long-term

Construct good, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equal access for everyone.

Promoting industrialization that is both sustainable and inclusive

Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly expand industry's contribution to employment and GDP, based on national circumstances, and double its share in LDCs.

Improving small-scale organizations' access

Increase small-scale industrial and other businesses' access to financial services, notably low-cost loans, as well as their integration into value chains and markets, especially in developing countries.

Infrastructure improvements and capacity expansion

Improve infrastructure and retool industries to make them more sustainable by 2030, with improved resource efficiency and increased use of clean, environmentally friendly technologies and industrial processes, with all countries acting in accordance with their respective capabilities.

Investing in scientific research and innovation

By 2030, all countries, particularly developing countries, should improve scientific research and industrial sector technological capabilities, including encouraging innovation and significantly increasing the number of research and development workers per million people, as well as public and private research and development spending.

• Increase financial, technological, and technical aid to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states in order to help developing countries create sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
• Assist developing countries with domestic technical development, research, and innovation, particularly by creating a favourable regulatory environment for industrial diversification and commodity value addition, among other things.

How to connect the experience of an employee with new technology?

As technology becomes a natural part of the construction industry, it will enable contractors to collaborate with employees more efficiently despite geographical differences. This not only bridges gaps between on-site and office workers but also makes it possible to work on construction projects remotely.

Digital tools will keep on improving information access across all levels of the organization. from the front-line workers to the executives of a company, everyone will have a chance to be on the same page with the help of the right technology.

This mixture of emerging technologies such as:

• blockchain,
• virtual reality,
• and IoT.

With an improved network of information, will play a major role in boosting effective collaboration in the industry. All this will be integrated into one common platform that will act as the single source of truth that improves engagement, reduces errors, and boosts efficiency.

How construction industry can work smarter and more efficiently

When it comes to collaborative technology, easy-to-implement models like KanBo are making waves in the construction industry. For construction companies wanting to boost their collaboration and work processes, KanBo is a natural solution. Leveraging the power of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and Blockchain, KanBo offers a simple yet elegant solution to the often complicated problem of effective collaboration.

With KanBo, construction companies can work smarter and more efficiently while making the most of what they have. Here are some important features of KanBo that can be indispensable to the construction industry:

Clearly defining responsibilities

In a construction company, KanBo’s cards act as real-world entities such as contracts, tasks, buildings, issues, and much more. KanBo expertly models real-world scenarios and allows you to define responsibilities for these cards. This means that you have full control over who is in charge of what context. Whether someone is responsible for a card or is a mere co-worker, you can easily assign responsibilities that make it clear who is in charge. In addition to clearly defining roles, responsibilities also allow each member of a team to view what’s on other members’ plates.  

Go beyond hierarchical or geographical boundaries

From the CEO to the on-site builder, KanBo seeks to create a comprehensive network of communication that turns your construction company into a single organism with multiple facets. With KanBo you can:

Invite Others to Work Contexts 

KanBo gives you the ability to invite people to boards or cards and open up a whole new channel of communication and knowledge-sharing. Within your construction company, you can invite team members, people from other departments, and even external individuals such as stakeholders and vendors. 

Find the Right People

KanBo opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for knowledge sharing within the company with its special people search capabilities. Through the search, you can find people with the right expertise and skillsets to help you overcome challenges. 

Open Book Policy

KanBo allows you to give your employees the freedom to create new boards and invite others to collaborate on them. This opens up a continuous path of communication across departments and teams, making innovation possible.

Discover existing operational knowledge

Construction is a highly fragmented industry where different departments are often highly disconnected from each other. This can cost construction companies a lot of money in wasted time and resources. instead of looking outward, KanBo allows you to look for knowledge and expertise within the organization.

With the technology that allows KanBo to suggest similar boards, employees can connect with other experts in the organization to solve problems and spark innovation. Instead of starting from scratch, your employees can now join forces and profit from shared expertise and resources.

KanBo Facilitates Construction Companies at All Levels of Management

Any organization that wishes to improve collaborative technology, embrace planning and monitoring, and go big on high-performance decision-making requires a multi-level infrastructure. When infrastructure is divided across teams, it becomes more difficult to monitor work and information, resulting in inefficiency and redundancy. KanBo's basic building blocks help managers, executives, and employees develop and optimise their work processes and project plans in a similar way. Whether you're an executive or just a team member, KanBo offers all the building blocks you need for all kinds of hierarchical arrangements.

As a C-Level Executives Digital Headquarters

Top-level management values a broad picture of the firm and a bird's eye view. KanBo provides customers with the digital headquarters they need, including quick access to strategy, tasks, projects, information, knowledge, documentation, internal communication, and the organizational community, as well as critical applications. Instead than having to plan meetings and video conferences every day, they can make key decisions on the go.

Citizen Developers as a Low-Code Platform

Low-code platforms are a visual approach to software development that allows for quick application delivery without the need for manual coding. Low-code platforms were created to make app development more accessible to the general public, especially citizen developers, who are basically business users with no professional coding experience. These personnel include project managers and business analysts, for example. KanBo's low-code platform allows users to make a big difference in a number of ways, such as reducing IT department backlogs, eliminating shadow IT, and taking control of BPM workstreams.

Citizen Developers as a No-Code Platform

NCDPs (no-code development platforms) enable non-coders and coders alike to create application software utilising graphical user interfaces and configuration tools. They don't use standard computer programming, which might be tough to master. KanBo and other no-code development platforms, like low-code development platforms, promise to speed up the application development process. These platforms have gained in popularity as businesses deal with the concurrent trends of an increasingly mobile workforce and a limited supply of trained software developers.

Work Organization Platform for Information Workers

A process is a procedure that involves a series of steps that must be completed in order to produce a certain outcome. A project, on the other hand, is a short-term plan with the purpose of providing a one-of-a-kind product, service, or result. KanBo provides a single location with all of the tools employees, managers, and executives need to manage many processes and projects with ease.

Conclusion

While many construction companies have embraced technology, there are many others who are yet to bring about change. It is no secret that most industry leaders are aware of the necessity of integrating technology with their construction projects and hold a vision of doing so.

Despite this profound knowledge, most construction companies are still far behind when it comes to fully embracing technology. To stay ahead, construction professionals need to focus on their core competencies while keeping a close eye on the rapidly changing digital landscape.

Contractors also need to ensure that their business models adapt to the latest technologies in order to stay competitive. In addition to that, training staff on these new technologies while redefining roles and responsibilities is a pivotal part of the process. Ultimately, construction companies need to create a corporate culture that fosters and rewards innovation.