Finding Value in Modern-Day Connected Construction

The transportation infrastructure is collapsing. The costs of - everything - are going through the roof. Labor is hard to come by. There is breakdown in the supply chain. The list goes on and on. We’ve heard the post-COVID issues. And they effect all business, but especially the construction industry. Yet at the same time there’s a lot of demand for construction services. Something’s got to give - but what? In 21st century industry, businesses look to technology to solve their problems. And luckily, the wide-open possibilities of technology, and growth in U.S. technology infrastructures, do provide some answers. As tech and its possibilities continue to grow, the solutions become more customized for every industry. In the construction industry, these answers are “connected construction” and the various technologies, software and capabilities it ties together. But what is connected construction and ultimately what is its value? On an obvious note, connected construction collects the multiple services, capabilities, data and technologies of the construction industry to present an aggregated view of everything. Ultimately, what this provides is a big picture of total construction projects. Tech may not be able to solve all of the construction and industry issues listed above, but it can certainly help in this case by collecting all the issues and progress reports of a construction project in one place - providing construction managers the capability to more easily see the problems and the opportunities to fix them. Believe it or not, today’s construction industry has been filled with various tech and data points for every aspect of a building project. This includes elements such as:

  • Construction supplies and ordering
  • Shipments
  • Project management and scheduling
  • Landscape survey data
  • Engineering plans and data
  • Architectural items and plans
  • Costs
  • Labor specifics
  • Environmental sustainability and other metrics
Finding Value in Modern-Day Connected Construction All of this great info, and yet the technologies can be almost impossible for construction project managers to keep track of and understand in one place. This is the problem that connected construction solves - and what makes it so valuable. But this isn’t only valuable to construction managers - it helps their clients as well. Construction clients, such as commercial building landlords, may not understand or even be able to access connected construction software. But the advantage is that landlords - with commercial contractors who do use connected construction - can receive faster, more specific project updates whenever they wish from their construction managers. Not to mention, the building project could be finished faster by contractors using connected construction because any potential problems can be revealed faster, and solutions presented faster. For example, a labor shortage in job site A could simultaneously be presented with a surplus in job site B, thanks to connected construction software. Or, delays in supplies shipments for the main building site could be presented immediately with closer locations of materials for purchasing. All of these solutions can be shown faster and more easily to the construction manager, and even the client if need be, thanks to connected construction. This is definitely a construction industry technology trend that’s not going away anytime soon - thankfully - for contractors, clients and the commercial construction industry as a whole. So seek the contractor who is up on building industry trends, technologies and connected construction solutions for your next project. Want more? Read about Buildrite’s commercial construction services.