In all industries across the board, the million dollar question is:  How can we cut costs?

The answer doesn’t have to be handing out pink slips, re-assigning smaller teams, and working through piles of unemployment paperwork. That is often the quick go-to solution for companies looking to cut costs, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated. There are simple changes that you can make that secure jobs, and most importantly, secure company revenue.

The first step is to take inventory of your expenses in the office and in the field.

Across the board, one of the highest costs in the construction industry is time. Time becomes an expense when equipment is down due to a lack of systemized inspection processes. There is no denying that the lack of productivity is actually more costly than the regular maintenance and repairs made to large equipment on a job site.

In the office, paying overtime for management to catch up on reports and paying your admin team to push paperwork quickly adds up, as well.  

If these stories ring true with your company, then it’s time to make a change.

More times than not, the solution and the change that is needed is improved technology.  How much have you invested into your company to improve your operations and decrease your cost?

Some examples of advanced technology implementation that have proven to be smart investments with more than worthy returns on investment include:

• Equipment management: track and manage construction-equipment fleet
• Field Productivity: creation of standardized operations, tracking on-site productivity
• Quality Control: inspect remote sites through shared pictures
• Safety: track and report safety incidents across the job site
• Management and Operations: automated reporting to quickly gather data and analyze information

The Three Non-Negotiables

 

The prospect of implementing new technology may seem daunting, but as mentioned earlier, it doesn’t have to be complicated. When considering new advancements, keep in mind these three non-negotiables to make an early transition easiest:

1. Less is more. Look for new digital tools that will solve more than one problem at once. A multi-faceted tool may seem overwhelming at first glance, but it is ideal to onboard one new tool that can create several new cost-saving improvements. You’ll have access to one support team, and there will be similar basic functions that will make training a much less stressful experience for everyone.
2. Fail fast and fail forward. The transition will be much easier and more welcome across the company if you can see the return sooner than later. Choose your first transition to be one that shows a quick return on investment, not one that requires a heavy payment up front to only see the financial benefits five years later. Put tests into place right away and start tracking data so that you can see the time and money that you are saving.
3. Look for long-term changes. Only consider technology that will not be out of date in 12 months. You do not want to re-invest and re-train in just a few months because your newest shiny gadget just became obsolete.

Adopting new technology will end up saving you tens of thousands of dollars a year. The companies that make the right moves now could be the industry leaders a decade later if they invest in technological advances along with a company-wide mindset of change. As the construction industry knows better than anyone else, it’s ALL about the tools.

Click here to schedule a free demo and see how eesyQ technology can significantly improve company systems, increase efficiency and positively impact your bottom line.