Technology has had a profound impact on the way we work. The age of “big data” and the ubiquity of powerful mobile devices hold the potential for positive change across virtually every industry. As with all such advances, reaping the benefits requires a fresh approach to both planning and practices. This is particularly true for job site safety in the AECO industry.
One of the many challenges to implementing technology initiatives is getting buy-in from management. Executives are famously averse to risk, especially when the current situation is viewed as “working just fine”.
Let’s consider the case of moving from a paper-based job site safety program to one that is built on electronic data gathering and software-based analysis. Yes, there are risks, as is the case with anything new, e.g. will it actually perform as advertised, will the workforce embrace the change, and so on. There are also risks associated with playing it safe, and these tend to have long-term impact on fundamentals such as competitiveness, organizational effectiveness and operating costs.
Here are some things to look for when considering a software approach to construction site management:
- Have a plan to minimize disruption – great communications with your team and active involvement of stakeholders is a good place to start
- Consider deploying new technology at the beginning of a new project rather than in the middle of an existing one – run the new tech in parallel with your current workflow to get some real-world comparisons
- Develop a list of achievable goals with well-defined metrics – keep them focused on specific items such as Incident Reporting, Job Site Safety Analysis, Safety Awareness, Risk Mitigation, and compliance assurance
- Have a dependable technology partner that can help you develop a realistic implementation plan – at AnchoRock we understand that your success is our success, as evidenced by our approach to the customer onboarding process, on-site and virtual training services, and dedicated account support throughout the lifetime of our relationship
Paper-based workflows are considered inefficient in our digital age, but that does not mean your workflow is necessarily flawed. AnchoRock’s construction software products provide elegant, agile solutions that displace paper, adapt to your existing workflows, and bring new data insights through the use of machine learning and predictive analytics.