Picture this: A crew stands idle on a jobsite while the project manager shuffles paperwork and hops from one mobile app to another, trying to sort out a delayed material delivery. Every moment wasted delays the job further and sends a little more profit down the drain.
While it's impossible to completely eliminate wasted time, there are ways to minimize its impact. One of the best ways to reduce the frustration and expense of jobsite downtime is with workflow automation.
What Is Workflow Automation?
To start, it's worth noting what workflow automation isn't: It's not artificial intelligence (AI). There isn't anything thinking for you or making decisions without your approval.
But if it's not AI, then what exactly is it? Think of it like a jig, helping to cut through miscommunication and paperwork.
Anyone who's cut pieces of pipe or lumber to size knows how useful a jig can be. With a couple of stops in place, you can tear through multiple cuts in a fraction of the time it'd take to measure, seat, and cut each one. A jig automates the process of measuring and seating each item to be cut. This is exactly what effective automation does: It makes life easier. It doesn't get in your way, and you can bypass it if you want.
Automation means making a jig for the common tasks in the construction industry. Chasing information between different systems, like the project manager in our opening scenario, is incredibly wasteful. It's called "Gray Work," and it's exactly what high-quality automation is designed to defeat.
Construction Project Management Workflow in Action
Now that we've defined workflow automation, let's see what it looks like in action. Keep in mind that these are just examples. How you incorporate automation into your process will be unique to you and your needs.
Communication: Coordinating a Job Delay
If you've ever seen how a delay in one trade can ripple across a Gantt chart, you understand how much communication is required to avoid angry subcontractors and additional lost time. (And let's be honest, how many jobs have you seen that have absolutely no unexpected delays?)
Automated systems can update everyone downstream about a delay, giving them the most advance notice possible and an adjusted start date.
That alone would be worth the price of admission. However, automating this task has another major benefit: It creates a single source of communication. Working with multiple subs or crew leads can present a logistical nightmare. One sub wants to be text messaged, another wants email, and a third demands phone calls (but he never answers his phone, so you might as well send smoke signals). And project managers lose a little more progress each time they switch from text to email to phone calls.
But automate that process, and everything improves immediately. Adjust the schedule accordingly, and each affected sub will be notified immediately using the method they selected when they set up their account.
Invoicing: Approaching a Draw Request
On a large job, most contractors practically have the draw schedule burned into their brains. But clients don't live and breathe with the draw schedule. Even a client who's glad to pay may end up shorting you if they didn't know they needed to authorize a payment before they left the office on Friday.
Avoid this headache by setting up an automated reminder message a few days before the draw is due. This will prep the client for payment, eliminating short-term confusion and making cash flow run smoother.
Automated invoicing can also allow clients to pay electronically, provide a statement/receipt, or even send a collections letter if you have a slow-paying client.
Ordering: Material Delivery
Remember that scenario with the project manager trying to sort out a material delivery while their crew sat around on their hands? Let's imagine that same situation with an automated construction project workflow.
First, the vendor could have left a message on the system about the possible delay (or a photo of the successful delivery). If there was a delay, the supervisor could have adjusted the schedule, immediately notifying the subs and crew leads and redirecting them to other, more productive work while sorting out the material situation.
Automation isn't just about fixing problems! Once you set up automated material ordering, you'll also save time on repeat orders of materials or consumables.
Bringing Project Automation to Your Jobsite
OK, so it's clear that an automated construction project workflow makes life easier. But not every good idea gets the acceptance it deserves. For any system to succeed, it requires buy-in from the back office and field workers. Look for an automation solution that provides:
Integration With Your Existing Tools
Automated solutions should work with what you already use. When considering which vendor is best for your business, look for an organization that provides support at all steps of the integration process.
Streamlined Information
Overwhelming workers with too many unnecessary details can turn them off from using the system. Office admins don't need details on installation specs, and field workers don't need every trade's scope. Provide each user only what they need when they need it. If your workers are wading through excess information, they're not focused on the task at hand.
Training
Like any new skill or technology, crews, supervisors, and office workers need time to learn. Learning new skills can be difficult, especially with new technology. Look for automation options with hands-on training, videos, written help files, and a robust support network for when problems or questions occur.
Next Steps
You already automate your work with nail guns and saws. Now it's time to try it with email and invoicing.
Automation saves time and defeats Gray Work in administrative, supervisory, and fieldwork roles. On a construction jobsite, it speeds up communication and provides a central point of information for everyone, from subcontractors to clients.
It's time to get organized and streamline your business workflows. You can start by learning more about how automation can have a real, direct impact on improving your projects and optimizing profit. The sooner you get going, the quicker you'll reap the rewards.
