Every day, workers in the field are expected to make informed decisions on the spot. These decisions could potentially affect deadlines, KPIs, and project goals. In many cases, such decisions are made based on outdated data, vague instructions, and gut feeling. As more sectors are adapting to remote work, more employees are being exposed to challenges that contractors, field service providers, and other project-based engagements have known for decades.
Arbitrary Tender Process and Forecasting
When contractors use multiple disconnected systems throughout the project bidding and planning stages, handovers can easily become messy. The lack of centralized data can make it difficult to provide accurate forecasting based on consistent models. When a customer asks for updates or documentation, this information may not be readily accessible. Different points of contact may provide different answers based on the most recent information available to them. In response, project collaboration tools, such as Ditra PCT, are designed to increase transparency across the entire project lifecycle.
Unreliable Data from Disconnected sources
From planning to final inspections, contractors must rely on accurate data to manage costs and deadlines. For more complex projects, which may involve multiple locations and work crews, this data can quickly become outdated when not stored in a central location. Consequently, your teams might be viewing the same data at different points in time, causing confusion and delay. Maintaining disparate data sources is both time consuming and inherently unreliable, which may cause drops in productivity. Instead, a cloud-based solution can take the brunt of work out of manual data entry with real-time updates.
Productivity Issues
When using legacy on-site systems, workers must either enter critical information at the end of their shift or remember to communicate changes to a responsible party. Unfortunately, this process is prone to human error and does not facilitate a real-time exchange of information. With critical data and insights at their fingertips, your team will be able to focus on the job at hand, instead of catching up to manual data entry systems and spreadsheets. Some automation tools, such as Infor Construction are designed to help service providers optimize their available resources during projects.
Lack of Flexibility
Change orders and modifications to the initial contract are fact of life when working in the field. However, not all change orders make it into writing before the work is performed. The lack of centralized document management tools to track and update change orders and modifications can lead to unfortunately disagreements and miscommunications – not just with the customer, but among your work crews as well.
When tasked with complex projects, multiple crews, sites, and sharp deadlines, your project-driven business needs solutions that can keep pace before you get left behind. Advanced technologies and cloud solutions are available to solve your organization’s biggest problems, while positioning you to be ready and equipped for further industry modernization.
Solving Today’s Project Collaboration Challenges
Cloud-based technologies have made it possible for today’s remote workforces to be just as flexible as their onsite counterparts. But for digitization to be successful, it requires an in-depth understanding of the unique challenges that companies face when in the field. Working with a digital transformation partner who can identify and implement the right solutions for your business can help minimize downtime and ease the transition from manual processes to automated platforms.
