“Hard” Benefits #1 – Direct Cost Savings
Most contractors find adopting new technology difficult. Why? Convincing your team to adopt new tech like jobsite management software can face resistance. They want to be builders, not bureaucrats or office workers.
But you can’t let feelings get the best of your business sense. Digital jobsite management software saves you money by substituting technology for human labor. That’s a hard business case you can take to the bank! And increased digital adoption leads to more strategic improvements in any contractor’s business.
Automation of daily log data is far easier and less costly than BIM, VDC, VR or AR. While all these have a place in your digital strategy, why not start with the easiest and fastest pay back? Jobsite automation has so many benefits!
Jobsite Management Software Eliminates Paper from Field
Obvious, but worth repeating: Jobsites are no place for paper forms, whether in the open or a trailer. Paper data is only usable where the paper is present, and carrying paper around is a huge time waste.
Jobsite Management Software Eliminates Data Entry in Field
Keying in data from paper forms is hugely expensive no matter where you do it. Even without paper, keying in data is error prone and expensive. Most people are lousy typists. Onboarding and capturing critical identity data needs to be one-and-done. Then, arriving and exiting a site must be as fast and easy as possible. That’s what Safe Site Check In is all about.
Jobsite Management Software Enables Worker Onboarding
One and done project onboarding at the jobsite is faster than sending workers to HQ for identity data capture and reviewing project and safety orientation documents or videos.
Fast, Accurate Worker Check In and Out
Mobile phones and tablets allow workers to check in and out in parallel vs sequentially. Shift changes can occur faster both coming and going. The process is just as fast as boarding an airplane.
Jobsite Management Software Reduces Compliance Record Archive & Retrieval Costs
Cloud storage is way cheaper than paper, and with digital cloud technology, compliance data storage is immediate, permanent, secure and private.
More Workers Means More Savings
Over the past three years, we’ve validated these hard cost savings with multiple customers and project types. Projects of any size will see savings of over $2 per worker check in, so the savings increase linearly with the number of workers. The bigger the better.
“Hard” Benefits #2: Indirect Cost Savings
Automation direct savings frees up resources and raises their productivity. What they use that productivity for leads to Indirect cost savings. These are harder to measure, but no less real.
Jobsite Management Software Increases Data Quality
Don’t fool yourself: If you don’t confirm the identity of workers or visitors who arrive at a jobsite, you are only pretending to care about jobsite safety and security, risk and compliance.
Jobsite Management Software Leads to Better Jobsite Safety
Our digital check-in can be configured to advise workers and visitors of each project’s safety requirements, from PPE to current jobsite conditions, such as an open trench/fall risk, or imminent heat wave. Safety managers get an important tool for making their project safety plans a reality.
Improving safety over time requires repetition of training, techniques and monitoring. A digital check in requires a worker’s attention; they cannot just walk by a poster or signage. Acknowledging safety advice before checking in can be standard practice. Attendance at tool or safety talks can be digitally recorded as well.
Digital communications makes safety documentation, such as hazmat data sheets or project safety plans, accessible to anyone with a mobile device. No more binders in the trailers that have to be customized for each project.
And worker profile data collected during onboarding – their certs, training history, etc. – is invaluable to safety managers and the site supervisors who must enforce safety standards.
Jobsite Management Software Leads to Better Jobsite Security
As with checking into a plane for air travel, check-ins can be used for access control. Workers and visitors who haven’t been onboarded can be refused approval, shunted aside and site supervisors notified. Problematic resources can be denied entry. Supervisors (and HQ) can see who is or was on site anytime, anywhere. And having to provide verified identity discourages theft.
Better Project Management Data Quality and Timeliness
Automation of daily logs meets basic compliance requirements, but when integrated with project management software, project managers can more quickly see if a project is meeting its planned effort and schedule. Project managers can more easily monitor multiple projects. And project management platforms like Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud become a “source of truth” for all stakeholders.
Better Accounting Data Quality and Timeliness
Good identity and onsite duration data is key to any hourly compensation plan, whether hourly employee payroll, or vendor time and materials charges. Given strict labor compensation laws, this data is invaluable to prevent overcharging and resolving disputes quickly. Jobsite data also makes invoice validation for A/P easier, and for preparing t&m invoices by
Better HR Data Quality and Timeliness
More and more states are requiring validation of the legal right to work for all jobsite workers. Union shops have specific rights and responsibilities as well that HR needs to enforce. And this is a global trend, not just in the USA. (In fact, the USA is behind in such requirements owing to its dependence on undocumented laborers.)
Better Compliance Data & Risk Management
Attendance identity with check-in/out timestamps is the most basic, fine-grained data for compliance and risk management. Eventually, AI and other algorithms will “mine” jobsite management software data to avoid surprises and expensive claims.
Reduced Claims and Cost of Claims
Attendance identity with check-in/out timestamp data will immediately reduce the number of bogus hourly compensation claims. In fact, such data will immediately reduce the number of any type of claim based on unvalidated observations, because you’ll now know everyone who was present, and individuals will be less able to make stuff up. And the cost of claim handling is often more than the settlement fee. Digital data records expedites the entire process and drives down legal costs.
“Soft” Benefits of Jobsite Management Software: Strategic Intangibles
Productivity of Superintendents, Safety and Project Managers
The attention of everyone on jobsites should be on the building, not a computer screen. By reducing the number of phone or laptop looks, you raise the productivity of your most expensive resources – experienced field managers. And for smaller jobs, digital allows a supervisor to monitor more than one site at a time without traveling to and from.
Owners Want a Single Source of Project “Truth”
Owners want a single source of project “truth” in digital data form. Data maturity model scores are still quite low across the industry. Most observers believe owners will drive contractors to digitize and will leave behind the contractors who won’t.
Productivity of Subcontractors and Trade Workers
The historic shortage of experienced trades and managers means firms just adopt multi-dimensional labor acquisition strategies. The productivity of subcontractors is just as important as employees because hiring everyone yourself just doesn’t make sense. GCs can drive down subcontractor costs via digital as well.
Better Jobsite Communications and Collaboration
It’s common sense that better digital data and communications will encourage a GC culture to embrace digital. Field/HQ alignment will improve, data will standardize decision making and estimates, AI and advanced analytics will eventually make big impacts, and construction management platforms will continue to be a source of competitive advantage.
Jobsite Management Software Pays Back On Every Project
The pandemic and mobile phone have made QR codes a commonplace in everyday life. You now order food and board an airplane using QR codes. There’s no complex training required for adopting this technology. No good excuse for not using Safe Site Check In on every project.
And our jobsite management software does not require an expensive enterprise license. Every project except the smallest can realize more profit and a positive ROI by by adopting Safe Site Check In. Check out your estimated labor cost savings using this calculator.
David Brian Ward is a CEO and Founder of Safe Site Check In LLC, a digital jobsite management platform launched in 2020 for the Construction industry. With over 40 years of experience in the technology industry, having launched and grown several successful companies. Mr. Ward is a now a SaaS entrepreneur and innovation leader in the Construction industry.
