Dive Brief:

• Dallas-based construction firm Rogers-O’Brien reportedly told Apple Insider that using iPads on jobsites saves it $1.8 million annually, including an average of $10,000 in printing expenses per project.
• Since introducing iPads to the company five years ago, Rogers-O’Brien said it saved nearly 55,000 hours that employees would have been spent traveling to on-site trailers to check job documents that are frequently updated.
• In addition, by giving its operations staff access to real-time project documentation on mobile devices, the company said mistakes caused by employees working off outdated files were reduced, which saved an estimated 7% on costs for each project.

Dive Insight:

Construction came in as the second-least digitized sector on a 2017 McKinsey & Co. study of industries in the United States. While the global manufacturing, retail and agriculture sectors have grown their productivity by as much as 1,500% each since 1945 thanks to technology adoption and innovation, construction has stayed about the same. But the industry, which has plenty of technology at its disposal, is beginning to embrace proven digital-focused strategies.

The use of mobile devices like smart phones, tablets and wearables on the construction jobsite has grown significantly in recent years. In 2012, 41% of respondents to JBKnowledge's annual Construction Technology Report said that mobile capabilities were "not very important." In 2017, however, only 16.9% of contractors surveyed held that view while 83.1% said mobile was important or very important.  

As many as 89% of construction firms use mobile devices on the jobsite in aims to eliminate traditional communication barriers between office and jobsite. While this may be the main benefit for the industry, many mobile applications have been introduced that can help contractors complete projects more efficiently.

Autodesk’s BIM 360 Field app, for example, allows workers to update and report on project performance through cloud-based collaboration. GoCanvas simplifies reporting and eliminates stacks of paperwork by allowing users to fill out estimates, forms, inspections, work orders and audits on mobile.

Learn more about the benefits of digitizing operations in this free webinar. Watch now»