The construction industry is riding the wave of technology right now and mobile apps are front and center. These apps help your team work efficiently and effectively. More and more apps are coming out specifically for the construction industry. You can bet your competitors are using them, so if you’re not, you are missing the boat. Here are three reasons mobile apps should be a part of your construction operation:
Mobility is a Must! 3 Reasons Why
Ability to Work No Matter Where You Are
Project management apps are wonderful tools to have to keep the field and office connected. Up to the minute current changes, costs and plans can be shared no matter where you are working. It allows streamlined data input that saves everyone time.
There are apps available to service work companies such as heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical that keep you up to speed on the latest industry information in order to stay on top new ways to do things. Instructions from the office can be read onsite, and when the job is done the customer can sign for the payment which will then go directly to the office. No invoices, receipts or other timely paperwork.
Payroll apps have improved the construction industry ten-fold. By having the payroll mobile, supervisors out in the field can enter all pertinent information such as, hours, labor rates, union information, etc. Payroll is always current and employees aren’t having to wait to get paid for hours worked.
Not only are projects more profitable because of mobile apps, vendors and employees are paid quicker, problems are dealt with much faster, and the budget is controlled better because all of the work is done in real-time. Workers aren’t waiting for answers and projects aren’t getting shut down nearly as often.
All Communication in Real-Time
Construction is all too familiar with problems, changes and mistakes on any project. By working in real-time, project teams can be contacted immediately should any of these arise.
An example would be you are minutes away from pouring cement, when you are alerted that the wrong mix has been done. Before the mobility that we enjoy now, everything would come to a screeching halt while phone calls and emails were sent back and forth for hours trying to make the change. Now with mobile apps, the office can be contacted immediately, who can get an answer within minutes and relay it back to the field.
There are amazing mobile apps that will share construction plans and specs instantaneously to the project manager out in the field. Paper documents can get ruined or lost, changed so many times they are unrecognizable, or not everyone involved in the project received them. These mobile apps makes sure everyone that needs to see the plans and specs, sees them
Mobile apps are helping with recall, saving enormous amounts of time that used to be spent digging through file cabinets, call logs and emails. No longer do you have to rely on someone else to find information for you because it is literally at your fingertips.
Improved Equipment Tracking
In large construction companies, many jobs are occurring at the same time, and it is imperative to know where all of the equipment it, if needed repairs have been made and when it needs to be moved to the next job site.
Apps that keep track of the precautionary maintenance needed on each piece of equipment, along with track their location have revolutionized the construction industry. Trying to find each piece of equipment and keep them on track for maintenance in the “old day” was full of mistakes and took such a long time. Within seconds on a mobile device you can see exactly how a specific piece of equipment is doing, and how much it is costing on that project. If the piece of equipment needs to be moved you can see when is the best time and where it needs to go with just a few clicks.
Data that needs to be kept track of include fuel, oil and maintenance. Mobile applications made specifically for that not only make the job much easier, it helps you get more life out of your equipment by keeping it running smoothly.
Mobile technology is just going to keep improving and your business needs to use these apps to their fullest potential. They save time and money, which is something we all want to do.