Software has played a key role in construction project management for decades. As technology continues to improve, however, construction management apps are proving themselves integral in ways previously unimaginable to even the most savvy professionals.
A classic example of this can be found in the area of risk mitigation.
Let’s explore a few of the key risks the construction app space continues to mitigate with increasing effectiveness.
Construction Management Apps Mitigate Health and Safety Risks
Any reputable construction company recognizes that health and safety are two paramount concerns on the job site.
A construction app makes it easy for field teams to stay compliant with safety regulations. Smart examples of these apps host compliance documents in the cloud, allowing professionals to keep track of hazards (and measures taken to control them) on the fly instead of trying to recall details after the fact. This makes it much easier to conduct accurate deficiency reviews.
In the case of an incident, teams can use their safety observations inside such a construction app to reduce legal risk by proving that preventive measures were indeed taken.
Construction Management Apps Mitigate Financial Risk
Proper financial management is integral to a construction project’s success. Workers need to be paid, fraud needs to be nipped in the bud, expenses need to be tracked — the list goes on.
It’s no surprise, then, that some of the most popular construction project management apps are focused on financial efficiency.
Apps make it convenient for professionals to track things like invoices and expenses on the fly. Great improvements in cloud technology make this information instantly accessible anywhere, on any device.
This all works to provide a real-time, accurate picture of a construction project’s financials. Professionals use this accurate picture to stay on track in an industry where being financially uninformed can cost millions of dollars.
Construction Management Apps Mitigate the Risk of Delays
A construction project has many moving parts. Keeping those parts moving on schedule is crucial for avoiding such undesirables as enforcement of a liquidated damages clause.
Just like with construction project management apps focused on financials, apps aimed at mitigating the risk of delays can encourage communication between different teams, resulting in a more accurate real-time picture.
Professionals who use these construction management apps to their full potential find it easier to be proactive and avoid delays — or at least reduce conflict by communicating them more effectively.
Construction Management Apps Mitigate Change Order Miscommunication Risk
Change orders are often a source of frustration for contractors in the construction industry. They can change a project’s scope drastically and derail an existing schedule.
There’s also the potential for miscommunication regarding change orders given the high-stress, fast-paced nature of work on a job site. Construction app developers recognize this and have created tools to simplify every aspect of the change order process.
Apps like this encourage clear communication of a change order’s many variables.
They can also help contractors communicate the projected costs associated with a change order. This avoids surprises like the dreaded “if I had known it’d cost that much I wouldn’t have asked for it!”
Construction Management Apps Reduce the Risk of Errors
Design coordination tools help professionals foresee issues and simplify the RFI process, which otherwise costs the average project upwards of $859,680.
One of the ways a construction app can achieve this simplification is by making it easier to export error data in a variety of industry-standard formats.
In other words, companies that use these apps find it much easier to communicate (and ultimately solve) errors in a way that works for all those involved.
Because the most efficient construction project management apps function as a suite of tools, they are also intelligent enough to identify errors like double-entry.
The Bottom Line
All of the above mitigation can be summarized as follows:
Construction project management apps make the job site a safer and more efficient place. Leaps in mobile and cloud technology have made it much easier to incorporate these apps into workers’ daily routines. As a result, construction project management apps have become an integral part of the workflow at many companies.
With apps now available that work on a variety of mobile platforms (including iOS and Android devices), companies may actually find it more difficult to resist using construction apps than to incorporate them into their business.
The key is to find the right construction app suite for one’s needs.
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