Construction Digital Transformation Failure: Lack of Software Integration

On our Blog, you can often read articles that:

• Explain the need for innovation in the construction industry

• Show the ideas on how you can digitise your company

• Share tips and tricks on how to implement correctly modern technologies

However, before you decide to invest in new construction management tools, there is one more critical aspect to remember: there is a thin line between good digital innovation and digital transformation failure.

What does it mean? It means that construction management software can significantly support your daily processes and boost your company’s growth. But, if you do not spend enough time on consideration and proper implementation, you receive yet another system that does not fully support you.

So what are the strategies for choosing construction software while avoiding digital transformation failure? And what are the real negative effects of too many systems not being integrated? Let’s find out!

New Technology, New Problems?

Okay, imagine you have just invested in new technology to reorganise and improve your project delivery. However, project management is not the only aspect you should be taking care of! Besides that, you also take part in financial processes (like invoicing and accounting), keep in touch with clients and perform activities from the business management field. If you invested in software that specialises only in project management solutions, most of your needs haven’t been met yet.

So to solve that problem, you decide to invest in another digital solution to take care of the business management side of your business. But, of course, you still need to have good software for accounting activities. And it would be beneficial to have a tool for fast team communication, document management and maybe something to reorganise the company's assets.

Finally, you end up with a bunch of different systems that separately are pretty good but when put together, only create a bigger management mess. These new solutions create enormous frustration as you invest your company's time, money and effort to implement them. Read more on: Why Software Integration Is A Priority?

Read more on: Why Software Integration Is A Priority?

What Are The Downfalls of Non-Integrated Management Solutions?

• 01

  Data needs to be entered manually between systems

  Let’s imagine you received an invoice for some part of your construction work. You should enter the data inside your project management software to calculate the costs and check if you are still under the set budget. Simultaneously, the same data should be in your accounting system to make a settlement of accounts.

  If you are using separate systems that are not integrated, you probably have to enter the same data manually to each software. It means spending twice as much time on manual activities and increased risk of mistakes while reentering the data.

• 02

  Multiplicated documentation in each system

  If you have to enter each data twice, you probably also have the same documentation in both systems. So, adding to it a physical version of the same document gives us three times the same data in three different places. That can only mean one thing: organisational mess!

  As the company grows and more people need to use different documents, it might significantly impact their efficiency. Data shows that 35% of construction professionals’ time is spent on non-productive activities including looking for project information! So, in the long run, a mess in the documentation considerably decreases your profits.

• 03

  Higher total cost

  One of the most crucial factors when it comes to purchasing new software is the price. When we look at the cost of one separate system, it is often lower than that of an integrated platform that connects different aspects of construction management.

  However, when we summarise the cost of all the tools, systems and solutions that we have, it often turns out that the price is much, much higher. Also, we should add to it the time and energy that your employees have to spend on implementing each system, instead of performing their daily activities and generating the company's profits.

  Read more about: Why Implementing New Technologies Is Worth The Effort.

• 04

  Broken information flow in the company

  Have you heard about the term golden thread in the construction industry? It means a smooth information flow that, just like a thread, connects all employees, teams, departments. As you probably know best, a swift reaction to changes on a construction site is crucial in finishing a project on time and within the budget. That is why having a fast tool that contains golden thread features is essential.

  Imagine you have one of the best project management softwares, an accounting system and specialised tools to communicate quickly between the office and the construction site. However, if they are not connected, your employees waste crucial time making the simplest decisions as they have to click and log in between different systems to look for the same data. What you need is real-time data and instant decisions.

• 05

  To much time and effort spent on implementation

  The time and effort that your employees waste on repeatable and manual actions due to the lack of integrations can be overwhelming. But, there is one more aspect! Even if you invest in an off-the-shelf solution (ready to use, usually with a fixed set of tools), you still need to spend some time and effort implementing it.

  That is why it is essential to check if you really need all those tools. Maybe, it would be better to get flexible software customised to the company's needs? If you do not consider these aspects carefully enough, it might turn out that you only multiplied the work for your employees instead of making it easier. And after all, digital transformation is all about people!

Learn more about how to choose your construction software wisely: Flexibility vs Complexity.

Count me in - let’s chat!