San Francisco-based PlanGrid, a provider of construction productivity software, has shared results from a research report administered in partnership with management consulting firm FMI Corp., Raleigh, N.C. A survey of nearly 600 construction leaders learned how teams spend their time on construction sites, communicate during projects and leverage their technology investments. The survey indicates that time spent on non-optimal activities, such as fixing mistakes, looking for project data and managing conflict resolution, accounts for $177.5 billion in labor costs per year in the U.S. alone. The study also found that rework caused by miscommunication and inaccurate and inaccessible information will cost the U.S. construction industry more than $31 billion in 2018.
Key survey findings include the following:
- Construction workers lose almost two full working days each week solving avoidable issues and searching for project information.
- Almost half of all rework is caused by poor communication among project stakeholders and poor project information.
- Workers are not taking full advantage of mobile devices and IT investments.
- Technology is expected to improve data management and increase productivity.
“Poor communication among team members and incorrect or inaccessible information that workers need to do their job [are] costing the construction industry tens of billions of dollars annually,” says Jay Snyder, FMI technology practice lead. “The majority of industry stakeholders seems to be at a loss for how to remedy these systemic and expensive problems. While construction firms continue to invest in technology, the business-critical issues of communication and data management need more strategic attention than they currently receive.”