During our recent monthly webinar, “Technology Trends in Construction Workforce Management,” we delved into the technological advancements transforming construction workforce management.
Eric Helitzer, the CEO of SubBase, a procurement management platform, joined me in approaching the topic from different perspectives.
Our discussion spanned from overviewing the innovative solutions presented during the World of Concrete to technology’s impact on time, workforce, and efficiency in the construction sector.
60,000 visitors, 400+ exhibitors, and, most importantly, many concrete-related new technologies were present at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
This year was especially for construction tech in the concrete industry.
Let’s set aside the intentional inaccuracies, such as buddy punching and ghost employees, for a moment.
Manual data entry is one of the main error-causing aspects of the construction industry.
While many companies still leverage this old-school method of timekeeping, paper timesheets, it continues to cause major scaling problems.
For example, when you log 6 hours of work instead of 8, you must deal with an employee who wants the mistake corrected. This, in turn, involves 4-5 people to correct this unnecessary error.
From the procurement management perspective, Eric added:
“… from an organizational perspective, many large subcontractors who need to digitize time are also digitizing other aspects of the workflow…
There are a lot of inaccuracies with product availability and shipment time or when to expect them. This is something that, you know, technology is going to help.”
Manual cost coding is the second most common problem, as every company has its unique set of cost codes, depending on how they face the jobs, project size, and the current stage.
This, in turn, brings a lack of visibility in the workflow.
Collaboration is key when dialing in on workflows such as time-management material procurement.
Eric said:
“We have seen that the more you connect the parties, the faster, more efficient things can become, and without collaborating in one centralized spot, it becomes a disparate channel of just data flow that just doesn’t make sense for most.
So those are different buckets and inefficiencies, the long-term of this umbrella of streamlining the process and the workflow that makes sense for each.”
Noncompliance could put you out of business, whether we’re discussing state or federal regulations or union policies.
For example, in California, if a worker takes a 29-minute meal break instead of 30 minutes, you must pay them for an hour of overtime.
Sales tax can be an issue when traveling across state borders. For example, the tax on materials depends on where or how much you’re buying.
There are incentives for contractors. Depending on the materials they purchase, it is important to report how much sales tax they may need or what credits are required.
After COVID-19, when 82.5% of the construction materials went up in price by 19%, the industry has shifted its focus toward more innovative procurement, emphasizing cost and material availability.
Data analytics significantly improves this approach, facilitating strategic decision-making by allowing companies to balance price with vendor reliability.
Real-time data analytics offers an accurate picture of pricing dynamics based on historical data.
It helps manage transactions, showcasing the value of real-time insights in ensuring projects stay on budget and schedule.
Most individuals managing invoices today tackle this task manually, examining each invoice closely, coding each item, and sometimes searching for delivery tickets or purchase orders (POs).
SubBase technology streamlines this process by automatically identifying the PO and performing a line-by-line comparison. These technological solutions are designed to enhance efficiency in processing a single invoice and handling hundreds or thousands in your inbox.
Furthermore, cost coding, a time-consuming and manual task, can be significantly expedited and improved.
Our system ensures that cost codes from approved purchase orders are automatically applied when the invoice arrives, allowing for swift integration into the accounting system and faster payments to vendors.
MobiClocks® technology supports existing workflows, digitizing them to refine the user experience.
This approach extends to the payment side for labor, allowing contractors to bring subcontractors into their system for time and attendance tracking.
This streamlines the invoicing process, enabling contractors to accurately determine what should be paid at the end of a period, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth, and ensuring timely payments.
Benefiting both contractors by confirming the accuracy of payments and subcontractors by accelerating their payment process without disputes.
Automation plays a key role in preventing fraud, mainly through the innovative use of technology.
For instance, duplicate invoices that enter the system can now be recognized and flagged automatically.
This “unintentional fraud” can be completely avoided.
It’s not always about overt theft; sometimes, errors result in double billing, which our solution aims to eliminate.
Moreover, we’ve provided solutions that enhance productivity for our clients. Why should your materials, like lumber or snap ties, arrive late on Friday when no work is scheduled for the weekend?
These controls help avoid unnecessary spending and potential fraud.
Our workforce management solution detects fraud, from consistent punch-time mismatches to the more blatant ghost employee schemes.
Our goal is to ensure fairness for both employers and employees, minimizing opportunities for exploitation, which, unfortunately, is not uncommon in our sector.
We believe in “Honest Work, Honest Pay!”
We advocate for fair time and attendance tracking, embodying a principle that benefits all parties and promotes integrity within the workplace.
In the construction industry, we don’t want to disrupt current workflows. In fact, we want to improve and simplify it.
We believe this is how technology adds value.
Finding the right balance here is tough, but is the main reason we built our solution and continue to focus on unlocking the value for our industry.
Modern workforce management solutions are developed to help people in construction work better together despite having different needs and challenges.
One of the big issues in construction has been dealing with systems that don’t talk to each other.
But now, there’s a move towards linking these systems together. For example, ensuring data can flow smoothly between major software systems like Procore or Autodesk.
This helps everyone stay connected and makes the whole construction process smoother.
Construction is a complex field with many challenges because every project is different and might need a unique approach.
While it might be nice to have one solution that fixes everything, the reality is that solutions often need to be customized to fit the specific needs of a project.
Accurate data and analytics enable construction companies to win more contracts and boost their reputation.
Especially when historical data from purchase orders and invoices are used in the process.
Effective organization of this data—sorted by cost code, vendor, and quarter—reveals its value for pre-construction planning.
Frequently, pre-construction data is scattered across different platforms and not readily configured for optimal pre-construction analysis.
Achieving data accuracy through correct coding and clear descriptions is essential for fully comprehending the data’s implications.
How is your company’s success directly linked to relying on accurate historical project data?
One of our clients, a company owner, highlights that while MobiClocks® saves money, its greater value lies in winning more business.
With accurate historical data, companies can refine their bids and stay competitive while maintaining expected profit margins.
The precision and reliability of past data are not just a matter of record-keeping but a strategic advantage that can determine your business’s success.
We know software is often viewed as an expense in construction, and demonstrating its ROI is crucial for successful implementation.
Technological solutions should address problems before they arise, ensuring a seamless experience.
Securing the necessary support and approval from all involved is notoriously tough in this sector.
It’s way more than just whipping up some fancy software; it really boils down to getting a deep understanding of the problems faced at every level and by every stakeholder.
From the superintendent on the job site to the CFO back in the office, everyone has their own set of unique challenges when it comes to managing materials.
It’s about finding solutions that speak to all of these challenges in a way that everyone can get behind.
At MobiClocks®, our strategy is all about going hardware-free. We’ve introduced a solution that boosts reliability and simplifies the setup process. We focused on creating a user-friendly experience and crafted our technology to be incredibly intuitive.
This means less time spent learning the ropes and more streamlined daily operations. Thanks to this approach, we can get sites operational in record time—often just a few days.
A standout moment came during the World of Concrete event when I chatted with a client about the costs of implementing the MobiClocks® construction workforce management system.
Initially, the client was a bit wary.
Still, after running some numbers, they were surprised that the return on investment for our software could be seen in as little as two weeks.
This speaks volumes about the value we bring to the table.
But let’s talk about the cost of sticking with the old ways.
What’s the price of continuing with outdated labor tracking and material management methods?
By spotlighting the time and resources drained by manual operations, we can showcase the substantial savings and efficiency gains that come with our solution.
Join us for our next monthly webinar on March 28th at 2 PM EST to explore the transformative benefits of moving from traditional paper-based processes to digital platforms in the construction industry.
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