How construction can embrace mobile technology without breaking the bank
Construction businesses need to embrace mobile technology but expensive failures are blighting the industry. Luke Mead of LMS Group offers advice on how to best avoid them
Building sites aren’t the most tech friendly places. By definition, they are undeveloped, outside and exposed to the elements, with materials and machinery moving around at pace. You also get the impression the designers of touch screen mobiles weren’t thinking of those wearing protective gloves or people who work in dusty or messy environments as their end users. The Wi-Fi and IT infrastructure tends to be added to a building after most of the heavy work has been done. So putting tech in the hands of those on the frontline is a challenge.
Yet the sector needs to embrace mobile technology more than ever and all ambitious businesses are looking for practical and cost-efficient ways of doing so. The construction industry is very process-driven and so the benefits of having a solid IT system alongside mobile devices in the field are clear.
The industry also has substantial compliance issues to deal with and needs to be able to show its workings long after the fact if challenged. Also, those at the vanguard of the sector appreciate how the emerging technologies of mixed reality, big data and AI are set to transform the way buildings are designed and made. The IT and construction industries need to get on the same page.
Costs and connectivity
Let’s deal with the thorny one first – cost. Telephony can be very expensive and I’ve seen vast sums spent on projects where the gains were modest, to put it mildly. However, technology doesn’t have to be vastly expensive, even if you are rolling it out for a large workforce. It is possible to ensure your team has the connectivity it needs without it creating a hole in your accounts.
I recently worked with a business that had issued mobile phones to all its 50-plus engineers and technicians, alongside a network from a well known provider. Needless to say, its monthly phone bill was eye-wateringly high. The bill could always go up because, when you have that many mobiles out there, breakages are inevitable and replacements have to be provided. The company’s costly mobile policy wasn’t even popular with staff, as many people dislike carrying two phones with them. There were also coverage issues as there were mobile blackspots when people were on site. Finally, not everyone was conversant with using their second phone and so “user issues” were common. All in all, it was an expensive fail.
Our advice was for employees to use their own phones and agree to have company software installed on their device. However, employees would be paid a monthly amount for agreeing to this, so they didn’t feel the policy to be intrusive. It was found people tended to be a bit more careful with their own phone than they would a work device, so there were fewer breakages. Also, everyone was using a device they were familiar with, so the user issues were resolved.
Rather than using a mobile network, the company switched to a Voice over IP (VoIP) solution, which connected everyone in the field. Since the new strategy was introduced, costs have plummeted, because VoIP is a lot cheaper than a mobile network. Employees get a few extra quid and are more productive. Finally, the company has a platform to build upon and can focus on its customers.
Mobile technology is here to stay and the next generation of workers will have grown up with these devices. There are so many applications which the construction industry can take advantage of. From using augmented reality to demonstrate what a finished construction will look like, to logging and recording processes and archiving deliveries. However, the challenge is not just to bring the digital and real worlds together, it is to find a way to do it without breaking the bank.
Luke Mead is CEO of IT company LMS Group, which he founded when he was just 15 years old. LMS Group is a Microsoft Gold and Cisco Select partner, runs telephony services for NHS health centres and has over 200 clients across the world. Luke, 29, is a keynote speaker on cyber security, business IT alignment, and technology in the workplace. In 2011, he was voted Sussex Young Business Person of the Year.
