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AboutRead In 4 Minutes
The Importance of Innovation In Construction
Innovation – one word that changes the entirety of a business. It forms new ways to tackle existing issues, meet demands as an organization grows, or push productivity to succeed against competitors.
For the construction industry, new and innovative methods have had slow adoption rates. It’s a frequent topic of discussion, especially here at 4castplus for more than a decade. From technology to help streamline processes to adopting technology to attract workforce talent, but the digital maturity is lacking.
In a recent report provided by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) and KPMG in Canada, “Construction companies embracing digital transformation will achieve greater efficiency, generate substantial productivity gains, improve onsite safety for workers, reduce the cost of goods sold, and modernize operating models.” (Construction in a Digital World, 2021)
Innovation Benefits
The concept about innovation advancements hasn’t changed, but there’s a need to move from fragmented tools to embracing a fully integrated strategic digitization strategy. Before, companies could get by on finding quick packaged solutions that meet their needs for certain projects or only for specific teams.
Now, there are far more benefits in integrating system and processes across the organization because it can:
- improve productivity and safety,
- reduce project lead time,
- decrease costs with greater efficiency,
- increase retention of talented staff,
- result in growth due to collaboration and decision making,
- and enhance client relations.
Businesses will see huge returns, whether in efficiencies, day-to-day communications, and monetary advances, if it recognizes these benefits.
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Innovation is Challenging
But for small to midsize enterprises (SMEs), injecting new innovative processes into their business can be a challenge. It is a feat, where at times it’s more than some managers are willing to take the plunge. The good news is that innovative changes can be made gradually as long as there is a commitment to improve ongoing. There isn’t a finite conclusion where the company stops transforming or adapting to new technology because it will only lead to falling behind once again.
Without the daunting task of overhauling how a business operates and produces, incremental steps to reach the overarching goals and objectives can help breathe new life. New ideas can bring new value, and existing processes can be improved little by little.
Adopting Innovation is Essential
For instance, project cost tracking is one of the many software solutions that 4castplus offers. Many SMEs track actual project costs in a variety of applications and documents – a financial accounting system, spreadsheets, job tickets, paper time sheets, invoices, etc. By looking at the workflow and purpose of these documents and the associated costs, you can often uncover inefficiencies.
Eliminating or improving those inefficiencies will affect your bottom line. So, if you are a project-based business, here’s a key way to adopt innovation in your organization. Take a look at your project cost management software with an objective eye and evaluate your system, its processes and its information value.
The 5Ws
- What is the process and the information intended to do?
- Why are the process and the information needed and what decisions do they affect?
- Where is the information coming from and where is it going?
- Who gathers the information and who needs the information?
- When is the information needed?
- How is the project cost management system working and how do we improve?
As you’ll see, the benefits reaped from that one decision can lead to other innovative decisions and greater opportunity. And as we enter into 2023, there are more technological advances to learn and embrace, changing an entire outlook on a company’s competitive advantage. From predicting analytics and analyzing vendor data, to switching to cloud, cyber technologies, now is the time to minimize the technological gaps.