Takeaway 1
To connect their internal departments, the design and construction industries have embraced the usage of digital workflows.
92% of respondents said they employ internal digital workflows. They can engage in procedures between departments inside their own organizations and share data thanks to these workflows.
This is not surprising considering that firms are able to execute projects faster and of higher quality thanks to the digitization of workflows, which also increases internal process efficiency.
However, only a quarter (24%) of respondents say they use digital workflows to collaborate on procedures with other businesses that make up the larger construction project team and exchange at least 50% of their project data.
Why you should look further: The research shows that the types of firms that regularly employ digital workflows and those that are adopting them slowly differ significantly from one another. For instance, the least frequent users of internal and external digital workflows are general contractors and construction managers.
Takeaway 2
Over the next five years, connected, digital workflows will only grow in importance.
More than 50% of respondents who use digital processes infrequently or never said that, during the next five years, the whole construction sector will find them critical or very significant.
Notably, owners are by far the most likely to think that these workflows will be important in the future. This implies that project owners will be able to lead the digital transformation of the various project participants, finally assisting the industry in achieving the productivity improvements that have proven so elusive over the years.
But there are barriers preventing the implementation of digital workflows on a larger scale. The main barrier cited by all kinds of businesses is that requiring contractual requirements for digital documentation is not a high enough priority. This could change when more businesses adopt more widespread usage of digital workflows, which will drive them to demand that project partners embrace digital solutions.
Why you should look further: Regarding how much their rivals are utilizing both internal digital workflows and cross-company digital workflows, each project participant has a different perspective. These occasionally match the self-reported findings, but occasionally they don't.
Takeaway 3
Construction managers and general contractors stand to benefit most from linked construction.
General contractors and construction managers are the groups that are blamed for communication breakdowns the most frequently across all business kinds. This is consistent with the fact that GCs/CMs are the groups with which the majority of other types of businesses communicate most frequently, but it highlights the need for more effective strategies for GCs/CMs to dependably link with other project players.
But everyone involved in the project needs to place a strong emphasis on training to improve communication with the other members of the team. By far, the most effective strategy to raise satisfaction (42%) among respondents who are currently dissatisfied with their level of connection to other project stakeholders is to expand training on using digital workflows.
The requirement for stronger connections may not necessarily be where GCs/CMs/ are focusing digital workflows. This is a reason to look further. To discover more about the differences, read the report.
Takeaway 4
The idea that connecting workflows requires too many solutions is a significant obstacle to their adoption.
The requirement to use a large number of different solutions for digital processes might limit the ability of information to flow effectively both internally and externally since integration between various software solutions is frequently constrained. Fortunately, more than half (57%) of survey participants said they utilize five or fewer different types of software to carry out digital activities.
But, sadly, this is an increasing issue for the entire sector. The majority (46%) of respondents claim that there are now more software options being employed for digital workflows. Their ability to communicate with one another can be hampered by this. Vendor consolidation greatly decreases complexity and expense while enhancing service. The answer might be a cloud-based service that incorporates important workflows.
Reason to go further: By a large margin, businesses that employ digital workflows have a significantly better understanding of how administrative and project processes directly contribute to errors and delays in projects. This emphasizes the necessity to maintain seamless and efficient connections between digital technologies so that firms may better understand how their procedures contribute to project challenges and make changes to improve future projects.
Takeaway 5
There is a great potential to link the office and the field.
92% of owners, designers, and contractors asked say they use digital workflows within their firms to connect internal processes. Project management is second only to architecture, engineering, and trade contractors in terms of having the best connections with owners and contractors. This is understandable given that project management requires input from other departments in order to properly carry out its fundamental responsibility.
However, field operations is the internal department with the lowest degree of connection for both general contractors and chief managers (62% and 49%, respectively). Contractors who make the investment in adopting digital workflows to bring teams in the field and teams in the office on the same page will probably have an advantage over those who choose to forgo those efficiency, productivity, and predictability improvements.
Detailed information regarding the preconstruction, administrative, field/crew management, construction operations, and construction closeout processes and activities that are being digitized by each stakeholder group is provided in the report, which is a good reason to read it in more depth.