Digitizing The Construction Industry – How Mobility Delivers Business Value

By Leslie Brand, Capriza

Past-due and over budget projects

The construction industry has a tremendous impact to any nation’s economy.  While the sheer volume of people and partners employed and the demand for enabling materials – steel, cement and chemicals – generates enormous economic activity, managing the complexity of these large projects is a challenge. According toMcKinsey, large construction projects typically take 20% longer to finish than scheduled and are up to 80% over budget.

McKinsey cites that the construction industry is among the least digitized, spending less than 1% of revenues on information technology. Yet, digitizing the pen to paper processes, connecting back office information to the field, and empowering real-time updates on projects and people can have a huge impact on timelines and budgets. Hence, digital collaboration and mobility is one of five key trends identified by McKinsey, that is shaping construction and capital projects.

Srini Sathyamurthy, Executive Vice President, Solutions, Element Five Solutions, a leading technology services company serving the construction industry, sees the opportunity. “The construction industry has barely begun to scratch the surface on digital transformation. Yet, the enterprise technologies and innovation are there, especially with mobility, and the upside in better project management with better outcomes for project completion and budgets, is significant.”