October 4, 2023 – Digital transformation: a phrase that suggests something lofty, confusing, business-altering… and expensive. In some contexts, it may end up being just that. But let’s not forget that many transformations have already occurred, and we’ve embraced them… either by our own volition because we understood the value proposition, or because the choice was made for us. I’m thinking about:

• The fax machine.
• The personal computer.
• Email instead of snail mail.
• Excel spreadsheets instead of multiple pages of notes and files.

The construction industry has, in fact, been undergoing a digital transformation for many years, right alongside the rest of society. But whereas hardware may have once ruled supreme, the emphasis these days is on the software that runs on that hardware, and how it can help you better tackle and streamline business processes.

Which begs the question: how do you know you are ready for software that is specific to trade contractors? Do you have to be a contractor of a certain size (i.e. large) before you even think about this?

“I don’t think you have to be a large contractor to benefit from technology,” says Sarah Hodges, chief marketing officer with Procore Technologies. “In fact, I often think that smaller companies can benefit more than the large ones because technology can give them efficiency gains that puts them in a category above their competitors; it helps them perform better, and makes them look larger than they actually are, which can be very meaningful for winning new work.”

Technology buckets

Hodges is no stranger to the construction sector. Prior to joining Procore, she held several leadership positions at Autodesk, including leading strategy and marketing for the construction business line.

When it comes to the technologies that construction contractors use, she identifies three buckets.

The first is analog technology, which encompasses everything from pens and pencils to notepads and sticky notes. “In most of our conversations with contractors—like, 9 times out of 10—we talk about moving away from these analog processes to something digital.”

(Like me, Hodges admits she still writes all her notes by hand, so she is not on a mission to eliminate pens and notepads!)

But shouldn’t vital business information be inputted somewhere other than just a notepad?

That’s when we get to her second technology bucket: general project management tools, which include things like Google Sheets, Excel, etc., “that add some sophistication to your workflow”.

“In fact, subcontractors use some of the most sophisticated Excel spreadsheets I’ve ever seen! I could never duplicate them!” she laughs. “They’re too complicated for me, but they work for those individuals.”

Now we arrive at the third bucket of “discipline-specific tools”, which include software designed specifically for the world of trade contractors. “Here is where you start to enjoy much more sophistication.”

Turning to discipline-specific tools

Because there are so many discipline-specific tools on the market, I was curious as to what typically drives subs to seek out solutions that go beyond Excel, Google Sheets, etc. Is it tracking hours? Estimating?

“Everyone has their own unique reasons, but what usually rises to the top is efficiency. Teams want to become more efficient; they want to manage time better, manage their budget and resources better… I mean, that’s where money is won and lost, right? In the effectiveness and efficiency of your resources.”

Hodges cites one survey of subcontractors where respondents indicated that, on average, they spend 40% of their time on inefficient tasks, doing things they really shouldn’t be doing (or redoing) in the first place; things that end up having a negative impact on schedule and budget.

“So the most important things we hear from subcontractors? How can I be more efficient? How can I best manage my projects? How can I best manage my people, their schedules, and their budgets?”

And these efficiencies may be realized by simply having the right data at your fingertips, she explains, “like having transparency into a project to see where it is in terms of progress relative to schedule”.

“But efficiency could also involve identifying the tasks that are left to do, and assigning the right people to those tasks “because that’s their domain; that’s what they’re good at”.

Efficiency can also come from just having a better sense of where your resources are allocated. Have you deployed them well? Are you managing those resources as per the the original schedule?

Predictability and attraction

“A lot of contractors talk about how they want to get to a place where they have greater predictability; a place where know whether they are performing as optimally as possible on any given project,” Hodges says. “They want to know whether they can complete things faster with fewer resources, but that’s very difficult to do without adding a huge degree of sophistication.”

And that tends to be the tipping point, she says, when contractors finally make the leap to discipline-specific tools.

“They want transparency and visibility into their performance, and that leads to seeking out solutions that can help them aggregate and structure data so that they can make meaningful decisions.”

Embracing the latest technologies can also serve as an attraction and retention tool for labour, Hodges says, noting that contractors want to be tech-savvy so that they are able to attract the next generation into the industry—and keep them there. “That comes up a great deal in conversations.”

Finally, the decision to invest in discipline-specific tools may, ultimately, be made for you. “Owners are now regularly specifying the use of technology for the construction part of the project. They, too, want transparency, which puts pressure on general contractors who, in turn, push that pressure down to the subs.”

A growth mindset

Based on everything I was hearing from Hodges, one thought kept surfacing to the top of my mind: you know you are ready for construction-specific software when you have a growth mindset.

“Okay, I cannot believe that you just said that, because that was going through my mind just now, too!” Hodges laughs. “I absolutely agree. You have to have a change in mindset. You have to be open to doing things differently, to stepping outside of your comfort zone and adopt new ways of working.”

That said, all the various benefits you stand to gain will not be realized overnight. “You can’t just plug in a new technology and expect that you are immediately going to be efficient. For example, I can’t just wake up one day and say ‘I’m going to run a marathon’ and expect to be able to do it.”

Like any new tool, it takes time and flexibility—and buy-in, when others are involved—to get from zero to hero. It’s a journey.

But the results can be tremendous, Hodges insists, “for the individual and their team, and their company, in terms of productivity and efficiency, resource reduction and risk improvement in margins”.

And those discipline-specific tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with no signs of slowing. In fact, the areas of insights and risk analysis are only getting smarter.

“Just imagine a world where you can ask your software solution: ‘Tell me what this project might look like based on similar projects’,” Hodges says excitedly. “Imagine the power of that having that information in your hand before you even bid!”

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