If You Build It, Use Technology

There’s a famous movie instantly recognized by its tagline, “if you build it, they will come”. That’s exactly what Kevin Costner did—he built a farm land baseball stadium and the great players of the past came. In the movie Field of Dreams the construction process lasted a few frames and was executed with nothing more than a hammer, a saw, and some nails. We all suspend belief for the sake of the story being told, but once we snap back to reality, the truth is any construction, regardless of size, cannot be properly executed without the right technology in place.

The advances in construction technology are real, they are here, and they aren’t going away. If construction contractors are not already implementing these new ways to build, they’ll be as obsolete as the dot matrix printer.  Grassi & Co. recently completed our 2017 Construction Industry Market Outlook Survey and the results, when it came to technology, were thought-provoking—of the responding companies, 53% reported their technology investment would increase in 2017. However, the overall revenue percent spent on new technology to improve project construction/delivery is minor as the participants plan to spend less than 1%. One could read the message being sent by the thin technology budgets as these advances, which cost money, are still viewed as overhead with a still undefined return.

The reality is that when properly utilized by everyone in the organization, technology will increase productivity and profitability. Most contractors’ work on-site is enhanced by mobile devices. Integrated with the company’s ERP, these platforms are designed to increase communication between the field and home office—fostering real time collaboration between employees, regardless of their location or role, to make informed decisions based on current information to execute a profitable project.

For example, if labor hours exceed the budget, the project manager and office no longer need to wait to understand why and what the contractor’s recourse is. Technology, used properly, will allow the project team to make immediate and impactful decisions based on real-time data. Taking it a step further, once overruns or out-of-scope conditions are encountered, a properly equipped field team can use adopted technology to ensure documentation and other compliance requirements are properly utilized and submitted timely. Think about the immediate savings this translates to for the construction company.

Attract, train and retain has become the motto of most contractors when it comes to labor and the ongoing shortage. Construction companies who implement and use cutting edge technology have an untapped recruiting tool in their hands. By marketing their tech savviness to the millennial generation, a labor group who understands and embraces today’s technology can open the door to skill sets and new ways of thinking, which can translate to building better and more profitably. The opportunity to work within augmented reality models, with job site drones, using wearable technology focused on worker safety should be touted as an experience “you’ll only get here”. Further, talent will be less likely to seek career opportunities elsewhere if they know the construction company continuously makes an investment in the advancement of technological solutions and new ways to build.

Another consideration is the safety benefits to the contractor’s labor force from investing in technology. Construction companies today need to take proactive steps in differentiating themselves to demonstrate that labor is the most important resource. Developing and implementing an industry-leading safety program is an important step in helping the construction contractor solve labor issues as it demonstrates the welfare of workers and the worksite is priority number one. Coupled with the proliferation of wearable tech, an opportunity has emerged for the construction contractor to differentiate themselves from the competition. Making an investment in wearable technology designed to monitor the workforces’ vitals and project conditions can revolutionize on-site worker safety.

Consider these three pieces of wearable technology and how they could impact worker safety:

• Smart Vests – safety vests that can alert you to any fast-moving objects and detect unsafe environmental conditions as well as provide a log of the wearers safe work practices. Not to mention monitoring personal health indicators of its wearer, such as body temperature and heart rate.
• Smart Watches – smart watches can track the workers vitals: body temperature, heart rate, etc. Further, these assist in clocking time between breaks, so if one is warranted, the project manager is alerted. Management can also use the device’s GPS functionality to discern a workers’ location at all times—consider how valuable this becomes with respect to an employee who may be injured or lost on a job site.
• Bionic Suits – granted, these are uncommon in the construction industry today, but when one considers that the majority of health and safety issues on a job site are related to arduous physical labor, (which could lead to long-term physical problems for a worker) the argument to invest in a technology that will provide the contractor’s workforce with the ability to pick up and operate heavy machinery with ease, becomes stronger. In addition, bionic suits have the ability to reduce labor time for manual intensive tasks which leads to greater efficiencies and job productivity. (And, of course, fewer accidents and/or injuries mean fewer insurance claims and lost dollars.)

Cutting edge contractors are already employing emerging technologies to help develop new ways of building and alternative methods of delivery. They understand technology is here for the construction industry to build better, eliminate the silo effect and truly get every person in the organization on board and focused on overall strategic business goals. Decisions to invest dollars in this area are not made on the fly, in fact, hours of productivity are invested and those dollars spent on researching and developing new technologies could qualify for R&D credits, which could be sizeable income tax savings to the construction company as well.

Will the stable levels of technology investment, cited above, hold through 2018? One cannot say, but it is reasonable to conclude the way we build will only rely more heavily on technology tomorrow.
Hollywood loves to remake the classics, so I cannot help but wonder when Field of Dreams will get this treatment. Will we see Kevin Costner’s replacement building in a bionic suit, on farm land riddled with drones? We can only hope.

For more information on how you can use technology to improve your business, contact Carl Oliveri, Partner-in-Charge of Construction Practice at Grassi & Co. at coliveri@grassicpas.com.

Rebuilding NYC Construction Safety Standards

New safety standards, the STEP program and digital learning, are impacting construction companies, their personnel, engineering and design firms, and all others along the supply chain in the NYC construction industry. The financial and operational implications of these changes are worthy of consideration.

NYC Construction Safety Reform

Reform would typically originate from OSHA and the District Attorney’s office, the entities who govern safety standards for the industry. These agencies hold the General Contractor and Construction Management accountable, especially in the pre-qualification of subcontractors. Amongst their recommendations, increased safety planning prior to stepping onto jobs sites including higher certifications and law enforcement for work done involving scaffolding and elevator structures, better overall enforcement of laws,  and expansion of training and monitoring processes.

Prevention

As the saying goes, the best cure is prevention. Proper planning of not only how job sites operate but also how they are designed will make a world of difference. The Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) program, is a leading set of safety best practices for the NYC construction industry. Initiatives such as cocooning an entire building during construction to protect from falling debris, advances in tethering to guarantee 100% fall protection, and digital innovations can shorten the learning curve and shield both workers and employers from costly and devastating accidents. Technological advancements from virtual reality training—which will reinforce key concepts to e-learning through mobile devices to deliver just-in-time safety tips to workers—will be at the forefront of these safety measures. Additional technological enhancements would also include the use of GPS tracking systems to keep abreast of everything and everyone on the job site at all times. Life vests may also be used to track how each worker is doing , i.e. are they experiencing fatigue, is the environment safe?, etc. It is recommended that foreman look for key indicators for depression, addiction, and suicidal behavior while on site.
To further educate those in the industry, ABC is also bringing a Safety Culture Academy to the NY area.

The Impact

Architects, designers, engineers, contractors and all firms along the supply change will feel some impact from these new safety standards, however, the costs of non-compliance rates much higher. It is imperative that owners understand that all of these risks, or even the threat of them, will either add considerable cost to the contract or decrease the potential profit one can make on any one specific job.

The good news is that since contractors are already mandated to comply with local, state and federal regulations, the up-front costs to the owners to implement and maintain safety standards is minor. If successful at safety implementation, and prevention of injury, the overhead costs of insurance and accident costs may be significantly reduced.

In the long term these developments will create a stronger and more productive operation at every touch point.

For more information on safety regulations within the construction industry, contact Robert Brewer, Partner-in-Charge of A&E Practice of Grassi & Co. at rbrewer@grassicpas.com, or Carl Oliveri, Partner-in-Charge of Construction Practice of Grassi & Co. at coliveri@grassicpas.com.