The digital transformation continues, leading to the appearance of more technologies in construction. According to Deloitte, by 2022, the engineering and construction industry has made a significant recovery from the recent recession but still faces challenges that prevent capturing growth opportunities.
In this regard, the ability to benefit from relevant digital tools and approaches is likely to serve as a competitive advantage in the industry.
The construction industry has changed considerably in the last few years, with software applications and new technologies reducing costs and improving quality across all stages of the construction process.
With so many new tools at your disposal, there’s no need to wonder how to improve quality in construction; here are some of the best ways to do so.
8 Tips on How to Improve Quality in Construction Projects
It’s no secret that it takes a lot of moving parts and collaboration across different disciplines and roles for construction projects to stay on time, under budget, and with quality at an acceptable level.
But how can you improve your project management capabilities so you’re able to do a better job? Here are some tips on improving the quality of construction.
#1 Take Responsibility for Planning
Proper planning and site preparation are imperative for quality in construction. That starts with a detailed job plan that’s shared among all project members, so everyone knows their role and what’s expected of them.
In addition, it’s important that all site activities are overseen by qualified superintendents and managers. As any good builder will tell you, quality is achieved through proper planning and execution, not by closing your eyes and wishing for success.
#2 Conduct Quality Performance
Various technologies in construction help monitor and enhance quality. These tools are useful because they alert management to problems before they get out of hand. This way, companies can take action before things go wrong.
For example, project management software helps contractors identify defective products from suppliers as soon as possible so that rework doesn’t impact other projects.
Contractors can also use ERP software for this purpose, as it serves as the glue among several processes and legacy systems and helps to improve quality in construction.
#3 Aim at Repeat Business
Like in many other spheres, customer satisfaction and retention are the key factors that reflect the quality of construction. If a builder has a high number of repeat customers, it shows that he’s doing his job right.
Try to be as communicative as possible with your customers – give them estimates and deadlines; track their opinions; constantly ask how you can improve your work and products/services. For this aim, customer portal software works well.
#4 Nurture a Culture of Quality
By creating a culture of quality in construction from top-to-bottom, you empower everyone on your team to care about every facet of their work.
Among all, a leader should be proactive and foster such an environment through tools such as inspection management software so the workers will receive timely feedback on their work and are more likely to pay attention to what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.
Besides, if employees also feel that their contributions are respected and valued, chances are good that they’ll continue contributing at high levels—and helping you produce better results overall.
#5 Make Smartphones Work for You
Mobile devices offer a wide range of opportunities that can serve as quality-raising technologies in construction. For example, installing an app like Google Earth is a great way to gain perspective on your project.
Also, a smartphone lets you take instant pictures on-site and send them to stakeholders, which saves time and resources for project management.
Many other free smartphone apps also include features that will come in handy during construction, such as tape measures, calculators, and GPS locators.
Having easy access to these tools will improve quality assurance during construction by giving you easy access to measurements and levels throughout projects so construction plans can be maintained.
#6 Keep it Simple and Straight to the Point
High project complexity is harmful to the quality of a construction project. It requires more time, effort, and resources which may result in mistakes, materials shortages, or errors.
That’s why it's so important that your plans are detailed enough to leave no room for ambiguity, but not too complex so as to cause confusion among stakeholders.
In practice, it means having a clear schedule of who is responsible for what aspects of your project, so there is no confusion about who is doing what and when they need to be done.
#7 Resolve Defects Fast and Accurately
When it comes to risk management, safety should be your top priority. Because if you’re not safe on a construction site, then you can’t move forward with a quality building—or any building at all.
The good news is that there are several software solutions available that can help you resolve defects and incidents faster and more accurately than ever before.
Among the ways of using technology to improve safety on construction sites, it’s worth mentioning inspection solutions again, as they can reduce unwanted human errors and improve consistency across multiple job sites throughout a region or even country. And all this comes in a preventive way, without causing the need to experience the possible danger for real.
#8 Constantly Search for New Ways and Technologies in Construction Industry to Improve Quality
Continuous learning is the core value of the top leaders of our age, and the construction sphere is not an exception to this rule. To succeed in the long run, you should constantly have an appetite for new tools and methods that can improve your performance and construction quality.
Beyond incorporating new knowledge, you should experiment in practice. That means being open and trying to use various technologies in construction, ranging from 3D printing to nanotechnology and augmented reality.
While deciding to try, stick to your business needs, though. Once you understand how these technologies can fit into your life and workflow, you’ll find them easier to integrate into your day-to-day projects.
5 Technologies in Construction That Improve Quality Standards
As construction as the industry has turned from the technological desert into a high-tech place, each of the ways to enhance quality standards in construction is impossible without technologies in place.
Most Promising Technologies in Construction in 2022
1. Cloud computing.
As a type of software as a service that allows companies to use programs and storage on servers over a network, cloud computing allows builders to access important data when they need it, which could include blueprints, client contracts, or employee records.
Since cloud computing works through an internet connection, it can be accessed anywhere around the world; cloud-based technologies allow workers on-site and remote employees access to projects from any location. With advances in mobile phone technology, builders can also access information from their smartphones or tablets.
2. Advanced GPS technologies
This know-how helps in improving the accuracy and communication of construction activities, being already widely used in aerospace, military, science, and engineering.
Precisely, these advanced GPS technologies provide information about both horizontal or vertical position values with very high precision and update rates required by each task in any area of work or job site.
3. Build Information Modeling (BIM)
BIM is a set of software tools that links an entire building team together to let them work more efficiently and effectively. Because it enables each member of a project team to work more closely with one another, it increases their knowledge of one another’s work, which makes them better able to communicate and collaborate. This can have a huge impact on quality.
4. Laser scanning
Being among the rare tools that can help you save time and money when doing construction work, laser scanning takes a three-dimensional image of an object or space, measuring things like surface area and volume, then storing that information for future reference.
5. Data science, empowered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Data science is a field of study that uses data collected through observation or experimentation to learn about something. It is used for purposes such as understanding human behavior, knowledge discovery, finding useful patterns, predicting trends, and much more.
Empowered by AI algorithms and ML enhancements, data science promises to bring about a revolution in the construction industry, improving quality considerably and saving money.
Ask Intellectsoft for Help in Getting Technologies to Improve Quality in Construction
If you need a tech partner who has vast experience in the construction industry and can recommend the exact technology that will help you improve your project quality, contact us!
We at Intellectsoft offer construction software development services, including
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Project management
- Inspection management
- Customer portal and partner portal
- Construction integrations
- Analytics and reporting
- Project onboarding and training, and others.
Request an expert consultation, and we’ll find the solution that will meet your business needs, help you achieve operational efficiency, and drive innovation.
