Proptech solutions to improve construction industry collaboration

The construction industry is ripe for disruption. Large projects across asset classes typically take 20 percent longer to finish than scheduled and are up to 80 percent over budget. Although accurate data is not available to account for construction projects for private, residential projects, anyone who has ever built or renovated a house would be familiar with these numbers.

5 trends in the construction industry.

In a recent publication, McKinsey listed 5 trends that have the potential of disrupting the construction industry.

• Higher Definition surveying and geolocation
• Next-generation 5-D building information modeling
• Digital Collaboration and Mobility
• IOT and Advanced Analytics
• Future-proof Design and Construction

The Proptech industry of today is in a very similar place to where the telecommunications market was 20 years ago. Technology is ready to be unleashed onto the industry, but no single solution has yet been able to unify the workflow into a simple solution. 

While the construction sector has been slow to adopt process and technology innovations, there is also a continuing challenge when it comes to fixing the basics. And it's mostly due to the way the industry works.

Unlike many other industries, construction is a highly fragmented industry. Many independent contractors, specialists and tradesmen need to collaborate seamlessly to complete a project. Immaculate timing, availability of resources and building material as well as access to plans and instructions are critical to the success of a construction project.

Fixing a broken collaborative culture

Unfortunately, project planning, for example, remains uncoordinated between the parties and is often done on paper. But most worryingly, customers are increasingly being kept on an arm's length and sharing of up-to-date information is known to be sparse or even non-existent.

This is a major challenge as customers are rarely silent bystanders. Regardless of whether or not these are commercial customers or homeowners, customers are equally interested in projects being completed on time and within budget and delivering on expectations. With today’s poor adoption of collaborative technology and lack of a collaborative culture this is more of an exception than a rule.

This way of operating leads to:

• poor productivity
• poor profitability
• poor customer satisfaction.

Capital heavy upfront investments further increase the financial risks for construction companies.