The challenge of two-way communication in construction

Very few construction projects go exactly according to the original plan. This is a normal aspect of any construction project and is in most cases not a sign of incompetence and/or poor planning. Being able to make changes "on the fly" and to implement these changes successfully (to accommodate for an unforeseen situation) is in fact a sign of professionalism.

Many of these change requests originate from the customer, although it's equally common that construction workers identify a potential problem mid-project and the need for changes to the original plan. As mentioned before, this is a sign of alert professionalism and a result of an open and transparent work culture.

The Butterfly Effect  

Most of us have heard about "the butterfly effect". A seemingly insignificant event, when given enough time, might lead to something quite unexpected. Construction projects are equally susceptive to the effect as any other project. Sometimes a potential issue is not identified early enough to allow for necessary remedies to be implemented and seemingly minor issues can result in a catastrophic outcome.

For example, a minor change to prevailing weather conditions (e.g. low temperatures and icy conditions) may have a catastrophic impact on the health and safety of workers on a construction site. Project managers aren't always on the construction site in person and may be unaware that actions are required.

Capturing a potential issue early

The whole project team must have the tools available to communicate and share their concerns and suggestions for improvement. But not only that, they need to rely on their suggestions being acted upon by the project manager.

Without an easy-to-use tool that supports a two-way dialogue between all stakeholders, these types of insights are easily lost and never actioned upon and can lead to employee satisfaction issues at best and legal disputes and physical harm at worst. Not only can this lead to a negative reputational impact but also a complete shutdown of business.

How Buidbite helps

At Buildbite, we want to empower open and transparent communication. Buildbite includes powerful communications capabilities allowing project stakeholders to discuss topics related to specific tasks. Because all communication is structured around specific Projects, Phases and Tasks, important feedback and information is easily shared between all included team members.

Additionally, the chat feature also has the unique capability of empowering users to convert chat messages into mutually agreed tasks. This means that feedback from someone on the building site (e.g. a safety-related issue) can be converted into a task to be completed before work on the building site continues.

Start your free trial with Buildbite today.