There’s some good, solid news for the construction industry: Dodge Data & Analytics Index projects that we’ll have “moderate strengthening” through the end of 2018. But in terms of productivity, we appear to be heading in a different direction. Of note, a recent survey of 600 global construction leaders* compiled by PlanGrid and FMI Corporation mentions:

·         Poor communication, rework and bad data management cost the construction industry; $177 billion annually in labor costs in the United States alone.

·         Construction workers lose almost two full working days per week solving avoidable issues and searching for project information.

·         Each construction project team member spends more than 14 hours weekly on average dealing with conflict, rework and other issues.

·         Almost half of all rework is due to poor communication among project stakeholders, and poor project information, while 26% of rework is due to poor communication or miscommunication between team members caused unresponsiveness of team members; the inability of project stakeholders to collaborate effectively; and the lack of a common platform for all team members to communicate and share project data.

·         The most common goals for technology adoption included providing better access to project data, improving project productivity and increasing the accuracy of project information.

·         Workers are not taking full advantage of mobile devices and IT investments.

Stamp Out Non-Productive Driver and Fleet Time for Big Productivity Gains

It stands to reason that companies who address productivity issues will not only avoid scrambling for information and wasted hours and energy but also quickly gain competitive advantage.

If you’re managing drivers and trucks that wheel in and out of numerous sites during the day or week and aren’t using automatic processes via technology to more efficiently track and manage your fleet, there’s more good news. You can increase driver productivity and avoid the 20-40 minutes per truck per day that’s lost through clocking in and out and other non-productive activities during:

·         Time in Transit

·         Time at the Job Site

·         Time in the Yard

Forty minutes per day, per truck may seem marginal at first glance. But 200 minutes/week x 48 weeks/ year = 9,600 minutes, 160 hours or a total of 4,000 hours of inefficiency for a fleet of 25 trucks.

Time in the yard is the lever most within a producer’s control and represents over half of the total nonproductive time per truck. So, rather than simply adding incremental trucks and drivers to the fleet to boost productivity (which unfortunately only adds to the total non‐productive hours and fails to improve operational processes), consider a solution that:

·         Uses automatic processes via technology to more efficiently track and manage your fleet.

·         Enables your drivers to punch the clock from in the cab, an efficiency enhancer that alone could save you up to 20 minutes per day (this is time spent in your own yard, under your own watch, that you can act on quickly to recapture those minutes, regardless of what happens away from your yard).

·         Captures a meaningful portion of that lost time from each driver.

·         Provides a constant view into the location and performance of your entire fleet.

·         Is adaptable and helps your teams collaborate in real-time with a “central source of truth” and access to relevant data when you need it.

At least 50% of employees’ non‐productive time can be captured back efficiently and effectively when the right combinations of levers are pulled – both in terms of area of focus (i.e., time in yard) and adaptability to each individual customer’s business process requirements. This equates to big productivity increases over both the short- and long-term.

Learn more about how Command Alkon’s TrackIt solution offers an industry specific, flexible and fully customizable solution to track your fleet and meet your specific needs, including in-cab time and attendance functionality focused at recapturing lost time in the yard, helping you drive a more efficient fleet and improve your profitability.

*500 respondents from the United States and 99 from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Canada. Of those surveyed, 49% work for general contractor firms, 36% came from specialty trades and 15% were owners. Over 300 respondents came from the commercial sector and the other respondents represent industrial and manufacturing, heavy civil, healthcare, power (oil and gas, and energy), education and government.