The Covid-19 pandemic has only heightened risk for the construction industry at large says Tony Simonsen, COO of Payapps.
He says that as issues compound and organisations struggle, business leaders are driven to consider tangible ways to reduce risk across the board.
“While digital transformation once presented a way to gain a competitive edge, now software solutions spell the difference between success and failure, providing the means to successfully complete projects and dramatically reducing the potential of costly disputes,” says Simonsen.
“This was the main consideration of our recent Payapps digital industry think tank, attended by more than 150 senior business leaders working within risk and construction across A/NZ.
Manual processes versus software designed for construction
The construction sector is known for relying on traditional tools says Simonsen, such as Excel to track and manage projects, and this is one obvious way organisations are opening themselves up to risk.
“It’s a well-known fact that 88% of Excel spreadsheets contain errors. Spreadsheets serve their purpose and can be functional for construction companies, but they are also very limited in their ability to accurately log and track important and actionable data. In addition, using spreadsheets can lead not only to error rates but lack of visibility, lack of consolidation, lack of consistency and lack of control.
“In a sector that relies heavily on Excel to track important data from project dates to payments, it’s simply not good enough to ignore more secure alternatives. A more robust and reliable source of truth would better protect contractors and subcontractors and reduce the level of human error associated with more traditional methods.”
Advancements in digitisation has led to technology solutions designed specifically for the construction industry. Software designed to aid the daily processes of contractors and subcontractors offers several benefits. These tools ensure progress of a project is managed and tracked in a very visible way, including certain data entries enforced to ensure completeness of information. They can offer reliable consistency of form with auto-generated payment schedules and automated calculations, deadline monitoring with reminders and reporting, integrations to prevent cross-system gaps, an audit trail of user actions and alerts on process failures.
Take a step towards a brighter future
“We see the pandemic as a catalyst for change in the construction sector, prompting organisations to update their systems and processes to move closer to having a single source of truth and, as a result, reduce the risk of misinformation and disputes claims,” says Simonsen.
Software tools such as Payapps are designed for the construction sector to help teams manage progress of projects in a very visible way from start to finish, helping to plan, run and manage every facet from payments calculations to daily progress updates.
To learn more about how Payapps can help your business reduce risk, save time and streamline your business visit http://www.payapps.com.