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The construction industry is going through major changes, and not all of them are ideal. A significant increase in abandoned projects in both the private and public sectors was reported in 2024. Although there are plenty of reasons to account for these failures, a lack of transparency is becoming a growing source of ire for businesses, property owners, and project managers. Projects bid for and managed with poor communication and vague estimates lead to delays and unfinished projects.
Fortunately, these problems have solutions, and they lie with increased transparency. By improving the communication, tracking, and reporting at the construction site, construction professionals can maintain higher standards for quality and minimize delays.
Benefits of Increasing Transparency
Increasing construction site transparency can take a significant investment of time and collaboration, but it also yields these benefits:
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Businesses know current inventory at a touch, simplifying the processes of ordering and allocation
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Workers and stakeholders can collaborate using the same platform
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All relevant parties can see the state of the site or a particular task at a glance, even from a remote location
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Project managers can anticipate problems earlier, so they can identify solutions before they trigger significant delays
Construction professionals with a robust system of transparency are more likely to understand what is going on, making communications clear and easy to follow.
Ways to Improve Transparency
Improving transparency involves more than collaborating with construction site staff and sharing information about projects with property owners. A comprehensive system can increase the quality of project management while providing access to key data points about the project in progress. These steps can make a significant difference in a construction company’s output.
Inventory Management Systems
Inventory management is the first key to transparency in the building process. Many construction professionals struggle to maintain accurate counts of the supplies they have on-hand compared to those at another storage location. Miscounts can lead to delays in installing plumbing pipes or wasted money ordering excess supplies. A modern inventory management system can track the number and location of supplies, materials, and equipment that the project requires. The system can provide accurate counts and adjust them automatically when supplies are removed for use.
Integrate Project Management
Project management software should be easy to update and seamlessly move data across channels. Outdated or standalone project management systems are difficult to operate and often limited in access to key users within the project. To maximize verification and communication during the project, the project management software should be integrated with other systems, such as inventory management and resource allocation. These tools, when put together, can improve data analysis by providing real-time tracking.
Build Transparency Into the Project Culture
All construction site professionals should work to build an attitude of collaboration and transparency around the project delivery plans. Many construction professionals feel stuck using old approaches that no longer fit with modern timelines and expectations. To minimize criticism, some professionals choose to hide behind tradition instead of being honest about their limits and asking for assistance from qualified professionals or organizations. If everyone can presume that project information will be readily available, they will be more likely to collaborate naturally.
Implement Scaffold Operations Management Systems
Managing the scaffolding design and other operations requires additional care to handle requests, maintain inventory counts, streamline the inspection process, and more. Software can integrate with other systems tracking inventory, man hours, building plans, and other aspects of the project to provide a seamless data management system. Scaffold managers can see new requests and immediately forward them to the appropriate parties for approval, decreasing time and confusion surrounding scaffold access.
Use BIM and Collaboration Software
Many tools allow construction professionals to manage the project from the initial design phase to the upkeep of the building, and project teams should not hesitate to consider them as options. Building information modeling (BIM) is becoming more common than CAD-based designs because BIM offers a comprehensive set of data and plans for continued use. With modern tools, project managers can leverage improved collaboration software to identify problems and create solutions based on a shared understanding of the existing plans.
Centralize Data Management
Collaboration must involve shared access to data, which construction professionals can easily achieve with cloud-based solutions. When data points are spread across multiple channels and devices, combining that data into one location can add extra time. It can also lead to inaccuracies in estimation, which causes delays and miscommunications between workers. Integrating data entry into one system simplifies the sharing of data, so everyone can see what is going on and the status of the next steps of the project.
Consider Partnering with Third-Party Services
Many of these systems would be difficult for individual project managers to build or maintain, highlighting the benefit of working with third-party services. Innovation in construction technology has significantly expanded in the past several years, providing new options to collaborate, track, manage, and communicate. Many systems integrate seamlessly with other software, so that project managers do not have to manually transfer information across channels. By selecting a vetted organization to provide these services, construction professionals can improve transparency and trust with the project.
Project management in construction must enter the modern age if it is to deliver on time with minimal adjustments to cost and quality. By considering these tools and approaches, construction professionals can improve project transparency and efficacy for all parties.
Mathew Horwood, Managing Director for North America at Global Site Solutions (GSS), a leader in scaffold EPCM, has over 20 years of industrial construction experience, including key roles with major contractors. Since joining GSS in 2018, he has led the development of the Hi-Vis® scaffolding management software and driven critical operational improvements.
SOURCES
Mathew Horwood
Mathew Horwood, Managing Director for North America at Global Site Solutions (GSS), a leader in scaffold EPCM, has over 20 years of industrial construction experience, including key roles with major contractors. Since joining GSS in 2018, he has led the development of the Hi-Vis® scaffolding management software and driven critical operational improvements.