4 Reasons Why Your Construction Company Should Go Paperless

Let’s face it. Technology is here to make our lives easier. So why not embrace it and take full advantage of what it has to offer? If you work in the construction industry, you’ve no doubt seen smartphones, tablets, mobile apps, and software solutions make their way onto the job site. At times, it may seem like these things get in the way of doing your job. Things have been running perfectly fine over the years; why fix what isn’t broken?

The fact is, technology can help every industry, including construction. Especially when it comes to going paperless for field data collection. There is a TON of paperwork that comes with a construction job. Maintenance forms. Compliance sheets. Daily checklists. Imagine not having to deal with that bursting clipboard?

Having paperless construction processes would make workflows faster. More accurate, reliable information could be collected and delivered instantly. And the the lines of communication would remain open between workers on the job and the office without interruptions or setbacks.

If you’re thinking (or have a boss that thinks), “This doesn’t apply to me. My process works great and changing it would take too much time,” you’re not alone. In fact, you’re probably in the majority. And guess what? You’re kind of right. Your process likely does already work just fine. And changing things can take some time. Plus, introducing new technology or systems into a working system can be frightening. But check out these four HUGE advantages we think might convince you otherwise before you decide:

1. Save You and Your Team Time – Go Paperless

Imagine taking your Site Inspection or your Site Safety Audit forms and converting them to something that lives in your team’s mobile devices through a mobile data collection process. No more torn, illegible forms with missing pages slowing down your process. Your team can experience the freedom of going paperless with mobile field data collection. That means they can fill out pre-populated forms, take photos, sketch on top of those photos, collect signatures and barcodes, store their location, all from their phone or tablet. All that data is then stored in their mobile forms with or without an internet connection and sent directly to you with no delay.

2. Enhance Your Workflows

Scanning in forms, waiting for photos to download, or re-entering data shouldn’t be part of your daily routine and definitely shouldn’t be taking up so much of your time. Going paperless not only means you are getting rid of the paper forms in the field, but it also means your data can automatically be placed in cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.), sent to the correct emails, and notify the right person by text message.

Not only is your form data going to the right person and the right place without you even having to lift a finger, you can send forms to specific employees in the field or on the job with auto-populated answers, locations, and directions. Simplifying and enhancing the way your field data collection works.

3. Open Communication and Accountability

With GPS capabilities, you can keep track of when your employees have completed or submitted data and where they were when they did it. Not only can you see where your forms are coming from, you can also send your forms with a specific location to be performed. Text and email notifications can also update operations managers on the status of a form immediately after it’s been completed. The online dashboard acts as a headquarters of all activity. You can monitor the number of devices using specific forms, how many times a device has submitted data, and what errors might be occurring.

Taking that step away from paper, gives you much more control over the process you and your team are working on. With immediate answers, status updates, and storing ALL of your data in one location without you having to file anything or search through stacks of paper, makes the switch to a digital world so much more compelling.

4. Accurate Reporting

Finally, with a few simple steps, you can set up your data to be delivered directly into whatever project management tool you may be using in the exact format you need it to be in, whether that’s a PDF, word doc or an XML file. Your digital forms can still take on the same look and feel as your original forms. Creating a template within your account to resemble your original, the form data will automatically populate once “Submit” has been pushed on a device – leaving you with completed inspections and checklists that look identical to your original hard copy.

Going paperless not only will save you time in the long run, it will also help your business work more efficiently and accurately. Here at Device Magic, we’re all about saving you time and hope that you (or your boss) changed your mind and are convinced that embracing technology is the best move for your construction company!

Have questions? We’re always here to help! Contact us at (855) 257-9650