The evolution of construction

The construction industry spends an embarrassingly low amount of money on technology. Recent stats suggest that construction spends just 1.9% of its revenue on IT and tech. Being beat by all but two other industries.

But why?

Certain areas or people within construction have been using tech for years.

Architects and Engineers have been using CAD tools for as long as I can remember. Apart from the odd hand-drawn sketch, almost all drawings are now designed and drafted on a CAD system. We accept and expect that.

Quantity Surveyors use excel and complex financial systems to manage the project budget. Estimators use high-end estimating software to provide detailed quotes before the work even starts. If either of these people whipped out an abacus there would be some funny looks.

Even construction teams have progressed from hand tools to high-performance excavators and power tools to make the job easier, quicker and safer. But there is still work to be done.

Paperwork still plagues the site management teams. Most site managers spend more time sat in front of the computer filling out forms, updating meeting minutes and sending emails than they do on-site, managing it.

The time to change is now

Well, actually it was a while ago. But it's not too late. Why should a relatively small part of a construction team get all the tech? Why should the project managers and even the site workers be left out in the cold? Well, they don't.

There are loads of tools available on the market that can offer your team a smarter way of working. There are digital form systems, timesheets. Even document management solutions like dropbox can make sharing and distributing drawings and specs so much easier. (even though I think Dropdox is not for construction).

Using any form of tech can vastly and swiftly improve output, productivity and impact your bottom line. But there are all-in-one solutions like Fonn that not only combine all the features you need but were designed specifically for the construction industry and the people who use it.

Our award-winning app allows site teams to effectively communicate from the project. Capture snags, issues, track progress, fill out forms, view drawings and markups.

You wouldn't hand dig the foundations of a house, you wouldn't manage your finances on a slide rule and you wouldn't do your site plans on graph paper with an HB pencil.