While the topic is sobering, it’s hard to deny that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the economy. Even in industries that have managed to survive relatively unscathed, the financial well-being of their customers has undoubtedly hit the bottom line. Construction companies were in a unique position of having to meet critical deadlines while also protecting the safety of workers, and explaining to project owners that a temporary shutdown was essential to getting projects re-activated as quickly as possible.
No matter what the scale of the impact was on a particular business, recovery is essential as the economy turns back on. Technology solutions built for the construction industry are essential to minimizing the financial impact of the nationwide shutdown, along with new technology infrastructure that construction companies will undoubtedly be called on to build. Combined with artificial intelligence and robotics, construction software will undoubtedly help the industry recover.
As the midpoint of 2020 quickly passes by, it’s important to look at the new landscape of the construction industry and understand how technology solutions can be deployed in the short- and long-term to ensure any financial impact is minimized as much as possible. Let’s take a look at what can work for construction companies of every size in the coming months.
While it’s impossible to simply pull projects out of thin air, there is strong evidence that construction companies should position themselves for new infrastructure spending related to the nation’s broadband roadmap. The sudden transition to working from home has likely forever changed the landscape of how Americans work, and increasing the capacity of its internet and cellular network will become more critical than ever to ensure workers can literally plug in from anywhere.
5G is the next iteration of the country’s cellular infrastructure, which officially launched in 2019. Construction of new towers will increasingly become a critical need, and construction firms with suitable experience can take a leading role in enhancing connectivity across the U.S. Similarly, the nation’s energy grids have been long the topic of conversations at the highest levels of government as needing significant investment. With the pandemic likely to loom large for months to come, focusing on reinvestment in the nation’s grid to support distance workers and learners will hopefully become a conversation with a renewed sense of importance – and an opportunity for contractors to get back to work.
Of course, those projects often require years’ worth of negotiations and months of planning. Technology solutions can help construction companies work around the challenges of a post-COVID world in the here and now. Robotics and artificial intelligence have long been discussed as a possible solution for addressing worker shortages, and this may take on new urgency due to unplanned worker absences from jobsite slow-downs or illness. From laying bricks to analyzing massive quantities of data, robotics and AI platforms may find their way into a jobsite sooner than expected.
For some turnkey options that construction companies can use to protect the bottom line right now, cloud-based collaboration software allows teams to work together and share data in real-time, helping to minimize the impact of jobsites being closed or worker travel being halted. Business intelligence tools ensure key customer relationships are tracked and monitored, allowing business development specialists to stay on top of new opportunities and old projects come back to life, even in a post-pandemic world. And mobile field solutions allow your workers to be as productive as possible once they return to the jobsite full-time.
For insights on how these solutions can work for your construction business in the wake of a new normal, contact us to schedule a free demo to ensure your teams return to maximum productivity and profitability as quickly as possible.
