With labor shortages, supply chain delays, and other common issues currently challenging the construction industry, modern project managers are continuously looking for ways to improve profitability internally. But, without a deep understanding of your team’s capabilities, it’s difficult to make impactful changes.

Collecting detailed field data helps identify pain points and inefficiencies. Project managers (PMs) can use consistent, timely field reports to draft accurate bids, plan precise project schedules and closely monitor progress.   

Benefits Of Collecting Detailed Field Data

Improving the quality of data collected from the field benefits project management in several ways throughout each phase of a construction project. 

Better data helps during: 

• Project initiation
• Project planning
• Project execution
• Performance assessment

Using Data in Project Initiation

Before a project owner can hire them, a construction company needs to create a rough order of magnitude and make a bid that estimates the overall scope and costs of the project. 

Without historical data from previous work, it’s extremely difficult to draft bids that are both accurate and competitive. When a company has a significant amount of information about how much time, labor, and other resources were spent completing similar projects, they can make better bids that protect both the owner’s and the company’s interests.

Using Data in the Planning Phase

Once a project is won, the construction company needs to refine initial estimates and create a detailed project plan that finalizes the budget and schedule. If the actual project veers too far from these plans, the project owner may pursue litigation.

Because both a high level of detail and accuracy is required, the planning phase is one of the most difficult parts of construction management. And while experience and research can help PMs make insightful decisions during this stage, nothing is better than real data. 

Data from the field shows project managers what went well or what went wrong when working on past projects. With access to detailed field reports, it’s easy to review the reasons behind any delays and learn if staffing shortages, safety concerns, or other issues—both preventable and unavoidable—frequently affect progress. They can analyze costs related to equipment and material usage.

Using this data, PMs can create project plans that accurately reflect the business’s capabilities. 

Using Data During Project Execution

Detailed field data also helps construction companies manage projects in real time. Better field reporting increases visibility and helps project managers react proactively to potential problems.

Resource Management

One of a construction company’s most valuable resources is its employees. But, if they aren’t properly utilized, even the most seasoned professionals will struggle to stay productive. 

Historical data helps project managers understand how many workers are required to complete certain tasks in a specific time period. They can use that information to make better hiring decisions and avoid scheduling too few or too many workers for any given day. They can also track labor onsite as the project progresses and respond quickly when any staffing issues happen. 

Good data also helps construction companies manage materials and equipment. Not only can project managers use historical data to strategically plan and purchase materials and equipment, they can also accurately track their daily use.  

Risk Mitigation

As work progresses, timely, accurate data from the field shows project managers exactly what’s happening onsite. They can regularly monitor for problems and issue change orders that prevent costly mistakes or delays if necessary. 

Thorough reports will capture safety and quality concerns and allow project managers to be more responsive in catching and correcting them.

Customer Satisfaction

Providing consistent updates from the field promotes respect and understanding between the construction company and the project owner.

Miscommunications are common in construction, and communication errors often lead to disputes. Sharing detailed field information helps project managers proactively identify and correct misunderstandings.

Even when the project terms are clear, frequent updates keep customers engaged, fostering good working relationships.    

Using Data to Assess Performance

After project work is completed, detailed field reports help project managers better assess performance.

They can analyze all report information to make process improvements and better set their teams up for future success.

Collect Better Data

Field crews are constantly busy with project-related tasks and often struggle to complete reports in a timely manner, if they’re even submitting reports at all. It’s easy to recognize the benefits of collecting better field data, but it may not be clear how to improve the quality of daily report data without adding extra tasks to the work day. 

Implementing a digital reporting system that is easy-to-use is the best way to improve data quality and receive consistent updates from the field. Digital reporting software is much faster, more accurate and more detailed than pen and paper reports or individual spreadsheets. 

Benefits of Digital Reporting

Digital reports improve the data collection process in two main ways using mobile technology and automation.

Mobile technology makes it easier to collect field data quickly. Instead of writing down information by hand or needing to access a PC, field crews can use their mobile devices to complete reports. Features like voice-to-text recording and photo and video capture allow them to provide a high level of detail with minimal effort. Report templates and premade checklists make the process even easier. 

Digital reporting software also makes collecting and analyzing data easier for project managers. All reports will be submitted in the same format, and they can be automatically combined. 

With the right software, PMs can even gain automated production insights. Some solutions will present report information in easy-to-understand formats like charts and graphs that measure estimates against actual performance visually.  

What Digital Tools Do

Digital reporting tools vastly improve the accuracy and consistency of data collected from the field. 

Project managers can more easily use digital reporting data to draft bids, plan project schedules, estimate budgets and make important hiring decisions. Digital reports also make sharing information with customers easier on a more frequent basis.

Digital reports can be stored in the cloud, meaning they can be accessed more easily by all stakeholders as soon as they’re uploaded. Reports in the cloud can be searched, so that project managers can quickly find specific reports for review when resolving disputes or beginning the initiation phase of a similar project. 

It’s important to choose a solution that prioritizes ease of use. Some are complex or highly specialized. An intuitive design and focus on the automation of repetitive tasks will serve most project managers better than complicated workflows in the long run. 

Project managers who want to improve their processes should start by improving field data. With the right tools, they can simplify reporting for the field and help their field crews supply better, more accurate data that makes project management more efficient effortlessly.