Issue link: https://construction.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1520088
6 back in the office by those who bid and plan future jobs. Capturing quality progress and production rate information in the field for analysis means better estimates, budgets and schedules created at the project start, resulting in better planning and execution. Business Problems and Solutions We have discussed three key reasons why heavy contractors are (and should be) deploying mobile technology for field operations. Let's take a step back and look at the specific business problems that contractors face and the impact that the mobile value proposition has on them. The current business issues that frequently come up include… • Missed deadlines and budget. Various obstacles contribute to projects missing time or budget, but lack of productivity and inefficient processes are heavy hitters. • Limited access to data needed. Without the right information readily available, making the best decision on the job becomes difficult and can lead to errors or omissions during execution. If field staff are not empowered with the right data, they are unable to optimize their crews, which occupies them with busy work instead of revenue-generating work. • Inefficient paper processes. Paper processes have been around since the dawn of civilization, but just because the pyramids were built this way does not mean it is the most effective way to work in today's environment. Paper is slow, static, prone to error, not easy to retrieve and unstructured. • Low quality data with time lags. If information is not captured digitally, it becomes subject to errors at every step of communication, storage and retrieval. For example, when a field employee captures an issue in the field on paper, he carries it with him until he delivers it to an admin. The admin is responsible for transcribing the note to digital or files it away in a paper folder, from which it is eventually retrieved. • Poor coordination. Issues arise when stakeholders are not aligned, specifically when there is poor communication across the field, office and shop. • Idle resources. If the field is not empowered with the data they need, the result could be idle resources with no value-add. An extreme example is one in which a project manager requested a piece of equipment be moved from one project to another. Unfortunately, the process used to communicate, plan and execute this move was manual, resulting in a water truck "We were getting data from the field two weeks and sometimes four weeks after the fact, and it's too late to make project management decisions by then." Benson Thoudsanikone, Kitsaki Projects