Some companies embrace technology. Some don’t. And many are somewhere in between.
Russ Young, chief business development officer at software company Tenna, sees four levels of tech adaptation for construction companies. These range from companies with a “don’t want it/don’t need it” attitude to those who pursue the leading edge of everything new in hopes of gaining competitive advantages.
Young recently delivered a presentation on the subject at the Association of Equipment Management Professionals' Connect22 conference. Titled "A Deep Dive into the Equipment Manager of the Future," Young outlined four technology philosophies and described the kind of improvements construction company executives and equipment managers can realize by moving to the next level.
This is the company that relies on a big whiteboard to keep everything organized. A rough estimate of the number of companies at Level One would be about 20% of the industry, says Young.
While the whiteboard style of equipment management works well for small companies, it can become “death by 100 cuts,” Young says. “They miss preventive maintenance windows all the time. Instead of doing a dime’s worth of prevention, they’re spending a dollar for a cure.”
For Level One companies, locating equipment in the field can be another huge headache requiring numerous phone calls, disputes and uncertainty. This wreaks havoc on production schedules. And at the end of a job, the accountants face a huge problem trying to accurately determine what machines to charge to the jobs. Worst-case scenario is that a machine might get stolen, and nobody would know about it for hours, days even.
