How to convince your employees to use digital equipment wisely
The introduction of construction site software in the company means that employees are using smartphones or tablets on the construction site. Some companies fear that this will lead to WhatsApp, Instagram or Candy Crush. Young employees prefer to play games instead of working – and older employees ask themselves why they should now also work with the company cell phone when the old processes were well established. Find out why the fear of digital equipment on the construction site is unfounded and how to introduce apps for your employees in this article.
Your employees on the construction site are busy all day building and plastering walls, laying pipes and installing cables. That’s craftsmanship and hard work. It has nothing to do with digitalization. Perhaps that’s why it’s an unfamiliar thought that your employees pull out their smartphones every time they have to document construction progress with a photo or record their working hours. Won’t they be distracted by this and prefer to play games instead of working? Experience shows that these worries are unfounded. Apps can simplify a lot of work. However, for data recording to be a real time-saver and for employees to spend as little time as possible with the app, it must be easy to use and user-friendly.
Younger people have been organizing themselves very differently for a long time. “There’s an app for that,” is the response to many questions. Young employees are used to using apps on their smartphones to communicate, book trips and transportation, navigate, track their own movements (and those of others) – and some even find their partners this way.
There is a suitable smartphone app for all areas of life – and younger people use them as a matter of course. They are used to using their smartphone for various tasks. This also means that employees don’t immediately start a gaming marathon just because they take out their cell phone for a moment. For them, their cell phone is a tool. It unlocks bikes and e-scooters, scans documents or tracks steps taken. Nothing is more natural than using your smartphone for work.
Young employees are used to using apps in all areas of life
Older employees often have a negative attitude when they hear that the company wants to use smartphones on the construction site. They have been familiar with manual processes for decades and have simply got used to them. In most cases, they also rarely use an app in their private lives – at most WhatsApp.
The majority of companies in the construction industry still rely on manually filling out lists and tables, for example for Time tracking or Scheduling.
Many companies use smartphones, tablets or digital cameras – only an app really makes things easier
Many companies that work with their employees on construction sites rely on digital ways of recording data anyway. This is particularly common for Photo documentation. For example, to document construction progress or any defects that occur, employees take photos using a smartphone or a tablet provided by the company. Digital cameras are also widely used today for this purpose. However, this often complicates the process: Photos are captured digitally – but it is then necessary to transfer the data to the company computer. An employee has to assign and name all the photos to the respective construction site. Finally, they have to import them into the respective program in which a company manages its image data. Perhaps this is simply a folder on the site manager’s desktop. One folder among many. This is cumbersome, confusing and error-prone. With an app, on the other hand, it is much less complicated. In a smartphone app, all data immediately ends up where it belongs.
If the app runs on the employees’ smartphones, nobody has to keep an eye on the mold tablet or an expensive camera on the construction site.
There is also no need to exchange data via an SD card – and employees no longer have to come to the office to do so. This is because everyone always has their own construction site smartphone with them and it fits in any pocket, so it doesn’t get in the way of their work.
The digitalization of Scheduling brings noticeable time savings for employees
In companies that work with Excel spreadsheets and without a specific planning program, switching to a digital app brings many advantages for Scheduling. At a site manager meeting, for example, employees no longer have to look at an Excel spreadsheet that they have to adapt – instead, everyone looks at the digital Scheduling and uses it to plan. Instead of a large printed plan, many companies simply set up a monitor that permanently displays the scheduling for everyone to see and adapts to changing circumstances on a minute-by-minute basis. When it comes to Scheduling, employees quickly realize that digitalization is not a gimmick, but offers added value.
Employees can access the app from anywhere
Another advantage is that employees can also access the app and update the planning while on the move. Dispatchers can see at a glance on their screen where which employee is scheduled to work. Employees can see directly in the app where they are scheduled each day. This makes it easy for foremen, for example, to book in additional workers for a construction site – including the times. This increases acceptance among colleagues, as they don’t have to scroll through a long list, find their project and then book in the employees. The app does the Scheduling for them.
An additional advantage: employees are not responsible for company devices and do not have to ensure that they are charged, always in the right place and safely stored at the end of the day.
Test the app in a pilot phase
The proof of the pudding is in the eating – that’s not just a calendar saying, you know that from years of experience. Fortunately, you can simply try out construction site software – and then decide whether you want to introduce it in your company.
Simply select the modules you need for your company and test them out.
- Some companies deliberately take a two-pronged approach at the beginning, i.e. they keep the old system of Time tracking with timesheets, for example, but at the same time start digital Time tracking via app. This way
they can make direct comparisons and see the benefits. And the employees notice how well the app works, how little they have to do themselves and have fewer reservations about the introduction. - Other entrepreneurs first introduce the app in one or two smaller groups or columns. Ideally in a group in which they recognize a certain IT affinity among the employees. Once they have tested the app for a few weeks, they share their experiences and knowledge with the other colleagues. Employees exchange ideas, can ask questions and are actively involved in the change process.
The better employees understand digitalization in their work processes, the more they will support the changeover.
Mobile device management enables the controlled use of smartphones and tablets
If you want to retain greater control over what employees do with their company cell phones or tablets, you can use a mobile device management system. The system controls which applications users are allowed to install on the device and restricts unwanted use.
Picture credits: LightFieldStudios/iStock via Getty Images; 123onsite/Timo Lutz Advertising Photography; bbernard/Shutterstock.com
