Read the article in the May 29, 2018 edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader
PORTSMOUTH — Contractors are embracing mobile technology to keep their projects on budget and on schedule.
Software that contractors can access from their smartphones and tablets to gather data from the field helps them control costs and maintain equipment fleets more efficiently, according to a new study from Dodge Data & Analytics in partnership with B2W Software.
New York-based Dodge Data & Analytics provides analytics and workflow software for the construction industry. B2W Software, located on Bow Street in Portsmouth, develops products used by nearly 2,000 heavy construction companies in the United States.
The study found that timing is everything: Data captured in the field must be accurate and timely to be useful for effective decision making. Latency and errors are major challenges in heavy construction.
“This lag in the exchange of critical data between field and office, and the concerns about its accuracy, seriously interfere with heavy contractors’ efforts to improve performance,” lead researcher Steve Jones said in a statement.
A significant number of contractors surveyed said they believe better and timelier data from the field would help them complete their projects on budget and on schedule, according to the study.
B2W founder and CEO Paul McKeon said in a recent interview that its ONE Platform for tablets is designed for contractors working in the field so they can capture data about employees, tasks completed and equipment. It also has scheduling and dispatch features.
“It’s much deeper than just putting something on Outlook,” McKeon said. “You can say, for example, tomorrow I need to move equipment to two different jobs, and I have eight different loaders to move equipment and they’re going to do six stops each.”
McKeon said the platform can manage preventative maintenance of equipment, saving contractors money. He said typically companies spend 12 to 15 percent of their annual revenue maintaining equipment.
A company that embraces preventative maintenance programs can drive that down to 4 to 5 percent.
Collecting field data and intelligence as well as fleet maintenance and management will be the subject of webinars scheduled for June 13 and July 11. For more information, visit construction.com/company/dodge-events.
