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5 Ways To Improve Mental Health in the Construction Industry

Mental health awareness has skyrocketed in recent years. With celebrities, athletes, and public figures bringing this once-hushed topic into our daily lives, many industries are having long-overdue conversations. The construction industry needs to be one of them.

More so than almost any other type of business, the people who make up the construction industry are dangerously susceptible to poor mental health. In fact, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center places construction as the industry with the second-highest rate of suicide, behind only the mining, quarrying, and gas extraction industry. That’s a statistic that shouldn’t be overlooked.

The issue is this: overall mental health in the construction industry can’t improve if the tough conversations don’t come up and leadership doesn’t take action. Let’s take a deeper dive into mental health awareness in the construction industry and what we can do to improve it.

What is mental health?

While it’s one of the most affected industries, construction as a whole doesn’t talk much about mental health—in fact, the topic is often looked down upon. For that reason, folks who spent their whole lives building things might not be overly aware of what mental health truly is.

According to the CDC, mental health is “our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also determines how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.”

And, here’s a critical distinction: mental health and mental illness are not the same things. These terms are not interchangeable, and someone experiencing poor mental health is not necessarily suffering from a mental illness. This is an aspect of mental health that the construction industry needs to recognize.

Why is mental health in the construction industry so poor?

Before we can take steps to improve the mental health of the people that make up the construction industry, we have to identify what the issues are.

First, understand that stress is a major factor affecting the mental health of the construction industry. Long workdays, delays, employment uncertainty, contract disputes, and the generally physically taxing nature of the industry all wear people down. When you also consider the amount of money on the line for many contracts, the stakes are incredibly high for the industry. 

Employees are often afraid to take a sick day or leave early for fear of it affecting their jobs, as well. Rather than stay home when sick, hurt, or suffering from mental health challenges, they come to work out of fear they’ll be fired, scolded, or berated. 

We also need to look at the demographics of the industry. Construction is—and has thus far been—male-dominated, with men making up approximately 90 percent of the workforce. As a whole, males are less likely to discuss mental health than women for fear of being seen as weak or unable to cope with their challenges. As a result, they never reach out for mental health guidance, which is evident in the construction industry.

This is also an issue perpetuated through generations. The older generations never discussed mental health or even recognized that it could be an issue. By handing down trade secrets, techniques, and wisdom to the newer generations, they’ve unknowingly transferred this closed-off mindset toward mental health.

With this closed-off mindset comes the inability to recognize the signs of mental health distress or find healthy ways to improve it. Instead, depression, diminished physical health, high blood pressure, substance abuse, and other “accepted” issues plague the industry, many stemming from the taboo surrounding mental health. 

5 Ways To Improve Mental Health in the Construction Industry

Thus far, it’s been a very bleak outlook for the construction industry’s mental health. But, it doesn’t have to be that way forever. With a bit of awareness and encouragement, construction doesn’t have to suffer as it always has.

1. Improve Company Culture

Company culture has a lot to do with the stress that its employees feel. A rush-rush, hectic company that ignores accomplishments and harps on mistakes is not a great place for anyone to work, and it will take its toll on mental health.

Instead of that volatile environment, strive to improve company culture:

  • Recognize employees for their hard work
  • Throw events to show your crew you appreciate them
  • Have quarterly seminars with guest speakers and free lunches
  • Encourage employees to sign up for training
  • Allow employees to use their PTO time responsibly
  • Encourage breaks during the day

There are more approaches to take as well. While none of them improve mental health directly, they do create an atmosphere where employees feel valued.

2. Educate Employees

Many of the most affected employees don’t recognize the signs of poor mental health. For that reason, education is critical.

There is employee well-being training that will come to a workplace and educate the employees about mental health. This will inevitably be met with groans and eye-rolling, but with the right trainer, a lot of good things can happen. Holding regularly scheduled training keeps the conversation rolling, and as employees find benefits or takeaways, those training will begin to pay dividends.

3. Give Your Employees the Opportunity for Help

Even when someone recognizes that they aren’t feeling like themselves, they might not know where to turn. An Employee Assistance Program (or EAP for short) gives them that first step. These programs help with not only mental health at work but also the effects everyday life can have on a person. 

Also, provide your employees with contact information for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and other similar programs.

4. Make Mental Health Awareness Part of the New Generation

One way to improve your company’s approach to mental health awareness is to sow the seeds early with the new generation. Whenever onboarding a new employee, be sure to discuss your training, sick day policies, and EAP so they know that their well-being matters. Just make certain that you hold up your end of the deal.

While this is certainly a “long game” approach, it’s much like farming for a healthier company. Planting the seeds with this generation will help remove the stigma over time and create a healthier, more accepting work environment where conversations about mental health are more normalized and less taboo.

5. Make Awareness Start at the Top

Construction is a taxing and tolling business, and successful business owners, project managers, foremen, and supervisors have all taken their share of blows. It’s important to understand that for mental health awareness to truly take hold, it needs to start with these leaders.

First, business owners need to believe in something if they expect their employees to follow suit. Attending their own training, reaching out for assistance when their backs are against the wall, and having these difficult conversations are all critical. Only then can the belief trickle down to the managers and supervisors. With management on board, the boots on the ground will have the support they need to take care of themselves and their mental health.

It Takes Awareness

Improving the mental health of the construction industry as a whole requires awareness. Once we’re able to remove the stigma surrounding asking for help, we might be able to lower the rate of suicides, depression, and health conditions while also improving productivity and safety. With the tips outlined in this article, change is within the industry’s reach. 

Premier Construction Software is a true cloud, all-in-one accounting, job cost, project, document, and drawing management solution designed to meet the needs of GCs, Developers, Design-Build, and Homebuilders. Trusted by thousands of companies, Premier partners with forward-thinking, progressive construction companies to provide a fully integrated solution for office and field staff operating on Mac, PC, and any mobile device. Premier operates in North America as well as Australia, providing a true cloud solution that meets the needs of both markets today.

Check out Premier Construction to see if it fits your company’s strategies and goals. See how we can help your construction company to work smarter. Schedule a demo by contacting us today.Author Biography:

Tom Scalisi has over 15 years of experience working in the trades. Since moving to full-time freelance writing, he has developed a passion for helping construction companies grow. He enjoys teaching contractors how technology can streamline their businesses and educating them about their rights during payment disputes. 

 

 

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How Construction Is Moving Toward an Automated World

Experts have long criticized the construction industry’s unwillingness to get with the times. As one of the oldest industries in the world, it would rather stick to the status quo than try new things. That is until recently when some of the largest construction companies in the world started to recognize the benefits that technology and automation have to offer. And the reason for this change makes a lot of sense.

Construction has some of the tightest profit margins of any industry. Not only that, inefficiencies and errors shrink those margins even more. Automation aims to fix that by taking mundane, error-prone tasks and utilizing a system to handle them. The result is more efficient processes and fewer mistakes. Let’s take a look at a few ways construction is moving toward this automated world.

Automation in Construction

Construction automation conjures thoughts of robots and machines erecting buildings. While there are some machines that can lay bricks or pour concrete, construction automation is more about the processes behind the scenes, as a contract, documents, and invoice management. These processes take up a lot of time inputting data, double-checking documents, checking for compliance, and finding (and fixing) errors.

Smart Contracts

Many construction companies are moving toward smart contracts to help streamline and automate certain processes. These contracts work by utilizing “if/then” scenarios, recognizing that once one action takes place, another action needs to occur. 

For instance, some smart contracts will recognize that once a certain stage of a project is complete (say, the contractor gets paid) that more materials will be necessary. The program can then trigger an order to a supplier, making sure there is enough material to continue the job.

This type of automation keeps the construction vehicle rolling, minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency.

Compliance Automation

Manual compliance management and tracking take a lot of time. Someone needs to check to ensure that each contractor is meeting the requirements set forth but the contract. This could be keeping licenses on file, meeting bond requirements, updating insurance information, sending lien waivers, or many other scenarios. And, should some of those compliances expire, someone needs to know—this sounds like a job for automation.

Automated compliance tracking and management is a significant help to construction companies. Not only will the system track and log compliances as they come in, but it will also notify the project management team if any are missing. They can also prevent expired compliances from going unnoticed by automatically sending a warning to the team.

Document Management

As much as the industry relies on raw materials to build structures, it also relies on documents (and lots of them) to keep the job on track. Between drawings, contracts, compliances, change orders, RFIs, and other construction documents, physically sorting and storing them all is mundane and time-consuming. Manual entry might reduce storage, but it’s also time heavy and prone to mistakes. Automated document management has the answer.

Some document management programs allow a user to upload a document into the system. The system then automatically reviews the document, pulls the important data, and stores it in such a way that’s easy to find and accessible for the whole team.

Automated Payments

Payment problems are always an issue in the construction industry, but automation can help. By giving subcontractors and suppliers an automated system to upload invoices and compliances, you reduce the time it takes for them to get paid. You also limit your risk of multiple payments or paying more than the budget allows.

Invoice Management

Beyond automated payment management, automated invoice management simplifies the entire process. Automated invoice systems will scan an invoice, pull the important data, cross-reference it with other documents, and assess the validity of the invoice. It will also recognize who sent the invoice, which job it’s attached to, and which contract it falls under. 

Automated invoice management can go quite a bit further, as well. The more invoices these systems see, the more proficient they become at recognizing job numbers, vendor codes, cost types, and more, pulling these values and ID numbers straight from the page. 

Possibly most important of all, automated invoice management systems reduce errors and oversights. The system will automatically check to ensure the amount is correct, as well as check that the document in question isn’t a duplicate or fraudulent invoice. This reduces lost money due to errors and mistakes, allowing automated invoice management to pay for itself.

Premier partnered with Smart Ui to offer services just like these. This system offers automated invoice management that only gets smarter the more you use it, helping you improve your company’s efficiency and accounts payable and receivable processes.

Automation Is the Future

Clearly, automation will play a big role in the construction industry’s future. From bots and machines to the way the industry handles data entry tasks, automating tasks allows for growth, increased profits, and better project management.

Check out Premier Construction Software’s automated systems to see if it fits your company’s strategies and goals. Schedule a demo by contacting us today.

Author Biography:

Tom Scalisi has over 15 years of experience working in the trades. Since moving to full-time freelance writing, he has developed a passion for helping construction companies grow. He enjoys teaching contractors how technology can streamline their businesses and educating them about their rights during payment disputes. 

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Why is Drawing Management Important?

Today’s construction industry is finally starting to embrace technology. From project management programs to accounting software designed specifically for the industry, improved workflows and team-wide access are increasing efficiency. Drawing management is one of the areas most affected by new technology, and the results are tremendous.

But what is drawing management, and why is it important? And what can it offer the construction industry and your company? Keep reading to find out.

What is construction drawing management?

In today’s world of information at our fingertips, people outside of the construction industry might be shocked if they saw the stacks of paper plans still plaguing some projects. Sure, the architect or designer has these docs on their computer and local server, but everyone else might be working from a set of paper drawings. And, as revisions come in, those paper drawings don’t update themselves.

That’s the issue that construction drawing management aims to solve. Drawing management, when done correctly, is a central database of drawings that everyone involved in the process can access. They’re most effective when cloud-based, allowing anyone in the field or office to access the latest drawing at a moment’s notice.

Why is drawing management important?

Having instantaneous access to project drawings is obviously a benefit, as anyone can look at the same drawing, regardless of their role and location. However, there is more to it than that.

Drawing management offers clarity

Imagine a scenario where a question pops up on the job site. Maybe it’s an issue with a material, or the scope of work doesn’t jive perfectly with the conditions at the site. In the past, the designer would have to go to the site or wait for the PM to upload tons of pictures to an email. With a drawing management system, the process is streamlined.

Now, the PM can access the drawings from the tablet while the designer pulls them up on their computer screen. While on the phone, the two can look at the same drawing, manipulate, and make notes, mark-ups, or revisions in real-time.

Drawing management offers real-time revisions

Too often have site personnel worked off an older version of the drawings only to find out things changed and their work was incorrect. This causes delays and waste, both of which are the enemies of progress and profits. Sure, you can blame the crew or the management team, but that doesn’t change the problem at hand.

Project drawing management alleviates this issue by allowing for real-time revisions and updates. As the team on-site accesses the drawings, they’ll have the most updated version at their fingertips.

Drawing management centralizes storage

Document storage can be a hassle. Between storing drawings on different drives, sending revisions through email, and granting access to everyone who needs it, finding a document at the moment you need it isn’t easy.

With a drawing management system, you can store those documents in one place. And with automation, a drawing management system will ensure these documents are sorted properly and easy to find. Maybe even best of all, some drawing management systems offer unlimited storage, preventing your company from running out of the ever-more-expensive digital space.

Drawing management integrates with other processes

Once you have an established drawing management system, it should integrate with the other processes your company uses. For example, an RFI can be accompanied by a tag that takes the team directly to the drawing in question. Also, the team can tag change orders to drawings, allowing anyone reviewing the change a better overview.

Integrating drawing a management system with these processes offers a clearer scope, streamlines approvals, and allows the team to stay on the same page. 

Drawing management can be critical to your business’s growth

“Streamline,” “automate,” and “centralize” tend to be buzzwords circling around drawing management, but they truly are keys to your business’s growth. By implementing a drawing management system, you’re enabling your team to work faster and smarter while also focusing on the most important tasks.

Change the game with drawing management systems

Moving to a drawing management system is obviously critical to growing and getting a leg up on the competition. But not all systems are the same; some have more to offer than others.

Look for a drawing management system that offers unlimited storage and operates on a reliable cloud. Also, be sure it has all the features you need from a system in order to integrate with your chosen construction management software. Or, better yet, choose a system that rolls everything into one easy-to-use application, like Premier Construction Software.

Premier Construction Software is a true cloud, all-in-one accounting, job cost, project, document, and drawing management solution designed to meet the needs of GCs, Developers, Design-Build, and Homebuilders. Trusted by thousands of companies, Premier partners with forward-thinking, progressive construction companies to provide a fully integrated solution for office and field staff operating on Mac, PC, and any mobile device. Premier operates in North America as well as Australia, providing a true cloud solution that meets the needs of both markets today.

Check out Premier Construction Software’s drawing management system to see if it fits your company’s strategies and goals. Schedule a demo by contacting us today.

Author Biography:

Tom Scalisi has over 15 years of experience working in the trades. Since moving to full-time freelance writing, he has developed a passion for helping construction companies grow. He enjoys teaching contractors how technology can streamline their businesses and educating them about their rights during payment disputes. 

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5 AI Solutions Construction Can Implement Today

Is the future of the construction industry already here?! With continued growth in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in other industries, why hasn’t construction followed suit? The industry continues to lag behind many others in the adoption of new tech, including AI, robotics, and machine learning.

In 2018 McKinsey posited five then-current technologies related to AI that construction could implement from other industries. Three years later, most of these are still science-fiction more than reality, but for how long?

1. Optimize project planning

Existing technology in the logistics industry allows delivery drivers to optimize their route planning to account for both distance and traffic. AI analyzes for the shortest route with the least amount of traffic to cut delivery times. The technology continues to learn through reinforcement learning, commonly called trial and error, the best way to go the shortest distance.

In construction, this technology could be used to analyze and assess project schedules to optimize them for the shortest time and best use of resources. By running thousands of alternatives, the technology could provide options that humans hadn’t thought of to perform the work most efficiently. AI could learn from past project data and over time correct itself with the best resource combinations and alternatives to speed up project planning.

2. Forecast risks and constructability of design

Pharmaceutical research firms are using AI to reduce R&D costs by predicting medical trial outcomes. The software uses predictive AI solutions to improve products without the additional cost of intermittent testing.

In construction, this technology could be used to forecast risks, predict constructability, and the structural stability of technical solutions during the planning stage. By testing for structural stability and constructability ahead of time, in the virtual world, it’s possible to save big bucks during the construction process. The technology can also be used to test various materials, limiting downtime during inspections.

3. Supply chain coordination

AI can currently be used to reduce downtime and oversupply of shipments in a supply chain. It also can be used to increase the predictability of shipments. This reduces costs, logistical burdens, and supply variability. We certainly could have used this technology during the recent construction material shortages.

As modular and prefabricated construction gain popularity, there will be an increased need for enhanced supply chain coordination. These types of construction rely on just-in-time deliveries, which can be more easily achieved using AI. The technology will also help control costs and overall cash flow.

4. Robots and 3D printing

Robots and 3D printing are already making waves in construction. They are being used by a few teams to provide affordable housing and reduce costs and project schedules. From this knowledge, researchers have trained robots to learn from simulations and used machine learning to replace software programming.

Robots are being used to construct panelized buildings and components for prefabricated and modular projects. The ability to use machine learning could shorten the timeframe even further and allow robots to quickly move from one task to another without lengthy programming.

5. Quality control

In healthcare, machine learning is creating opportunities to diagnose illnesses earlier through image recognition. The technology detects known markers for certain conditions to provide early diagnosis.

Using drone imagery and 3D models, the same technology could detect potential defects and help with quality control. It could notice anything from potential catastrophic failures to finish blemishes and alert the team in real-time.

Conclusion

While no one knows what the next technological breakthrough in construction will be, it’s safe to say it may come from one of these five technologies. All are using technology, machine learning, and AI to predict the future or inspect current work for future problems. By engaging technology early in the design and construction process, teams are saving time and money, as well as assuring the safety of building occupants.

Interested to hear more on AI? Jonas Premier can assist you with more information on how AI can empower your business to work smarter.

Visit our website or schedule a call with our team of professionals at Jonas Premier today for a complimentary walk-through of our simple and easy-to-use software.

Author Biography:

Dawn Killough is a construction writer with over 20 years of experience with construction payments, from the perspectives of subcontractors and general contractors. Dawn has held roles such as a staff accountant, green building advisor, project assistant, and contract administrator.  Her work for general contractors, design firms, and subcontractors has even led to the publication of blogs on several construction tech websites and her book, Green Building Design 101.

 

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6 Advantages of an ERP Over a Standalone Construction Software

Is it time to ditch your standalone project management software? Are you spending more time transferring data from one system to another? Can you get real-time data from your system?

If you’re looking for real-time data that’s easy to access, centralized, scalable, and that allows you to see the whole picture of your business, it may be time to move to an ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution, hint, hint Premier Construction Software.

1. Streamline processes through one system.

 

Instead of entering data in multiple systems (project management, estimating, accounting) why not enter it once? With an ERP the data is automatically transferred into the appropriate system for tracking and informational purposes. This saves time and money wasted on entering data multiple times so it will get where it needs to go.

For example, let’s follow an RFI through a standalone system: The RFI is written in the project management software, and a response is logged. Say the answer requires additional costs, so a potential change order is written and sent through the project management software. Once it is approved and has been returned as a change order, then the cost data has to be extrapolated and entered into the accounting and estimating software.

With an ERP solution, the entire process is handled in the project management software and automatically transferred to the accounting and estimating systems once the change order has been approved.

2. Reduce errors and mistakes made during data entry.

The more times data has to be entered by hand, the more chances there are that a mistake will be made. Typos and other errors can lead to incorrect information being used to make project decisions. A single typo can affect an entire project report as the data flows through the project records:

AP invoice – Payment – Commitment – Cost Report – Project Budget

And when these types of errors are found, teams can spend hours searching for the correct information, wasting valuable time.

With an ERP solution that is based on automation, like Premier, amounts are automatically transferred into the system directly from the source, eliminating the need for human data entry. This helps ensure accuracy and prevents mistakes.

3. Everyone works from the same data.

With a centralized data center that houses all project information and documents, there is increased opportunity for teamwork and collaboration. Everyone is working from the same data set and can see the same information at the same time. There’s no waiting for reports or gathering data from multiple systems. An ERP streamlines data collection and organization, making finding project information simple and easy.

When everyone in the company uses a common database to record transactions and communications, searching through them becomes easier. There’s only one place to look for a document or specific piece of data, saving hours of lost search time.

4. Easier to scale for future needs and growth.

Standalone project management software can only grow so much and only offers so many solutions. Because it isn’t integrated with other systems, its usefulness is limited to the field. An ERP, like Premier, has a wider variety of tools available, due to the integration of data across functions. You may not use all the features of an ERP at the time that you purchase it, but it provides the opportunity to add on the functionality later. This helps improve the depth of your reporting and your analysis of the data on your projects, which leads to more accurate estimates and reduced costs.

5. Real-time data is available when it’s needed.

In an ERP solution all project-related documents, reports, and data are available to anyone on the team, based on their permissions. This allows teams to collaborate and make proactive project decisions based on up-to-date, real-time data. There’s no waiting for a report to be generated, transferred into a spreadsheet, or missing documents to be found. Instead, project teams can act on information before there are problems, saving the owner and the company time and money.

6. See the whole picture.

An ERP dashboard allows project managers and management to see the whole picture of the company, not just one project at a time. They can review trends in the data regarding project profitability, overhead expenses, and productivity. This is information that isn’t available from a standalone project management solution.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning allows ERPs like Premier to actively predict problems ahead of time, so managers can act before issues occur. They can also track metrics and make assessments based on performance across departments or project managers.

Managers across departments can pull reports at any time to compare the information with other departments or gain new business insights. Data relationships may be discovered that hadn’t previously been noticed due to data silos.

Conclusion:

We know change is hard,
which is why we make switching software easy.

Premier Construction Software works with contractors to streamline their systems and transition to an ERP solution. ERPs offer a streamlined process, reduction in errors, centralized data, scalable growth, real-time data, and the ability to see the whole picture. Connected strategies like ERPs integrate data from the field and the office, keeping everyone informed and allowing teams to be proactive in their decisions. Premier is more than just financial construction software, we’re built to help your business.

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