{"id":101706,"date":"2021-11-11T11:08:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T11:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=101706"},"modified":"2021-11-11T11:08:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T11:08:25","slug":"construction-industry-digital-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/construction-industry-digital-dilemma\/101706\/","title":{"rendered":"Solving the construction industry\u2019s digital dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mail Manager<\/a>, the email management solution by Arup, explores the need to improve processes in order to solve the construction industry\u2019s digital dilemma<\/h2>\n

The UK Government\u2019s sentiments towards the state of the construction industry offer a stark warning to firms in the sector. In July 2019, a policy paper warned: \u201cThe current business model of the construction sector is not sustainable.\u201d It went on the add that addressing this will be \u201cdifficult\u201d and \u201crequires construction clients, their advisers and businesses at all levels in the supply chain to adapt.\u201d The pandemic has accelerated that need.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s paper sets out its vision for the construction industry of the future in a \u2018sector deal.\u2019 It envisages an industry that can build new homes in weeks or even days rather than months, deliver new buildings at a third of the cost, and can provide affordable, energy-efficient homes. It also proposes an ambitious partnership between the construction industry and the government that will transform the sector\u2019s productivity through innovative technologies and a more highly skilled workforce. With ‘build, build, build’ being prioritised as a key element of bouncing back from the economical downturn due to the pandemic, that partnership looks set to be stronger than ever as projects get accelerated and Government funding increases.<\/p>\n

However, modernising firms through digitisation and digital transformation is not simply a case of deploying and implementing new technology into your business. It\u2019s also about improving processes, making it easier for people to access the information they need, and making the business more efficient.<\/p>\n

Enhancing project efficiency<\/h3>\n

While many areas of construction have become more efficient, information management remains a burden. At the centre of that is email management<\/a>, with email being the most used communication tool on a project, but also the one thing everyone in a business manages differently. That results in most firms being unable to find critical project information, produce the correct evidence in court, and waste hours every week trying to file and find project correspondence.<\/p>\n

So, while email is central to the processes of the vast amount of businesses, most businesses continue to struggle to manage email effectively. Most fail to file emails effectively, which means they not only struggle to complete projects but also meet increasingly strict compliance requirements. Additionally, when problems arise, which is highly likely many years after a project has ended, businesses are often required to produce the original scope of work, specific client communications and sensitive documents. If these are lost in individual inboxes of people that may have left the business or amongst a mass of unstructured emails, then it’s asking for trouble.<\/p>\n

This issue is particularly pressing for the construction industry. For example, Mark Farmer’s Modernise or Die<\/a>\u00a0report calls out a lack of productivity and collaboration as two of the key symptoms of failure in the sector. And, with email being the most used project communication tool, preventing people from being able to find information quickly and see conversations relating to projects they are involved in can hugely hinder performance.<\/p>\n

Seize control of your projects through email<\/h3>\n

It’s easy to get carried away by new buzzwords and technologies that promise to transform the way you deliver projects. But it’s often the simple, fundamental things that actually need improving first to truly reap the rewards of digitisation.<\/p>\n

Reducing the time and complexity of filing and searching for specific project emails<\/a> and attachments is simple with\u00a0Mail Manager<\/a>. The solution seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Outlook to help businesses easily file, find, store and share emails, all with the assurance that important data is stored in one central location and easily discoverable at the click of a button.<\/p>\n

The software not only files emails from Outlook within SharePoint<\/a> and other\u00a0storage services<\/a>, but also learns project team members\u2019 filing behaviours. The AI engine then predicts where an email should be filed and automatically stores it in the correct location, which eliminates the risk of human error that can see emails filed incorrectly or, worse still, deleted forever.<\/p>\n

This \u2018Prompt and Predict\u2019 approach to email management can help organisations to enhance the file management process across their entire business. While further advantages include:<\/p>\n