If you’re considering upgrading your company’s field management processes – for example with better software – a well-put business case argument in favour of change might just help persuade those making the financial decisions
It’s a route to a more modern way of working that grants full visibility of remote projects, develops KPIs, generates data insights, and replaces the slower parts of your workflow with automations.
It also leads to safer and more productive teams.
How can field management software help highways and civils businesses?
Back in June a local highways authority ‘appointed someone without relevant structural or civil engineering experience to a position that involves assessing structural health of assets‘. If incorrectly qualified workers had been assigned anywhere else in a business, and one of the multiple accidents leading to a fatality occurred, then not only would lives be ruined, but businesses may not recover from this.
Elsewhere, according to a recent BBC article, Norfolk County Council issued fines totalling £685,000 last year for non-compliant work on their road system.
The number of incidents caused by construction hazards is increasing, and the need for strategic interventions for enhancing safety will in part be covered by the incorporation of industry-tailored field management software.
This means software produced in collaboration with highways, civils, and UK infrastructure firms that address issues around compliance, safety standards, managing complex project timelines, and coordinating multiple teams spread across large areas while tracking their progress.
This kind of digital solution brings together each disparate part of managing field operations in one piece of software – that’s job setup, scheduling, asset management, managing sites, visibility of work, reporting, auditing, and more.
The most frequent concerns about a digital transformation
Before we make the business case, let’s look at a few common hesitations for companies considering a digital transformation.
Even if you have your eyes on a stronger software solution than what you’re currently using – whether you currently have an inflexible bespoke system, or multiple systems not quite doing the job – that doesn’t mean you won’t be affected by the following hesitations about changing:
- Uncertainty around outcomes and what a digital transformation actually looks like
- Concerns about disruption to day-to-day operations
- Worries about data migration and the risk of losing critical information
- Doubts over whether your teams will adapt to the system and find it intuitive enough to use
The good news is, each of these concerns has a clear solution. We wrote about it in more detail here.
Re-flow’s dedicated support teams and project managers have been guiding companies through the process for years, helping migrate data safely, building Re-flow’s end-to-end management software around existing workflows, and providing an intuitive solution the whole team can use, including:
- A simple on-site app for forms and checks
- An intuitive dashboard that can be tailored to the needs of each department.
The business case: aligning with strategic goals
Of course, business goals vary:
- Compliance and assurance: You may be prioritising the need to demonstrate to contractors, regulators, and auditors that your operations are consistently safe, documented, and audit-ready.
- Operational efficiency: You may want to cut the cost of manual processes, eliminate the possibility of rework, and ensure projects stay on time and within budget.
- Growth and competitiveness: You might want to support stronger tender applications with stronger data, or to attract new talent by signalling you’re a digitally enabled business.
- Risk and resilience: You may intend to leverage live data to reduce incidents, anticipate risks earlier, and protect the business from reputational or contractual penalties.
Field management software like Re-flow can help in multiple ways in each case.
Field management benefits across IT and operations
Re-flow Field Management is a complete end-to-end operations management solution built with flexibility, impact, and industry needs in mind.
The benefits for IT
- Scalability proven at enterprise level. For example, MV Kelly process 15,000 forms and 18,000 images per month, all kept on filterable and searchable records
- Flexibility through integrations and APIs, creating an end-to-end solution that fits seamlessly with existing systems
- Secure data handling that reduces risks and meets compliance, featuring secure sign-ins and data management that meets the most stringent accreditations.
As Richard Lennon, head of IT for MV Kelly put it in their Re-flow case study:
“The efficiencies in the accuracy of the data, in the fact that data records live to an operative’s record, that the KPIs are being recorded straight into the system, that nonconformances are being sent directly to site, the efficiencies in the process of taking out the manual communication. That’s been the biggest thing for us.”
The benefits for operations
- Full visibility of all jobs, budgets, and timelines, allowing for robust remote management
- Digital forms that can mandate completion of HSE and other compliance tasks, guaranteeing that all the checks are done, and that the data is collected. Photo uploads and accountability helps raise standards
- Reporting tools that take those insights and allow managers to mitigate risks and identify safety concerns early – whether that’s consistent audit issues or just eliminating the risk of missed defects or non-compliance
- A smart scheduler that speeds up the creation of jobs. A built-in connection to the qualification matrix ensures that each job is compliant
- Software that automates reminders for MOTs, servicing, and updating qualifications
‘It was instantly recognisable that Re-flow was a great fit for our business,’ Iain Johnston, Breedon Group’s national managing quantity surveyor, said. ‘Re-flow has saved hours from an admin perspective.’
Elsewhere, LAML’s surfacing division reported efficiencies that amounted to 15 minutes saved per operative per day and 40 minutes per admin.
When extrapolated, that amounts to huge efficiency and financial savings.
The case for operations software – is it a compelling one?
Whether it’s operations gaining greater oversight and better risk management, or IT teams ensuring scalability, flexibility, and data security, operations software is becoming a critical foundation for success – and keeping teams ready to meet the challenges of a fast-changing industry.
Find out how field operations software can help you achieve a return on investment, download the Re-flow Return on Investment to find out more.
The post The business case for a civils and highways operations software upgrade appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
