Data is becoming increasingly important in a plethora of industries, from healthcare to manufacturing to retail and more. So what about construction? Is there a use for data analysis and interpretation in the construction industry? In fact, there are quite a few uses.
Here are three things you can accomplish in construction with the proper use of data
- Increase efficiency. How many different projects does your construction company handle at one time? Likely more than any one person can oversee effectively. So how do you know when there’s a problem with one of them? When one job is over budget and behind schedule? No doubt, each job files comprehensive reports on their progress, or lack thereof—but who has time to read them all? However, through the use of data, you can boil those long reports down to a few charts and graphs of key performance indicators. Management can read them quickly and see at a glance where each site is lacking. They can then solve the problem before it gets out of hand, and keep things on track, on schedule, and on budget as much as possible.
- Increase profits. Time is money. Labor is money. Materials and other resources are money. Pretty much everything is money in the construction industry. So the more of all these things you can save, the more money your project will have, and the better profits you’ll make. As we’ve seen, data provides insights that lead to more efficiency. Employee performance can be measured and use the results to motivate employees to do better and raise productivity. You can see where you’re spending too much on materials versus where you’re spending less, and find out what the site that’s under budget is doing differently, so that it can be applied to the over-budget sites. You can use your data to keep your teams on schedule, manage inventory better, and much more. And each of these factors adds up to better efficiency and higher overall profits.
- Plan ahead. Your data provides you a clear picture of the construction projects that are currently active in your company and how they’re progressing. But what about the project that starts next week, or next month? You can use analytics to examine your current data and make predictions about the future of your company based on that. You can spot trends that might be detrimental to your business going forward, and stop them before they start. You can use data to analyze potential employees and determine which of them are not only qualified for the position, but best suited in terms of personality, work habits, and more. With the right data at your disposal, you can not only understand the present of your company, but plan for the future.
Data can be a little daunting – Let Lantern Data Systems show you the way
Every department of your company generates it in staggering degrees. How do you sort through it all? Many companies do it manually, using spreadsheets. This only succeeds in making things slower and less efficient, rather than the other way around. However, through the use of business intelligence and analytics, you can take that raw data and turn it into real, usable information that can help take your company to the next level. And Lantern Data Systems can help. We take the work out of manually combining data, and help you sort through and analyze it to provide better data insights in less time.