Construction is consistently ranked one of the riskiest industries in America,
with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting more
than 1,000 workplace fatalities and 150,000 injuries every year. A contributing
factor to the construction industry's risk is the natural fluidity of its
workforce.
Staying connected, building a strong culture, and establishing consistent
streams of communication is a difficult practice to maintain between the
organization and the frontline workers on the job. This disconnect often leads
to an inability to efficiently and clearly share real-time updates, provide
just-in-time training, offer worksite education, monitor workforce readiness,
and track a project's progress. Each of these drawbacks increases your
company's risk for liability.
Risk and safety managers can better mitigate these risks by implementing and
integrating new technology that makes information more accessible—and more
reliable—through mobile communication platforms.
A Fluid Workforce's Greatest Risks
The construction industry's workforce is continually in motion, where
people are rotating from job to job and staying on a project site for what
could be a couple of months or only a few days. Many workers on projects are
trade partners, and management teams rarely have an insight into the people on
their jobs or a direct way to communicate with them. This not only makes it
difficult to rapidly distribute site updates but can lead to major losses and
business interruptions when a worker's only input for real-time updates is
in the morning huddle.
Under the traditional construction communication system, information is
frequently lost in translation or may not have been heard in the first place,
and emergency alerts, safety procedures, and jobsite updates cannot be shared
as quickly or efficiently as they should be. In addition, this method of
word-of-mouth communication slows workforce productivity as project work must
be halted to gather workers, share updates, and fix any errors made due to lack
of communication. This not only hinders the company's quality and
efficiency but also threatens workplace safety.
Insufficient communication streams also contribute to inconsistent training
across the workforce. When in-person, on-site training is the only avenue for
sharing safety procedures and policies, information can easily be
misunderstood, forgotten, or missed entirely by a portion of the workforce.
This loss of communication could lead to injury or even fatalities on the
jobsite.
As the primary contractor, upper management assumes responsibility for its
subcontractors and frontline workers. With subcontractors and on-site workers
constantly filtering on and off a jobsite, traditional record-keeping methods
make it nearly impossible to keep track of the entire workforce, collect
contact information, and communicate necessary updates—leaving the
organization's management in the dark, disconnected, and with a great
amount of assumed risk. Management cannot efficiently monitor project progress
or approve process updates without establishing direct lines of communication
with on-site workers.
How To Improve Communication
In an industry as risky and fluid as the construction industry, efficiency
and clarity in processes are critical. While mobile technology is not a silver
bullet for any business's challenges, it can do a lot more than house
clunky spreadsheets and e-blasts. Mobile platforms actually give you the
ability to communicate with every individual employee directly. Beyond that,
having a two-way line of communication is necessary to maintain a productive
and safe workplace and curates a positive team culture. One such platform is
the MindForge app, described at the end of the article, which was designed to
simplify workforce communication to maximize performance excellence.
Keeping your jobsites safe, efficient, and connected starts with evaluating
how you can enhance communication streams. In today's world, most of us
utilize mobile devices to disseminate information quickly and widely, making a
mobile-based platform an ideal solution to overcome communication obstacles.
According to JB Knowledge's 2020 Construction Technology Report, 92
percent of the industry used a smartphone daily for work last year. Mobile
communication platforms are designed to provide companies with the ability to
communicate dexterously with all levels of the workforce, ensuring emergency
alerts and updates reach everyone accurately and quickly.
Improved communication through a mobile platform can also increase
productivity and the pace of work. This creates a project environment that has
a significantly reduced amount of miscommunications and operational errors and
mitigates the need to redo work. For example, by utilizing a mobile
communication platform, organizations can share updates and expectations with
team members before they even arrive on the jobsite. This will ensure workers
are well prepared for the day ahead and prevent unnecessary work stoppages.
With many moving parts on a typical construction site, it's critical to
equip workers with the knowledge, skills, and information that empowers them to
avoid hazards and do great work. Mobile platforms allow companies to
standardize training procedures by sharing training videos and modules with
workers, tracking their completion. This allows organizations to ensure that
all jobsite workers have the same level of training and understanding, and
employees can quickly reference videos whenever a refresher is needed. Having
constant access to critical information and contactless training modules allows
employees to complete the task at hand safely and efficiently, which, in turn,
decreases the likelihood of workplace incidents and decreases an employer's
risk.
Housing all training and safety information in one place also allows for the
delivery of strong, consistent messages, and mobile-based platforms are a key
solution. The transparency and ease of access that this technology offers
reduce the risk of serious injury or fatality of workers on the front line
while also reducing liability risk for construction professionals in the office
who need to reach compliance standards and regulations.
Maintaining contact information for every person on a jobsite is a
consistent challenge across the construction industry. Organizations are able
to more easily capture worker contact information through a mobile-based
communication platform, which helps ensure there is a connection between upper
management and those in the field. Something as simple as a mobile phone number
or personal email can open the door for sending targeted messages that are sent
to and received by either individuals or entire crews. It is so important to
promote open workplace communication and dialogue. This helps reduce
unnecessary workplace stoppages, distractions, and workplace friction. At a
glance, management can quickly identify who is on the jobsite on any given day,
which can significantly reduce risks, improve culture, and reinforce
safety.
One organization in particular, Pankow Builders, has seen success in
implementing a mobile communication platform with its workforce. The
organization is now seeing a 98 percent training completion rate from workers
by deploying engaging training programs through MindForge. Pankow's digital
training provides the ability to scale its training initiatives to reach more
workers. In addition to being able to more easily track workers' training
progress on all jobsites, the company has saved more than $12,000 in training
time on a single jobsite alone. Through new training methods, Pankow has been
able to reduce its average training time per employee from 8 hours to under 2.
Conclusion
It is undeniable that better communication leads to a safer, more connected,
and more efficient workplace with less risk of injuries and fatalities.
Utilizing mobile technology is an ideal solution for organizations to implement
efficient communication streams and decrease their assumed risk. A mobile
platform offers a multitude of benefits for on-site workers, project managers,
and an organization's leadership, allowing streamlined training, emergency
alerts, and project update procedures. Encouraging the adoption of mobile
communication platforms is the next step forward for a fluid workforce like the
construction industry.
About MindForge
MindForge is a holistic communication hub designed to unite construction
organizations. The platform simplifies workforce communication and maximizes
quality with tools that keep jobsites safe, efficient, and connected,
ultimately driving increased performance excellence.
MindForge's research on systematic issues related to serious injuries
and fatalities on construction jobs confirms that critical information and
education often do not reach field workers with construction teams that use
inefficient or antiquated methods for communicating. This lack of
communication combined with a deficiency in practical continuing education on
safety and trade skills largely contributes to serious injuries and
fatalities (SIFs).
MindForge developed a technology platform to establish a jobsite
communication network that delivers timely information and education to
mobile devices in the field. This equips and empowers workers to avoid
hazards and do great work.
For more information, visit https://mindforge.live or follow along on
LinkedIn and Facebook.