4 tips for using smart tech in construction

The key to the longevity of your business is your ability to build projects you’re proud of. But labor shortages and rising production costs have gradually made it harder to run a sustainable construction operation. The question is: how do you do great work without sacrificing profitability? You shouldn’t have to compromise the quality of your work for speed. Smart technology tools can save both man-hours and headaches, from bidding all the way to completion. Here are four ways to make tech work for you.

From RFP to reality

1. Use flexibility as your competitive edge Adapting to new systems can seem daunting, and consolidating RPFs can be time-intensive. But, here’s how flexibility pays off: Tech solutions can help you wrap up that bid in 30 minutes rather than three hours, by allowing you to break out of the mold of a traditional bidding process.

“Firms need to adapt to changes in how their clients handle RFPs. This may seem like a difficult challenge, but firms that change their internal processes and become more flexible in how they deal with clients will give themselves an edge."—2017 Engineering and Construction Trends, PwC ¹

2. Build bridges and foster communication When you bring people together, and foster strong connections between them, you create a better workplace. With real-time collaboration tools, your team can immediately access, preview, and edit bid documents across distances, bringing everyone together throughout the project. When you go digital, paper reams and bulky binders become a thing of the past. You’ll also avoid redundancies and unnecessary back-and-forth communication. And because employees know they’re building better projects, this kind of collaboration improves job satisfaction, too.

Better than lock and key

3. Go mobile to increase accessibility Your data should be mobile and easy to access, but impossible to crack. Mobile devices make it easier for your workers to access their files from anywhere—whether on the job site, working with a client, or in the office.

Construction professionals say having mobile capabilities on the job has increased in importance—by 20% between 2012 and 2016 ²

4. Integrate security from start to finish By integrating with identity management tools like Okta, it’s easy to manage access and permissions for internal and external users. With the Dropbox-Okta integration, employees can easily sync files to local drives and share large files with external partners, all while keeping project data safe. ³

“By offering controlled access to Dropbox through Okta, we can power digital transformation for our employees and external collaborators. We can also access data points across our operations so we can make the most intelligent decisions for our organization.”—Vibha Gore, Senior IT Director, Howard Hughes Corporation

Constructing the foundation

When you leverage technology, you can take your construction project from a logistical challenge to a rewarding endeavor. To find out how Dropbox can make your next job easier, download our free eBook, Build Smarter With Tech. 1 “2017 Engineering and Construction Trends,” 2017, 2 “The 5th Annual Construction Technology Report,” 2016, JBKnowledge 3 “App Integrations: Okta,” 2017, Dropbox