Fieldwire and Specialty Contractors: Why 2021 is the Perfect Time to Improve Your Processes

To say that 2020 was a year of adjustment would be an understatement. Over the last year, everyone in construction (and every other industry for that matter) has undergone radical changes to how they get work done. But despite its obvious difficulties, 2020 also brought with it some positive changes.

Mandated distancing and other new jobsite regulations forced companies to re-evaluate how they complete projects. In an article titled The Silver Lining of Construction Productivity and COVID-19, FMI explores how the industry can benefit from this rapid change:

"By going paperless, crews can focus on the work and gain efficiencies that were previously out of reach. For example, crews can use digital tools to report both time and quantities, obtain real-time productivity information and quickly adapt to changing work environments." Gregg Schoppman, Principal, FMI

Digital tools have been around construction for a while now, but recently there has been a significant increase in field-first tools. These are field management solutions, and they’ve reframed how the industry thinks about construction software.

Since all of the action on a project starts with the work that happens on site, it makes the most sense to consider the job site the base of the project. If there are any issues, the field will know about it first. So focusing tools around this philosophy inevitably improves workflows. This is particularly important in a time when the field and office are more physically separate than ever before.

Along with improving how teams work remotely, field management software helps improve the efficiency of each crew member. Questions that might have previously required an email, call, or even a trip to the office can be answered simply by opening an app. Giving teams the tools they need to complete their work autonomously cuts out a tremendous amount of wasted time. As Mark Higgason from Encompass AV puts it:

"I do a lot of remote work out-of-state, probably about 30%, so sometimes I’ll set up a project in Fieldwire and won’t be there on-site for several months afterward. I’ll have detailed photos and measurements of everything stored in Fieldwire before the walls even go up, so I can always go back and reference them. I don’t know any other way to possibly do that.” Mark Higgason, Vice President, Encompass AV

Fieldwire is so effective as a tool for specialty contractors because it allows crews to communicate and document site progress — in detail and in real time. While some construction project management solutions mandated by general contractors can limit visibility or functionality of specialty contractors, Fieldwire offers the necessary tools to efficiently document and track progress on complex projects.

“We deploy complex systems in extremely tight timelines, so we need a tool that matches our existing process. It must be simple, easy to adopt, and very intuitive. Fieldwire meets all those requirements.” David Allen, Corporate Vice President, Ford AV

The last thing field teams need right now is software built primarily for the office. With remote work at an all time high, it’s more important than ever for construction software to be intuitive and tailored to the specific workflows of field crews. This is what makes Fieldwire so powerful: its unique ability to empower the people putting work in place to give the most accurate picture of progress and solve problems with real-time information.

To understand how Fieldwire can help you and your team manage people and projects more efficiently, please register for a live demo of our platform below.