Single platform technology the future of smarter construction (The Construction Index)
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Over recent years, the construction industry has demonstrated the importance of innovation through technology. With everyday tasks growing more efficient as a result of the adoption of digital tools, from identifying snags to the way vital information like drawings and checklists are updated and shared across workforces, the intermingling of construction and technology is only set to continue.
This should come as no surprise, given the challenges currently faced by construction companies around the world. With post-Covid recovery continuing, and demand for construction projects increasing, companies’ ability to meet this demand is being inhibited by a number of issues, from inflation, to supply chain disruption.
With this in mind, technology’s power to boost efficiency has never been more valuable as organisations look to drive productivity throughout projects. This was demonstrated in our recent global survey, Construction: The Next Five Years, where industry respondents were asked what they were most excited about in 2025. Top of the list was the emergence of new and innovative technology, followed by the faster adoption of existing technologies within the industry.
And while there is cause for optimism, the success of technology isn’t a given, with benefits often compromised by software that’s overly complex, unintuitive, or not suited to the rigours and idiosyncrasies of construction.
The good news, however, is that through powerful, easy-to-use single platform technology that connects information and teams together in one place, construction businesses can realise these benefits and look to a smarter future – where new levels of productivity, efficiency and profitability are achieved.
Bring everything together
Construction companies looking to improve efficiency in their projects are faced with several key challenges. These range from ensuring collaboration among vast, disparate workforces, to managing the sheer volume of information they produce, with hundreds of documents, drawings, and inspection checklists created each day, all containing valuable information regarding the health of projects.
The latter issue has been exacerbated by the fact that many businesses are still using outdated manual tools, like spreadsheets, to capture data and measure performance. Not only is this process arduous and time-consuming, devouring a workforce’s time and effort, but it can result in incomplete, inaccurate and duplicated insights that don’t offer actionable value to a business.
A single platform, however, can empower construction businesses to not only tackle these challenges, but lay the foundation for greater efficiencies in the future. By enabling workers, regardless of location, to seamlessly and digitally capture, store and access relevant information from anywhere in the world on a unified platform, businesses can improve collaboration, while improving processes around key documents like drawings and RFIs.
For example, BW: Workplace Experts, commercial fit out leaders, turned to Procore’s single platform to connect its teams and data and improve the way they manage, share and record documents, with the ability to access up-to-date information at the drop of a hat. This has helped BW to achieve their mission of defect free completions; boosting client satisfaction and securing future business.
A unified platform that brings teams, projects and information together in one place can drive significant benefits for construction companies, from better collaboration, to improving consistency by standardising processes with ready-to-go workflows and documentation. However, none of these benefits would be achievable if it wasn’t easy to use.
A single platform, built for everyone in construction
While it’s important to embrace technology capable of tackling the challenges of staggeringly complex construction projects, the technology itself should not be complex. It’s fair to say that while many of the teams and stakeholders involved in projects may have knowledge of construction technology, it’s equally fair to say that few of them will be construction technology experts.
And why should they be? Construction technology should be making projects easier, and more efficient, rather than proving yet another hurdle to leap over. Hard to use software simply gets in everyone’s way.
Vendors seeking short, sharp bursts of project insight may find themselves tangled up by its complexity, wasting time finding information that should be immediately accessible. Meanwhile, contractors and subcontractors who adopt overly complex technology will simply see workers ignore it, turning to more familiar resources like spreadsheets, rather than spending the energy learning to wrangle an unwieldy tool.
This is why it’s so important to adopt a tool that is not only built for construction, but built for everyone in construction – one that offers easy-to-use web and mobile tools, so that everyone on a project can collaborate seamlessly. It’s also vital to ensure the platform comes with round-the-clock support, available to anyone at the click of a button, so that non-tech natives can use it effectively.
Brymor, one of the largest independent construction companies in the UK, turned to Procore to update the outdated manual processes. While this was achieved, the team were equally impressed by Procore’s implementation process, where the team received an agenda describing exactly how the platform would be implemented, with scheduled phone calls occurring each week to ensure a smooth process.
A smarter future, driven by a single platform
The potential of single platform technology in construction is vast, from ensuring greater collaboration, to improving the management of key documents and information, and driving everyday efficiencies. These capabilities are all achievable now, thanks to the intuitiveness and ease-of-use of Procore’s unified platform. The future, however, is even brighter.
By connecting stakeholders, processes, and data on a single platform, construction businesses can harness the power of the data construction companies produce, providing instant, invaluable access to insights that can be analysed and acted upon. This will enable companies to make better, more proactive decisions to achieve more efficient and profitable projects than ever before.
This is the power of a single, easy-to-use platform – and a glimpse at a smarter future for construction.