The construction industry is undergoing major changes. Thanks to digital transformation, device management in this sector is supposed to be simplified, but we can see that both employers and employees do not always benefit from it. The reason:EMM (Enterprise Mobile Management) solutions are not necessarily adopted by the employees of this very specific sector.
A unique sector
It’s complicated to compare the construction industry with other sectors. It allows countless companies to work together and collaborate, mixes employees, various service providers and freelancers who each have their own working methods. Profiles of the workers can be very diverse: from very manual and technical jobs such as bricklayer, house painter or electrician, to jobs requiring more complex training such as engineer, architect, site foreman or project manager… In short: very diverse social and socio-cultural classes meet and cross paths on construction sites, so there are very different cases of adoption rates of new technologies.
Digital transformation isn’t always easy
Although the last few years, a majority of companies have been trying to apply “digital transformation” within their organisation, i.e. to apply a real transformation at the level of the tools used, but also, more pragmatically, to infuse minds. The construction sector can be difficult to change because of the high number of stakeholders. And for good reason, employees in this sector are not known to be great technophiles. It’s a fact: many employees and collaborators are accustomed to organizational modes that have been the same for decades, and that do not involve any digital tools. The challenge will, therefore, be first of all to convince all these companies and workers that this type of tool can make their lives easier, then to simplify their approach and encourage them to adopt it.
Data: a gold mine for the construction industry
Information specific to each construction site, each construction project, is a gold mine for companies working in this sector. Being able to collect usable data and use it to optimise processes or to facilitate the activities of its employees is a considerable advantage that construction companies should not miss out on. Whether it is geolocation data, technical information about the status and progress of the construction site or legal information, everything must be collected and used to facilitate the progress of the work. Not to mention resource management: everything is simplified from the moment the data is used. Thanks to machine learning tools that will analyse this data in real-time and draw immediate conclusions, companies will be able to save precious time over the competition, enable better working conditions for their employees and save resources where it’s possible.
Simple and intuitive tools
It is essential that work teams have easy access to their digital tools through MDM or MAM solutions that make the user experience a top priority. In the case of employees who are not necessarily technophiles, sometimes even completely baffled by the idea of having to download professional applications on their personal device (in the case of BYOD), these applications and app-stores must be simple and effective, a little bit like all the apps and app-stores that are available on the market (that way they use tools close to those they already master). Precisely, adoption will be broader with solutions that promote quality UX.
Tools that unite
The construction sector is made up of a multitude of companies, often very complimentary and sometimes competing, which collaborate and exchange daily. These companies have many differences, but one point, in particular, brings them together: they all have huge needs in terms of digital applications. To bring together companies that sometimes have very different internal corporate cultures and data policies, but have needs in terms of apps and mobile management solutions, simplicity and efficiency are, once again, considerable assets. A minimally intrusive MAM solution that will allow employees to download all the tools they need, but remain in control of their devices, will help retain many employees. And, where it is imperative to deploy MDM solutions, the experience must also be as simple as possible. In general: the tools available to companies must be able to allow different types of EMM solutions to coexist.
In conclusion: Appaloosa’s opinion
The construction industry is facing huge challenges these days. While a majority of the companies have already gone digital, others are still blocked by working methods that involve an organisation that is not yet fully digitised. Yet this is precisely one of the sectors that would benefit most from a complete and well-managed transformation. It is, therefore, necessary to try to implement EMM solutions smoothly and to adopt them gradually, so that they are not rejected by employees at the slightest complication.
Thanks to a precise study of this sector, Appaloosa has worked on a private app-store solution that offers, among other things, the possibility of making ALL the solutions already implemented coexist. Depending on the different populations of users, it is also possible to have several user targets, to segment the access rights. The installation of the apps can be automated. Add to this a simplified installation and regular automated updates, and you get a tool that is unique in its efficiency.