What Does Best-in-class Site Management Look Like?

There are a plethora of jobsite management tools available today but as construction companies strive to make themselves more productive and competitive, it’s really hard to know what to look out for. Here are our top tips when choosing a solution:

Insights over data

Look for tools that provide actionable insights rather than simply data points. Data from your job sites can quickly become unmanageable so you can’t see the forest for the trees, so much so that a lot of it sits unused. Jobsite monitoring tools that pull this information into a central dashboard make life so much easier for all stakeholders - whether it’s a site supervisor who wants to know how much earth is still to be moved, to a project owner who wants to check that the project remains on schedule.

Trimble WorksOS Dashboard allows users to see the information that they need in an intuitive and easy-to-interpret way.

Best-in-class tools use intuitive dashboards that can be shared to relevant users and charts so that trend analysis can be performed at speed. They allow users to manage by exception, responding quickly when issues arrive, instead of getting buried by information overload.

Trimble WorksOS shows progress volumes cumulatively so users can easily see trends over time.

Site productivity vs. machine productivity

It’s time to think bigger than simply “where are my machines?” and “how are my machines being used?” In order to reap maximum benefits, it’s important to think of a project in its entirety.

A project-based approach focuses on the objectives of the project first and allows users to dive deeper into all the individual activities that take place on a project so that you can answer questions like “how much work have I done?” and “what have I still got to do?”. It gives a bigger picture and allows you to make informed decisions to make your operators and in turn your job sites more efficient. 

Accuracy through GPS

Remote site monitoring, based on real-time GPS with machine control, allows construction operations to keep to schedule and budget. The amount of time spent traveling in between sites, fuel costs, or machine idling all contribute to the bottom line, as do rework and delays. Jobsite connectivity and monitoring tools offer a remote alternative to these issues, which is a particularly impactful benefit for construction companies that cover a large geographical area.

Trimble WorksManager allows you to manage your jobsites remotely, knowing where your machines are and that they’re working to the latest designs.

With proper site management software, quick action can be taken to modify plans and coordinate with field operations from anywhere in the world, avoiding costly mistakes where an outdated design or the wrong coordinate system is being used. 

Another feature to look out for is the ability to upload drone imagery, which gives users the latest visual representation of their jobsite and the ability to view progress on an up-to-date terrain map. 
Construction sites are constantly changing and often located in very remote areas. If you import your drone imagery after each flight with precise coordinates, you can overlay it over the existing map background, which otherwise may quickly become out-of-date. 

Trimble WorksOS allows drone imagery to be imported so that the most accurate view of the site is being used to make decisions.

Connected construction

Along similar lines, if your construction management solutions aren’t connected, you’ll lose momentum and possibly accuracy during the time-consuming hand-offs at each stage of the project. 

There is so much information available from your jobsite but the power is in how it’s used. Unless you choose a platform where all pre-construction and construction execution activities speak to each other, it’s stored and managed on disparate systems and controlled by different roles or departments within the organization. This can result in time-consuming file formatting and many opportunities for error as the information passes from one system to another.

Connecting all the workflows of your construction project, from design through to construction on site, allows data to flow seamlessly and provides transparency. Having full visibility of what is happening on site and confidence that everyone is working to the same, the latest plan offers considerable peace of mind in an industry where projects are complex and constantly changing. This connectivity alone can transform day-to-day operations and be a key differentiator for the most efficient organizations.

Learn more about the benefits of a connected solution in our latest quick guide.