Are You Driven by Data?

Mobile devices and increased connectivity lead to big productivity increases.

1 MIN READ
Mobile devices. Tablet PC, smartphone on laptop, technology concept. 3D

Mobile devices. Tablet PC, smartphone on laptop, technology concept. 3D

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Zack Scheel, CEO of Rhumbix, led a recent webinar discussing how to increase labor productivity with data. Everything these days seems to be driven by data—it’s something I deal with daily related to our web sites and newsletters. Construction has been slow to take the leap, but that is now rapidly changing and Scheel noted four reasons why:

  1. The increasing proliferation of mobile devices—by 2020 there will be 6.5 connected devices for every person on the planet!
  2. Cloud computing and storage is removing the limits on how much data can be stored.
  3. Increasing connectivity—4G is widely available and pretty fast but that will be converting to 5G in the next couple of years, which is 40 times faster.
  4. Purpose-built software—software that is easy to use on a mobile device. Of course, Scheel wants you to buy his software (digital time cards), but that doesn’t diminish the power of his message.


And all of this is coming to construction. Scheel notes that a game-changer for construction in the past few years was the iPad. Now data isn’t written on paper and transferred to digital, it moves directly and in real time from one part of the construction team to everyone else. This is going to wash over the construction industry like a tidal wave (or Hurricane Harvey). Better start preparing now!

About the Author

Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is former editor-at-large of Hanley Wood’s Commercial Construction Group, which includes digital and print versions of Concrete Construction, Concrete Surfaces, The Concrete Producer, Public Works, and Masonry Construction. Previously, he worked for the American Concrete Institute for 10 years as engineering editor and director of educational programs and was the executive director of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) and of The Masonry Society. He has been the editor in chief of Concrete Construction for 16 years. Bill is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute and is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan and Colorado. He lives in Lyons, Colorado. Follow on twitter @WmPalmer.

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