Are You Ready for the Infrastructure Boom in 2020?

The systemised guide to optimising your teams during the skilled labour shortage and the impending infrastructure boom

The end of 2019 saw the momentum of the infrastructure boom slow down, leading subcontractors to scale back their casual workforce to compensate for the downturn. While some subcontractors are scrambling to find more work, leading subcontractors have used this slowdown to scale their operations and implement technology-enabled efficiencies in preparation for the infrastructure boom of 2020 and beyond.

Australia’s growing population continues to put unprecedented pressure on the maintenance backlogs of major transport lines as well as the need for new infrastructure. Since 2015, over $123 billion has been invested in infrastructure work, with $200 billion still in the pipeline for 2020-2023. Julieanne Alroe, Infrastructure Australia Chair, emphasized that projects across Australia are getting larger and increasingly complex, requiring new approaches for effective delivery. She highlighted that current tools are not well placed to deal with many of the new infrastructure problems in today’s rapidly changing environment, and that rapid technology change is fundamentally reshaping day-to-day lives.

To add to the challenges of complex projects, Australia has been suffering a severe skilled labour shortage, as businesses struggle to cope with the increasing number of projects across the country. The fundamental question is: how do we do more with less?

Implement technology-enabled efficiencies

Despite the longevity of the industry and the billions of dollars invested in infrastructure work globally, the construction industry remains one of the least digitised. Many subcontractors still rely on processes from the 19th century, from machines crucial for civil projects to how they manage the safety and productivity of their teams on site. While equipment is maintained by highly skilled staff with up-to-date tools, safety documentation, pre-start forms, site diaries, timesheets, dockets, and materials capturing are often done via paper. This data then needs to be re-entered for safety reporting, payments, and tracking actuals against the budget. Manual data capture and reporting are susceptible to weather conditions, human error, double handling, and loss.

McKinsey and Company noted that most projects are still treated as one-off prototypes instead of highly repeatable processes that can be scaled and automated. Large projects are taking 20% longer to finish and, once completed, are ending up 80% over budget.

This is often due to the lack of visibility subcontractors have into their business operations during the project. Learning where resources are under-utilised starts with micro-level data: hours worked, activities performed, materials used, and where machines are idle or due for maintenance. All this data is often on paper, making it difficult for project managers to aggregate and analyse in real time.

The first step towards implementing technology-enabled efficiencies is committing to worksite digitisation. Moving from paper to digital can be daunting for a workforce not familiar with technology. Ensuring buy-in from all key stakeholders starts with understanding the why and then the how.

Why?

The infrastructure boom is coming, and sustaining a competitive advantage is more challenging than ever. All subcontractors like to market themselves as leaders in safety and quality. With increasing standards and strict legislation reforms, subcontractors need a better way to manage safety and quality. Implementing a digital solution to manage operations showcases innovation. In an industry known for low tech adoption, a subcontracting business with a sophisticated digital system stands out.

Digitisation also brings cost-effective benefits, saving time and money so you can build more.

“We couldn’t have expanded the way we did without Assignar. We added 70 new employees since implementing the platform, but only one of them has an administrative role. If you have a person doing an administrative job in your office, you can probably get Assignar to do the same job.” – Duron Atlantic

How?

Three key pillars to help subcontractors prepare for the infrastructure boom during the skilled labour shortage include:

1. 1.Operations software for efficiency, to meet project requirements and regulation compliance
2. 2.Solid hiring and training plan (meet skilled labour demands)
3. 3.Finance plan

Regarding the first step, Assignar is an operations software built for civil contractors. Assignar’s Site Diary or Daily Log captures all your day’s site timesheets, activities, and approvals in one easy form that’s instantly transmitted back to the office. With Assignar’s Daily Log you can:

• ​Accurately capture your whole crew’s time on site
• ​Capture materials and consumables used
• ​Track sub-contractor units for full supply chain visibility
• ​Capture units against site activities and their budget cost code
• ​Capture electronic signatures for instant client approval
• ​Boost productivity with progress, updates, or issues immediately communicated to the office

Pairing a daily log with electronic safety forms and documentation enables communication efficiencies, especially during incidents or near-misses. It also helps manage urgent maintenance and allocate resources to maximise usage. Assignar is a data hub for all your workers’ competencies, licenses, certifications, and permits.

Be efficient when scheduling resources to projects. Assignar’s compliance rules allow you to configure standards set by your clients and projects. Assignar will automatically select relevant resources based on roles and asset configurations, allowing you to forecast whether you have enough resources for current and upcoming projects.

Once you have the tools to capture day-to-day operations, the next step is analysing that data meaningfully. Actionable insights can be the difference between going over time and budget or maximising spend and coming out on top.

Don’t rely on project managers to work after hours aggregating spreadsheets and field data. Give them the right tools to track site production, such as crew hours worked, asset utilisation, and materials used. Manage delays and variations digitally and in real time, and keep track with an audit log for claims you can reference if disputes arise.

Assignar’s BI-360 module empowers users by providing insights into operations and sharing data regularly with key stakeholders, from competency matrices and resource utilisation reports to customisable dashboards.

Ultimately, a digital solution can help address the skilled labour shortage during the infrastructure boom. A sophisticated system paired with internal advocates becomes a catalyst for positive change in your business and the industry.

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