You know technology can help your team but also know the amount of effort to implement anything can be overwhelming. For some, they see the possible reward, feel comfortable with technology, and push forward despite the uphill battle they know is coming. Others are more reluctant, already swamped with work while they know technology can help, implementing technology is never the top item on their 'to do' list.
Selecting the right technology can improve how you manage your projects, increase team performance, decrease delays, and create a smoother work environment. So, whether you're a technology early adopter or overworked and desperate for some help, the below tips will help you overcome some common obstacles that organizations face when attempting to implement new technology.
Preparing the Team
The first step should be to prepare the team for the pending implementation of technology. Start by creating a small group of users who will act as your implementation team. This team will help identify the right technology and shepherd the selected software integration into your organization. Create a plan to educate the full team on why this new piece of technology is being implemented, the benefits this will provide them, and how their specific role will interact with the new software. Some team members may be more resistant to change or adopting technology, then others. Helping them understand why and how their role will interact with technology helps alleviate most user adoption push-back.
FACS makes it even easier to prepare the team as our platform is configured to look like the documents used by your team today. Transitioning to new technology is much easier if the software feels familiar to the users.
Standardizing your Processes
Technology comes in to replace an existing process and make the process more efficient and easier for the team to interact with. While most organizations have standard processes in place, some also know that these processes are not always followed. Before attempting to implement technology to replace a process, ensure the process has an agreed standard that everyone will follow. This step alone will:
- Reduce mistakes
- Increase productivity from repeatability
- Improve communication
- Provide transparency to the process
FACS can help you review your current processes and workflows to arrive at the new standard. The FACS platform allows for each document to follow its own predefined workflow ensuring the standard you select is used by the whole team.
Creating a Plan
Just like your construction projects, establish a project plan to keep the implementation on track. Assign a project manager who will be responsible for interacting with the technology company and keeping all your stakeholders up to date. As with all successful projects, accountability is critical to success. By creating a project manager your team has a central figure to contact and work with. Your organization's specific size and complexity will dictate the exact schedule, though the final step is the 'go live' date for the new technology to be used.
At FACS, we provide a detailed 10 step onboarding process to ensure the software is set-up correctly, deployment is smooth and training is completed before your team starts to use the technology on their projects.
Simplifying your Systems
Technology is often implemented to solve one challenge and needs to integrate with other processes or tools. As most organizations utilize multiple pieces of software, this multi-system approach adds complexity when integrating new tools. Prevent this challenge from occurring by selecting a technology, like FACS, that can be easily configured to manage multiple processes and easily integrates with other existing tools.
Providing Access
The best technology in the world won't help if your team cannot access the data needed to do their jobs. Ensuring the selected technology provides a mobile component is critical so your team doesn't waste time heading back to the job trailer every time they need something.
Providing the team with a real-time picture of how the project is doing is critical for enabling fast decision making. The FACS platform is easy to access from any device, even while offline from iOS mobile devices, which ensures the team always has access to the data they need everywhere they are.
Change is vital to growth, though not always easy. With the correct technology partner, you can avoid the common adoption obstacles and establish a clear path to implement Construction Technology for your organization.
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