The Causeway Insights 2023 survey of construction industry professionals appears to confirm that those outside the boardroom know more about what is going on than those at the top of the company.
Causeway Technologies quizzed 175 people who authorise or influence the purchase of software in their organisation. Companies ranged from SMEs to Tier 1 contractors, spanning construction, house-building, building services and civil engineering.
The vast majority of those surveyed said that their organisation was implementing initiatives to digitalise aspects of their business process.
However, while 71% of C-suite executives believe their organisation to be digitally mature, feedback from those in less senior positions suggests that progress might not be as advanced as bosses think.
Causeway found that manual spreadsheets are still ubiquitous, with 94% of organisations in the survey still using them, despite the adoption of technology designed to supersede them.
Meanwhile, 87% of respondents said that inconsistent processes and technologies pose a challenge to their organisation, and a third said administrative tasks remain among their businesses’ biggest productivity challenges.
The research data was then reviewed by EKFB head of finance Rob Christie, Supply Chain Sustainability School consultant David Emery, and Barry Desmond, finance director of John Craddock Ltd.
Rob Christie said: “The perception is that ‘it’s all digital’. But I’d argue that it’s only truly digital if all the inputs and processes behind the raw data and the collection of data are also digital.
“If your teams are manually inputting data from paper into an Excel file and uploading this file to create a power BI dashboard – in my opinion, this isn’t ‘digital’. It’s only when you understand the source of the data and its inputs that you can be confident that controls and processes are in place to allow the digital thread to flow through.”
Despite 95% of those surveyed agreeing that integrated or automated processes and technologies are key for driving success, no one reported that their organisation’s software solutions were fully integrated with one another at present.
On average, businesses are using seven different industry-specific solutions, the majority of which (57%) are not integrated or talking to each other.
The research showed that respondents thought employees are spending an average of 48% of their time moving data between industry-specific software solutions.
Every organisation surveyed also said that they customise these software solutions to some degree to meet their own needs – and 54% say that their products are completely customised. This is even when customising solutions frequently leads to higher costs, compromised quality, and a lack of data cohesion, in Causeway’s view.
Causeway product director Rob Ramsay said: “The headlines from this research confirm that, although every business we spoke to considers itself somewhat or very digitally mature, the reality is less clear-cut, with common challenges across the sector when it comes to the consistent adoption and use of new technology.
“Industry-specific software solutions lack integration, with employees spending a shocking amount of time moving data between different systems, rather than making use of their time for more productive tasks.
“Meanwhile, the over-customisation of software and the lack of integration present big challenges to construction companies, including increased costs to maintain and update software, reduced data visibility and continuity, and security concerns.
“Customisation culture is holding us back. The UK construction industry urgently needs a more integrated, standardised approach that covers all aspects of an organisation’s processes.”
David Emery said: “People really struggle to calculate a return on investment for digital tools, particularly in terms of sustainability. And it’s really hard to make the business case sometimes. But what we often hear from our members is that, when they do invest in digital tools, they usually exceed the return on investment because things happen that you didn’t anticipate.”
Findings of the research have been published in a report called Beyond the Basics – how UK construction is using digital solutions to achieve efficiency, integration and sustainability, available at campaign.causeway.com/beyond_the_basics_report_2023
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