Embrace the electronic age

Sooner than you think, construction e-tools will be mainstream


As a roofing professional, you know trained applicators work best at a certain pace. Industry publications are full of the safety and quality horror stories that occur when people are pushed too hard.

But how can you improve productivity and efficiency without sacrificing quality? One place to look is the "back office." The 2002 NRCA Management Performance and Financial Survey shows most contractors spend about 35 percent of their revenue on administrative and sales expenses. Any improvement here not only will make your business run more efficiently, it will make it more profitable.

By concentrating on the back end of the business to incorporate technology and new ideas, you will see gains in productivity and efficiency and, potentially, a healthier income statement.

Research

Overall labor productivity in the construction industry historically has lagged behind other major U.S. industries, and current studies offer no clear answers about whether productivity is increasing, decreasing or simply standing still. There appears to be no specific information about the roofing industry, but I believe you can extrapolate general findings to most segments of the construction industry.

In a study published in 2004 by Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., professor emeritus Paul Teicholz indicates productivity in the construction industry gradually has declined during the past 40 years. Yet an abstract of a University of Texas at Austin study by John Borcherding, Carl Hass and Richard Tucker cites data that show productivity increased during the 1980s and 1990s with technology advances as one key factor. Finally, an abstract of a study by scholars from University of Washington, Seattle, and State University of New York concludes that after evaluating macroeconomic data and microeconomic studies, it cannot be determined whether labor productivity has actually increased, decreased or remained constant in the construction industry from 1979-98.

One thing remains clear, though: To be competitive, the construction industry needs to move forward technologically, and some roofing contractors are leading the way.

The next frontier

There are many reasons productivity increases in any industry, and one of them certainly is the use of information technology. Traditionally, roofing contractors and others in the construction industry have not spent significant money on technology, but that appears to be changing.

I have seen increased enthusiasm and use of technology among roofing contractors. The reason? They are eager to improve productivity and efficiency to increase their competitive edges and deliver faster, better service to customers.

Roofing firms are embracing a wide range of Internet-based and software solutions that help them build submittals, collaboratively manage projects, communicate with their field staff and reach out to their customers.

In my daily interactions with roofing contractors, I'm seeing productivity trends tied to technology that remind me of the history of technology innovations we now consider commonplace. It took years for personal computers to catch on among businesses and consumers. But sales spiked, and the rest is history. Similarly, ATMs were around for about 10 years, then suddenly, it seemed, everyone wanted their convenience and reliability. Adoption of most innovations begins slowly. But it speeds up once people understand the compelling—and often competitive—reasons to use it.

I believe such an acceleration occurred in early 2003 across many industries as an increasing number of mainstream, traditional businesses—now past the hype of the earlier, dot.com "bubble" years—began to truly understand the power and possibilities of technology, especially Internet applications.

Roofing contractors have been in the mix, and I see three key elements driving their focus on using technology to increase productivity and efficiency:

  • The attitude of building owners, executives of roofing contracting firms and general contractors

  • An influx of young people to the industry

  • A variety of e-tools that increasingly are easy to use and are software- or Internet-based

Attitude

Management commitment, strategic planning, and a willingness to invest money and time in learning new technologies are critical for roofing contractors to improve productivity and efficiency, even incrementally. Often, outside forces, such as a building owner or general contractor, "pull" contractors along in adopting technological approaches to improving processes. However, just as often, it is executives of roofing firms who "push" their companies into adopting new ways of doing business.

Many major general contractors, such as Webcor, San Mateo, Calif., have begun to ask subcontractors to meet a new set of requirements for major projects. To be considered for a project, subcontractors have to have an e-mail domain with enough capacity to send and receive drawings; fast connectivity; Adobe Acrobat (for pdf files) and the ability to file electronic submittals.

Todd Mercer, a project engineer for major Webcor projects in San Francisco, explains: "Our attitude is that the faster we do our work, the better we are. Our job is to keep information moving. That is what owners want; that is what architects and engineers want."

Mercer adds: "With the complexity of jobs we manage and thousands of pages of submittals and documents that pass through our hands, the only way for us to keep track of the information flow is to use Web-based or software solutions. So if subcontractors want to be considered for our projects, they have to be on the same page, technologically, as we are."

Art Gardner, president of NRCA member Alcal Roofing and Insulation, Hayward, Calif., a large firm that operates in California, Nevada and Hawaii, is an early adopter of technology and has worked on many Webcor projects.

Gardner embraced personal computers when most contractors were using typewriters. He used computer software to do value engineering when others were using pencils, and he bought the first wave of mobile phones for his field staff when they cost $2,500 each.

"I'm a big believer in using any kind of technology that will allow me and my staff to provide better service to our customers and bring more business in the door," he says. "I also think specialization can increase efficiency and improve everyone's productivity for the roles they play. For instance, if I can dedicate just one person to use technology to build and send submittals, that frees up account managers to concentrate on servicing customers or writing bids. The account managers don't have to divide their time between client relations and extensive paperwork. They become more productive and happier when they have a strong support person with specialized knowledge."

Educating management and staff about the rewards vs. the risks of technology is vitally important. Web-based and software solutions typically are chosen for productivity reasons, but they won't work if they aren't used consistently and broadly across an organization.

"You need to demonstrate what the outcome will be to your staff to help them understand the value it will add to their work and the company as a whole, so they are willing to be trained and use the solutions you find," Gardner says. "The value could be time saved, speed increased, better tracking of expenses and project deadlines, or easier document creation. Whatever it is, the end result is that it benefits the individuals in some way, making their jobs more enjoyable and efficient, and it allows the company to improve its productivity and efficiency and, potentially, its profitability. Time is money after all."

In a joint survey BuildSite and NRCA conducted in summer 2004 among NRCA members, some 50 percent of those responding said they expected e-submittal requirements from large owners and general contractors will be an important issue for their companies in one year. Currently, many contractors are adapting to this new way of working to either meet the requirements of some general contractors or simply get a job done more quickly and efficiently.

"Designers and owners are moving inexorably toward electronic submittals only, and there is no turning back," notes Bill Good, NRCA's executive vice president.

Young blood

"There are great opportunities in our industry for young people who like construction and are comfortable with technology because they can make a real difference in the future of how companies operate," Good says. "As an industry, we've made great advances in productivity and efficiency in the field through use of improved materials and machines. Now, we're making strides at the back end, and much of this is happening because of the younger generation in firms."

NRCA member United States Roofing Corp. is a third-generation, family-owned business in Norristown, Pa., and nobody knows better than Ryan Farragut how important it is to bring young people and new ideas into the company and roofing industry.

Farragut, a 30s-something project manager whose grandfather founded the firm in 1962, says: "Our company has prospered because my grandfather and dad always were looking for ways to improve the business and generate new ideas. That often meant bringing younger people on board as opportunities arose."

Farragut and his two brothers-in-law now bring that energy to the firm, and they have hired others who share their enthusiasm for and comfort with computer-based solutions.

"We have a lot of generations in this firm, and people have their own ways of doing things. But if there is a computer-based solution for something that will make us faster and give us an advantage in some way, we get it. We look for ways to be smart about how we can use technology to restructure unproductive areas," Farragut says.

Natalie Solowej, 30, works closely with Farragut and other project managers, and is typical of the "computer generation" influencing the firm. She joined United States Roofing after studying interior design in college and running her own antiques business, which had an e-commerce component.

"I grew up using computers and e-mail, so I was comfortable with the idea of bringing in technology solutions to be more effective. When I started here, we still were doing paper-based submittals and relying on Web sites of manufacturers. I'd spend days waiting to hear back from reps about products or tracking down information sheets," she says. "And though manufacturers' Web sites were good, it still took time to click through each of them separately."

At Alcal Roofing and Insulation, Mandi Guerra, 27, is another embodiment of the youth movement and its effect on productivity at roofing firms. She uses technology solutions to communicate to clients and build submittals for project managers.

"If I'm working on a complex job with 160 submittal pages and 10 manufacturers, it might take me 25 minutes or 30 minutes to complete, and then I can send it off through e-mail or an e-fax," she says. "If I need to print it, it often takes longer to print than to do the research and assembling."

Gardner, reiterating his belief in using talents productively, notes that having Guerra specialize in the submittal process using her technology skills has enabled account representatives to focus their energies on customer relationships.

"Everyone does what he or she does best here," he says. "That's efficiency."

E-tools

Electronic tools offer roofing contractors the appealing ability to produce consistent, professional documents quickly and easily; track, manage and store data in a centralized online location; collaborate among project team members; expand and improve communication to colleagues and customers; and reduce personnel costs, as well as overnight mailing expenses.

Yet to be effective, Web-based and software solutions must demonstrate clear benefits to users and, in some ways, should seem as the intuitive "next step" in improving business processes: Intended users should see e-tool solutions as something they need to know, are capable of understanding and have the time to learn.

The biggest challenge has been that, unlike the manufacturing industry, there is no standard, repetitive process for every roofing project. Each job is different, with its changing network of owners, general contractors and subcontractors and the unique issues that may emerge, such as safety challenges, unanticipated change orders or bad weather.

Project management software has existed for years but typically has been designed and used as a "silo" strategy. Roofing contractors have, for instance, effectively used financial software packages or project management programs that provide benefits specific to their firms.

But during the past few years collaboration tools that enable multiple users to share and disseminate information via the Internet have become increasingly popular. Computer programs enable owners, contractors, architects and engineers to set up Web-based, project-specific collaborative systems that keep communication and information flowing.

Other single-source solutions have eliminated the need for surfing manufacturers' Web sites or poring through catalogs and binders in the search for submittal information. Other technology aids such as cell phones, laptops, handheld devices and global positioning systems have been incorporated to some degree in the routine business practices of many roofing contractors.

"We are in such a paper-intensive environment with insurance, building-code and government regulatory requirements, that if roofing firms simply can use technology to keep up and don't have to add bodies to process paper, they're doing well," Good notes.

As roofing contractors continue to move online and bring into their firms the next generation of project managers and company executives, technology will play an ever-increasing role in the productivity and prosperity of the industry. But the soul of any successful business will continue to be shaped by the men and women who run it and who know how and when to use technology to help them achieve their goals.

Ned Trainor is president of Buildsite, Oakland, Calif.

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