How Contractors Reduce Administrative Work with Digital Operations
Contractors reduce administrative work with digital operations by logging time and materials once, directly from the task, instead of re-entering the numbers back at the office, by gathering documentation on the task while the work is carried out, and by letting digital planning replace much of the coordination that otherwise happens over the phone. Administrative work rarely disappears on its own, but the time currently spent on double entry and hunting down information can typically be reduced significantly.
Where does contractors' administrative time typically go?
Double entry between the field and the office
When a site manager notes hours and materials on paper or in a message, and the office then has to type the same information into a different system, time is spent twice on the same piece of information, and the risk of errors increases along the way.
Documentation that has to be pulled together afterwards
Photos, checklists, and notes from the construction site often end up scattered across several phones and message threads, until someone has to spend time gathering it all when an invoice or a customer query requires it.
Coordination that happens over the phone
Without a shared overview of who's where, much of the coordination ends up as calls back and forth between the office and the construction sites every time something changes during the day.
How to reduce administrative work with digital operations
Log time and materials once, directly from the task
When time tracking happens directly from the task in the field, the same numbers can be reused for the invoicing basis, without anyone having to type them in again afterwards.
Gather documentation on the task while the work is done
Photos, checklists, and deviations logged directly on the task in quality assurance are ready right away, instead of having to be tracked down from several phones later.
Let digital planning replace some of the phone calls
With a shared overview in task management and the mobile app, the office can see task status without calling around, and site managers can reassign tasks without waiting for a callback.
Frequently asked questions about reducing administrative work
How much administrative work can we realistically save?
It depends on how much double entry and manual searching currently takes place. The more time is currently spent typing the same numbers in multiple places, the more there typically is to gain.
Does it require all employees to use an app from day one?
It helps the most if employees in the field log data directly from the task, but you can easily start with the most important functions and expand as you see the benefit.
Is this only relevant for large contracting companies?
No. Even a small team coordinating a couple of construction sites typically spends administrative time on double entry and phone calls that can be reduced with digital operations.
How do we figure out what to prioritize specifically?
See what to prioritize when choosing field service software for a rundown of the features that typically give contracting companies the greatest administrative time savings.
