Let’s talk about something we all deal with but rarely discuss – the real cost of sticking with paper in construction. While many workflows may have been migrated from paper to excel, there are still a lot of things that rely on paper.
That feeling when you are frantically searching for that one important document buried in a pile of papers or folders? Or when you realize the plans available on site are outdated because someone forgot to bring the latest version? Or a critical record or receipt was lost in the sea of documents. Yeah, we’ve all been there.
These paper headaches aren’t only frustrating but they’re costing us big time. Here’s how:
1. Time wasters: How many hours have you spent just entering data from paper forms into a computer? Or trying to decipher someone’s handwriting?
2. Mistakes multiply: One wrong number on a form, and suddenly you’re ordering too much material or underbidding a project. Also an older version of a drawing can cost heavily on field. Ouch.
3. Slower decisions: Ever needed to make a quick call but had to wait for paperwork to get approved? Not ideal for construction, where time is money.
4. Space Occupiers: Those filing cabinets aren’t just ugly – they’re eating up valuable office or site cabin space. And you have to maintain them atleast until complete handover.
5. Unsustainable: Printing all that paper isn’t exactly eco-friendly. And construction is already a huge polluter.
6. Audit nightmares: Try tracking down every version of a document from a project two years ago. Fun times, right?
7. Collaboration challenges: Paper based work doesn’t allow for a collaborative workflow and you have to wait for your turn to work on it.
8. Data Analytics: You can’t spot trends or predict issues when your data is trapped on paper.
9. Managing multiple copies: A single copy will easily be torn or soiled or spoilt. Therefore need of multiple copies, which will end up in trash but will occupy multiple folders until then.
10. Poor weather resistance: In hot and dusty conditions, paper doesn’t exactly stay protected causing significant loss of data or document as a whole.
11. AI won’t be able to help: AI runs on Data, and if everything is on paper then transitioning to data focused AI tools will not be possible, pushing you years behind your competitors.
Solution? Go digital!
Going digital might seem pricey at first, but when you add up all these hidden costs, paper’s the real budget-buster. Digital gives you a competitive edge and help you eventually with making wiser decisions and increase margins.
What’s your biggest paper pain? Drop a comment below – maybe we can help you go digital (or share some survival tips)!