Digital transformation in construction: why does it take so long?

June 12, 2024
9 min
Man using digital construction software

Digital transformation has become an unavoidable necessity for many sectors, including the construction industry. However, despite its crucial importance and the support of governments, the Construction sector faces a number of challenges, making this transition complex and, at times, laborious.

And yet, making the digital shift is an initiative that, although it represents a certain investment, necessary for the integration of digital solutions, often results in an interesting return on investment.

Understanding the challenges of digital transformation in construction

Business needs are constantly evolving, as are new technologies. This translates into practices that are becoming obsolete, such as the use of Excel timesheets, for example. To ensure the successful development of your business, it's essential to keep up with changes in the business world. Unfortunately, this is not always easy, and can cause problems internally.

Employee reluctance

One of the major obstacles to digital transformation is resistance to change among employees. In a traditionally manual sector, the adoption of new technologies can raise concerns about job loss or the difficulty of learning new tools. This reluctance is often exacerbated by a lack of appropriate training, making employees less inclined to adopt new digital ways of working.

Lack of time and financial resources

Construction companies are continually pressed for time, and working to tight margins. Investing in digital transformation requires not only an initial investment in terms of infrastructure and software costs, but also time for training and adaptation to new technologies. This can be a major brake, especially for the small and medium-sized businesses that dominate the sector.

The cost of going digital

Fortunately, there are grants and financial assistance available to ease the financial burden of digital transformation. For example, the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) offers grants to help companies increase their online presence and digitize their business activities. These subsidies are crucial in encouraging companies to take the step towards digitization. It's true that making the digital shift represents an investment, but the return on investment is often very satisfying. What's more, it's possible to make the leap at a fraction of the cost!

Lack of specialized skills

Another major challenge is the lack of specialist skills within existing teams. Digital transformation requires IT and data management skills that many construction employees lack. This calls for targeted training programs to develop these essential skills within the workforce. But there are also easy-to-use solutions that enable this kind of support to be provided to key people in your company. This type of project is offered by Civalgo, for a simplified and accessible process. Don't be afraid, digital technology is within everyone's reach!

Training: an essential element for a successful digital shift

Staying competitive in the construction and civil engineering sectors is an essential requirement for many companies today. To achieve this, support in implementing digital solutions within the organization is often essential. Training is one such step, facilitating the adoption of best practices for a successful digital turnaround.

Overcoming resistance to change

Training is crucial to familiarize employees with new technologies and new ways of working. This helps reduce the natural resistance to change that is often observed in companies. By giving employees the necessary knowledge and skills, training helps them to appropriate digital tools and integrate them naturally into their day-to-day work.

Effective and sustainable technology adoption

Beyond simply introducing new technologies, training ensures that their adoption is effective and sustainable within the company. When employees are well trained, they are able touse the full potential of digital tools and derive maximum benefit from them. This simplifies the entire organization of your business.

Improved productivity and efficiency

A well-trained workforce is more proficient in the use of digital technologies. This translates into a significant improvement in productivity and overall business efficiency. Trained employees can complete their tasks faster and with higher quality. This support enables the company to achieve its growth objectives more efficiently.

Developing essential skills

Digital transformation requires the development of new skills, particularly in IT and data management. Including innovation in your corporate culture is a good strategy for enhancing the professional value of your partners. Training can help you acquire these key skills and embed them in your employees over the long term.

In conclusion, although digital transformation in the construction sector presents unique challenges, with the right strategies, especially investment in training and the use of available subsidies, these obstacles can be overcome. 

Civalgo has positioned itself as a key partner in this process, providing the tools and support required for a successful transition. In fact, it offers an integrated solution that includes not only a project management tool, derived from its expertise in this sector, but also comprehensive implementation training and responsive support.

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