Benefits of Mobile Technology and Barcode Scanning in Capital Construction Projects

An organization’s ability to provide and access information remotely is more important now than ever. Mobile technology, photo, and barcode scanning capabilities have improved remarkably in recent years, allowing teams the real-time data they need to manage projects. The Asset Lifecycle Management group supports companies in various industries to implement project management tools, but this technology is especially beneficial in the construction industry where work is remote by nature and extensive in scope.

Directors Caitlin Barnett and Terence De Beer describe a common use case below – transitioning away from data in disparate spreadsheets toward integrated systems that support capturing data remotely –even in locations with limited connectivity – and providing data between teams who need it.

A US-based utility company endeavored to align both in-office and on-sites construction teams across the country to provide accurate materials data in real time and reduce the effort required to share such data. The company, acknowledging that the purchase of materials by Integrated Supply Chain initiates various processes (e.g. expediting, receiving, inspection, storage, installation, billing, reporting), assessed the role of each team in capturing data and providing that data to others.

Prior to process and tool improvements, sharing data between Integrated Supply Chain and connected teams required 28 steps, summarized above, with each team completing three or more steps to provide information to another. Leveraging the company’s existing project management system, including mobile capabilities with offline and barcode scanning functions, our team members transformed the process, reducing the number of steps from 28 to 4.