The Importance of ROI in Construction Technology.

I recently listened to a vendor saying ROI (Return On Investment) doesn’t matter in construction. I have spent 27 years in this industry, came from a family who once ran the 12th largest electrical firm in the US, grew up in one of the industry’s first construction ERP software firms, and worked for several large contractors. One key thing I’ve learned is that ROI does matter! Contractors do care about the impact their investment is going to have on their business. Any initiative I ever brought to my execs for approval was always met with questions of how will this help us? Do we really need to do it? Can we get by without it? Are there other priorities we should tackle first? You see, each one is centered around another way of asking ‘what is our return’? ‘Why should we do this?’

“This industry works super hard for a living. They don’t make money without blood, sweat, tears, and risk”!

There’s so much ConTech in the market to choose from. Some tech is necessary to even keep the lights on while other tech options are just plain cool, but harder to understand the ROI. I remember an exec once saying, BIM was just a fad. I also learned that particular exec was simply ‘tapped out’ of buying tools that provided no noticeable benefit to his company.

Now, I understand how misguided that was when going onto a project and seeing a huge wall panel standing with a strange configuration of holes cut through it. Our PM explained why those holes were there, he shared how they were using BIM to avoid having to cut the holes once the wall had been erected, which was safer for the workers and saved time from having to do it onsite. Days later, the pipes were sliding perfectly into position – awesome. So much for it being a fad!

The ROI was immediately apparent to me. The return was having less risk, less time, essentially money saved.

ROI is critical and it’s importance needs to come back into the conversation when buying tech, PeerAssist, or any tech. It happens to be a key reason for why I joined PeerAssist, because ROI matters to contractors, and it’s mattered to me all these years. It’s been a major reason I’ve developed so many great friendships with customers who’s businesses were positively impacted by ConTech that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of. Customers who didn’t feel they were sold on empty promises because something was cool. Instead, customers who saw real value on their purchase will appreciate it forever.

Okay, this blog wouldn’t be complete without my plug about PeerAssist. No fluff, just results. I love what PeerAssist provides as it immediately impacts contractors. Less wasted time. Less risk when it comes to getting paid. No more information lost in transit. Instant awareness of activity onsite. A better experience leading to more repeat work. More profit to the bottom line.

Put ROI at the top of your search criteria and you’ll be building the right construction tech for your company. Whether you’re buying apps or platforms, for back office or in the field, focus on what return you’re going to see on your investment!