Communication and Logistics, vital aspects for good construction sites: Portable offices and their contribution.

The 12^th largest industry in the United States, construction has unique challenges to face. “Due to its specific characteristics, the [construction] industry forms a complex communication environment. Construction is a fragmented and dynamic sector with a project-based nature.”¹ The projects are unique, ever-changing, and come with a new set of relationships with every contract. Not only that, “[construction] “involves the coordination of many complex human and material resources to ensure economy and efficiency.”²

When communication decays, construction companies are too well acquainted with the consequences: termination of contract, claims for damages, disputes, arbitration, loss of reputation, etc.

The need for an on-site office to facilitate logistics

The horizontal and vertical communication network in construction includes clients, engineers, designers, consultants, architects, surveyors, construction workers, and suppliers.

Mobile applications and new technologies have facilitated the coordination of these stakeholders; however, these technologies do nothing to generate trust, which is one of the greatest obstacles to good communication on construction sites.

That’s why on-site offices continue to be such an essential component for construction sites. Nothing dissipates a client’s doubts or allows a manager to explicate his needs to higher management more than on-site visits. These visits, visualizing the progress and the results, generate the trust that “has been determined by many studies as an excellent determinant for successful projects.”

One logical step further turns the on-site visit into an on-site meeting that resolves issues and generates solutions. For this, modular offices continue to be indispensable.

For example, NRP West Cevallos’ worksite in Texas experiences sweltering average temperatures of between 86°F (30°C) to 98°F (36.7°C) in the month of June. A client or consultant conducting an on-site visit might make important observations on the jobsite, but unless there is a portable office in place, the blistering temperatures in West Cevallos will deter any immediate communication from occurring.

With on-site offices, the effect is two-fold: companies create trust while eliminating natural barriers to communications.

The need for portable offices in daily communication

When, and if, the frequent communication between clients, surveyors, engineers, etc. becomes completely streamlined, many communication problems within construction work will remain. These can be found at the ground-level, not among the periodic visits from stakeholders working away from the project, but from engineers, foremen, journeymen, managers, and workers in the daily grind at the job site.

“There are many frustrations working on this size of project which make it unbearable,” report these workers through the Project Management Institute. Below are common complaintsthe ones that are directly tied with availability, specificallythat is having the right people in an on-site office at the construction site:

• ‘Can’t find anybody for an answer.’
• ‘Your problems are always urgent — holding up crews for an answer.’
• ‘Crews become frustrated as they wait for information.”
• “Somebody should catch interferences. Less supervision would be required if engineers preparing blueprints would conduct construction reviews and communicate directly with the people doing construction.”

What these construction site leaders are requesting is physical, pertinent, personal, instantaneous communication. This requires companies to allocate human resources to maintain construction offices with permanent managers in on-site modular offices.

That’s a costly suggestion, true, however, the alternative seems even more costly. Studies show that between 50% and 68% percent of [construction] workers’ time is wasted.³ It’s not hard to see the connection between those percentages and the worker complaints listed above. In order to increase their efficiency, one solution is having on-site construction offices with the right people permanently on-hand.

The way to go

On-site construction offices generate trust, eliminate barriers to communication, and solve inefficiency issues. It’s not a tool that should be overlooked in overcoming communication barriers in construction and much still remains to be done for reaching the full potential of modular offices. So, if you need a modular unit for your construction, consider Aries Building Systems, we offer full turnkey solutions with exceptional customer service and robust financing options. Contact us today at:  780-910-1548 or reach out to a sales associate here.

More on Aries

Aries is owned by Reliant Asset Management, a leading specialty rental company providing premier modular space solutions to customers throughout North America. From remote workforce housing to single and multi-story buildings for growing businesses and organizations, Reliant Asset Management and its subsidiaries support a wide range of modular needs including design, manufacturing, transportation, construction, and financing. Aries doesn’t just PROVIDE extended stay modular accommodations,. Aries MAKES modular buildings… and provides everything from A-Z when it comes to modular solutions.

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1 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254858936_The_problem_of_communication_in_construction

2 https://www.scribd.com/doc/16567787/Effective-communication-as-an-aid-to-construction-project-delivery

3  https://www.ccim.com/cire-magazine/articles/construction-chaos/?gmSsoPc=1