How to foster collaboration between field teams and office staff

During any construction project, collaboration between the field teams and the office staff is crucial for success. Miscommunications between teams can create significant challenges, leading to divides between field and office teams resulting in project delays.

SubBase offers a solution with centralized project data and streamlined communication processes, ensuring that all stakeholders - from supervisors to purchasing managers and accounting teams - have all the information they need in real-time without changing the way it's always been done.

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Where is material procurement in the workflow?

Material procurement is a critical aspect of construction projects, with touchpoints across all departments.

The process can vary depending on the company and size of the project, but approximately 80% of a subcontractor’s daily operations are dedicated to labor and material management, with around 40% of their time focused on material procurement.

In some organizations, procurement is centralized, and managed by a dedicated purchasing manager who oversees all orders and allocations. In others, it is decentralized, with project managers or superintendents handling procurement at the project level.

Regardless of the structure, the procurement process is essential to maintaining the workflow and ensuring that projects stay on schedule.

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Where the divide often comes from

The divide between field and office teams is often caused by a breakdown of communication and data silos. Field teams typically communicate via text, email, phone calls or verbal updates onsite, while office staff rely on different systems to track orders, invoices and project progress.

The lack of a centralized management system can lead to delays and inefficiencies. A significant friction point is the invoice reconciliation process, where mismatches between purchase orders, delivery tickets, and invoices can cause substantial challenges. Miscommunications about order statuses, delivery timelines, and pricing can further increase the divide.

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SubBase manages these workflows under one umbrella, with a centralized system for all communications, ensuring true visibility and accurate real-time information - eliminating these common pain points.

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How to foster collaboration

Fostering collaboration between field teams and office staff is essential to successful project management and completion. SubBase can help foster collaboration between field and office teams through its:

1. Centralized platform: SubBase provides a unified platform where all stakeholders can access the information they need. Field superintendents can view their orders and communicate with vendors in one place, while purchasing managers can oversee all projects and ensure visibility across the board.
2. Real-time updates: By providing real-time updates on a central platform SubBase eliminates the confusion caused by broken communication. This ensures everyone is on the same page, whether they are in the field or the office.
3. Tailored views: SubBase offers tailored views for different personas. Field teams see only their relevant orders and communications, purchasing managers get a comprehensive overview of all projects, and accounting teams can track invoices and purchase orders efficiently.
4. Vendor collaboration: All vendor communications and data are centralized within SubBase, allowing for seamless tracking of spending, requests, and pricing. This reduces the time spent manually inputting data and ensures accuracy.

Data-driven decisions: With all data centralized stakeholders can make informed decisions based on real-time information. This reduces the risk of budget overruns and improves overall project management.

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Why collaboration is crucial to success

Collaboration is key to the success of any construction project. It ensures that all parties are working towards the same goals and that the project progresses smoothly from start to finish.

Collaboration between field teams and office staff is crucial for several reasons:

1. Custom nature of projects: Each construction project is unique with its own set of challenges and requirements. The constant rewriting of the script means effective collaboration among all stakeholders is key.
2. Impact on ordering: Material procurement affects every aspect of managing orders. Efficient collaboration ensures that materials are ordered correctly, delivered on time, and installed properly.
3. Problem-solving: Collaborative environments foster better problem-solving. When field teams and office staff work together they can identify and address issues more quickly, minimizing the impact on the project.
4. Human element: The success of a construction project depends on the people involved. Collaboration harnesses the strengths and expertise of each team member, ensuring a cohesive effort.

The centralized system in SubBase reduces the risk of error and miscommunication between teams, with the automated processes freeing up time to facilitate team cohesion. It plays a crucial role in bridging this gap and enabling data-driven decisions to manage budgets and workflows. By breaking down data silos and communication gaps to ensure all stakeholders can manage the project successfully.

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