Collaboration: When a foreman and crew follow a safe and productive process to complete a work package

Two or more people working towards a shared goal

The word collaboration is making its way to the construction industry more than ever before. People refer to the integration of software with processes as collaboration. Some others misconstrue coordination and cooperation as collaboration. Communicating on a shared network and sharing feedback has also been referred to collaboration. So, what exactly is this overly-hyped and misinterpreted word really mean? 

Collaboration in its most simplistic meaning is, as stated by Ephraim Freed, “Two or more people working together towards shared goals.” This simple yet insightful definition has three components to it: it involves two or more people as a team, it involves working together, and lastly, it’s geared towards common goals or objectives. Interestingly, the aforementioned definition doesn’t mention the word technology or software even once, but brings into perspective the missing link – “people” – the driving force that matters the most amidst processes and tools. True collaboration within an organization requires less technology and more sociology and psychology. Most importantly, it requires an open and structured interaction between people. 

David Smith, an industry professional with many years of experience in the collaboration and workplace technology markets succinctly drives this point across: “Collaboration technology must come down to where it matters to people.” In his article, “The Pivotal Shift in Intelligent Collaboration”, he talks about the importance of people. When it comes to the construction industry, collaboration must be in the flow of how people actually work on site as well as home office simultaneously. Collaboration has to integrate not only workflows and processes, but people as well to be truly effective. Change will not happen until you involve people and make them part of the change; otherwise, there will be always be resistance.

People: The missing link in collaboration

Stressing upon the significance of people and their involvement, in another article, Dave Smith stated, “Collaborative interactions should be viewed as a continuum, rather than a static event, and should be based on and in conjunction with business workflows.”

Systems alone can’t provide collaboration; people are the driving force of the processes and systems. Currently, the nature of construction projects has led to increased fragmentation. Organizationally, the owner, contractor, sub-contractors, and suppliers usually have differing motivations towards the project. This becomes further marginalized by the type of contracts that are put in place. Withholding information isn’t out of the line during the execution phase, intentionally or unintentionally. At constantly changing site conditions, “the plan” becomes a reference point and the real site situation tends to not be seen by decision makers, denying them any opportunity to make a timely course correction. By the time the information is revealed, it is already too late.

A people-centric system based on technology as a facilitator of connecting the top floor to the top floor

 The workers who make up the modern-day workforce are living in the age of technology. They have access to all kinds of information at their fingertips in their personal lives. When on site, workers lack this access. Having a system that enables them to know what’s going on can help them make informed decisions while also making their job easier and safer. By bringing visibility to the site by incorporating Kanban into construction and using lean construction concepts, people can collaborate amongst themselves to deliver greater productivity and efficiencies on site. The over-reliance on systems and tools to dictate the next steps has led to the lack of personal responsibility. It’s about time that we bring back people in to the equation and correct the situation by enabling them to take ownership and accountability for superior performance.