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SING TILE EFFICIENCY OF THE

CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN

Richard J. Coble and James E. Baker

M. E. Rinker Sr., School of Building Construction

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Introduction

The construction industry, with regards to the implementation of computers, has traditionally lagged behind industries that have similar functions. Because the majority of work is performed in the field, where there is little control

of environmental conditions, the industry has followed traditional methods of construction with limited implementation of computerization or automation. More recently, however, some managers in the construction industry have become largely computerized in all aspects of their work. As the computer technology continues to improve and more managers in the construction industry are trained in the use of computers, the communication gap grows between the management and the workforce. The foreman, who is the link between management and the workforce, typically lacks the education and has an innate fear of utilizing computers. Pen or touch computers offer a bridge over the communication gap. With these tools, a foreman has the ability to efficiently perform the required paperwork that is regularly performed on construction sites in a language and a form that the managers can easily understand and process. The computer will also improve the documentation of the project without adding to the foreman's workload. It is in this manner that the foreman's efficiency, which is an important component in automating the entire company, may be maximized.

The Construction Foreman

The construction foreman is the key to improving the information flow from the field to the office. A change cannot be forced onto these individuals without first considering their composition. Management must carefully develop their plans to implement any new computerized or automated system. The new system must not restrict the foreman's abilities, but rather enhance their capabilities.

Foreman's Education

The foreman often has no education beyond high school, and in many cases has not completed high school (Coble 1993). This fact is at the root of the communication gap between the foremen and the managers. It also follows that they lack the formal training with computer technology, making them hesitant and in some cases, resistant to taking on responsibilities involving work that requires the use of the computer keyboard. Foremen have had contact with computer printouts and are aware of the computer's many applications in the construction industry, but there still exists a natural reluctance to make an effort to become computer literate. To date, management has left the foreman out of company computerization under the premise that he is part of the on-site labor force. The pen and touch computers will aid in overcoming this reluctance due to their extremely user friendly design, as well as their mobility and durability in the field.

The paperwork that is required of foremen is seen by them as burdensome, while it is essential for management. At present, foremen must fill out standardized forms for many different purposes, and management must take those forms and enter the information into their computers in the office. Some of the forms often required of the foreman include: daily field activity reports, accident investigations, daily safety reviews (this would be job specific and in accordance with OSHA or other governing bodies), and any internal report forms required by management. For legal purposes, it is evident that accurate and correctly worded documentation is mandatory. To accomplish the above stated tasks the pen computer is an excellent tool for the construction foreman.

Resistance to Change

When there is resistance to change, an employee may exhibit behaviors in order to discredit, delay or prevent the implementation of a work change. The reasons for this resistance include the threatening of job security, diminished social status, or reduced self-esteem. People with limited work qualifications will often assume the worst when a change in working conditions is being considered (Newstrom 1993). For this reason, management must develop support for the foremen when implementing systems like the pen or touch computer systems. Support programs should: employ the use of group forces when training, provide the foreman with the rationale for the change, include participation at many levels, provide assurance of job security, and provide an open communication method (Newstrom 1993). In all cases, the support programs should address the short and long term needs of the foremen.

Foreman's Needs

According to A.H. Maslow, humans have what he called a "hierarchy of needs." The lower-order needs involve: basic survival requirements, life safety issues, and economic security. For construction foremen, the higher-order needs involve: belonging, friendships at work, esteem and status (self-worth), and lastly self-actualization (Kreitner 1989).

The pen, in conjunction with or in addition to, touch computer qualities make the foreman's self actualization more readily attainable. By expanding their capabilities to include computer technologies, the foreman will now be able to work at a higher performance level. Not only will he have the status associated with the position in relation to the workforce, but he will now be able to produce a work product readily usable by management. Coinciding with this improved status, the expanded capabilities of the foreman also increase his value to the company. It is important to make clear and reinforce this concept to the foremen during the training process involving the pen or touch computers.

Improved Efficiency from Technological Advances

The implementation of the pen or touch computer system will improve efficiency of the construction foreman. The true measures of these improvements will be able to be shown in the foreman's improved mobility and accuracy, as well as the enhanced communication between the foremen and management.

On-Site Computer Systems

By utilizing pen or touch computers on-site, the foreman will have the same mobility as if he were filling out forms on a clip board. Because the computer software will have standardized forms, as well as a variety of functions that are easily accessed by pull-down menus, the time spent filling out these required forms will be dramatically reduced.

The pen or touch computers will also allow for better documentation of job progress or identification of potential problem situations through the use of a digital photographic camera attached to the unit (Issa, 1993). Each report can have visual documentation in the form of multiple images corresponding with the reports. In this day of increased legal actions in the construction industry, proper documen­tation will always be an asset in the likely case of a dispute.

Communication Improvements

As mentioned in the last section, the standardized format the pen or touch computers offer not only improved efficiency of the foreman, but they will greatly reduce the number of man-hours required for management and/or their support staff to process the information from the field. The information will already exist in a format that is compatible with the operation of the various software used in the office of management. With all the above stated advantages, the most dramatic improvement for the foreman will be the reduction in the time required to exchange the information. The foreman will have the ability to send all the information directly to the computer in the home office, from the field, by means of a fax modem in conjunction with cellular phone capabilities built into the pen or touch computer. The Simon TM, recently introduced by IBM and BellSouth, has not only cellular phone and fax, it also offers: E-Mail, cellular pager, address book, calendar and appointment scheduler, calculator, clock, paperless note pad, bar code scanning, handwriting and keyboard functions (IBM 1993).

For the construction foreman, the designers have developed digital photographic camera capabilities which provide for accurate documentation, as well as the appropriate software for various standard forms in the construction industry (Alexander, 1993). This system is contained in a unit that fits in one hand, similar to a cellular phone. This access to detailed information provides instantaneous updating, regarding: job progress, safety inspections, deliveries, quality control, and other required documentation of occurrences. The system also offers greater control of the project for management as well as a tremendous reduction of the clerical work typically associated with the dissemination of this type of information (Wells, 1993).

Conclusion

Construction foremen are clearly the missing link in fully computerizing a construction company. One of the most powerful resources and sources of information on a job site is the construction foreman, and accordingly they need to be utilized efficiently and effectively. To not document their information in a recoverable way is analogous to possessing a deep natural resource, but only utililizing surface value.

Construction foremen are unique people who need to be appreciated for their knowledge. This knowledge can be disseminated by upgrading the technology transfer, or the flow of information, into a format that will create a quality work product. This transfer will allow an individual with minimal computer skills to effectively communicate tremendous amounts of information, that would have previously been lost by memory over a period of time. Through the use of a pen computer, which is a form of touch sensitive computer, a foreman's work-product can be quickly elevated to a high level.

The construction foremen are vital to the construction process. When management takes credit for a job well done, these individuals are the often unrecognized foundation that allowed for this success. To maximize their effectiveness is a credit to management and the companies they represent.

Utilizing construction foremen more fully will allow others to have more time for their management control concerns, thus reducing the clerical quality of positions such as a field engineer. At this juncture all indicators point to the computerization of construction foremen as a situation where there are multiple beneficiaries.

References

Alexander, John, "Integration of Pen Computer, GPS, GIS, and Digital Photography Technologies for Efficient Disaster Assessment and Field Data Collection." University of Florida, Geoplan Center, Gainesville, FL. 1993.

Coble, Richard 1., "Bringing the Construction Foreman into the Computer Age." University of Florida, Center for Construction Safety and Loss Control, Gainesville, FL. 1993.

Kreitner, Robert, and Angelo Kinicki, Organizational Behavior. BPI Irwin, Boston. 1989.

IBM, "Only Simon Does It All." IBM Corporation, Raleigh, NC. 1993.

Lisa, Raja RA., "Using Pen Computers in Post-Disaster Insurance Claim Settlements." University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 1993.

Newstrom, John, and Keith Davis, Organizational Behavior. Human Behavior at Work. McGraw-Hill, New York. 1991.

Wells, Charles, "Site Analysis with the Pen Computer." University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 1993.