96 percent of construction managers and directors waste time searching for paperwork every day, despite pressure on the construction industry due to credit crunch
Released on: October 7, 2008, 3:27 am
Press Release Author: Invu
Industry: Computers
Press Release Summary: • 84% of those surveyed lose up to an hour per day, worth £345 per week per person • Just 20% of construction companies have a digital document management system in use • Only 2% of construction firms have a predominantly paperless office • Construction managers and directors lose on average 29 minutes every day looking for documents
Press Release Body: Blisworth, 7th October 2008 - With a sharp drop in people buying properties, banks offering less attractive mortgage products, and businesses scaling down nationwide, the construction industry is struggling to escape the current economic conditions unscathed. Despite this, nearly all managers and directors in the construction industry waste valuable working hours unnecessarily looking for paperwork, with 84% losing up to a whole hour per day, according to independent research. The survey, which was commissioned by Invu and conducted by YouGov, revealed that construction companies are losing precious time trying to locate documents that have been mis-filed, moved to another location or simply lost, costing businesses dearly.
In spite of this, 80% of construction companies still haven’t have replaced their paper filing with digital document management, and only 2% operate a paperless office.
Given the pressure on the sector, construction companies must improve efficiency to compete within a challenging environment. The root cause of the current inefficiency -which is resulting in lost working hours - is paper; just 2% of construction companies have 91% or more of their documents saved electronically, even though paper documents can easily be lost or mis-filed due to human error. With 69% of respondents believing that digital document management would benefit them, the question of why more companies have not yet taken the plunge and become paperless leaps to the fore, particularly considering the growing need to efficiently store and retrieve documents for compliance and audit purposes.
For those that didn’t yet have a document management system, 40% were apprehensive about the amount of time it would take to get the system working; a worry that may be unfounded as it has been shown that time can be recuperated within less than six months with this kind of system.
When asked what they would do if they were not wasting time looking for documents, 40% of construction bosses stated that they would go home on time, compared with 20% across all other industries, highlighting how a work-life balance can be adversely affected, with potentially serious repercussions. 24% of construction companies stated that they would concentrate on administration, emphasising the sheer volume of paperwork in the sector and the need for efficient filing. In addition to this, nearly a quarter of managers and directors said that they would concentrate on business development and 11% said they would spend more time with their team.
“As the effects of the credit crunch continue to reverberate throughout the construction industry, it is imperative that firms in this sector streamline their business operations in order to compete effectively and ride out the storm,” commented David Morgan, CEO, Invu. “In a market with so much competition, construction bosses cannot risk losing customers to rivals due to poor service caused by data loss. By simply deploying a document management system, construction companies can streamline the management of all documents and records by ensuring that everything is filed electronically and is searchable at the touch of button, saving time as well as improving efficiency and productivity.”
More positively, 20% of construction companies have already implemented a digital document management system. 83% cited the ability to search through archive documents quickly and easily and time savings as the main benefits. 6% of respondents said that they implemented a solution in order to meet regulations, such as the Data Protection Act, and a further 6% did so with the intention of reducing overheads by eradicating storage space rental.
[* value established from survey questions]
-Ends- ALL FIGURES, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, ARE FROM YOUGOV PLC. TOTAL SAMPLE SIZE WAS 858 MANAGERS/DIRECTORS IN UK SMES. FIELDWORK WAS UNDERTAKEN BETWEEN 16TH - 27TH JUNE 2008. THE SURVEY WAS CARRIED OUT ONLINE. THE FIGURES ARE UNWEIGHTED. ABOUT INVU Invu [LSE, AIM, Symbol: INVU] develops, markets and sells software (under the brand name of Invu) for the electronic management of all types of information and documents, such as forms, correspondence, literature, faxes, e-mail, technical drawings, electronic files and web pages. Invu targets the small-to-medium size enterprise ('SME') market and individual departments of larger organisations with a range of products which the Directors believe strongly adhere to Invu's brand values of ease of use, high quality and price performance.
Founded in 1997 and based in Northampton, Invu has 68 employees and operates in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, South East Asia, Australia, the United States of America and Nigeria. Invu's products have been sold to over 4,000 customers, representing more than 75,000 licensed users. Invu has a proven reseller business model and has established a network of more than 166 Value Added Resellers, 14 of which are in Benelux.
Invu is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and a member of the Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA). Its version 5.4 and Series 6 software have been accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). In January 2006 Invu became the first DDM ISV to join SAP's portfolio and is certified for integration with SAP Business One. In September 2006, the Invu Series 6 product was selected by Sage to be marketed by them into the Professional Adviser market in the UK.
In January 2008, Invu announced a partnership agreement with IRIS, to integrate its Invu technology into the award winning IRIS Practice Management system, extending the IRIS systems’ existing document functionality.
Invu achieved the ISO 9001 compliance, in March 2008. Used by over ¾ million organizations the accreditation sets the standard for quality and management systems, by helping companies to succeed through improved customer satisfaction, staff motivation and continual improvement.
For further information on how Invu can benefit your business, please contact us on +44(0)1604 859893, or email us at info@invu.net. Alternatively visit our website at www.invu.net.
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