Coordinated Production Tracking: How Trade Partners and General Contractors Can Collaborate for Success

If you're like me, you're a little tired of hearing stats like these: 61% of construction projects finish behind schedule. And 49% finish over budget. Yes, we get it. For trade partners and general contractors alike, meeting schedule and budget demands is an everyday challenge. But many times, they just don’t have the tools to work collaboratively to keep projects on track.

The trade partner’s perspective

For trade partners, the math is pretty simple. If they’re unable to work at the planned productivity rate, they lose time and money. And as we all know, even the most carefully created plans will be challenged by unforeseen issues. The sooner a problem can be identified, the more likely it can be addressed in coordination with the general contractor — before having a negative impact on the project. 

The general contractor’s challenge

Two words strike fear in the heart of any general contractor: liquidated damages. When a project goes over budget or falls behind schedule, contractors can find themselves in breach of contract with the owner. And that can get expensive — fast. Like the trade partner, it’s critical for the contractor to identify and solve problems early. And that requires precise coordination with trade partners. 

The solution: Automated production tracking with SmartTrack®

StructionSite is proud to offer SmartTrack® — the first automated production tracking tool of its kind. Using a 360° time-lapse video from a VideoWalk®, SmartTrack can give trade partners and general contractors a shared view of actual project progress, compared to the rate of productivity specified in the project plan. 

“With site documentation and SmartTrack, you kill two birds with one stone. We capture the progress over time, then we get something out of it: that’s the tracking of work put in place.”

Ocean Van, DPR

This AI-powered software solution allows your documentation to pinpoint problems quickly, so contractors and trade partners can work collaboratively to keep projects on track. And by taking the manual labor — and room for error — out of the production tracking process, SmartTrack frees up project teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.

See what SmartTrack can do for you

We’d love to talk with you about your specific challenges, and how SmartTrack may be able to help. I hope you’ll get in touch to schedule a demo today.