{"id":34095,"date":"2026-01-30T00:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T08:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/panelists-highlight-how-ai-can-improve-tracking-reduce-scope-surprises\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:30:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T08:30:31","slug":"panelists-highlight-how-ai-can-improve-tracking-reduce-scope-surprises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/panelists-highlight-how-ai-can-improve-tracking-reduce-scope-surprises\/","title":{"rendered":"Panelists highlight how AI can improve tracking, reduce scope surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">6 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/810933\/2026-01-29_17.22.38\/panelists-ai-built-by-builders-webinar.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction risk in 2026 will increasingly stem from small operational breakdowns that surface too late to fix cheaply. A <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/labor-demand-gap-shrinks-abc-construction-staff\/810681\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>tight labor market<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> could only heighten that exposure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Those are the issues construction technology leaders cited as they pointed to several artificial intelligence tools to protect profits, according to a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/the-2026-outlook-protecting-projects-people-profit-tickets-1977307298357?viewDetails=true\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>2026 outlook webinar from Built By Builders<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, a construction tech company network.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Choosing the right option starts in the field, said Anna Berger, CEO of Trayd, a construction back office operating system, during the webinar moderated by Construction Dive Reporter Matt Thibault.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cYou have to do whatever you can, from a software and experience perspective, to create an environment that\u2019s comfortable,\u201d said Berger. \u201cIf teams are producing accurate numbers around labor tracking, equipment and material tracking in the field, what that results to for the back office and finance teams is a true job cost in real time from the field.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In other words, tools must first fit into workflows efficiently on the jobsite. That includes small usability aspects too, such as multiple language options, which can meaningfully speed up adoption.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cWhen teams look to invest in software, they need to invest in tools that are centering the worker,\u201d said Berger. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the back office teams, the finance managers, the end users.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>AI in safety<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/construction-job-openings-bounce-back\/809173\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>labor shortage<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> worsens onsite hazards when contractors have to staff projects with less-experienced team members, said Josh Levy, CEO at Document Crunch, an AI risk reduction platform.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Safety programs have evolved over the past decade, but the focus may have swung too far into checkbox compliance that focuses on companies more than workers, said Gabe Guetta, founder and CEO of Salus, a construction safety software provider. AI may help fix that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For example, field workers don\u2019t necessarily learn through academic processes, the direction many safety programs have turned to via forms and documents. The same tools intended to break complacency can create it instead if they become routine, box-checking exercises, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>AI tools can update this process by making safety programs more engaging from the start, said Guetta.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cSafety turned into theater, where all these forms and documents and training got done, and the pendulum swung from protecting a worker to protecting a company,\u201d said Guetta. \u201cWhere AI is today, within the next six months to a year, safety will fundamentally change in the way that it\u2019s performed.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Scaling the workforce<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In the back office, construction processes already require teams to interweave multiple document types to avoid compliance and scope traps, said Levy. Inexperienced teams expose knowledge gaps with how these documents should relate to decision-making. Until now, the industry hasn\u2019t done enough to democratize expertise quickly so newer staff can operate at a higher level consistently, he said. That is an area of opportunity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cYes we have a labor shortage \u2026 ultimately what that means is that construction companies are going to have to figure out a way to scale with either less people or figure out a way to scale their people,\u201d said Levy. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve done enough to bring that scalability to the people that are here.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>That strain isn\u2019t limited to just the back office, said Cameron Page, CEO and founder of Clearstory, a change order management platform. Contractors also struggle to hire and retain project engineers and project managers, which could potentially lead to burnout for current workers. That\u2019s an additional problem if workers walk after the company already invested in upskill training, said Page.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThere\u2019s more demands on those team members,\u201d said Page. \u201cAny opportunity for technology on process improvement is going to help scale those companies as we head into this new era where things are probably going to move even faster.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"storylines-carousel-wrapper hide-small show-large\" id=\"desktop-carousel\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Opportunity for earlier detection tools<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>An influx of construction technology tools, however, also creates pressure for firms around what to choose. That lack of stability, both across the construction industry and within individual companies, widens the divide between contractors who eventually learn from data and those who don\u2019t, said Mike Pink, CEO and founder of SmartPM, an automated construction project controls platform.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe lack of standardization in an environment that\u2019s being flooded with new innovation is challenging to the people that are actually working in construction,\u201d said Pink. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more uncertainty on who\u2019s embracing the systems, who\u2019s using it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>That\u2019s where visibility into issues that would otherwise stay buried enters, according to the panelists. Earlier detection should be the goal for contractors looking to adopt one of these tools.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For example, change order exposure often sits idle in email along with informal field tickets long before it hits forecasting systems, said Page. Leadership may see a job\u2019s financial projection only after costs enter internal reporting tools.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThat\u2019s one of the big trends to help protect profits in this industry, it\u2019s to get that visibility at a higher level, so you can more proactively triage and dive into the projects that truly need help,\u201d said Page. \u201cYou might have 10 great projects, and then that one project that had lack of visibility that goes way over budget could really shoot your numbers for the year.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Tools should also bring trade contractors into the process as active contributors, which improves early identification of problems, said Chris Callen, CEO of Plot, a jobsite coordination tool.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"storylines-carousel-wrapper show-small hide-large\" id=\"mobile-carousel\"\/>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cA lot of times, [trade contractors] are just the receivers of information,\u201d said Callen. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing more and more engagement tools to get those individuals on the trade partners to be involved in a process that they may have not been an active contributor in the past.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/panelists-ai-built-by-builders-webinar\/810933\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 6 min This audio is auto-generated. 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