Explaining the benefits of introducing paperless technology at construction sites and how to proceed with the introduction

Table of contents

Why you need to go paperless

Paperless has been rapidly progressing in recent years, but why is it necessary in the first place? First, let’s take a look at the reasons why the country is promoting a paperless society and the disadvantages of continuing to use paper.

The country is promoting paperless

Efforts to go paperless are underway, with the government taking the lead, including the government’s revision of the Electronic Bookkeeping Act. Due to legal revisions, documents that were previously required to be stored in paper format can now be converted into electronic data and stored.

One of the reasons why the country is moving toward a paperless society is to strengthen its national power. By going paperless, companies can benefit from improved operational efficiency and productivity, and strengthen their organizational capabilities. If companies across Japan can improve their organizational capabilities, this will lead to strengthening the nation’s power itself.

Additionally, producing paper requires continuous felling of trees, which is seen as a problem from an environmental protection perspective. If we go paperless, there are also benefits that will lead to the avoidance of environmental destruction and wasteful use of resources.

In recent years, an increasing number of companies have considered moving to remote work for a variety of reasons. However, with remote work, it is difficult to perform tasks using paper documents as in the past, and we are inevitably forced to go paperless.

In addition , companies must work on going paperless in order to eliminate risks such as unauthorized removal, loss, or damage of important paper documents, improve operational efficiency, and respond to work style reforms .

Disadvantages of using paper materials

The main disadvantage of continuing to use paper materials is the cost involved. For example, if you print documents every time you have a meeting or training session, you will incur costs such as ink, paper, and electricity for using a multifunction printer. There are also time costs involved in distributing these documents and costs associated with their disposal.

Poor searchability can also be considered a disadvantage. It is difficult to quickly find the documents you need from a huge amount of paper materials. Even in cases where items are filed properly, each item must be manually searched for, which can greatly reduce work efficiency.

Also, producing paper requires clearing forests and cutting down trees. Continuing to use paper materials has the disadvantage of leading to environmental destruction and increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Considering limited resources and consideration for the global environment, it is inevitable that companies will move toward paperless operations.

Advantages of going paperless

Some of you may be thinking that it is difficult to imagine what will happen after implementing paperless technology. If you can understand the specific benefits that can be gained by implementing a paperless system, it will be easier to get an idea of ​​what the implementation will look like. Below are the main benefits of going paperless.

Eliminates the hassle of carrying materials

Various types of documents are used in architecture and construction sites. You will have to carry a number of documents such as design drawings, specifications, process checklists, etc. Additionally, the larger the site, the more documents you need to carry around. For large-scale construction sites where major general contractors are involved, the number of required documents is even greater, which increases the burden on the person in charge.

If these documents can be digitized, they can be easily carried around. If you save the digitized data on a laptop or tablet, you can check drawings and specifications just by opening the file on-site. This eliminates the need to walk around the site carrying large amounts of documents, reducing the burden on staff and ensuring safety.

Saves you the trouble of searching for materials

If the data is digitized, you can quickly search for the desired material using keywords. You can access the documents you need in a short time without having to search through binders or document files.

At construction sites, where conditions change from moment to moment, there may be times when you want to check drawings right away. At times like these, electronic data allows you to quickly retrieve and check the necessary information, making work easier.

Another big advantage is that you can avoid the risk of losing paper documents. Construction sites tend to be a cluttered environment with tools, machinery, materials, etc., and it is not uncommon for documents placed there to be blown away by the wind or the exhaust from heavy machinery, or lost where they have been placed. With electronic data, you don’t have to worry about that because you can check all the necessary materials from your device.

Effective for disaster prevention

When a large-scale disaster occurs, there are many cases in which a company’s paper materials are damaged. If your office is flooded and your documents are destroyed, or if your office is destroyed by fire, you may not be able to recover the original documents.

By storing your data electronically, you can avoid this risk. If you store it not only on your device but also in cloud storage, you can safely manage the data even if your device is damaged.

Japan is a country prone to various natural disasters, including earthquakes and typhoons. In order to avoid disruption to business continuity due to disasters, it is effective to promote paperless operations as part of BCP measures.

How to implement paperless

If this is your first time going paperless, you may not know what steps to take. Basically, if you keep the following points in mind, you can migrate efficiently.

Prioritize documents that should be digitized

Amendments to the law have made it possible to store various documents electronically, but there are some exceptions. There are some documents that can be digitized and others that cannot be digitized, so be sure to understand them first.

Based on this, we will sort out the documents that should be digitized. If you try to digitize everything, it will take a huge amount of time and effort, so it is basic to prioritize the things that are viewed most frequently and the most important.

Prioritize documents to be digitized and actively discard unnecessary ones. If you keep things like “I might use them someday,” you end up with more unnecessary documents. Let’s take this opportunity to carefully assess what is necessary and what is unnecessary.

transition in stages

Attempting to advance digitization across the entire organization at once may lead to confusion in the workplace. On-site employees may not be able to respond and normal operations may be disrupted.

Rather than immediately moving forward with the entire organization, it is best to start small with a limited number of departments. It is a good idea to start small as a test implementation in one or two departments, and gradually increase the scale while monitoring the progress. This way, if a problem arises, you can respond immediately and disruption on site can be kept to a minimum.

educate employees

As we move forward with the digitization of documents, the content and procedures of employees’ work will change significantly. There is a possibility that some employees may complain or dissatisfied, so it is important to carefully explain the purpose of going paperless and the benefits that the workplace will receive in advance and gain their understanding.

Education is also required as work procedures change. Even if you introduce a paperless system, there is no point in implementing it if the site cannot operate it properly. It may be a good idea to hold study sessions or seminars as needed.

Another important thing is education to prevent information leaks. There are many risks of information leaks, such as sending emails incorrectly or losing or stealing a USB flash drive containing data. Thorough education is necessary because information leaks can destroy trust in an organization and even jeopardize business continuity. Let’s make everyone aware of how information leaks occur and what to do to prevent them. It is also important to hold regular training and study sessions to raise employee security awareness.

summary

The use of paper materials not only leads to operational inefficiency, but also has various disadvantages, such as the risk of damage and environmental destruction. Going paperless avoids these risks and disadvantages, and also improves business efficiency and supports remote work. When going paperless, it is a good idea to prioritize the documents that should be digitized and proceed in stages.