Our consultants have recently been spending a lot of time thinking about technology and the surety industry. I think it’s fair to say that the surety industry is a slow adopter of new technology solutions. And that has worked in the past because the construction industry similarly is slow to adopt new technology.
But with the advent of mobile technology solutions, construction projects are changing. A recent ENR webinar highlights this shift in technology use:
Tablets are offering construction users new ways to speed up communication, obtain client approvals, complete inspections, track project logistics and manage other complications in an industry that is highly mobile but mocked for its glacial pace of tech adoption. And clients have come to expect the instant gratification that tablets provide. The iPad changed the game, and construction sites are now buzzing with tablets.
If you are interested in this topic, I would suggest that you sign up for the free December 1 webinar hosted by ENR.
But what does the use of mobile technology mean for the surety industry? If documents and data are generated on an iPad, how will surety operations be affected?
Surety claim investigations will change as more electronic documents are generated by contractors. Often times, a surety must analyze project documents in order to determine the validity of claims. But the days of walking into a trailer or warehouse full of boxes of documents will soon end. Instead, these documents will be stored on servers throughout the country. These documents will be generated by hundreds of employees with access to iPads, iPhones, and notebook computers.
If you thought it was difficult to wrangle project documents before, just wait until the electronic document explosion in the construction industry.
That explosion is here.
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