We always enjoy seeing which articles from our blog get read and shared the most. It’s a great way to stay connected to the challenges that are top of mind for our customers. As we look back over the first half of 2017, there are 5 clear winners that we think are worth highlighting for the insight they give around what construction professionals are thinking about.

So without further ado, our Top 5 Posts of 2017, with brief summaries of each one. Enjoy! And click through to read the full text.

1) 6 Questions You Should Be Asking About Field Data And the Future of Construction

Long-time Bechtel veteran Guy Skillett breaks down the most common headaches of large scale construction, and challenges firms that want to improve their data use to answer six key questions designed to explore your firm’s beliefs, practices and impact opportunities for data usage.

Guy lived the productivity challenges of  large scale construction first-hand, building an airport in Qatar, motorways and bridges in Albania, aluminum smelters in Canada, and copper concentrators in Chile. If your firm is just getting the data conversation started, consider using these questions to begin a productive internal dialogue that will propel you forward.

2) 3.5 Tips for a Successful Construction Technology Field Pilot

There are several reasons for poor adoption of technology in construction, but at least one of those reasons can be avoided. A poor roll out process can mean even the best, most innovative  new tools fail when they reach the field.

So how do you create and deliver a positive trial experience that supports high adoption rates from the home office to the field?

Josefine Mullen, head of customer success at Rhumbix shares best practices she’s learned from her time in the field supporting our customers. This post will be a beneficial read for Operations Managers at firms preparing to introduce a new tool, as well as construction tech companies that want to increase conversion rates from their pilots.

3) An Introduction to Big Data in Construction

While the topic of big data may be intimidating, there’s no reason to be daunted by the topic when it comes to construction. Instead, read this brief article to educate yourself on the history and characteristics of big data, and the potential gains that are available to construction firms that are able to harness their data to produce insights.

This post includes two useful visualizations of the concepts discussed, and a link to download our Data-Driven Journey Whitepaper, which covers the three stages of the data-driven journey in detail, along with how each stage can positively impact your business.

4) Improving Construction Productivity Through Benchmarking

Benchmarking seems to be a hot topic in construction circles these days. At a recent panel discussion hosted at our offices, a question about the future of benchmarking led to some passionate and vocal conversation from panelists and audience members alike.

But before digging into the future of benchmarking, it’s important to understand the different types of benchmarking available NOW. This article makes the case that internal benchmarking—while less common—can offer firms the best opportunity for improving performance today, and includes a six-step process firms can follow to begin establishing internal benchmarks.

5) The High Cost of Manual Field Collection

It’s no secret that a large segment of construction firms continue to use paper-based processes for collecting field intelligence. But just how much it’s costing you is another issue.

Read this article to see a high-level calculation of the soft costs associated with manual collection of field data using a common project scenario, along with a comparison of cost savings using a field reporting app like Rhumbix. Spoiler alert: You probably won’t think they’re very soft anymore.