Article taken from: http://www.constructionexec.com/Issues/January_2012/Special_Section4.aspx
By Alec Milton
In June 2006, LunchoverIP.com reported 30 countries already had more mobile phones than people. The use of cell phones is especially noticeable in the construction industry, where smartphones are now an essential tool. In addition to the standard functions of calling, texting and emailing, there’s an increase in more sophisticated apps for tasks such as estimating, sourcing materials and viewing drawings.
Smartphones are here to stay, but employees must follow mandated best practices to assure they use them in a way that won’t put the business at risk. Taking security measures to guarantee data cannot be accessed or stolen is important, but a widely overlooked issue with a greater potential of impacting everyday business is email.
Email often is used for time-sensitive exchanges, but it can fall short if the recipient is unavailable or the team is not aware of the communication. It also is used as a written record to be referred to at a later date. However, the unstructured nature of email communication introduces risks. For example, who will know of, or be able to find, project-relevant exchanges if the sender leaves the organization?
Although smartphones are genuine business tools, employees often use company-provided mobile devices for personal communication. Failing to follow company protocol (e.g., forgetting to share an email with the team or keeping a record in a personal email account hidden from colleagues) may simply result in failing to respond in a timely manner. However, failing to meet a deadline or provide evidence when needed can result in huge costs. In the case of Best Buy v. Developer Diversified Realty, the parties argued it would cost in excess of six figures to provide requested email evidence. The judge ignored their pleas and gave them just 28 days to comply. Even Microsoft was ordered to pay $25 million upon failure to provide certain email evidence.
Last March, a lack of documented communication between designers and contractors resulted in a massive installation error at a late stage of a major university project. The settlement, reported to total millions of dollars, was shared by the architect, the MEP engineer and the contractor.
The problem in each case is communication. Solving the problem need not be expensive, but it will prove to be costly if ignored.
“The ability to instantly put your hand on any email not only saves a tremendous amount of time in day-to-day operations, but it also protects you from unfounded litigation. In the construction business, capturing communication is critical to the success of a project and absolutely necessary in order to have full records available for the inevitable disputes that occur in this industry,” says Tony Broomhead, principal and founder of BL Consult. “Too many businesses fail to realize the need for good email filing until it is too late.”
Protecting Against Email Liabilities
- Put it in writing. Ensure all important communications are in writing and can be tracked. This can be done via email, text messaging or instant messaging depending on if the company’s system allows users to save and file the content.
- Make it transparent. Ensure communications are recorded somewhere accessible to all relevant parties. Instant messaging is great, but only if a record can be kept of each exchange. When using smartphones for email, make sure users adhere to the company’s filing practices.
- Structure data. Don’t throw everything in a big bucket. It may provide some peace of mind to have duplicates of every piece of electronic communication in a large unstructured system, but that feeling will evaporate when it’s time to assemble evidence for a trial and someone has to dig through years of data.
- File project data together. Organizing and filing messages by project will make communications easy to find during the life of the project and post-construction. File emails alongside other project data so all information is in a logical location and accessible to the entire team.
- Implement an intuitive system. Invest in a system that complements the company’s daily workflow. Don’t adopt systems or procedures that are too difficult for employees to use or they likely will circumvent the system. Implement a “touch it once” philosophy: File outgoing electronic messages when they are sent and file incoming messages once they are read.
When searching for the right system, be cautious of cloud-based solutions. Recent outages that hit RIM’s Blackberry devices and Google Docs underline the need for businesses to manage their own data and not rely on a service provider or third-party technology.
In the construction industry, the need to capture electronic communications and mandate best practices for mobile communications is very important to ensure clarity in project communication and efficiency in execution. The industry is particularly litigious, and companies capable of delivering well-documented evidence in a tight time frame have the immediate advantage in court proceedings.
Lawsuits likely will increase as technology allows more options for undocumented or lost communication. Simple day-to-day operational best practices and a solid system for capturing written communications will do far more for a company in court than the most expensive lawyer.
