SAN DIEGO — Midsize construction contractors can boost the efficacy of their risk management strategies through a wide range of mobile and Web-based software solutions, a panel of construction executives said Tuesday.

Worksite safety, fleet auto and equipment risk management and subcontractor prequalification are just a few of the many operations to which mid-market contractors have successfully applied mobile electronics and customized content and data management systems.

However, given their narrow operating margins and limited personnel resources, smaller and midsize contractors must carefully examine any new technology they might adopt to ensure operational and cultural compatibility with their workforce, panelists said during a discussion at the International Risk Management Institute Inc.'s 33rd annual Construction Risk Conference in San Diego.

“One size certainly does not fit all,” said Maria Matamoros, vice president of risk management at Des Moines, Iowa-based Weitz Co. L.L.C. “There are a lot of programs and service providers out there in the market. As contractors, you need to review both the structure of your company and the processes you're trying to address in order to figure out what the right fit is for your company.”

Earlier this year, Weitz launched a centralized electronic project bid and prequalification submission database for its subcontractors in order to address systemic inefficiencies that over time had embedded themselves in the company's contract review processes.

Though less than a year into the new system's utilization, Ms. Matamoros said the company has already begun reaping benefits, including reductions in the labor and time required to process subcontractor submissions.

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“It's too early to put a hard number on it, but I'd say less than half of the personnel we used to have to dedicate to prequalifications are working on those processes,” Ms. Matamoros said. “We're already seeing enhanced consistency in our prequalifications, and it is helping us generate a high-quality subcontractor pool.”

“Ultimately, we believe the electronic submission program is going to generate a reduction in our losses and costs related to our insurance program,” she said.

Bart Wilder, corporate safety director at Birmingham, Ala.-based Hoar Construction L.L.C., said he's had similar success integrating mobile tablet applications into his company's safety management program. In May, Mr. Wilder said his department worked with Hoar Construction's information technology professionals to develop and launch a Web-based portal through which field-level operations managers could use their company-issued iPad tablets to access a digital library of safety manuals and tutorials, as well as file state and federal inspection site inspection forms and subcontractor evaluation reports.

“Going in this direction and putting iPads in the hands of our staff required a real investment of resources on the part of the company,” Mr. Wilder said of the roughly $1 million in hardware and services Hoar put into the project. “But more importantly, it's allowed us to keep our superintendents and our project managers in the field, giving them more time to spend in the field evaluating and finding ways to mitigate risk. The better we get at utilizing this technology, the more we've be able to improve our performance in safety, quality assurance, costs, project scheduling and worker relationships.”

Aside from the financial and operational considerations, panelists said small and midsize contractors must also contemplate how the addition of advanced technology will be received by their workforce.

“Training is extremely important,” said Chad Goodfellow, president of Kihei, Hawaii-based Goodfellow Brothers Inc. Two years ago, he said, the company upgraded its fleet of trucks and heavy equipment with wireless handheld transmitters designed to allow vehicle operators to submit daily inspection reports on their vehicles.

“A lot of our operators were concerned about being held responsible for making determinations that weren't within their expertise,” Mr. Goodfellow said. “We weren't trying to put the responsibility of a mechanic on our operators, we were just trying to identify the issues that they were having in the field and efficiently report those back to the company in order to get them resolved.”

Since the upgrade in 2011, Mr. Goodfellow said his company's fleet auto liability losses have decreased more than 70%. However, he admitted that one of the more critical challenges the company faced at the onset of the daily inspection program was its negative perception among vehicle operators.

“It was a big cultural shift for the company,” Mr. Goodfellow said. “This system was a challenge for some of our people and for our management, because we want to demonstrate that we do trust our employees, but at the same time, we have to trust and verify.”

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