The value of well-maintained equipment is paramount in construction. The assets are being tracked meticulously, maintained regularly, and their performance is closely monitored. Yet, this same level of care rarely applies to workers. Why?
Treating the workforce skills with the same rigor as physical assets can easily transform project outcomes and lead to enhanced efficiency and a more cohesive team.
Are Skills Movable Assets?
Imagine a construction site where each worker’s skills are being cataloged, tracked, and managed just like equipment. Such an approach would allow managers to know exactly who possesses which competencies, when they last received training, and where their expertise is needed the most. The approach would enable managers to deploy the right person to the right task at the right time.
I.e., if a foreman is aware that a particular worker has recently completed a course on advanced scaffolding techniques, they can assign the worker to oversee scaffolding operations.
BAM Nuttall, a UK-based civil engineering firm, has begun testing a model of operational human resourcing that was modeled directly on how it manages site equipment. Training became preventative maintenance. Deployments were matched to certifications and recent field experience. Competency mapping wasn’t relegated to HR; instead, it became part of project logistics.
“It was a total shift,” says Neil McCormick, Project Ops Manager at BAM. “We stopped thinking of workers as ‘available or not available’ and started thinking in terms of capability curves, like we do with gear. The effect on project efficiency was immediate.”
Streamlining Skill Management
To effectively manage ‘human assets’, construction companies are increasingly turning to integrator workflows. These systems connect training, scheduling, and performance appraisal into a unified platform. In this way, they provide a comprehensive view of each worker’s skills, training history, and performance metrics.
E.g., a construction business might use an integrator system to schedule training sessions based on upcoming project needs. If a project requires expertise in a specific type of concrete pouring, the system can identify workers who have received relevant training and schedule them accordingly.
To top it off, these systems facilitate targeted employee feedback. After completing a task or a project, workers can receive feedback on their performance, which is typically used to identify areas for further development.
Instructional Design Strategies for Upskilling
Effective upskilling goes beyond offering training programs. It should involve engaging, relevant, and aligned learning experiences. In this process, instructional design is critical.
E.g., a construction company that wants to enhance its team’s proficiency in using new software for project management may turn to interactive eLerning modules that workers can access during breaks or downtime. The modules may include video demonstrations, quizzes, and real-world scenarios that allow workers to practice in a risk-free environment.
There are many instructional design strategies that do wonders, notably microlearning, gamification, and scenario-based learning. There are multiple ways for businesses to create effective, enjoyable training experiences. Engagement drives knowledge retention, after all.
Patience and Persistence Matter
That being said, managing construction assets doesn’t concern itself merely with tracking equipment. For best results, it should actually oversee the entire lifecycle of physical and human resources.
Treating employee skills as movable assets and managing them with the same diligence as physical resources can lead to significant improvements in efficiency. Adopting effective instructional design strategies for upskilling can do wonders in this regard.
However, one of the biggest disconnects in most operations is the gap between formal training and real-world execution. After all, it is one thing to check a box saying a crew member completed a course; it’s another to know whether that training shows up in their work. That’s why businesses that approach upskilling with the same mindset they apply to managing construction assets see better results.
Mace Group is an illustrative example. The business began treating training outputs as they would asset diagnostics. Every training module completed by an employee was followed by a competency appraisal conducted by supervisors on the next project cycle. Training teams worked with operations to map skills directly to project tasks.
“It’s not just about who knows what, it’s about who’s ready,” says Rina Chauhan, Mace’s Head of Skills Planning. “And we won’t know that unless we’re treating skills development with the same seriousness we give to crane load certifications or steel inspection logs.”
Growth Meets Project Accountability
One of the most common failures in upskilling is the absence of clear expectations. The chief culprit is the lack of vision. It is not realistic to expect that workers who don’t know what success looks like will achieve it.
Managers need to set performance management goals to illustrate it. However, forget about metrics for the sake of tracking; instead, focus on connecting each worker’s growth to real outcomes.
E.g., Graham Construction has rolled out a new system for digital blueprint review. Instead of merely offering tutorials and hoping for the best, the business created individual performance goals tied to field efficiency. Crews that mastered the new system saw rework incidents drop by 28% in the first two months. The reason why this happened is that goals weren’t arbitrary.
Setting goals doesn’t mean micromanaging. It means giving teams a clear directive and making sure the route to get there is supported by training, mentorship, and feedback. These goals create accountability, but they also inspire clarity and motivation.
For best results, performance goals should be integrated into the workflow. If a worker is lagging on a key metric, the system can flag this and automatically recommend training modules. If a worker exceeds expectations, it’s also being documented. It’s up to managers to translate these contributions into promotions and better job opportunities.
Services of Integrators in the Spotlight
The integration of these systems cannot possibly materialize out of thin air, though. That’s where the services of integrators come in. These professionals align software, processes, and data streams and also help with aligning people’s skills.
It’s safe to say that, without integration, even the best systems operate in isolation. A manager may know who has which certification, but not whether they’re scheduled to use it. A manager may know someone failed a test, but not whether they got feedback.
Kiewit hired systems integrators to unify their crew training data, project assignments, and field evaluations into one platform. The business soon started seeing patterns they hadn’t been able to catch before. Crew members with particular safety issues had consistent gaps in specific training modules. Project delays correlated with mismatches between worker skills and task assignments. Fixing those gaps wasn’t about throwing more training at the problem, either; it was about precision.
“You can’t fix what you can’t see,” said Carlos Renaldi, Systems Manager at Kiewit. “Our integrators gave us sight. Suddenly, we had a live map of our talent — not just who was on the payroll, but who was project-ready.”
Redesigning How People Use Information
Finally, keep in mind that efficiency doesn’t come from yelling louder or working longer. Instructional design strategies for upskilling should redesign how people absorb, retain, and use information. It’s architecture in its own right. After all, a construction business wouldn’t build a foundation without a blueprint.
Performance goals work in the same fashion. Managers who set quotas or targets will only achieve growth in the workforce that works to hit them. This attitude often does more harm than good.
However, when goals are grounded in performance improvement, supported by training, and measured against meaningful outcomes, they drive engagement and effort. Ultimately, these result in better builds.
It’s only when performance management goals are being tracked alongside equipment and schedule data that construction businesses start to see the bigger picture. They see which teams consistently outperform, which workflows fall apart under pressure, and which combinations of people and tasks lead to repeat success.
The future of efficiency isn’t faster — it’s smarter.
