In construction, crews can’t swing hammers without plans — and plans today live in the cloud. So when access goes down, production stops. According to industry estimates, even one hour of downtime leading to construction project delays on an active jobsite can cost a commercial contractor $1,500–$5,000 in lost labor and equipment idle time.
That’s exactly what happened to a Pacific Northwest commercial contractor with 60 field and office employees when a preventable IT failure halted operations across two active projects.
The Cost of Ignoring Preventable Construction Project Delays
Even boots-on-the-ground operations now rely on the cloud for data access to prevent construction project delays.
It comes from tech failure. And it’s preventable.
⇒ 72% of contractors now report experiencing project delays due to missing or inaccessible information (Dodge Data & Analytics).
⇒ McKinsey estimates the construction industry loses $1.8 trillion annually to inefficiencies — and IT downtime is now a major hidden contributor.
Because when foremen can’t open drawings, subs don’t get schedules, or project managers lose files, your project gets delayed just as fast as if concrete didn’t show up.
A Preventable IT Disruption That Led to Costly Project Delays
One Washington-based commercial contractor with about 60 field and office employees ran operations the way many contractors still do:
⇒ Mix of aging office servers and jobsite laptops
⇒ No centralized IT support — just “call the guy when something breaks”
⇒ Files stored on local drives and shared folders
⇒ No automated backups
Then one Monday morning, a foreman on an active jobsite logged in to pull the architectural drawings, permits, and subcontractor schedules for the day’s work.
A failed update on their file server wiped access across the company — and because there were no cloud backups or basic security, not even an upgrade to Microsoft 365 Premium, everything stalled.
The Cost of IT Downtime in Construction
| Impact Category | Without Managed IT | After Managed IT |
|---|---|---|
| Downtime | 3+ days | <2 hours |
| Recovery Costs | $55,000+ | <$4,000 |
| Project Delays | 2 active jobs | None |
| Team Disruption | High | Minimal |
When You Can’t Access the Cloud, the Ground Suffers
What looked like a small technical hiccup quickly snowballed into a full-blown project disruption. The ripple effects hit every part of the operation — from the field to accounting.
⇒ Two crews sat idle for days waiting for access.
⇒ Subcontractors pushed work back 48 hours.
⇒ Project managers spent three days reconstructing files from emails and USB drives.
⇒ One frustrated client even withheld a $12,000 payment until timelines were reissued.
All because of preventable IT downtime.
Preventing IT Disruptions in Construction to Avoid Project Delays
Leaving their data unprotected was like leaving their tools out in the rain.
Once operations stabilized, leadership made a call. The executive team realized that they had been so focused on tangible challenges, that the intangible had gotten buried: Leaving their data unprotected was like leaving their tools out in the rain. The team began to view IT as a strategic growth and business enabler.
They partnered with a managed IT provider who helped them determine that managed IT was now a necessity for their firm. The local managed service provider, or MSP, supported them through IT support and cybersecurity solutions implementation, streamlining the project management process.
Ultimately, the construction firm and MSP together put key systems in place to prevent IT downtime on jobsites:
They started by moving all project documents into a cloud-based file system, giving foremen and project managers instant access from the field, the office, or even their truck before stepping onsite. No more calling someone back at headquarters to email files — if you had a phone or tablet, you had the plans.
They also enabled automated backups every 15 minutes, which meant even if someone accidentally deleted or overwrote a document, it could be recovered instantly. Gone were the days of “hope it’s saved on somebody’s desktop.” Every file was protected in near real time.
To prevent future outages altogether, they implemented 24/7 system monitoring and patching, so issues were detected and fixed before they caused a shutdown. Instead of waiting for something to break, the system quietly stayed ahead of problems in the background.
Finally, they upgraded to mobile-friendly collaboration tools built for construction workflows, allowing project managers, field supervisors, and office staff to stay fully aligned. Schedules, RFIs, and updates flowed in real time, reducing the constant back-and-forth that used to slow everything down.
Your Crews Work Hard. Your IT Should, too.
Modern construction isn’t just about manpower and materials — it’s about access, uptime, and communication. Crews can’t build if they don’t have the plans, and project managers can’t lead if they’re working blind. In an industry where every hour counts and every delay compounds, technology has quietly become just as essential as heavy equipment. You need reliable file access, system reliability, or communication tools. One weak link in your IT setup can grind an otherwise well-planned operation to a halt.
Modern construction isn’t just about manpower and materials — it’s about access, uptime, and communication.
The reality is that even the most capable teams can be sidelined by something as simple as a failed server or missing backup. IT can no longer be treated as an afterthought rather than a core part of project execution. If a single breakdown in your tech stack can cost you $50K or more, the real question isn’t if you can afford managed IT — it’s whether you can afford not to have it.
At OLS, we help Pacific NW contractors eliminate downtime before it happens. From cloud file access to bulletproof backup systems and 24/7 monitoring, our team builds IT foundations that work as hard as your crews do. If you’re ready to protect your jobsites from preventable delays, reach out to the OLS team today for an IT and security assessment — no jargon, no pressure, just straight answers.
