Harnessing Technology

 |  Filed in Reflections

By Jeremy Meek

Using technology to leverage our efforts and productivity is ingrained in the culture of Team DSC® .

IBMPS1Photo courtesy of Wikipedia**

While we are implementing a variety of tools on a daily basis, this tradition of leveraging technology to add value to our clients and partners started way back on August 15, 1981 with Jerry’s purchase of one of the first IBM PC1’s. This allowed DSC to create and print documents as well as for the first time print checks on the dot matrix printer. It was also quite amusing for the team to be able to play a few songs on the computer. When all was said and done, the PC1 was state of the art for about 30 days.

Moving forward a decade or so pre-cell phone era, DSC recognized the need and efficiencies available from mobile communication. So what did we do? We installed two-way radios in every team member’s vehicle as well as one at the home office. Today it is easy to take for granted the luxury of mobile communications, but at the time, it was an innovation that allowed for expedited production times on projects and aided the streamlined flow of information and decisions. Below is a picture of Gerald Meek putting his two-way radio to work!

When digital cameras came around, Team DSC® quickly jumped on board to capture every aspect of the building process from framing and concrete pouring to installing photovoltaic solar panel structures. Digital cameras have come a long way over the years, but initially, this allowed us to provide frequent updates to out of town clients and catalog various benchmarks in the construction cycle for record keeping purposes.

The Internet provides us with a vast array of tools that we use on a daily basis, but it is mainly email that has changed the way communication on projects is conducted. With SOOOOOO many emails that come through each day, this lightening speed conduit of communication can quickly become a liability if not managed properly. The entire DSC team has taken courses in Priority Management, specifically focusing on productive email management and implementation techniques. We choose to use email as a tool and keep it as an asset to our streamline our processes.

Thanks to Apple and its contemporaries, DSC has implemented a variety of tools related to mobile touch screen phones and tablets, including a variety of mobile applications that we use along side the Team DSC® Site and our Team DSC® mobile application, iDSC®. All of this information technology links up with the DSC Cloud, our internal cloud based solution for project information management.

Technological development moves quickly, and we will continue to adopt latest and greatest proven means of improving productivity and adding value to our clients and vendors. This is what helps allow us to continue Building the Best Better®.

 

** “IBMPS1” by Original uploader was Kungfoocow369 at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia; transfer was stated to be made by User:HBR.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBMPS1.jpg#mediaviewer/File:IBMPS1.jpg