Ireland’s construction industry is being held back by a problem it already has the means to solve. New research from Procore and Dodge Construction Network, surveying 688 professionals across the UK and Ireland, finds that teams lose more than eight working weeks every year searching for fragmented project information. With 18% of project time absorbed by information hunting and a further 28% lost to rework, the productivity case for digital transformation has never been more urgent.

The Procore findings deserve serious boardroom attention, and the opportunity they identify is real. Ireland’s construction sector is operating against ambitious delivery targets, a stretched labour market and a cost environment that leaves little room for waste. Three dimensions make the strategic case: the scale of unbillable time loss on every construction project, the demonstrable returns from Connected Data Environment adoption, and the competitive advantage available to firms that act ahead of their peers.

The productivity drain is significant. Across 688 respondents, 25% of project value is estimated lost through disconnected delivery, with fragmented data spread across ERP platforms, BIM tools, email chains and outdated drawings. The RICS Construction Productivity Report 2026 identifies documentation, scheduling and changes and variations as the biggest barriers, all compounded by poor information management. Brett King, Director of Industry Transformation EMEA at Procore, put it plainly: the real opportunity is to connect everyone from the boardroom to the site through the same live project information.

The returns from resolving the problem are striking. Among those who implemented a Connected Data Environment, 92% reported improved data accuracy and the same proportion saw a reduction in miscommunication errors. Nearly half, 49%, reduced the cost of unbillable additional work by 21 to 30%. More than half, 57%, managed between 21% and 30% more work without increasing headcount, a result directly relevant for Irish construction companies facing a labour pipeline that cannot keep pace with demand.

The construction management opportunity is particularly compelling for Ireland. With more than 30,000 homes currently under construction and a target of 50,000 completions per year, the sector cannot afford the losses that fragmented information systems impose. Irish firms should treat connected project management as a board-level investment priority. Those that digitise their information environments now will build faster, make fewer errors, and take on significantly more construction projects with the teams they already have.

The Procore and Dodge research confirms what many leaders already sense: information fragmentation is one of the most addressable productivity challenges the sector faces. With 97% of CDE users reporting more visible and actionable data, the technology answer is proven. Irish construction organisations that invest in connected systems now will recover lost time and build the delivery capacity Ireland’s housing and infrastructure ambitions require.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)