The State of Data Quality in Construction Report

91% of product and waste data need to be enriched in some way to make the data valuable for onward analysis.

Due to the significant implications of data quality issues for construction material data, the findings resulting from the analysis of the product and waste documents are used as an example to showcase the challenge in the industry at large.

Our analysis uncovered some alarming trends. Of the deliveries reviewed, 95% contained “bad” documentation, meaning the data was incomplete, inconsistent, or inaccurate. Only 34% of data on materials could be used to calculate A1-A3 carbon emissions effectively. This gap between available information and valuable, high-quality data raises huge challenges for the construction industry. If these issues remain unaddressed, the ability to accurately meet safety, sustainability, and cost management goals will continue to be compromised.

Despite the significant data quality issues identified, the report outlines four steps that could solve 95% of the problems in waste and delivery documentation.

By adopting the outlined solutions and adhering to the seven principles of good data, construction professionals can ensure better outcomes. High-quality data will enable projects to stay on time, within budget, and meet regulatory requirements, ultimately creating safer and more sustainable buildings.

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About Qflow

Qflow was founded with a vision to create a construction industry that uses only the resources it needs in the most efficient way possible – delivering a built environment that meets the needs of society without compromising future generations.

To help deliver this, Qflow’s technology streamlines data capture on the materials used within buildings, future-proofing the industry’s ability to recover assets at their end of life and providing information on the embodied carbon and risks of these materials today.

The platform enables contractors to collect data on materials and waste in close to real-time by extracting data from documentation on material movements on-site. This provides the basis for understanding the embodied carbon of new or refurbished spaces, as well as highlighting risks in the supply chain.

Given the importance of data to real estate delivery and management, this report is intended to shine a light on the current state of data quality within construction, using materials and waste data as an example by drawing on over 6 years of data collected through Qflow’s platform to date.

This report sheds light on the state of data quality in the construction sector, focusing on material deliveries and waste removals. Materials constitute 40% of a project’s budget and account for 90% of the industry’s embodied carbon emissions; it is a huge, complex and often opaque part of the industry that is often categorised as ‘too hard, don’t know how to fix’. Better quality data can help us dramatically cut carbon and save time and money while delivering projects. By evaluating six years of data including over 1 million data points, against seven principles for data quality, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the current data quality landscape in construction. By highlighting the critical importance of data quality and offering actionable solutions that digital technologies can unlock, we aim to inspire a sector-wide commitment to improving data quality. This shift is essential for an industry that is able to leverage the potential of AI and drive towards a more sustainable, safe, and efficient future.
Brittany Harris
Co-Founder & CEO of Qflow

Acknowledgements

Procore provides cloud-based construction management software, streamlining project collaboration, document sharing, and cost tracking for industry professionals

nPlan leverages machine learning to analyse and predict construction project outcomes, enabling teams to mitigate risks, optimise schedules, and deliver projects more efficiently.

Adopter Limited is a green tech agency specialising in sustainable solutions that drive innovation and environmental responsibility.

Nodes & Links transforms complex project management through intelligent software, simplifying decision-making and enhancing clarity in large-scale operations.

2050 Materials is a platform revolutionising sustainable design by offering transparency and insight into material choices, empowering architects, engineers, and designers to build a greener futur

Qflow is a digital platform enabling construction teams to collect real-time materials and waste data during construction, enabling project teams to make informed decisions on cost, carbon, and quality.