How is Your Construction and Concrete Data Used? What You Need to Know

With every passing day in the Information Age, more and more data is being collected and used for a wide range of purposes – some good, and some bad. That’s true in our personal lives and it may be true with your construction and concrete data that makes its way to the cloud. This point should raise questions that essentially come down to do you know how your data is being used, what data is being collected, who can access it, and how is it safeguarded? 

Know Thy Agreements 

Remember that long stream of text that you may have glossed over when you set up that new appliance or digital tool? That was likely an End User License Agreement (EULA). Every manufacturer creates and provides a EULA which constitutes a legal contract between a software supplier and its customers (users) as to the rights and restrictions that apply to the software and the data that flows into or out of it. In the construction business, project teams are also sometimes restricted by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that relate to the EULA of the equipment and tools being used for data collection on the job. 

Data Use Examples  

Again, data is often used for positive pursuits. In construction, this could be to improve the accuracy of quotes and bids, reduce worker risks, or to accelerate project timelines and completion. Here, data clearly delivers value. It’s also quite understandable though when a company may prefer to keep their data to themselves so that only they can apply it and benefit from it as a means of competitive protection. 

On the other side of the spectrum are more unsavory practices when it comes to how one’s data is collected and used. One such practice is to sell data to parties who can use it for marketing or other purposes without user permission. Another shady practice is when manufacturers use their customer’s data to make it more difficult to switch to alternative solutions or to push other add-ons that may unnecessarily cost customers more money. 

How COMMAND Center™ Treats Customer Data  

At COMMAND Center™, we do our very best to ensure our customers know that the data they collect and then store in our COMMAND Center Cloud™ environment is strongly protected and that it belongs to them, not us or anyone else. We will never sell customer data to third parties or use it to increase the reliance on our tools or improve our position in the marketplace.  

For us, the only instances in which customer data is accessed are in the course of specific support interactions where customers are trying to resolve a question or challenge with a feature or project. Even then, we get the express permission of the user before moving forward. As an added protection, we place limits on the data that support team members can see via role-based access controls.   

Your Data. Your Decision.  

It’s important to take the time needed to review the EULA content of software-based solutions you use and to gain clarity about how each vendor collects, views, stores, and protects your data. Make sure that you are comfortable with their use of your information and that it’s clear that you ultimately own the data that’s being collected. 

You have the right to use your data to advance your company’s aims. You also have the right to ensure that others don’t use it advance theirs.