In most construction businesses, the office isn’t where the work happens. Site managers, supervisors, surveyors and quantity surveyors spend their days on the move, and the device that goes with them everywhere is a phone or a tablet.
These devices are used for email, drawings, snagging apps, health and safety forms, progress photos, timesheets and site diaries. In other words, a huge amount of your business information now lives on devices that get dropped, left in vans and occasionally stolen.
For firms with 20 to 150 people, managing all of this can easily become a mess. Here’s how to bring order to it.
Nobody knows what’s out there. Devices get bought on different contracts, handed down between staff and passed to new starters without being reset. Before long, nobody can say for certain how many company phones exist or who has them.
Lost devices are a real risk. A phone left on a train or taken from a van may give someone access to email, drawings and client information. Without a way to lock or wipe it remotely, you’re relying on luck.
Personal phones blur the lines. Many staff use their own phones for work email. That’s convenient, but it means business data sits on devices you don’t control, and when someone leaves, their access and data may leave with them.
Setting up new devices takes too long. Every new starter or replacement phone means someone manually installing apps, adding email accounts and configuring settings, often while the person waits.
Updates don’t happen. Phones that aren’t updated become vulnerable, and older models that no longer receive updates can cause problems if you’re working towards Cyber Essentials.
The answer is mobile device management, often called MDM. For businesses already using Microsoft 365, this is typically handled by Microsoft Intune, which is included in many business licences. Here’s what it makes possible.
A single view of every device. You can see which phones, tablets and laptops belong to the business, who’s using them and whether they’re up to date.
Out-of-the-box setup. A new phone can be handed to a site manager still in its box. When they switch it on and sign in, the right apps, email, Wi-Fi settings and security policies install automatically. That’s particularly useful when you need to get a replacement device to someone on site quickly.
Remote lock and wipe. If a device is lost or stolen, it can be locked or wiped from anywhere, protecting your data within minutes.
Sensible security without friction. Policies can require a PIN or fingerprint, encrypt the device and keep the operating system updated. Done well, staff barely notice.
Separating work and personal data. For staff using their own phones, app protection policies can keep business data inside approved apps like Outlook and Teams. The business can remove its data when someone leaves without touching their personal photos or messages. It’s a fair balance that most people are comfortable with.
The device itself matters too. Consumer phones in thin cases don’t always survive a working site, and replacing them every few months gets expensive. Rugged cases, or genuinely rugged devices for the most demanding roles, often pay for themselves.
It’s also worth standardising on a small number of models. Fewer models means simpler support, easier replacements and more predictable costs. When planning replacements, check how long the manufacturer will keep providing security updates, so you’re not buying devices that will need replacing sooner than expected.
Device management works best when it’s linked to how people join and leave the business. When someone starts, their device should be ready on day one. When someone leaves, their access should be removed the same day and their device reset and reissued. We cover this in more detail in our guide to starters, leavers and subcontractor access, but the principle is simple: no device should ever be passed on without being properly reset.
Getting mobile devices under control gives you better security, of course, but the everyday benefits are just as valuable. Site teams get working devices faster. Your office isn’t losing hours to manual setup. Lost phones become a minor inconvenience rather than a potential data breach. And you’ll have the evidence you need when a client, insurer or Cyber Essentials assessor asks how you protect business information on the move.
We set up and manage mobile devices for construction businesses so site teams can get on with their work. From choosing the right hardware to configuring Microsoft Intune, handling lost devices and keeping everything updated, we take care of the detail and keep it simple for your people.
If you’d like a clearer picture of the devices in your business and how well they’re protected, get in touch. Call 01926 942 150 or visit magnetarit.co.uk.
Date: October 1, 2026
Author: Rafael Macedo