For companies that don’t use construction project management software, there’s typically a plan table in the trailer housing full-size drawing sets that the team must keep up-to-date in order to keep a project on track. Changes, such as RFIs and sketches, get sent out as supplemental information and not as a whole new sheet. Someone on the team has to physically receive that supplemental information, make duplicates, collate, annotate, and disseminate it to everyone.
Even if the drawing set on the plan table is kept current, it is likely that many employees have smaller, half-size sets that aren’t updated to the latest version. Subcontractors in the field are even less likely to have their sets updated properly.
THE JOBSITE AFTER
A host of benefits come with the adoption of construction management software:
- Accuracy: With cloud-based construction management software, new sets of drawings are tracked automatically. The entire change history is available, meaning that team members see exactly what has changed across versions along with who made those changes.
- Eliminate paper-based documentation: By creating a centralized repository for all of the documents associated with a job, document management software frees up physical space within the office. It eliminates the need for filing cabinets or stacks of boxes filled with papers, since even the most minute details, such as insurance information associated with vendors, can be stored in the system.
- Faster search and filtering: Bringing the power of search functionality to project documentation results in instant information retrieval.
- Correlate related documentation: When two documents are related, those relationships can be tracked and archived in the software. For example, an RFI can be attached to a drawing or a photo can be attached to a punch list item for a more efficient review.
- Permission controls: Control who sees what project information. Documentation can be assigned to specific individuals by role or name. Permission settings within the software protect employees from accidentally showing someone a document they are not authorized to view.
- 24/7 accessibility to project data: Every project document can be accessed using any Internet-connected computer, tablet, or mobile device from any location. Users can create, review, and share project data from any location, monitor deadlines, and anticipate delays in permitting, inspection, or obtaining equipment as they occur. This allows team members to diagnose problems as they arise and collaborate to resolve them quickly to reduce wasted time and rework.
- Faster document distribution: If a jobsite in one state has an engineering firm in another, for example, there’s no need to deal with postage or courier services to distribute documents. Whenever revisions are made to a document, everyone can see them in real time. Prior to cloud-based solutions, it could take weeks for a change to be distributed to the entire project team.
- Field Management: If a contractor on the job needs to upload a photo of a specific punch list item, it is simple to snap a photo on his or her mobile device and upload it to the software. The photo becomes instantly available to everyone with the appropriate permissions, making it possible to get immediate feedback without ever leaving the field.
- Version Control: As revisions are made to documents in the software, a version log is automatically created to show each change. A timestamp also shows when it was modified, who uploaded it, and any notes the client would like to associate with the new version. This enables side-by-side comparisons of various versions. Email notifications can be enabled for modifications on a specific file or folder, keeping all team members in the loop regarding changes.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
Founded in 1976, Martin-Harris Construction Company is a broad-spectrum general contractor with experience in office, flex, government, industrial, healthcare, retail, restaurant, hospitality, vertical residential, recreation, special use, and education. The company needed an interactive solution to allow team members and subcontractors to access project data from their mobile devices—without having to access multiple software platforms to do so.
After adopting Procore, Martin-Harris was provided with a one-stop shop for storing, sharing, and accessing the most current documents and drawings—from anywhere. Immediate time savings were among the most notable gains the firm noticed after the switch.
“This software has increased the effectiveness and overall quality of our drawings and daily diaries exponentially,” says Brian Schmidt, senior project manager. “Not only do teams have access to current drawings wherever they go, but superintendents also have found a huge time-saver in the Daily Log Tool. At the end of the workday, it used to take them 20 to 30 minutes to summarize the day’s activities. Now, there’s no need to sit down and summarize.”
Brian credits user-friendly features, which include photo and voice-to-text functions, for the improvement in daily logs. “Now, the daily log is just something that happens throughout the course of their normal jobsite tours, as they’re walking around the job inspecting what’s going on.”
Shaving half an hour from daily activities adds up to big savings over the course of projects that can take months and even years to complete. An added bonus? Since the software is cloud-based, the construction company’s IT staff isn’t burdened with maintaining on-site servers.
Using a mobile platform gives Martin-Harris Construction a technological advantage over competitors who may still be operating in the “Dark Ages” of spiral notebooks and software tied to in-house servers and desktops, says Schmidt. Procore’s cloud-based software and mobile apps provide team members with the versatility to access all the documents and tools they need to manage their projects from any location. ■
About The Author: Josh Newland is a group product manager at Procore, overseeing product improvements to Procore’s Contract Management, Budgeting, Collaboration, and Reporting tools. Prior to Procore, Josh spent 5 years with a commercial general contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in the Biotech, Hospital, and High Tech industries. For more, visit www.procore.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions, July 2015
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