What is a construction management platform, why is it so important, and what ways it can help you achieve winning project outcomes
The world transformed in the past two years…
The world witnessed significant transformation through 2020, and so has the construction sector. As the world continues to come out of the pandemic, global industries need to realign their resources, workflows, and capital to grasp winning outcomes through the crisis. The construction sector is constantly experiencing challenges that need effective and long-term solutions including being adaptable and scalable, reinforced with preemptive processes and tools. Advanced construction management tools are supporting Architects, General Contractors, Specialty Contractors, and Owners to stay connected between the back-office and field to overcome complexities, ensuring cash flow positive outcomes, risk reduction, and mitigated project delays.
One thing will stay constant – commitment and sustainability to building future communities whilst making sure the field stays safe and prosperous. iFieldSmart Technologies will ensure complete support for the AEC sector through data-driven software technology and construction management tools.
Reliable and sustainable construction in a demanding and fast-track AEC sector.
Changing priorities, strategies, and directives require construction companies to embrace changes to resolve challenges. The desire to achieve high-impact outcomes has led construction firms to adopt advanced construction management platforms with solutions that include drawings, AR/VR deliverables, RFI and Submittal management, Task and Schedule Management, Finance Monitoring, and other capabilities.
Regardless of the location, teams and project stakeholders can access a single source of truth through cloud-based construction management software and stay connected. Utilizing construction management software for the entire project lifecycle can help construction firms manage a digital transformation to augment efficiency and productivity through collaboration – which ultimately reduces project money and time.
While the industry displays a dynamic behavior, it also witnesses a series of challenges in the field and requires proactive change management.
Project Uniqueness.
Present-day construction projects are highly demanding yet very unique in their architecture and construction. This includes design, materials, parameters, personnel, compliance, location, etc.
Fragmented workforce.
Remote back office and field teams are set into multiple roles and responsibilities. Traditional processes or legacy software are unable to manage a decentralized workforce.
Complexities in stakeholder synergies.
Project stakeholders display a myriad of interests and work within silo workflows leading to greater project risks, delays, and cost overages.
Evolution has been constant.
Identifying and resolving unforeseen issues including design, scheduling, costs, and other resources during actual construction leads to higher rework and costs. Digital collaboration solutions embedded within construction management tools embrace video communication and conferencing in real time.
“Enhancements in construction to improve life quality by working effectively can be achieved through construction management platforms like iFieldSmart Technologies.”
Paper-based solutions or best-in-class construction management platforms.
Paper-based systems cause a higher carbon footprint.
Utilizing paper-based systems or spreadsheets can be cumbersome, inaccurate, and incomplete. Disparate systems and scattered data streamed through remote locations can lead to outdated deliverables like drawings can lead to rework and quality problems.
Fragmented processes and solutions.
Scattered data across fragmented solutions lead to data or information loss between exhaustive trail mails, or data moving from one silo tool to another. Greater third-party integration costs and complex administrative tools can drown teams and stakeholders across various project lifecycles. Keeping teams connected enables quick decision-making, error and risk reduction, etc. across various project stages. This enables construction firms to stay cash flow positive in the long run.
A True Construction Management Platform.
Myriad construction management platforms claim to deliver features and capabilities at high price points, yet construction teams and stakeholders fail to reap the required results from a platform. Construction management platforms need to be simple, intuitive, flexible, and powerful to address demanding field requirements and for general contractors, subcontractors, and owners to close the gap and connect through a single unified platform.
What does a true construction management platform offer?
- Quick adaptability to people, processes, and other construction applications
- Higher consistency to store, process, and manage multiple data sets streamed into the platform
- Greater third-party integration flexibility for multiple apps to communicate with each other
More than 30% of AEC companies deploy full-service construction management platforms and more than 50% have stated integration is essential to manipulate data consistently within the construction management platform.
According to Forbes, platforms will play a pivotal role to operate future businesses. Companies with legacy thinking and technology will continue to suffer. Getting people and processes on a single screen or online platform will support greater business development.
4 top reasons why construction businesses need a platform rather than silo solutions.
- Complete data integration: Stream every piece of construction project data on a centralized cloud platform
- Quick customer service: Proactive customer support can save construction firms hundreds of hours and hassles
- Complete visibility: Integrated data indicates that back-office and field teams can leverage true and complete visibility of the project
- Simple dashboard: Implementation improvements, reduction in training costs, and other features make the platform easy to operate
Why is it so important now?
Construction firms and projects are consistently plagued by challenges that impede the progress of complex and demanding construction projects. Low efficiency, inferior communication, and dimming productivity are results of traditional processes and outdated software. $ 10 trillion or 13% of global GDP is driven by the construction sector. AEC teams working from remote locations are at a greater risk of downtime through rework. Outdated processes can kill labor productivity, consequently, dropping the competitive advantage.
Fully-integrated construction management platforms display collaborative capabilities, streamline people and data, and integrate solutions on a single platform to pack in a higher success rate.
What does an Integrated Platform or Solution contain?
Seamlessly information sharing within a single dashboard resolve challenges that manual and point solutions are unable to achieve.
Information sharing across multiple systems.
The Preconstruction Phase à Project Management à Resource Management à Financial Management = All in one platform with data under one roof.
What are the future construction trends?
The future of construction is uncertain if construction firms continue on the path of outdated processes and tools. Fully-integrated construction management tools enable AEC firms to reinforce their businesses better and gain a competitive edge in the future.
Future direction # 1: Increase in data growth.
As projects continue to be more demanding, fast-track and fully-integrated solutions need to include higher data volumes and manage real-time data efficiently. Utilizing project data through manual or legacy systems creates fragmented or silo systems that offer less to no accuracy, efficiency, or improvements in project results. Being able to stream data into a fully-integrated construction management solution can support firms to perform better in comparison to other firms.
Future direction # 2: Closing the gap with people, processes, and data.
Connecting people, processes, and data within a single construction management platform is critical to achieving an overview of project performance, improved alignment, greater productivity, lower risks, and greater profits.
Future direction # 3: Data and process integration is key.
Data streaming and management on multiple systems can be error-ridden with higher fragmentation, data loss, etc. By encapsulating data and tools into one cloud-based platform firms can streamline communication, lower duplicate entries, and leverage solid analytics and reporting. The growth and evolution of projects and businesses require flexibility through construction management platforms.
Future direction # 4: Complete project visibility is crucial.
The construction sector is highly fragmented. Integrated construction management platforms offer transparent visibility, greater data accuracy, real-time data streaming, and improved decision-making. More than 40% of construction costs have been attributed to last-minute rework and material waste.
Future direction # 5: Gaining a competitive edge with tech.
Labor shortage is a serious challenge impeding the performance and progress of present-day complex construction projects. Firms offering best-in-class construction management solutions maximize efficiency and reduce field hassles.
Meet the iFieldSmart Technologies platform.
The iFieldSmart Platform covers every aspect of construction. Cloud-based digitization is no longer a need, but an absolute necessity. The evolution of the construction sector requires AEC teams and firms to reimagine their processes, tools, and workflows. Connecting back-office and field teams with real-time data through high-impact technical capabilities and a simple dashboard would be the next big thing for the construction fraternity.
Schedule a quick demo to learn how iFieldSmart Technologies can transform your next construction project with integrated tools and capabilities.
https://www.ifieldsmart.com/schedule_demo