You might be surprised to learn that the 21st-century construction site has a futuristic feel, incorporating technologies, tools, and equipment such as drones, laser scanners, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things. Did you know that construction businesses can boost their production by 30% to 40% by adopting new digital tools into their technology stack?
The definition of “construction technology” is any set of tools that can improve productivity during the construction phase. Each device used on a construction site serves a specific purpose, but they all serve to optimise the building process and reduce the risk of accidents and project delays onsite.
This technology has proven to be extremely advantageous for construction businesses of all sizes and scales. Construction tech improves the quality and dependability of construction projects and can also aid in inventory management. Prefabricated parts and computer software to design buildings are two of the most recent innovation examples in construction technology – another example is the use of green technology to engineer environmentally friendly, carbon neutral, and net-zero building structures.
As a result, construction companies have been able to build structures that are stronger, better, and more efficient. This is made possible with the help of software tools that can help construction managers understand and deliver on projects more holistically.
In line with this drive, many construction companies leverage easy construction management software to augment their internal processes, enhance efficacy and productivity, and align their teams across locations and time zones.
Let’s explore these and other benefits of construction management in greater detail.
Why invest in project management software?
Construction management software and digital tools are essential for the efficient operations of businesses in this niche.
The right apps ensure accountability and transparency, speed up workflows, and save time and effort for workers across all disciplines in construction, streamlining their jobs and making them more efficient – all factors that positively impact the bottom line for construction companies.
Here is how you can deploy construction site software to make project management easier for you:
1. Use construction project management software for document control
The best benefit of a building site app is that it enables security and gives you complete document control. For instance, you might need to provide documentation that proves correct processes and safety protocols were followed in an accident.
Traditionally, your teams would have to manage mountains of documentation and reproduce it on demand if and when something goes wrong; it would take hours to find the right people and papers.
But the right construction management software would deliver the necessary documents with a few clicks. Building site apps not only streamline construction processes but also make business-wide record-keeping easier. Document control saves your records in an electronic archive that is safe from unwanted access and compliance issues and makes for faster disaster recovery.
2. Implement construction reporting for efficient asset tracking
Construction projects involve more than managing supervisors and talking to surveyors.
You also have to procure, manage and safeguard a large number of expensive equipment on a regular basis. And in case something goes missing, it can put a hamper on all your plans and processes, putting the entire project off track unless another is bought.
This makes it all the more important to manage construction assets carefully. The right construction task management software can help. It improves accountability by tracking assets and keeping you up-to-date about their overall maintenance accuracy, reducing excess purchase expenses for your project.
For example, you could use it to track assets starting from the purchase order, record depreciation, and calculate the cost of ownership while understanding tool utilization and asset status like never before.
Did you know that PlanRadar could help you with all that and a lot more?
3. Ensure easier team collaboration with construction management software
The goal of high-level collaboration in construction is to increase efficiency and productivity on projects. This requires creating a transparent work environment conducive to quality decision-making, trust-building, and buy-in from relevant stakeholders. Of course, this also leads to coordinating efforts for improved productivity.
Construction collaboration software allows your teams to work together on a project from design to delivery. It also reduces the chances of miscommunication and missing data – two common reasons for errors.
The right software solutions expedite conversations between architects, supervisors, site managers, engineers, etc., preventing errors and clarifying instructions as the project progresses. This also reduces time spent tracking paperwork and reporting and enables pain-free handovers.
These advancements may increase real-time communication and stakeholder participation while decreasing errors and downtime.
How can construction project management make things easier?
We’ve already demonstrated how employing construction management software improves project operations and streamlines processes. It can also enhance collaboration, project management, budgeting, practicality, organization, resource management, adaptability, and customization.
Construction businesses should start the digital transformation with tech that enhances fundamental processes and digitizes practices.
Let’s examine a few ways you can use software to ensure easy construction management at any phase of your construction project:
1. Pre-construction
Construction site software helps with different stages of the takeoff phase, along with a feasibility study, drawings, labor and material cost estimates, and a project plan. Traditionally, estimators manually measure field sketches to calculate the entire amount of materials and labor required for construction takeoff. However, collaborating on manual drawings while working with stakeholder feedback can become laborious.
2. Construction
The building phase’s objective is to execute activities successfully while staying within the time and money constraints set during the pre-construction phase. Organizations need team collaboration and project management tools to monitor employee productivity, equipment utilization, and project spending.
Construction management software is necessary for overseeing the performance of construction projects. It makes project tracking more efficient, making it easier to guarantee an effective conclusion.
Viewing a project’s activities, tracking employee time spent on tasks, keeping tabs on the inventory of tools and supplies, recording change orders, and keeping track of project expenditures and budget usage are all possible with this tool.
3. Post construction
The software makes it easier to document tasks and gain customer approval through file sharing, document editing, task notifications, and e-signature. Contractors, for instance, can utilize mobile apps for punch lists to take and upload pictures of finished construction sites, send them to clients, and ask for feedback and approvals. A punch list tool can significantly decrease the time needed to close a project.
At this stage, contractors must ensure that the final deliverable meets the owner’s or client’s requirements. Contractors must provide summaries detailing the tasks completed in compliance with the original contract to achieve this goal. Employing construction project management software can significantly speed up the process.
The bottom line – how construction management software can benefit your business
Construction management software can help you improve your production and the overall productivity of the employees on the site.
For instance, you can keep better track of the documents regardless of how many there are, and you can also benefit from the asset-tracking features so that you never lose track of any tangible assets on the site. Such applications are useful throughout the entire process of the project.
Do you want to learn more about how PlanRadar’s construction task management software can help transform your business? Book a free product demo with us to find out more!
