Efficient Documentation and Follow-up on the Construction Site
How real estate developer CG Elementum AG saves time in its construction projects with PlanRadar
CG Elementum is a German real estate developer and investor with more than 25 years’ experience. They were looking to improve their documentation and follow-up processes adopted to work with PlanRadar to solve these challenges.
Since implementing the platform, CG Elementum has seen see a significant time saving in both documentation and follow-up and complaint handling and processes around setting deadlines are much faster. What’s more, there are now fewer queries and misunderstandings which, in-turn, leads to fewer errors in execution throughout projects.
The problem: Timely implementation of projects
Wiebke Kestler is a site manager at CG Elementum and is responsible for the timely completion of projects. However, completing projects on time has not always been easy in the past and has been made more difficult by various challenges.
One example was the time-consuming documentation of tasks. Construction diaries were kept in handwritten form in a notebook. The disadvantage: only one person at a time could make entries in the construction diary and for other project participants the information written down was often not clearly comprehensible due to illegible handwriting.
The follow-up of defects and outstanding services proved to be just as difficult. “This was due, among other things, to the difficulty of allocating the points recorded. Photos were often not ordered, locations were not clearly defined, and information was not visible to everyone in the project,” says Wiebke Kestler.
The solution: digital documentation and tracking
Since summer 2019, CG Elementum has been converting documentation and tracking to the PlanRadar software as part of its digitalisation strategy. In addition, the increasing number of construction projects of currently more than 35 construction projects makes this procedure necessary. Wiebke Kestler explains what tipped the scales in favour of the tool: “We reviewed various products. PlanRadar got the go-ahead because the software is intuitive and easy to understand. The distribution of rights for each position in the company also makes the software universally applicable.“
With PlanRadar, CG Elementum increases efficiency in various activities:
Documentation: The documentation of the construction process is now easier and faster thanks to the digital site diary. From the recording of defects to the documentation of remaining work, information is clearly recorded in words and pictures and can be viewed by everyone involved in the project. Another advantage of working with PlanRadar: documentation can be done on mobile devices at any time and from anywhere.
Acceptances: During on-site quality control, points are located directly on the digital plan together with comments, images and documents. In this way, all measures are visible at a glance and all information is collected in one place.
Coordination: With PlanRadar, information is exchanged in real time and transparently between CG Elementum, trades, planners, experts and other stakeholders. Services, tasks, and other details are easily comprehensible for all those involved and in the event of any questions or ambiguities, the software enables direct communication between the people responsible.
According to Wiebke Kestler, this makes working with PlanRadar even easier: “A one-off training session is enough to teach the user the basic functions. This takes about 1 hour and introduces users to the software so that they can use it without any problems.”
The result: efficiency increases in many areas
CG Elementum records various efficiency gains using PlanRadar. “We see a significant time saving in documentation and follow-up. Complaint handling and processes around setting deadlines are also much faster,” says Wiebke Kestler.
he clear allocation of points results in fewer queries and misunderstandings. This in-turn leads to fewer errors in the execution. In addition, the documentation with PlanRadar can be used for different project phases from planning to execution, warranty and property management.
