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Mobility: Complete Project Details at Your Fingertips
Shouldering the responsibility for the overall operation of a construction job can be extremely overwhelming. It is hard enough to manage the scheduling and timing aspects of materials and equipment, your crew, and subcontractors for projects that are often running on tight deadlines. In addition, to make your job even more challenging, you must also ensure the job stays on budget, manage change orders, handle inspections, report back to the owner of the project as well as of your own company to keep them abreast of the progress, and much more.
Advancements in technology have made the construction superintendent’s job much easier over the past decade. With automated project management systems, more information is now available to help you better manage your jobs. However, if you are using one product for project management, and the estimating and accounting departments are using other systems for their specific responsibilities, the same data is then being entered multiple times in multiple locations causing redundancy, a greater potential for errors, and impeding clear and timely communication across the team and to the client.
All in One Place
Newer technologies, like all-in-one construction business management applications, allow contractors to manage their entire project lifecycle from digital takeoff through project scheduling through final cash payment. That’s because all applications work together easily in a single, seamless solution the whole team can use to manage projects and processes from bid-to-cash.
These solutions have enabled contractors to save time and money; however, for a construction superintendent that is always on the road or at a job site, logging into a computer to answer a question, gather information, submit a change order, or create a report for the owner, for example, is not always convenient.
On the Road
Fortunately, mobile technology has advanced so rapidly in recent years that construction superintendents, as well as the rest of the construction team, can now have easy access to relevant project data no matter where they are located.
With a mobile device such as an iPad, you can now pull up important client and project details whether you are on the road, at a job site, in the office, or wherever you may be. With the instant-on ability of an iPad, you can simply tap the screen and sync up, accessing the most current information when you need it and with the small size of the device, you can easily carry it from place to place, eliminating the need for those bulky, incomplete and often out-of-date, hard copy job binders.
With a complete business management solution, you (and your entire team) will have a central, easily accessible location for all of your project details and documents, such as: original estimating plans, project documents, budgets, contacts, employees, equipment, change order requests, subcontracts, purchase orders, open payables and receivables, and document attachments; as well as alerts, required follow-ups, project plans, and more. This virtual project binder can help you more efficiently manage projects, minimize risks, stay on schedule, and maximize profitability. Add a mobile device to the process and get critical data at your fingertips, anytime, any place.
Making Real-time Decisions
Construction superintendents have a tough job and inevitably run into challenges on their projects on a daily basis. You’ve all dealt with delayed material deliveries, crew members or subcontractors not showing up for work, weather issues that delay progress, surprise OSHA visits, owners who continually change their minds, etc. With the latest technology, these challenges can history.
Imagine walking around your jobsite and being able to easily access all of your information about your projects by just tapping your iPad screen. You would be able to track the status of a change order while on the job site discussing it with the owner. You would be able to pull up project-specific safety information while escorting an OSHA rep around the site and answer their questions immediately instead of getting back to them when you return to the office. You can even use the iPad with complete software program to automatically transfer daily field report items from the iPad to your back office. No more waiting or wondering. This real-time access to information will save time and enable you to make confident decisions based on accurate details and keep your projects progressing, on schedule, and for optimal profit.
For the person that is ultimately responsible for managing every aspect of a project, but is also the one on the road the most, a mobile app that works with your complete solution can become an essential tool to be more proactive and better execute your projects for best profit.
The ability to deal with a myriad of changing project-related details and stay on top of every turn and task as the project moves quickly along can be the difference between making or losing money on a job. By having convenient access to information for timely decision-making, the construction superintendent can easily track progress of projects, be more agile in the field, and better account for all aspects of the job from beginning to end – resulting in increased productivity and optimal profitability.
About the Author
Mike Gillum, Director of Product Management at Maxwell Systems, headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa. He can be reached at mgillum@maxwellsystems.com or by phone at 1-800-688-8226. For more information on Maxwell Systems, visit www.maxwellsystems.com.
To learn more about construction project management software and other software for contractors, please contact Maxwell Systems at 800-688-8226.
