Construction Software Review

With today’s complicated technology, sometimes we all have that desire to throw our laptop out the window and go back to the good ol’ days of pen and paper. But when it comes to balancing your checkbook and managing your expenses, taking advantage of available software definitely beats paper-based accounting.

A 2004 Stanford University study showed that, while non-farm productivity increased by more than 200% between 1964 and 2003, construction labor productivity actually declined 20%.

If you are an architect or construction professional, it may not be breaking news that construction labor industry has been declining for the past 45 years. Moreover, this downturn reflects the inability of the construction industry to develop labor-saving techniques.

Inventory management is not a problem limited to the construction industry. My desk, for example, is a mess. But the worst I can do is to misplace paper (or the occasional cookie); construction crews, on the other hand, have thousands of dollars' worth of equipment to monitor.

The concept of social networking (in the digital sense, that is) has been around for years, but it finally seems as though we've finally begun to reach the point at which there are several benefits of social networking for your business. Here we will describe some of the social networking sites that we use and how they can help you reach out to customers.

If you have yet to build a website for your construction business, you should. Michael C. Stone, author of the Markup and Profit Blog, reckons that you can get 20 to 30 leads through your website for every one lead you get through a phone book advertisement. Here we aim to provide some advice for any contractor who wants to learn how to build a website.

The current economic climate is forcing business leaders in a whole host of industries, from manufacturing to media to retail, to reexamine business models as they struggle to stay afloat.

Martin Brown of fairsnape, a British construction and facilities management consultancy, revealed in a recent blog post that he is frustrated by the lack of Web awareness that permeates the construction industry.

Judging solely on this one post, it appears that Brown is a well-connected guy - at least from a technology standpoint. As a founder of be2camp, an event that attempts to bring AEC industry up to speed with Web 2.0, he's given lectures on utilizing Facebook, Twitter, BIM, LinkedIn and Second Life in a construction environment. Needless to say, his audience generally has a hard time keeping up.

He estimates that 20% out of the 70 people who attended his presentation, From Facebook to BIMStorms, had heard of Facebook but use it only for social networking. Meanwhile, no one was familiar with the likes of Twitter, Linkedin or Second Life.

Thee Web apps can bring a lot of value to any company with minimal maintenance and overhead. For instance, Facebook can allow a business (or anyone with rudimentary computer skills) to create a website, offer contact information and upload photos. A construction firm could conceivably display current projects and provide updates through pictures and blogs -- all within the easy-to-use setup of Facebook.

LinkedIn is another tool that is underutilized within the construction industry. It's a social networking tool that allows you to connect with co-workers, which then will enable you to link with their co-workers. It's a great way to make new business contacts, especially for freelancers.

Finally, Twitter is new new-age news service in which users can send text messages to twitter.com for subscribers to read. This is a quick and easy way to stay connected with a large group of people, and it could have practical uses within a workplace.

Compounding the problem, Brown has had difficulties booking venues with open WiFi and ample areas to plug in laptops. Even if he finds a location with these amenities, he claims to run into this kind of thinking at his conventions: "...laptops and mobile phones should remain switched off during sessions; and 'social networking' means wine and canaps - not blogs and tweets.

It appears that Brown, and the rest of the members of be2camp, have an uphill battle on their hands. However, with the economy the way that it is, would you consider using these free applications to promote your business? These are just the early days of Web 2.0 technology, but odds are you can use all the help you can get.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- These days it's hard to find a product, or even a methodology, that isn't touted as a solution that saves time and boosts productivity. Finding tangible evidence of such claims, on the other hand, sometimes seems like an unproductive waste of time.

We divide construction software tools into three main functions -- estimating, job costing and project management. However, sometimes we find information that doesn't fall into those categories but nonetheless warrants a mention, for it demonstrates a simple use of technology that makes life as a contractor easier. Here we present one such example.

We recently found an article called Take Photos During Construction To Document Hidden Utilities. The article was on a blog called Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement and focused on how photos are a handy way to keep track of the pipes and wires running inside our walls. Ordinarily, we read blogs like that to see what's going on in the construction industry but don't link to them. This post, though, got us thinking.

Pictures, as the saying goes, are worth a thousand words. Photos taken at regular intervals can illustrate a job's progress in a way that poster-sized schedules cannot. They can also save lots of trouble, as anyone who's punctured a pipe while hammering into a wall can sadly attest. Finally, they can be good for marketing -- a website or portfolio with photos of projects you've done certainly looks better than a page of text.

Any contractor, then, would benefit from a digital photo album. Taking photos is easy -- digital cameras are inexpensive and, heck, there's probably one on your phone. (Shameless plug alert: If you need help finding one, sister site DigitalCameraReview.com might be a good start.) Managing photos is easy, too -- once you sync your camera up to your computer, your photos will end up on your hard drive (in the My Pictures folder in Windows XP and in the Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista). From there, you can create folders and organize your photos as you wish.

The next, step, of course, is to get the photos off your computer and into the hands of your team. Free photo-sharing websites like Flickr might work, but only if you don't care if everyone else in the free world gets to see the shots, too. A (much) better option is to save the photos into your construction project management software. Many such software packages allow users to add attachments -- relevant forms, reports and, yes, photos. If you're not sure if your software can do this, call your customer service rep and ask about it.

Admittedly, incorporating photos into everyday construction project management will come with a bit of an initial learning curve. You'll have to determine what aspects of a project are best served by photographic evidence, how many photos to take, how often to take them, how many to attach to project management software documents and so on. If, however, you draw on your own experience and common sense, then it shouldn't take long to figure out how to use photos to your advantage for the purposes of project management and marketing.

As previously reported in this blog, there seem to be some reluctance among contractors when it comes to adopting technology. This is just bad business.

In the right situations, technology can improve efficiency and productivity within a firm while reducing confusion and mistakes. Of course, there will be some initial obstacles -- such as cost, implantation and training -- but, in the end, contractors who learn how to use technology to their advantage will be more agile and in a better position to compete for contracts.

So far we've covered how estimating software, GPS and integrated IT systems can provide a sizable advantage to tech-enabled firms. Another practical way in which contractors can benefit from technology is through the use of video conferencing (also referred to as Web conferencing).

There are two obvious benefits to video conferencing:

1. It saves money -- By video conferencing a firm can reduce travel expenditures. This dynamic medium of communications can almost replace a face-to-face meeting.
2. It saves time -- Remember the old adage, "time is money"? Well, video conferencing eliminates the downtime that occurs when employees are traveling to a meeting.

Shaw Group, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based engineering and construction firm, is reaping the benefits of using advanced communications technologies. With the addition of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Shaw Group has the ability to video, audio and Web conference -- and the company has seen a huge productivity increase, claimed Jeremy Turner, vice president and chief technology officer for Shaw Group "Ultimately, what we want is a 100% collaborative conference room experience across the world," he said in a statement.

Not all construction teams are as large as the Shaw Group. Many can't afford, or don't necessarily need, all the capabilities of a dedicated communications server. Nevertheless, small- and medium-sized construction firms can take advantage of video conferencing on the cheap.

Case in point: justin.tv. This site provides anyone with the ability to video conference with multiple people -- and some construction businesses are starting to take note. For instance, the Construction News and Report Group recently held a successful internal sales meeting using justin.tv.

Mark Buckshon of the CNR Group wrote the following in a blog entry called Video meeting test a success:

...I found the resource useful, easy to operate, and rather simple to use...I will use this technology at our other internal meetings, with several employees and contractors at remote locations.

While it's a cost-effective alternative to product-based video conferencing software, justin.tv has its fair share of problems. One glaring concern is privacy -- since anyone can pop into a chat session, sensitive material should probably be disclosed through another medium. That being said, this can be a powerful and useful tool for contractors who have to work away from the field.

In the end, video conferencing, like all other technologies, may not fit the needs of every contractor. (Build a solid Web conferencing strategy, a three-part series on sister site SearchUnifiedCommunications.com, can help you decide whether it does.) However, video conferencing should at least be considered -- after all, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is not a rational business practice. Firms should be striving to find new ways increase productivity and efficiency, and adopting new technology is one way to achieve this.