Managing projects, and all the information associated with each, is a huge challenge firms struggle with to deliver on time and within budget.
Searching for emails, gathering information to process common tasks like RFIs, submittals and punch lists, finding information crucial to project decisions, viewing and marking up documents has the potential to jeopardize your schedule and increase overall project cost.
So often we use one system to hunt for an email pertaining to a project then turn to another system for gathering information the field, processing RFIs, submittals and punch lists. Project documents are often contained in yet another unconnected system. Traditional construction projects are hindered by project data being maintained in numerous disconnected solutions. However, with problems com real opportunities for improvement. Organizations harnessing this information will be the firms who rise above their competition.
Project Information Management (PIM) software allows us to better manage all the disparate information associated with a construction project. For example,
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Flexibility to manage their data, wherever the data resides
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Indexing all information automatically to make it searchable
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Creating relationships between project items to improve context
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Allow for the sharing of information with both internal and external team members
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Streamlining workflows to facilitate quick, accurate decisions
As an example of how technology can work to improve productivity, one can look to RFI requests. An efficient RFI process keeps all project team members on the same page and working from the latest iteration of the plans and spec. With all team members working from the same document and notified in real time when changes come through, project coordination is immediately enhanced and no one – including the owner’s team – is left out of the loop.
By getting a handle on administrative tasks, firms will benefit immediately by increasing efficiency. Increased efficiency means more time for your teams to do more projects. Wrangling administrative tasks will decrease less satisfying work and increase time for employees to do the job they were hired to do, improving job satisfaction and retention for you and your employees.
About the Author: Dave Wagner is the Senior Director of Product Marketing at Newforma, the building and infrastructure industry’s leading software company dedicated to improving project delivery. Dave is a visionary software product leader with more than 30 years of experience in the construction software industry. He is driven every day to market solutions that help construction professionals maximize their productivity, minimize their risk and ultimately enhance project delivery.
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