The construction industry is booming in the United States and everywhere in the world. With the population continuously growing, more houses and condominiums are being erected every year. And with their demands incessantly increasing, more factories, malls, marketplaces, and other facilities should be constructed.
This is a good scenario for project owners since this means more chances to grow their business and make money. But unlike them who only get to wait for the turnover of projects, contractors and subcontractors deal with the difficult job of looking after all elements at the site. With a lot of moving parts at such a wide workplace, it will be impossible for these construction leaders to monitor everything every day.
This is where construction software comes in handy.
The Rise of Construction Software
Construction management is harder than it seems. There’s so much to monitor every day like budget and cost, materials and equipment, timeline and project progress, and crews and schedules. Furthermore, the construction site isn’t only about action. More importantly, it is where a construction project’s most important data are built.
However, the flow of information from the site to the office or vice versa is often slow and this keeps the contractors and subcontractors from effectively leading their crew members. This is the reason why so many contractors and subcontractors turn to construction software solutions to manage all these varieties of workflows.
Ever since construction project management software was streamlined in worksites, project management has become more efficient and productivity was enhanced. This has led to many construction project management software to be developed to cater to the different needs of a construction project lead.
But not all software were made equal. Some were designed for all management concerns but some were only crafted for specific tasks. So when choosing which software to use, it’s important to take into consideration what you’re going to use the software for.
Choosing the Right Construction Software Solution
Like we mentioned, there are so many software solutions out there. How you choose the right one for your business is important. But with so many options, it gets confusing to determine which one is it that you need in your specific project.
Contractors and subcons should then exert extra effort in finding the software to use. They should ask from their peers in the industry, read reviews, reach out to construction technology providers, research online, and explore what their competitors use.
But if you have less time to do some digging, then you came to the perfect place.
In this blog, we will help you in your software solution hunting so you end up with the most reliable tool that will help you reach higher ROI and take better control of your project and everything involved in your operations.
Remember, choosing the wrong construction project management software may hinder you from achieving your goals rather than helping. The general rule is to test not just one software to see which one will suit your needs and pinpoint which among the many options out there is well-designed and sure reliable.
But before we give you the criteria in choosing the best construction project management software to use, let’s give you the steps you should take during your software hunt.
Steps to Choosing the Best Construction Project Management Software to Use
We already said this, the first step to choosing the right construction project management software is to determine the challenges you encounter at a site like communication hindrances or file sharing. Try to understand to your business needs.
From there, you should ask yourself how to make the process better. Where do delays happen and why? How effective are your communication channels and can they connect your project managers and crew members effectively?
To help you asses your needs more accurately, we put together through the steps you need to take in selecting your construction software. These steps include:
- Prepare a checklist of all your needs so you can compare all the points you listed with the features of the software you are going to evaluate.
- Understand the three pillars of construction modernization – people, process, and technology. How do you plan to make all these three pillars work together? Will they contribute to the improvement of your operations?
- Learn about the technologies available – Should you go for general management software or will a construction-specific tool be better? Should you go cloud-based, SaaS, or the old fashioned installable software connected via your own IoT.
- Research for options.
- Evaluate all software that passed your conditions for their features, support, and flexibility.
- Set realistic goals for likely outcomes.
- Consider possible challenges and prepare everyone in your team for the implementation of its use.
With these steps observed, you are sure to find the solution you can use for your benefit.
The Criteria for Choosing the Best Construction Management Software to Use
After identifying your needs and options, the part on evaluating the available software solutions is the more crucial step so you land on the right tool to use. So here, we made a rundown of the criteria you should use to determine the best solution for you.
1.Ease of Use
A construction project management software is supposed to make the processes faster and easier and that includes data collection and reporting. The traditional pen and paper documentation has been proven to be effective and software won’t be any better from it if it takes too long to process data.
Make sure that the interface is also easy to understand because not everyone in your team is tech-savvy. When training is needed, it should only take a few hours not days to understand the software. Any program that involves weeks or even months of training ends up wasting time and money and is likely too much work for anyone to want to bother with anyway.
The features should also be readily accessible. Investing in field-focused software solutions is the only way to ensure that the office gets the data it needs and that the insights are thorough, accurate, and on-time.
Implementing a solution that your members don’t want to use will cause you losses instead of gains. So the software you choose shouldn’t only be functional but simple and easy to use. Keep in mind, workers that enjoy filling out their reports will provide the office with thorough, organized data.
2.Use it Outside the Box
What’s the use of buying software that you can’t use immediately after installing it on devices. The software you choose should work almost instantly after installation and connection to the internet.
If it still needs IT from your supplier to activate or configure the software, then it’ll just take more time before you can start using it. Imagine when their support line is busy. How many more days should you wait before you can start seeing the benefits of your investment?
3.Subcontractor Synchronization
The software you choose should be easily synchronized with the data of your subcontractors. This is when you can fully be in control of your construction project. This also lessens the time needed for reporting information, tracking data, and meetings for decision making on trivial concerns.
The best field software should offer the option to invite subcontractors to join projects so that all information is submitted in a central location, and data is accessible at a moment’s notice.
4.It Should Truly Be Innovative
Our upcoming ebook mentions how technology can attract younger talents to join the construction workforce. Millennials want to be involved in innovations as they are brought up in a world where technology took over manual work, making their lives way too comfortable. Hence, the software you pick should excite them and make the work easier. They don’t want to write reports after tedious work so introducing a software will make them more diligent in updating their leaders with their daily progress.
5.Useful Even in the Field
When considering options for construction project management software, you take into account its flexibility and accessibility. Being able to access the software through other gadgets apart from the computer makes it possible for your crew to bring the data on the field. This way, they don’t need to go all the way from the construction site to the office just to check a part of the plan or check sudden updates on their task. Being able to open the software from their iPads or mobile phones makes the process truly easier.
Conclusion
Once you’ve selected and implemented the best construction software, you’ll start to see the benefits of having several of your processes automated, especially if you’ve been relying on paper or more manual methods in your previous projects.
This is why Pro Crew puts the field first with its intuitive and easy-to-use construction project management software. With Pro Crew, you can make daily reporting easier, time cards digital, production tracking faster, and ensure the safety and efficiency of your members.
The contractors and subcontractors that select the right technology designed for its members will get the most out of that technology including the most accurate data and most return on their investment. A happier job site, powering better business insights, leads to more successful companies.
1 thought on “Guidelines in Choosing the Best Construction Software”
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up plus the rest of the website is also really good.