Day: September 23, 2021

Construction Management

Using Technology to Slash the Time It Takes to Deliver Accurate Takeoffs With Carroll Estimating

Gerri Nielson

Carroll Estimating was established in 2019 to help and support main building contractors and developers better understand their tender and construction costs. Focusing on estimating services, the firm helps secure tenders and projects in a simple and effective way.

However, Carroll Estimating provides more than just an estimating service. The team combines over 40 years of experience and works in a collaborative partnership with clients and construction professionals alike to develop transparent and trusting relationships. With every tender, they provide affordable, professional, cost-effective, confidential and punctual estimating services from the smallest construction projects to large civil engineering projects across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

Delivering a competitive advantage to their clients is vital and additional estimated coded breakdowns are provided to ensure tenders are factually priced to the last nail. The team recognises the important role technology solutions play in providing accurate and speedy estimates, and the business has invested in sourcing the best estimating and procurement software to deliver results for their clients.

Technology playing a key role in company growth

Patrick Carroll, Director at Carroll Estimating, knows that the shortage of surveyors and estimators across Ireland means many major infrastructure and construction project professionals are time pressured when it comes to tendering and bidding.

“We work with main contractors in Ireland and we’re now expanding into the UK, but we really serve as an extension into their project team,” remarks Patrick. “We take the utmost pride in what we do because when our main contractors are successful, so are we.”

Ensuring that technology plays a vital role in their day-to-day operations is crucial for Patrick and the team, helping to deliver timely but accurate contributions on projects.

“We know that continually evolving and investing in the best technology solutions out there ensures we can provide the most accurate numbers in a timely manner to nurture our relationships. We thrive on repeat business and that comes with the quality of work we provide” reflects Patrick. The quality of work provided by Carroll Estimating is exemplified through their business growth.

Since starting out in 2018, Patrick has been able to grow the size and scale of projects the team work on through fostering their client and customer relationships as well as focusing on innovation. Patrick completed a Masters degree in construction informatics – a Building Information Modelling (BIM) course that provided him with solid knowledge around BIM theory and application as well as principles and practices of advanced construction technologies.

For Carroll Estimating, using BIM on projects and technology like a common data environment is essential for access to the most up-to-date project data and information. As an extension to the project team of the main contractors they serve, Carroll Estimating has experience using a variety of BIM platforms. In fact, Patrick insists this technology is used by all supply chain partners during construction tenders and bids to streamline communication between all stakeholders during the process.

Establishing better BIM practices and creating time savings

Leveraging BIM models for estimating is something Carroll Estimating prioritises on every project. They began a trial of Autodesk Takeoff, an Autodesk Construction Cloud solution, in early 2020 to explore options that would combine 2D and 3D quantification capabilities in one solution.

“We’ve been able to collaborate much more efficiently with our supply chain and main contractor partners as we’re all working from one single source of truth on our takeoffs, bids and tenders,” says Patrick. “We serve as an extension to the main contractor’s project teams, and can use the solution to communicate upfront with our design team colleagues on our needs later down the line.”

Using Autodesk Takeoff, Carroll Estimating can create competitive tenders by performing more accurate 2D takeoffs and generating automated quantities from 3D models. “Before using Autodesk Takeoff, we spent a lot more time on this process. As an example, on a particular project we needed to perform a takeoff for 400 doors, with over 20 door types, each type had a separate specification example some had timber or metal door frames. Previously, this activity may have taken a day to identify all of the doors on the model but now using Autodesk Takeoff, we can do this in less than a minute through the 3D model in the software,” says Patrick.

“The efficiencies for our team and our clients are what really stand out to us. Another example is the time it now takes to price structural floors – previously this may have taken half an hour and now we can do it in a matter of seconds.”

For Carroll Estimating, reducing the time spent on administrative tasks so the small team can concentrate on value-adding activities that support their clients’ needs is essential. Using Autodesk Takeoff has allowed them to do exactly this.

Patrick reflects: “Our contractors ask us to price jobs after doing measurements. When we’re working on big infrastructure or commercial projects, we could have up to 50-100 subcontractors working with our team. This means when we send out jobs for pricing, we would need to contact every single one four times as we generally get around four prices per trade. So already, we’re looking at potentially sending out pricing requests to 400 people!

“And when you add the number of email replies you may have to respond to, as well as chasing for quotes and so on, in a week you may have sent up to 1200 emails to complete that one task. Having everyone using one common data environment reduces these administrative tasks immensely – we use the clusters features in Autodesk Takeoff to break out floors, doors and windows to streamline this process and provide a visual representation.”

Staying competitive and growing their offering through technology

Not only does Carroll Estimating save time using Autodesk Takeoff’s features to generate accurate quantities needed for pricing, but the team is also able to verify and capture the most detailed quantities when it comes to bidding and tendering for future work.

As Carroll Estimating works with a number of model iterations on their projects, when drawings change, the team is alerted easily and quickly. They can then quickly verify how any changes affect their pricing using Autodesk Takeoff where previously these changes may have taken a number of days to update.

Collaborating with architects and designers on their projects in real-time in the model using Autodesk Takeoff means communication is more transparent and accurate. The project team can communicate clearly in the models on the needs for pricing and estimating work further down the line. This is vital as accuracy is key when it comes to bidding for work – the competition is fierce, and estimation needs to be spot on and competitive in the marketplace.

“For us as a team, working with more 3D models has opened up our marketplace. Previously, we were primarily doing jobs that had 2D drawings but now we’re able to work on more complex and bigger jobs as the solution improves our productivity,” says Patrick. “We’re also still able to takeoff more regardless of whether they are 2D or 3D models as we’re working from the same environment.” All of this means Carroll Estimating has the capacity to take on not only more work, but more varied work, ensuring that the team gets a diverse variety of projects to add to their portfolios.

Looking to the future, getting the most out of the features and functionality of Autodesk Takeoff is a priority for Carroll Estimating. The team continues to learn more about the capabilities as well as ensuring good BIM practices are established on projects.

Patrick remarks: “Good BIM practice not only saves time on projects but reduces the need for rework and the number of mistakes that can arise, as well as allowing remote collaboration. Our team isn’t required on site as much because we’re working in a more digital environment that is collaborative and transparent. Not only does this improve productivity but safety is also supported too.”

For Patrick, the value of working digitally using BIM is something every construction project should be doing and is the future direction the industry needs to take.

The post Using Technology to Slash the Time It Takes to Deliver Accurate Takeoffs With Carroll Estimating appeared first on Digital Builder.

Construction Services

Keep Projects on Track with the New Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build

Gerri Nielson

Project delays in construction happen quite frequently, and typically result from poor planning. With such long time-tables, it’s difficult to plan for unforeseen schedule disruptions while managing the many moving parts of a project. Arguably the toughest part of a project manager’s job is managing the impact of those schedule disruptions across several teams working on the same project.

Looking closer, schedules are typically managed on a whiteboard in the trailer or by coordinators in the office. As a Project Manager or Schedule Coordinator, it’s often frustrating if you lack the tools to quickly relay the most current schedule information to your teams. From milestones, dependencies, and tasks, keeping teams up-to-date is crucial to avoid potential delays and costly rework. In fact, research from Dodge Data & Analytics shows that 66% of general contractors are carrying added costs from overtime shifts on at least three quarters of their projects due to schedule slippage, with 50% of them needing to extend the project end date.

Today, we are excited to announce the new Schedule Tool available in Autodesk Build. The Schedule Tool enables teams to collaborate, connect, and integrate with the most up-to-date schedule. Schedules uploaded from traditional CPM software can be imported to the Autodesk Build project, delivering real-time access to master schedule data in the field to ensure that everyone is on the same page at the same time. Let’s explore four capabilities in the new Schedule Tool that help you keep projects on track.

Key features of new Schedule Tool

1. Schedule surfacing

Upload schedule data from CPM software such as Primavera P6, ASTA PowerProject, or Microsoft Project into Autodesk Build. Teams can instantly access the project schedule and comment on specific activities to update teams or suggest changes back to HQ.

2. Filter by relevant items only

Schedules can be thousands of activities long and not all users need to see everything. Leverage the Schedule Tool’s search options to find exactly what you’re looking for, when you need it. Set filters to create custom views to display only relevant items. Look three weeks ahead or behind the current schedule, and view items on a Gantt chart.

3. Connect references to schedule

Teams can seamlessly link references—Submittals, RFIs, Sheets, Assets, and more—to the activity Item, providing the necessary context between the two.

4. Connecting schedule & cost

 

With the Schedule and Cost Management integration, teams can import schedule data into Cost Management to connect cost to time, as well as more accurately forecast cash flow. This is done by linking budget line items to schedule activities. Teams can then use built-in forecast distribution curves to visualize cost spending based on the timeline. And when all budget line items are forecasted, teams can access a project-level cash flow analysis for better planning, insight, and risk mitigation. This allows teams to achieve their project margins. 

See more of the Schedule Tool in action

By creating a centralized schedule ecosystem for all project team members to refer to, comment on, and share out during the project lifecycle, the Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build connects projects, teams, and businesses and sets them up for success.

If you’re interested in the Schedule tool or Autodesk Build in general, request a product demo.

What customers are saying

“The Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build is easy to use and has reduced the amount of time I spend on distributing the schedule to our teams. Before Autodesk Build, I had to update the schedule, publish it as a PDF, and email the PDF to the entire team. Now, the process is automated. I upload my Microsoft project schedule into Autodesk Build, and it distributes a link to a web-based version of the schedule to the team, with notifications about the changes.” —Bryan Nuckolls, Project Manager at BOLDT

“One thing that’s cool about the Scheduling Tool in Autodesk Build is the ability to link different references together to understand how Issues or RFIs are impacting the schedule. This capability allows us to have more context into what items may affect the schedule and have more meaningful conversations with our subcontractors and owners for faster issue resolution.” –Brian Popis, VDC Engineer at Barton Malow

 

More Product Updates Across Autodesk Construction Cloud

This month, we announced over 35 new product updates across Autodesk Construction Cloud. Learn more about all of our product releases in our blog. For the latest updates specific to Autodesk Build, you can check out this blog post.

The post Keep Projects on Track with the New Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build appeared first on Digital Builder.

Construction Blogs

You Have Data — But Do You Have Construction Insights?

Gerri Nielson

When it comes to data in construction, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, construction professionals recognize the value of data and are collecting a tremendous amount of information. In fact, research from FMI Corp shows 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced daily

The bad news? The vast majority of that data — 95.5%according to FMI — goes unused in the E&C industry. And for the data that does get used, “bad” data may contribute to over $1.8 trillion in global construction industry costs. That’s a startling figure to come out of the recently released report, Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, made in partnership between Autodesk and FMI.

So while data can be powerful when generating insights, failing to harness it properly can do more harm than good. For a single contractor doing $1 billion in annual revenue, our research shows that bad data could cost them upwards of $165 million yearly. With so much on the line, you can see how good insights, based on good data, are a practical necessity.

Issues like wasted time and diminished productivity often arise. In fact, research shows that 13% of construction professionals’ working hours are devoted to looking for project data and information.

This tells us that while we have a lot of data, we don’t have much insight.

But don’t worry, there’s hope. If your construction firm is data-rich but insight-poor, know that there are a number of actions you can take to effectively leverage all the information you have.

Let’s explore the data issues that construction pros are facing and how to address them.

Data Challenges in Construction

Data overload and difficulty with connecting data points are two of the biggest challenges we face today.

A good question to ask yourself is, “What’s so bad about ‘bad’ data?” The problem is that when it gets used, it harms insights, enables poor decision-making, and opens you up to unnecessary risk. A downstream consequence of poor decision-making is the often understated erosion of trust in the same data you need. This directly impacts your team’s ability to make decisions confidently with data in the future.

Our research shows that data has actually doubled in the last three years alone, yet only about 55% of organizations have a formal data strategy in place to make good use of all that data. For the other 45%, as you can tell, making confident decisions with bad data is not only risky, but costly.

Travis Voss, Leader of Innovative Technology at Helm-Mechanical shares, “The two skills that will be paramount in the future are understanding how to connect and relate data from disparate sources.” In other words, to get to those high-value insights, how do we connect disconnected data?

More expert insight comes from an Autodesk University session in 2020 Manu Venugopal, Group Product Manager at Autodesk, says that most of what’s collected is stored in data silos, making it even more difficult to derive insights. 

It’s no surprise then, thatForrester found that while 74% of firms want to be more “data-driven,” only 29% are successful at turning data into insights and actions. 

“Unless we break down the silos, we can’t fully leverage all this data and get insights from it,” said Venugopal.

Recognizing the Difference Between Data, Analytics, and Insights

There are three key components to effective data utilization: data, analytics, and insights. Overcoming the challenges mentioned above starts with understanding these three things, and making sure that everyone in the organization shares the same definition of these concepts.

Only then can you effectively determine the tools, people, and processes you need to collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from data.

Let’s look at these components individually in the context of the construction industry. 

Data refers to quantitative and qualitative measures collected in raw form. In construction, this could be things like the number of defects, safety incident rates, time spent dealing with change orders, observations on the jobsite, etc.

Data collection specialists and data engineers are usually the types of professionals in charge of handling these measures. People in these roles clean, aggregate, and enter the information to be analyzed. 

Analytics, on the other hand, involves processes and technologies that help translate the raw data into formats that people can understand — typically reports and dashboards. Effective data analytics requires a robust construction platform as well as data analysts who can help with inspecting and transforming data into the best format. 

Then we have insights, which are the meaningful realizations and actions that the organization implements based on data and analytics. While there are official roles designed for deriving insights (one example is the role of insight analysts), extracting insights from data and analytics is something that many people in the organization can do. 

For instance, field managers and general contractors who regularly monitor metrics like incident rates, rework costs, or waste can use all that information to come up with processes thatimprove profits and productivity on the jobsite

Key Pillars to Move from Data to Insights

Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of data, analytics, and insights, let’s discuss how construction firms can put all of the above to good use. Here are the pillars of effective data management and analysis. 

Digitization. With so many metrics and data points to be collected and analyzed, it’s simply impossible to do things manually. That’s why the first pillar of moving from data to insights is digitization.  

Do note that going digital isn’t simply about replacing pen and paper with technology; it’s about reimagining your processes to make data collection and sharing more efficient. 

As Venugopal put it, digitization “isn’t just about moving off of paper although that’s an important first step. It’s about enhancing the way information is shared, often in ways that weren’t even possible before and leveraging connected devices in the office and field to expand access to project information and help everyone make faster and better decisions.”

Workforce upskilling. With so much riding on the quality of your data, having a workforce with data skills may give you a healthy competitive edge.

Digital transformation is inevitable in the construction industry worldwide. How and when you choose to embrace it will affect your team’s ability to make great data-driven decisions when they count most.

Workflow integration.You may be using digital tools, but if your systems and workflows aren’t integrated, becoming more data-centric will be an uphill battle. 

So, strive to run your workflows on a tightly integrated system.Connected construction workflows open up several benefits, including higher levels of efficiency, reduced risk, and better collaboration. 

As such, your construction platform should enable the smooth data transfer from one project phase to the next and enable all stakeholders to be in sync.

Open and connected data access. See to it that you’re using an open platform that allows you to quickly find, access, and retrieve data. This openness is critical, particularly in a fast-paced environment where you need to get your hands on the right information ASAP.

Closely related to this is having connected datasets. Your workflows should be linked so that any updates or changes to your data are automatically synced across your systems. This way, you’re able to access the right information at any given time. 

Flexible visualizations. Raw data by itself is hardly useful. Your team should be able to view data in a user-friendly format — hence the need for visuals like graphs, tables, and reports. 

The manner in which data is presented can make all the difference, so get yourself a system that supports user-friendly and flexible visualizations. There are data platforms that offer templates or pre-built dashboards for things like resolution workflows, RFI management, etc. 

The best-in-class solutions come with configurable visualizations that let you tailor your reports to fit your needs. This flexibility is essential because there are many cases when you need to slice and dice the information to fit a specific project or situation.

Streamlining intelligence. Data-backed insights are the bedrock of good business decisions, so you want to optimize your data analysis for success. While team members can certainly put their heads together to gather intel, it doesn’t hurt to use technology to automate your data efforts. 

Adopt construction technology that uses AI and machine learning to provide real-time and automatic insights from the data you’re capturing. The right solution, said Venugopal, can help “flag any riffs, improve the accuracy of your workflows as well as help standardize and structure the data” — ultimately streamlining your operations and helping you deliver projects quickly, and in the most cost-effective way possible. 

Data and insights go hand-in-hand in construction

The future of construction will be a lot more insightful. In order to thrive, your firm needs people, processes, and tools that can help you unlock the valuable insights within your construction data. 

To do that, start by making sure that your organization understands the ins and outs of data, analytics, and insights. It’s important to establish the key pillars discussed above so you can have a solid foundation on which to build and implement your initiatives. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to turn data into insights, learn more aboutAutodesk Construction Cloud to find out how our platform keeps your workflows, teams, and data connected at every phase of construction. Additionally, if you’d like to learn why a formal data strategy may be the game changer you’ve been needing, download Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, a report made in partnership between Autodesk and FMI.

The post You Have Data — But Do You Have Construction Insights? appeared first on Digital Builder.