Category: Construction Blogs

Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to be inundated with information highlighting the importance of collaboration and communication in design and construction projects. Naturally, most teams, if not all, have the goal of being proficient in these areas given that it’s key to successful outcomes and maintaining profit margin. However, it is also common for architecture and engineering, as well as general contracting firms, to struggle with precise and timely communication of changes.

An uncommunicated change in the design phase can cause several weeks’ delay resulting in thousands of dollars wasted. The further along the change goes unrecognized the greater the impact with potential outcome leading to stop construction for redesign, and on average of 35% of all construction projects will have a major change, according to Project Analysis Group. To help eliminate these challenges, it is recommended to implement change management. Effective change management enables better coordination leading to less risk in design, and improved quality in construction.

 

Change management with the Change Analysis tool

The Design Collaboration module in Autodesk BIM Collaborate offers the Change Analysis tool, which enables users to understand the design changes incurred on their projects. Teams can establish watch groups to closely monitor changes, configurable based on user criteria.

For example, a user can select watch groups for teams, models, or objects. Once a watch group is configured, the Change Analysis tool will share notifications automatically to the group about any changes impacting assets relevant to the group. Effectively making it easier to keep up with designs in continually evolving projects.

 

Change Analysis tool and watch groups in action

So, how does this show up in the real world? Here are a couple of cases studies where the Change Analysis tool and watch groups could have helped prevent negative outcomes.

Scenario #1: Design Phase

Consider an architect working on the design of the façade in a new building. The structural engineer on the same project decided to change the floor slabs, reducing them from 20 to 10cm from the façade edge because less space was needed for rebar.

This change looked pretty similar in the plan, but now the designed facade is 15cm distance from the slab causing a 5cm gap. The design team is using Design Collaboration to share information, but because there was no change management or watch group established, the change was missed when sharing the models with the greater team.

Eventually, when plans went to the main contractor, they realize the problem between the slab and the façade, but it’s too late. As a result, the design had to be updated leading to a 2-week delay.

If change management was implemented in this scenario, when the structural engineer’s new BIM Model was uploaded in Design Collaboration with the new slabs (and new dimensions), the architect would have automatically received a notification that something has changed, since the architect created a slab watch group. This change notification would have prompted the architect to go back to the design, and adapt the façade line to meet the new slabs design. Now, when the information is sent to the main contractor, the design is of much greater value because it’s inclusive of changes—which, in turn, reduces or eliminates delays.

Scenario #2: Preconstruction

Similar to the design phase, change management is equally important to the preconstruction phase. Consider a client went for a site walk, and requested a change to add a door to the facilities room. The architect made the change, and communicated it to the blockwork subcontractor to add the door on site. The architect also updated the drawings, but did not communicate the change to the broader team.

As a result, during model coordination the blockwork in the facilities room was set up as “frozen design”, and the services team were given the green light to start the manufacturing drawings. Because the architect did not communicate the change to the broader team there was no clash, and coordination ultimately missed this change.

This miss required a change order to be made for the design to be redone. New materials had to be ordered to site, and the removal and reinstallation had to be done delaying the project; costing time and money.

How could this negative outcome have been avoided?

In this scenario, it would have been recommended for the services team to create a watch group with the blockwork; let’s say they named the group “Blockwork Frozen”.

While the services team were working in the design, a notification would have appeared in Design Collaboration of a new model from blockwork with a change in the specific area that was “frozen”. The services team could have then requested more information from the blockwork subcontractor and client before going into manufacturing and installation. This approach would have resulted in no delay or unforeseen costs.

 

New features for change management

As depicted in the earlier case studies, it is imperative to establish a strategy for change management. The Change Dashboard in the Change Analysis tool provides users with a single view pane where they can see the changes as well as dive into details about those changes—giving immediately useful insight and flexibility in design. To further improve the Change Analysis tool, Autodesk just released a few new features:

Comparison of non-consecutive versions allows users to compare any two design versions of a project against one another. This benefit being the ability to track scope change, understand decisions made, and reference outdated designs. This gives the team more power to easily track how a project changes over time.

New viewer experience permits users more control on the comparison workflows and transparency in the selections of models for the viewer. It also offers flexibility to see changes by discipline with the object tree and flexibility to see changes with multiple attributes selected.

Filter improvements have been made to enable users to more easily see different changes by project attributes as well as provide a better experience overall when filtering. Users can now filter by discipline, modification type, and category. Users can also take advantage of the search function that permits filtering based on names of specific objects.

With the Change Analysis tool and these new features, users can now take even more control of the outcome of their projects, de-risk deadlines, and reduce waste. Considering from 2012 to 2015, just 25% of projects came within 10% of their original deadlines, having a tool that helps to mitigate unforeseen delays is critical.

During design and construction of buildings, making changes is an inevitable part of the process. The Change Analysis tool in Autodesk BIM Collaborate has been defined and designed to help users make sense and stay on top of all changes. It makes it easy to find and identify changes with automatic notifications, and the user interface improvements make it more intuitive for users to compare versions. Reach out today for a demo.

The post Manage Changes, Don’t Let Them Manage You appeared first on Digital Builder.

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Cost management is key to ensuring construction projects stay on budget and on schedule. Yet many projects, as many as 33% come in over budget, as reported in the Construction Cost Management Report by Dodge Data & Analytics (Dodge). Surveyed contractors note that even among their best-performing projects, one out of five does not meet the budget requirements. 

Efficiently tracking construction costs and monitoring risks make a big difference in maintaining budgets. Tracking costs and monitoring risks, however, requires a strong cost management discipline. Insights into current cost management practices can help fine-tune practices to build discipline. In this article, we’ll review highlights from the report and key takeaways to drive your cost management discipline. 

Key takeaways

Owners and general contractors alike prefer a single primary tool for cost management, complimented by a limited number of third-party tools.Forecasting costs with real-time field data is the top future need for cost management.Alignment between owners and general contractors is critical to building an integrated cost management discipline, and revealed as an opportunity for both project teams and solution providers.Project-focused staff shows higher capability of being involved in cost management on a more holistic level. One reason is due to the ease in which technology allows this to happen.

 

Owners and contractors prefer a single cost management tool, yet most use more than one

Overall, owners, general contractors, and specialty contractors use more than one tool for cost management. Forty-four percent leverage more than one tool but lean on one as their primary. Thirty-three percent use two to five tools with none as their primary. Only 21% use one tool alone, while 5% use more than five tools with none as their primary. 

For respondents in project-related roles, there is a strong preference for using a primary technology tool for cost-management-related challenges such as establishing a system of cost accounts, status reporting during a project, and identifying areas of the project that require more attention in real-time. 

For best results from a primary cost management tool, prioritize ease of access and use.

We can see a consistent preference for having a primary cost management tool, yet just over a fourth of owners and contractors actually use one tool alone. The leading approach to construction cost management relies on a primary tool with supporting tools. For that reason, it’s important to choose a primary tool that allows you to connect your project data to cost activities and schedules. Integrations factor in here too to connect the field and office teams while avoiding data silos. 

For best results from a primary cost management tool, prioritize ease of access and use. These solutions should connect to schedule and cost activities over the lifecycle of the project. 

The Dodge report also indicates a preference for third-party tools among respondents. About 47% use third-party tools, with around 60% leaning on desktop applications and 40% using cloud-accessible ones. Thirty-two percent of owners and contractors use internally developed tools, and 16% use spreadsheets. 

We’ll likely see the number of people using internally developed tools and spreadsheets decrease in the future due to the customization capabilities of third-party tools and the maintenance costs of homegrown solutions. Organizations can generate better cost-related outcomes for all involved partners by focusing on using fewer, more comprehensive tools that engage all stakeholders in a shared approach to cost management. 

 

Success criteria for cost management solutions: what owners and general contractors expect

When measuring cost management success, respondents indicated that they use the following three metrics most frequently:

Turnaround time on processing change orders/variationsAchieving expected profit marginFinal cost compared to budgeted cost

Owners and contractors are split evenly on the subject of spending levels on cost management. Thirty-nine percent believe they are spending more than they should have to, 32% think they are spending the right amount, and 29% say they’re spending less than they should. In the subgroups, variation exists with owners more likely to believe they’re spending too much, especially those in public entities (55%). Contractors, on the other hand, especially those in trades, are the least likely to believe they are overspending (31%). 

There is also a significant amount of variation between how owners and general contractors measure the success of cost management solutions. Owners cite the following metrics most frequently:

Final cost compared to budgeted cost (30%)Generating useful data to benchmark for future projects (26%)

In comparison, contractors pinpoint minimal unplanned changes as their top success criteria. These preferences align with the responsibilities of each role but also indicate a lack of synergy on what successful cost management means. 

 

Forecasting costs with real-time field data in top future need for cost management

Respondents selected the most critical future need from 14 cost management practices. Thirty percent selected forecasting critical costs with real-time field data as the most important to improve over the next three to five years. This practice ranked number one across all four regions studied, with the United Kingdom selecting it most frequently (32%) and Canada choosing it least frequently (26%). 

Other top future needs were dynamically tracking each dollar in budgets (29% overall) and managing collaborative workflows (26% overall). As with other areas surveyed, we can see variance between the subgroups. Owners are most interested in dynamically tracking budgets and using field data for forecasting. These are two cost management practices that are also beneficial to contractors. 

Three times as many contractors (compared to owners) want to improve their future estimates. Twice as many want to benchmark cost performance. Again, these two practices are beneficial to owners yet appear to be more pressing needs for contractors. 

 

Project teams could be more involved in cost management

One area of opportunity for construction firms is the greater involvement of project teams in cost management. The report emphasizes the ability of these teams to participate in an integrated approach to cost management. Dodge’s findings “indicate that project-focused staff are ready and able to participate in a more holistic and integrated approach instead of the traditional office-based function with just discrete, periodic inputs from the field.” This was made evident by project-based staff reporting:

Higher levels of cost management capabilitiesLower levels of difficulty with their most challenging cost management activitiesGreater satisfaction using technology to address them

These responses indicate a significant opportunity to improve cost management practices by involving capable, skilled staff in the process. Doing so will help to integrate the practice into a firm-wide discipline. 

 

Owners and contractors have opportunity to align more

In the Dodge report, there are notable differences in priorities for owners and general contractors. For example, contractors note improving cash flow as a top need. Yet owners are more focused on improving their ability to forecast critical costs with real-time data from the field. Both of these areas require involvement from owners and general contractors. For example, cost flow contributes to the owner’s overall project health, and forecasting critical costs requires contractor participation. 

Variations like the one mentioned above represent a need for greater owner and general contractor alignment. Getting on the same page about cost management success, tools, and priorities will power leaner construction and smoother workflows throughout all phases of a project. 

 

From cost management insight to action 

To move cost management forward, owners, contractors, and project staff need a comprehensive tool they can rely on to centralize and improve the visibility of related cost activities and risks. This tool should be equipped with capabilities to support the future top need of forecasting costs in the field with real-time data.

We understand how important an integrated, collaborative cost management discipline is to the health and success of your projects. If you’d like to see Autodesk Construction Cloud’s cost management offering,please contact us for a demo. We’d love to show you around.

The post Key Takeaways from Construction Cost Management Report by Dodge appeared first on Digital Builder.

From December 1 – 3, Autodesk will be a proud sponsor at The Buildings Show in Toronto, one of North America’s largest construction trade shows. We’ll be hanging out on the trade show floor with a 20′ x 20′ booth and also presenting on the Demo Stage about our unified platform. The event is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and we’d love to answer all your Autodesk questions (and give you some good swag in the process).

The host, Buildings Canada, brings together a world-class construction, building and real estate network of the most established and reputable industry experts. Attend and you’ll enjoy speaker sessions, product demos, innovation awards, valuable education, and more.

The Buildings Show details

Date: December 1 – 3, 2021

Trade show hours: 9:30 am – 5pm ET & Friday 9 am – 1pm

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

South Toronto, Canada

You can register here.

Don’t miss our presentation

One Source of Truth: Autodesk’s Unified Platform Build

Wednesday, December 1 – 11:30am to 12:00pm

Thursday, December 2 – 11:30am to 12:00pm

Autodesk Build delivers a broad, deep, and connected set of field execution and project management tools for builders in a single software platform that is easy to deploy, adopt and use. In our sessions, hear about Autodesk’s vision for construction management software and learn how Autodesk Build delivers field collaboration, project management, as well as document management, cost controls, turnover and insights… all managed together. 

Find us on the floor

Make sure to visit us at booth #1613. Our 20’ x 20’ booth will be stacked with swag giveaways, raffles, and Autodesk experts ready to field questions. You also won’t want to miss Phil Deutsch, an amazing mentalist who will be entertaining visitors at the Autodesk booth on Dec 1 from 11:30 – 1 pm. 

What is The Buildings Show?

From the event’s website, “Design, architecture, construction, renovation and property management professionals, experts and suppliers have come together at The Buildings Show, consisting of Construct Canada, PM Expo, HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo and World of Concrete Toronto Pavilion, for over 30 years. Get unparalleled opportunities to learn, lead and empower with cutting edge educational programming, product showcases and networking opportunities in a safe and secure environment.”

Why attend The Buildings Show?

From the organizer’s website, “The Buildings Show provides an unforgettable experience as North America’s largest event for products, services, educational programming and professional networking.” Buildings Canada is “proud to host this spectacular event for the design, construction and property management communities for over 30 years.

“You’ll expand your knowledge base, become a leader in your field and earn continuing education credits from BOMA, OAA, BSSB, CAHPI and ARIDO. The Buildings Show will provide opportunities and solutions for the industry to transact, learn and engage year-round through hybrid, online and in person experiences.”

How is The Buildings Show handling safety?

“The health and safety of attendees, speakers, exhibitors and partners is top priority. We will continue to closely monitor the situation around COVID-19 and will update you across our channels. For more information about Health & Safety protocols in place, please click here

“Proof of vaccination will be required to attend the in-person event.

Want to attend The Buildings Show?

You can register here. It’s an event construction professionals from around the globe make a point to attend and we’d love to see you there.

The post Join Autodesk at The Buildings Show: A Construction Trade Show appeared first on Digital Builder.

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How the Biggest Construction Companies in the U.S. Are Building Our Cities & Workforce

As the U.S. works to bounce back from the pandemic, top construction companies are helping lead the way to recovery. Across the industry, you can feel the momentum in resilience, creativity, and the human spirit for problem-solving.

While spending has seen fluctuation lately, it’s expected to rise over the next several years. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, national construction spending is expected to exceed $1.55 trillion in 2021. That’s a 7.5% increase from 2020. Of that $1.55 trillion, $1.2 trillion is expected to go to the private sector, with much of the remaining funds addressing public needs. With the passing of a major Infrastructure Deal, official construction spending estimates may change. The deal is expected to generate about two million jobs per year, for the next ten years, with an emphasis on America’s physical infrastructure.

So, who are the largest construction companies leading the way? We’ve created a SlideShare of the top 10 construction companies in the U.S. to answer that exact question. Our list is composed of companies ranking on ENR’s Top 400 Contractors list. On the SlideShare you’ll find information about each company’s location, revenue, employees and year founded. Flip through below, then continue reading to discover insights about how a few of these top companies, and more, tackle some of the most common construction challenges. 

Top 10 Construction Companies in the U.S. 

10 of the Largest Construction Firms in the U.S.

Here are the top 10 construction companies in the United States as listed above in our SlideShare. 

1. The Turner Corp

Location: New York, NYEmployees: 10,000Revenue: $11.77 billionFounded: 1902

2. Bechtel

Location: Reston, VAEmployees: 55,000Revenue: $17.6 billionFounded: 1906

3. Fluor

Location: Irving, TXEmployees: 53,000Revenue: $19.166 billionFounded: 1912

4. Kiewit Corp

Location: Omaha, NEEmployees: 22,000Revenue: $10.3 billionFounded: 1884

5. The Whiting-Turner Contractin Co

Location: Baltimore, MDEmployees: 3,800Revenue: $6.2 billionFounded: 1909

6. Sto Building Group Inc

Location: New York, NYEmployees: 2,200Revenue: $4.9 billionFounded: 1971

7. Tutor Perini Corp

Location: Sylmar, CAEmployees: 10,000Revenue: $4.76 billionFounded: 1894

8. AECOM

Location: Los Angeles, CAEmployees: 54,000Revenue: $13.24 billionFounded: 1990

9. Skanska USA

Location: New York, NYEmployees: 7,600Revenue: $6.5 billionFounded: 1971

10. DPR Construction

Location: Redwood City, CAEmployees: 5,900Revenue: $5.94 billionFounded: 1990

How Top Construction Companies Approach 3 Common Challenges

Of course, with opportunity comes new obstacles. If you’re adept in problem solving, the following obstacles are exciting challenges that can give you a competitive edge if tactfully approached. For a better understanding of how you can approach three very common challenges in construction, we’ve provided examples of how top firms have succeeded in solving these problems.

1. Complex projects with tight deadlines

As technology improves, expectations rise as well. Highly technical projects require significant resource planning, forecasting, and attention to detail. Add in tight turnaround times and the obstacles only increase. Gilbane Building Company, ranked #11 on 2021’s ENR400, is one of the construction companies tackling challenges like this one head-on. 

The Rhode Island-based firm constructed a state-of-the-art engineering lab and academic facility for students at the Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. This project was WIT’s first new academic building in over 40 years. 

Gilbane was brought in to construct the new four-story, 78,000-square-foot academic building for engineering innovation and sciences. They were on a short, 15-month schedule. In order to meet the tight turnaround and represent the polytechnic university’s focus on innovation, the firm leaned on cutting-edge technologies and processes. Specifically, Gilbane leveraged prefabrication, design-assisted preconstruction processes, and virtual reality (VR) to meet the deadline and high-tech requirements. 

Speaking to prefabrication as one of those crucial pieces to finishing on time, John Myers, Gilbane’s director of visual design and construction for New England says, “Off-site fabrication for us, from a safety standpoint, from a schedule standpoint, from the standpoint of being able to do things in parallel instead of in sequence, those are the things that make Gilbane successful.” For a deeper dive on this this impressive, yet challenging project, we recommend you read the full story here.

In the spirit of higher education, Gilbane also created a “living” classroom out of the project. It allowed WIT students to learn the most current and advanced construction methods as Gilbane went through the building process. Students got hands-on experience with each step of the project in real-time.

2. Identifying benefits of new technology in preconstruction

We’ve all heard the adage: “No one likes change.” It’s common for firms to face resistance to new technology and innovations. Usually, the resistance is not due to an individual’s resistance—it’s an organizational challenge. Improving structure and processes can be slow when the productivity and profit gains haven’t been fully understood by decision-makers. The truth is that technology proves to be an ally over and over again. We look at how two leading firms responded to different scenarios related to the need for new technology in preconstruction.

2a. Proving value of new technology with money saved

Multinational construction and development company, Skanska, ranked #9 on the 2021 ENR400, encountered some pushback from clients when moving from 2D to 3D modeling. The company decided to switch to 3D modeling for quantity takeoff to save time and money on projects.

The Skanska team has found that the best way to reassure hesitant clients is to provide proof of 3D modeling’s value. Kelsey Stein, National Preconstruction Technology Manager at Skanska explains, “By having better standards that we can give to the design team, it’s helped us perform a closer estimation while saving time and money on our projects.”

The 3D takeoff uncovered missing quantities that accounted for a 28% discrepancy….saving a tremendous amount of money that would have been lost under the traditional 2D method.

To provide greater context for clients, Skanska compared the results of a traditional 2D takeoff and a 3D takeoff using Assemble on the same project. The 3D takeoff uncovered missing quantities that accounted for a 28% discrepancy in the curtain wall scope. As a result, the firm saved a tremendous amount of money that would have been lost under the traditional 2D method.

2b. Building easy-to-use technology for your own employees

PCL, a construction company coming in at #14 on the 2021 ENR400, found themselves needing to create easy-to-use technology for their preconstruction managers—so they did just that.

Breaking out the challenge, PCL’s estimators and managers were adept at reviewing 2D drawings and managing the preconstruction process. However, the review of 2D drawings can be a very manual process and slow down workflows. This created inefficiencies. On top of that, preconstruction managers were regularly receiving more 3D models from the design team as they moved to digitizing their workflows.

Knowing they had to improve access to insights that 2D drawings couldn’t provide without significant effort, PCL created a multidisciplinary team to evaluate and identify their priority project KPIs. They determined which ones would be most effective at tracking design progress in real time and got to work building their own data management and interpretation tools. 

“Predictability is the name of the game when it comes to construction. If we can better track the progress of design, then there will be little-to-no surprises when we receive milestone design deliverables.” -Nick Kurth, PCL Construction Enterprises Inc.

Their team can now easily access critical, real time project progress data through Autodesk Assemble, Autodesk Revit and a Power BI dashboard. This technology enables them to better interpret data and generate cost-effective designs with the most efficient use of materials.

Nick Kurth, VDC Manager at PCL Construction Enterprises Inc, shares why the dashboard was so critical, “Predictability is the name of the game when it comes to construction. If we can better track the progress of design, then there will be little-to-no surprises when we receive milestone design deliverables. This dashboard solution is another means for us to drive lean principles around target value design. It’s also essential to have transparency between our design team and our precon team, and that’s a key part of what this provides.”

3. Having geometric & cost certainty

As a Fortune 500 firm and ranked #8 on the 2021 ENR400, AECOM is used to partnering with clients in the public and private sectors to solve complex construction challenges. The premier infrastructure firm is known for its construction and design-build approach, which leads to optimized collaboration, productivity, and efficiency. Under the design-build construction delivery model, contractors, designers, and owners collaborate as a team to meet owner expectations. 

AECOM America’s BIM Director, Russ Dalton, is responsible for helping the teams behind the firm’s construction and design-build approach win new business. He then supports them in making sure the projects are executed effectively. 

Technology is essential for helping Russ do just that. His team, and AECOM as a firm, has embraced BIM 360 to achieve geometric certainty and cost certainty. They’re now moving toward operational certainty. Through their commitment to achieving certainty, and the technology that enables it, AECOM has carved out a competitive advantage.

“We’ve witnessed a 32% increase in productivity with this methodology.” -Russ Dalton, AECOM America

AECOM’s Barclays Center Arena project was a testament to the effectiveness of how they use BIM 360. Russ shares, “We looked at [this project] through predictable lenses to make sure that in the construction process it could be completed with geometric certainty and cost certainty.” 

The $450 million project was not only finished early but came in under budget due to AECOM’s commitment to BIM 360. Russ says that the use of BIM 360 generated “$4.5 million in cost savings” on the project. He goes on to add, “We’ve witnessed a 32% increase in productivity with this methodology.”

The Road Ahead

These leading construction companies are showing the industry, and the nation, what’s possible on the road ahead. They’re also highlighting that it takes innovation, persistence, and the right tools to not only survive, but thrive in the face of challenge. Remember, obstacles are opportunities and the best days are ahead for our industry. Technology is helping us get there.

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For any business, having enough operational cash on hand is critical. Without being able to accurately forecast cash flow, making important decisions about the future of your firm or projects is a risky venture at best. So, when it comes to an industry as complex as construction—where maximizing profit and minimizing risk is the goal—accurately forecasting cash flow throughout a project’s lifecycle is essential.

The challenge with forecasting is that it’s often a time-consuming process making sense of scattered data, various spreadsheets, and multiple disconnected processes or systems. For example, some teams lean on reports from their ERP system, then look at buy-out logs and compare against schedule projections. Others rely on their scheduling team to resource load the schedule, then use the scheduling tools bell curve for analysis. In any case, the process is tedious, and by the time you’ve cobbled together all the necessary information from all the different teams, it’s easy to lack confidence in decisions relying on your cash flow forecast.

So, how can your team ensure appropriate forecasts are created to maximize profit?

The answer is Autodesk Construction Cloud. With Autodesk Construction Cloud’s cost management solution, all cost activities are centralized, and teams have the ability to connect the budget to the schedule. And now, with the newest release, Autodesk Construction Cloud improves cash flow forecasting, making it an effortless and accurate process.

Cash Flow Forecasting with Autodesk Construction Cloud

Connecting Cost & Time

Preliminaries and general conditions can vary between projects, especially items significantly affected by specific conditions like restricted access site locations and traffic management. These can typically be circa 10-20% of the project cost. 

For the Contractor, there’s little price security from fixed-price Subcontracts that you get when packaging regular construction scope. That means risk is high, and contractors must plan carefully. But with few estimating systems having the functionality to assist in planning these costs, teams have to do it in spreadsheets manually, which runs a high risk of error. 

Luckily, Autodesk Construction Cloud’s recently released functionality for planning these method-related management costs enables teams to plan time-based allowances in a visual way utilizing a Gantt chart view. By connecting schedule tasks to budget line items, teams can quickly determine duration then enable calculations for annual price increases. Teams can then use the pricing in the estimate submission. If successful, all the information is set up, ready for tracking and forecasting when the project begins—eliminating yet another spreadsheet from the process.

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Built-In Forecast Distribution Curves

Now, with the release of phase 2 of our forecasting functionality, we have added the ability to connect the entire budget so teams can plan and track the project’s cash flow as a whole throughout the duration of the project. Four built-in forecast distribution curves are available, including front-loaded, rear-loaded, typical, and linear. With this, teams can efficiently perform forecast distributions for each budget line item. 

When performing distributions to items connected to schedule tasks, dates automatically pull in, but can be altered if necessary. If needed, teams can customize the distribution further by adding or removing date ranges. In addition, teams can easily make edits within the forecast final cost field as they’re making their projections. The system will auto-flag if the distribution total doesn’t match the forecast-final cost; with a click, you can choose to have the system automatically adjust it for you—a graphic representation of the original plan versus the delta displays. 

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Project Level Cash Flow Analysis

Once all budget line items are forecasted, teams can access a project-level cash flow analysis in the new Forecast tool. Within this view, the information is summarized by revised budget, work completed, actual costs, and forecast-final cost, which can be viewed by period or cumulatively. This real-time summary enables teams to see planned actual and forecast quickly and provides them with the ability to quickly drill down into details if needed. Along with a table of data is a built-in dynamic time-versus-money chart, allowing teams to visualize the project-level cash flow distribution throughout the project lifecycle.

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better way with Autodesk Construction Cloud

Autodesk Construction Cloud is designed to help you make smarter, more meaningful business decisions throughout the entire construction process—from design and planning to building, handoff and operating. We make sure you can connect workflows and teams to the data they need most, when they need to make a decision. Whether that’s improving forecast accuracy, or making valuable information available to stakeholders when they need it, Autodesk has you covered.

If you’re interested in learning more about the latest updates across all Autodesk Construction Cloud products, please check out this article

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The importance of hard work and thinking big cannot be understated, especially in the world of modern design and construction. These are the very things that lead to growth, innovation, and career success, which is why it’s essential that we strive to embody these traits in our day-to-day lives.

One person who’s doing just that is Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader at SSOE

Justin started his construction career as a plumbing engineer, and in 2018, proactively made the transition to a more tech-focused role in VDC. He’s achieved quite a lot in just over three years within the VDC realm, including winning SSOE’s Founder’s Award and landing a speaking engagement at Autodesk University

Justin credits his accomplishments to positive thinking, dedication, and of course, hard work. 

We recently caught up with him to discuss his construction journey thus far, as well as what’s next.

 

Tell us a little bit about SSOE and what you specialize in.

SSOE is an AEC firm specializing mostly in the “engineering” portion of that AEC acronym. We’ve been around for 70-plus years and have business units that touch pretty much every facet of the industry. So, we range from semiconductors all the way to educational projects.

When working at SSOE, you’re actually able to interface with anything you would like. There are loads of opportunities. In my case, I have over a decade of experience as a plumbing designer/engineer. I was in the automotive and manufacturing business unit, and my specialty was siphonic storm drains. 

But then I switched over to technology. Now, my role is with the Project Technology department and I’ve been here just over three years. I specialize in all things BIM 360 and ACC (Autodesk Construction Cloud). 

I started off just by volunteering and training with pilot projects. And two and a half years later, many of my coworkers call me “BIM Three Lipsey”.

 

Walk us through your career and what led you to becoming VDC Technical Leader.

I’ve always been into technology and computers, and I like being creative. But sometimes design and engineering projects aren’t creative at all, especially the types of projects I was working on. 

So I started looking for ways where I could get into tech but still remain in my industry. A VDC rotation slot happened to open up, and at that time I didn’t really know a great deal about VDC. I just had a very broad idea of what it was. 

But I took the leap, and that spiraled into registering point cloud data, laser scanner operation training, and all things reality capture technology. I learned really quickly and I get to work with developers now. I can really say that I’m passionate about this work. 

I also got to go to AU in 2019 and just sat with the Forge devs for an entire day. I learned so much just by sitting next to them, talking to people’s managers, and soaking it all up. So VDC led me into the world of construction technology. 

The way I see it, technology is like the wild wild west right now. Depending on your job title, you get to make your salary—you get to decide on your duties and tasks. It’s amazing.

 

What is your proudest accomplishment in your 6 years at SSOE and why?

About a year and a half ago, I wrote down this list of goals. It included things like speaking at AU (Autodesk University) and winning a Founder’s Award, one of our most prestigious awards at SSOE. 

I’m proud to say that I hit those goals in about 6 months. I was given the opportunity to speak at the virtual AU last year, where I discussed the topic of AEC product ownership

There was also the Founder’s Award, which was given to the project team who developed training materials to support the rollout of BIM 360. Before the pandemic hit, we were piloting BIM 360 and trying to understand how to best roll it out. Then COVID happened and there were infrastructure issues immediately. That’s when we made the quick decision that every new project going forward starting January of this year would be in BIM 360. 

To make it happen, we needed to develop training materials. I was afforded the ability to utilize all of the beautiful music equipment I have collected over the years and my limited knowledge of video creation and editing. I purchased an iPad app, watched a few YouTube videos, and was able to create over 20 customized training videos for BIM 360. Our team also created a SharePoint site to house all of our training content and other supplementary information. To-date, we have uploaded over 150 pages of tips and tricks, knowledge base articles, and quick reference guides

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is when I finally get things to click for someone, and they say, ‘Oh, I understand that now! And I’ll share this with my team.’” —Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader, SSOE Group

There were a whole bunch of people who contributed to our training content, so I can’t take all of the credit. Our developers were able to whip up this automation, despite some limitations within the API for BIM 360. They did a bunch of workarounds to get a lot of “ease-of-use” functions out to our users. 

I’m proud of all of that. I knocked all my goals out of the park and I think it’s just the power of manifestation—writing things down, and looking at it every day.

 

s construction evolves, how do you see the role of VDC Leader changing?

Honestly, I think the future is going to be more focused on data analytics, as well as innovation, research, and development. 

I am also hoping for more product ownership because, over the next five years, we’re going to need a team of people who understand computational design, algorithms, APIs—all that fun stuff. We’re trying to build that team of people right now and we’re looking to leverage Power BI and dashboarding. We’re trying to figure out how to harvest the data from BIM 360 and our new ERP Microsoft Dynamics to gain the insights we need to make better business decisions. We also want to better visualize that kind of information in a palatable way for our users. 

Right now, VDC is more of a manual process. I interface with project teams. I’m doing a lot of the training and tons of research and documentation, but I believe that the future would be similar to how Revit developed. Now, you have Revit power users who do a majority of what a BIM manager used to do 10 or 15 years ago, managing templates, setting up models, etc. This allows BIM managers to focus on more high-level important coordination items.

In the future, it should be the same for VDC. Research and development should come from operations. They should be telling us what they need, what they want, and VDC performs the analysis and evaluates how to best fit it into our tech stack. Then empower them through the use of data to visualize the end goal. 

There’s also the learning aspect to the job. BIM 360 and ACC Build have the Insight module, and we’re really trying to utilize that. I think a big part of the future is learning how to use all this data and figure out how to apply it to upcoming projects. Then we can really handpick our clients and projects. That way, we’ll be more profitable and provide the most value. 

I also think that product owners and managers will become more prevalent in our industry. Technically, I’m a product owner of BIM 360 right now. We have this amazing automation process that our developers came up with, where you can create a new project in our ERP system, and it spins up a BIM 360 project. It also spins up an Outlook group so they can track their project email. As a product owner, I helped connect the developers to the business by defining what would be the most valuable automation for our project teams. 

Being a part of the BIM 360 team, I interface a lot with our users and take feedback to the devs and give them improvement ideas for that automation. And in my eyes, that’s the future. If more of our VDC folks would learn the skills needed for product management and the human side of technology, I would welcome that.

 

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role? How does technology help you overcome those challenges?

We’re in this digital transformation phase where we’re no longer attempting to bend technology to fit our processes, we’re revising our project execution processes to fit the technology. This can be a challenging concept for people who have been doing something a certain way for 20 or 30 years. 

But one of the most rewarding parts of my job is when I finally get things to click for someone, and they say, “Oh, I understand that now! And I’ll share this with my team.”

This is what happened with BIM 360. It helps us collaborate a lot better, and certain processes are streamlined now. 

 

When you think about the future, what are your plans to advance innovation and productivity at SSOE?

Our CEO has set a goal for 2025 to improve efficiencies and productivity by 50% organization-wide. This is a large undertaking for us, and BIM 360 was just the beginning. ACC Build is being piloted now on a few projects and we are looking for ways to utilize the new features in the platform. We have partnerships with Autodesk, Microsoft, and Cintoo that we are looking to leverage and assist in the development of solutions that progress our strategic business goals, and advance our industry. I am keeping an eye on a few game changing companies like AVAIL and Bridgit in hopes of partnering with them one day as well. But most importantly for us, automation is the key. Whether it’s through Dynamo, Power Automate, or developing something custom, we are looking for ways to streamline our project execution processes with automation and generative design. Last but not least, we are attempting to break down the silos between design firms, fabricators, and GC’s through the use of Fab Parts in Revit.

 

What advice would you give to the next generation of men and women entering and preparing for the future of the industry?

Something I try to instill in my son is that if you put your head down, work hard, and are respectful, opportunities will present themselves. I have an associates degree in CAD Technology, but I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today. So to all future technologists, don’t focus on getting fancy acronyms that you can add on after your name. Work hard, stay curious, dream big, and build your future without limitations in mind.

The post Behind the Build: Interview with Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader, SSOE appeared first on Digital Builder.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.dennis-construction.com/?p=1060

In the AEC industry, it’s not uncommon to have several different companies — sometimes 20 or more — working on the same project. Dozens of people, each with their own priorities and agendas, are involved in decision-making. Because of this, working together can get complicated — even heated, in some cases. 

That’s why communication and collaboration are crucial in AEC. When everyone involved in a project is on the same page, the entire process runs smoothly and you’ll see better outcomes all around. 

On Episode 17 of Digital Builder, Eddie Campbell, COO at ABSI (Accelerated Building Solutions, Inc.) and Tyler Campbell, Vice President, also at ABSI, join us to discuss how construction pros can increase cooperation within projects. They’re also co-hosts of the Construction Brothers Podcast, a show that delivers fresh ideas that industry professionals can use to improve their careers, projects, and people. 

As a construction company that provides modeling and detailing services, Eddie and Tyler often sit ‘down the chain’ in the projects they work on. This gives them a unique perspective on the interactions between stakeholders and how collaboration can be improved.

The topics we touched on include:

Ways to improve the bidding process Effective management styles Where subcontractors are empowered to improve collaboration Tips for successfully navigating contract disputes

“The thing that has gotten me out of the most trouble during my career whenever things get heated is going and talking with the other person; looking somebody in the eye is always helpful.” — Tyler Campbell

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3 Takeaways on Collaboration Best Practices in Construction

Here are three best practices that construction pro’s should consider implementing to ensure smooth communication and collaboration in their projects. 

1. Reduce barriers to accessing important information

Teams that lack easy access to key project info will struggle to articulate their needs due to a lack of confidence in next steps. With risk mitigation as a top priority in any construction project, confidence in decision-making is key. This is why owners should encourage and enable more transparency throughout a project. This is especially important during the design phase. When stakeholders have more visibility into design progress, they can provide meaningful input earlier in the process, which saves time and improves project outcomes.

“After having spoken with a group of owners recently, I think the number one thing that we need to work on as an industry is transparency. That’s one thing that owners desire, particularly in design,” says Eddie. 

To truly open up lines of communication, you need to instill a sense of trust and collaboration. Many construction professionals focus on protecting themselves first when getting into new projects. This needs to shift into a collaborative mindset if teams want more transparency. 

As Tyler puts it, “It’s the [self-first mindset] that has caused us to really have this brokenness in the industry that I see.”

“I feel like the trade aspect of things is that we’re pushing these designers and we’re giving them great tools. But the designers still don’t quite know how a building goes together in a lot of ways,” says Tyler. 

“I think a big push for us is saying, ‘Alright, let’s get passionate about preaching that this is how we build now.’ The only thing that will drive better design is a better understanding of how the systems work.”

What this boils down to that is teams and individuals should help designers and stakeholders understand what truly goes into constructing a building. This is the “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality, and it’s a good one.

2. Leadership should empathize with processes that aren’t working

Empathy and humility go a long way in collaboration. This is especially important when leading by example. By taking time to understand where other stakeholders are coming from, you’ll come up with better solutions on the same timeline, if not faster, and reduce the stress caused by lack of alignment. 

If a process isn’t working, for example, it’s on leaders to recognize and correct the course. 

“Being humble enough to change our processes is something that, I think, we’re going to continue to have to go through over the coming years as we find new ways of delivering projects under these demanding schedules,” says Eddie.

Regular check-ins can also help teams better understand each other and ultimately be more collaborative. In fact, initiating one-on-one conversations with stakeholders can be incredibly valuable. 

As Tyler puts it, “the best teams are the ones that do check-ins. They don’t need to be like, ‘Big meeting, big everything.’ Just pick up the phone and talk to somebody. Ask them how it’s going and what you can help them with. Let them know that you’re there when they need you. It’s not complicated, but slowing down to do that is sometimes pretty hard.”

3. Invite feedback from more people early in the process

Give more contributors a seat at the table. This doesn’t mean making everyone a key stakeholder. Rather, it’s about inviting contributions from others up and down the chain. Doing so will give you a more holistic understanding of what needs to be done.

Getting everyone on board early ensures that stakeholders have a clear idea of project scope, timelines, and deliverables. That group knowledge helps reduce miscommunication and delays down the road. 

“The best projects that I’ve gotten the chance to be a part of had project managers, senior project managers, superintendents that were seeking to understand the problems,” shares Eddie.

According to him, these projects were a refreshing experience because he and his team sit down the chain, and typically don’t get a seat at the table. 

Eddie continues, “Those have been the best experiences for me, where people are invited to the table, and then problems are solved, rather than fended off.”

His sentiment is clear. Whenever project teams invite feedback from more stakeholders, they tend to be more collaborative and effective in achieving their goals.

Listen to the full episode for more AEC insights

In addition to collaboration best practices, we explored other topics with Eddie and Tyler, including how to improve the bidding process and what management styles work best in construction projects. Check out the full episode on your favorite podcast platform. 

Apple PodcastsSpotifyStitcherGoogle Podcastsor wherever you listen to podcasts

 

The post Digital Builder Ep 17: 3 Key Takeaways on Collaboration Best Practices in Construction appeared first on Digital Builder.

The name behind countless successful electrical and mechanical infrastructure designs of building projects in Turkey and across the globe, Anel Group stands out with its expertise in BIM (Building Information Modeling). The organisation uses Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) collection including the Autodesk’s Construction Cloud platform. These include an integrated BIM toolkit, BIM 360 Field and Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro cloud services, with the aim to support Anel achieving their global goals that require high efficiency, remote collaboration and coordination capabilities.

Passion for implementing complex projects with an environmental approach

Anel Group’s journey began with the establishment of Anel Elektrik in 1986 by Electrical Engineer Rıdvan Çelikel. Established 35 years ago, the company is transforming into a 2,000 people strong group of companies that operates in the fields of panel production, electrical and electronic systems of ships, renewable energy, recycling and operational maintenance, as well as electrical and mechanical contracting.

Since its inception, the company has successfully delivered more than 200 projects spanning a total area of over 13 million square meters in 14 countries across three continents. In addition to its ongoing MEP operations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey and Azerbaijan, the company is also engaged in operational maintenance services, low voltage panel production, electric and electronic systems of ships (defence industry) and recycling.

Anel Group Tender and Procurement Director K. Serkan Kılıç, who is also an Electrical Engineer, said, “We are a team striving to deliver solutions for the world we dream of” and added: “A single structure has the power to make a big difference in the world: A bridge connecting two continents, an airport that makes the world feel a lot smaller than it is, a hospital that saves lives… We can list a myriad of examples from world history.”

Emphasising that the success of a building project depends on the ability of combining engineering skills from different disciplines in harmony, Kılıç said, “We leverage our engineering skills in designing the electrical and mechanical aspects of a building. We are passionate about realizing large-scale and complex projects in different regions of the world. With a view to contributing to an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world, we combine our engineering and technology capabilities with our strategic skills and take innovative initiatives.”

“We leverage our engineering power to create solutions and aim to use cutting-edge technologies that we could benefit from the most. Especially in a two-year retrospect, Autodesk AEC Collection and Autodesk Construction Cloud’s solutions have helped us immensely as we seized opportunities around the globe.” —Serkan Kılıç, Tender and Purchasing Director, Anel Group

Engineering strength powered by technology

Autodesk’s AEC Collection as well as their Construction Cloud forms the technology backbone that supports Anel Group’s engineering strength and strategic capabilities. This solution package, which includes an integrated BIM toolkit and is designed for the building industry, has also played a pivotal role in Anel Group’s international expansion efforts since 2016.

Anel Group BIM Manager and Mechanical Engineer Ümit Balaban has led the establishment of the BIM infrastructure and the introduction of BIM processes across Anel Group. He said, “The BIM processes need continuous improving to keep up with the ever-evolving technologies and engineering industry.” He is responsible for managing the compliance of the projects undertaken by the company with the BIM processes and provides support to all BIM managers assigned to the projects. He is also the founder of the BIMgenius Community, a not-for-profit made up of professionals who have come together to collaborate to support the digitalization of the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

The Anel Group team can manage electrical and mechanical projects via the AEC Collection in alignment with BIM processes, starting from the tender phase, all the way to the design implementation and delivery phases via the Autodesk Construction Cloud. Anel Group, which started using BIM 360 Field, BIM 360 Docs and made it its primary application following the increasing need for working remotely due to the pandemic, leverages the advantages of savings and efficiency of cloud services in field monitoring and management, documentation management, remote collaboration and coordination activities.

nel Group’s BIM Journey: Qatar Metro Red Line South Project

Pointing out that Anel Group had reached a significantly high level in terms of technology in the last five years, BIM Manager Ümit Balaban said, “The company’s progress in its ERP infrastructure, communication infrastructure and BIM infrastructure sets an example for digitalisation in its area of operation.”

Driven by global goals, Anel Group operates as an electrical and mechanical contracting company undertaking complex projects. Undertaking a BIM-managed metro project in Qatar in 2016, the company took action to create a structure that could support all projects under a BIM umbrella in the future. Senior management was aware of the importance of digitizing and implementing BIM processes in line with their goals.

“The approach we embraced to address this issue is a pioneering one within our area of operation,” said Ümit Balaban. “Our initial move was to create a BIM Commission that would include representatives from all departments. Thus, we were able to promote an awareness on BIM processes across the entire organization. At periodic meetings, we determined what we could improve in BIM processes and set our standards.”

“70% of the projects we take part in are managed with the BIM infrastructure and all of them are ongoing projects abroad. It was the efficiency boost and savings opportunities of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro and BIM 360 Docs that has enabled us to achieve this rate in the last two years.” —Ümit Balaban, BIM Manager/Mechanical Engineer, Anel Group

Ongoing progress with continuous improvements

The team responsible for the metro project in Qatar had BIM managers on board. Their feedback helped the commission further improve the processes.

Ümit Balaban said, “During the course of this project, we have developed solutions addressing several questions such as how to make cost estimates and measurements, how to transform existing legacy standards within models, how to align operation and maintenance activities with this new structure.”

In addition to the company that manages electrical and mechanical projects, Anel Doğa and Anel Marin are also Anel Group companies. Active since 2003, Anel Doğa was established as the first and only electronic waste recycling plant in Turkey. Anel Marin, on the other hand, has been providing a wide range of services to the shipbuilding industry, including concept and configuration design, equipment, project management and consultancy, manufacture of panels and control consoles, design and manufacture of special military systems, system testing and commissioning, maintenance-repair activities, since 2005. “The know-how and experience of these two companies enable us to broaden our horizon as well as improving our BIM processes,” added Ümit Balaban.

Piloting Autodesk BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Field for the metro project in Qatar

In addition to the numerous BIM-aligned projects that Anel Group has completed abroad, its ongoing projects include Amsterdam Schiphol Airport New Pier in the Netherlands, the University College London Hospital Proton Therapy Center in the UK, Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal Building and Dubai – I (Bluewaters) Terminal Building in the UAE, Semaisma Road and Infrastructure Work in Qatar, Lusail Katara Hotel and Lusail Plaza Towers projects.

BIM managers supervise each project and receive support from the head office in Istanbul. Ümit Balaban stated, “During the pandemic, when we could not visit the project locations, we started to transform our head office in Istanbul into a main design office. We started using Autodesk Construction Cloud’s BIM 360 Docs solution in 2019, and it has become our primary platform following the pandemic.”

The metro project launched in Qatar was considered a pilot. First, two tablet computers were purchased. They tested ways through which they could communicate with the field via BIM 360 Field & Glue mobile apps using tablets, monitor man/hour, and devise quality control lists from a small office located at one of the emergency exits on the metro line. Balaban also added, “With a very modest investment, we accumulated valuable know-how and experience even during the pilot phase.” 

Know-how and experience shift from being individual assets to being corporate value

“Our BIM approach and the use of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro enabled us to transform know-how and experience from being individual-centric to being corporate assets,” noted Balaban.

Now, it is possible to easily access to and align our activities with all BIM processes and standards thanks to the document management features on Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro. Even if any BIM manager leaves a project, the successors are quickly onboarded to continue working with the same standards. The BIM platform offers a structure that allows corporate memory creation as well as know-how and experience retention.

Contribution of BIM expertise to global business opportunities

As a publicly traded company, Anel Group differentiates itself from its competitors with its transparent structure. BIM processes can help companies with transparent management to achieve significantly successful results. The fact that coding and drawing standards serving global efficiency, such as equipment order codes, have been established within Anel Group, can be cited among the outcomes of transitioning to BIM processes.

Ümit Balaban said, “This is a perpetual process that is an absolute necessity for development. If a project necessitates BIM by design and you do not have your own corporate structure to accommodate it, you can only achieve partial success and will have to deal with low efficiency. Our expertise in this field positions us well to be commissioned by major Turkish and foreign contractors that have a good command of BIM processes.

70% of the projects we take part in are managed with the BIM infrastructure and all of them are ongoing projects abroad. It was the efficiency boost and savings opportunities of Autodesk’s BIM Collaborate that has enabled us to achieve this rate in the last two years.”

utodesk’s BIM Collaborate Pro for the future

Ümit Balaban said, “Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, which we have used since 2019, is our main application. Firstly, we used BIM 360 Build to track the progress of the field, then utilized the quality checklists. Afterwards, we switched to BIM Collaborate Pro to rid ourselves of the labor and cost burden of installing a Revit Server on-site. This move provided us with a great advantage in design budgets.”

Balaban also added, “This approach delivered significant benefits during the University College London Hospital Proton Therapy Centerproject in the UK. We ensured that the project was delivered with an asset model created,” and noted that the deliveries of the ongoing construction projects in Qatar would also be made with asset models.

Balaban said, “Thanks to the coding standards we introduced with BIM, we integrated this model, which was often overlooked by employers, leading to a costly outcome, into our processes. Seeing the cause-and-effect relationship in these projects first hand, we have achieved a highly significant level of company-wide adoption of the BIM processes.”

Productivity boost driven by collaboration and coordination

The document management features of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs further consolidates collaboration and coordination capabilities while also ensuring efficient use of teams.

Ümit Balaban said, “We used the Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro approach in nearly all the stages of our airport project in the Netherlands. We use the Review Process feature of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs very effectively. With the Review & Approval feature, you can track all the steps and tasks of a project on an individual basis. It ensures transparency in every step. Engineers, who used to only look at the survey of the sheets, have to look more carefully at the label within the sheets and the dimensions of the channels and really focus. User experience is really evolving. It is safe to say that this a true evolutionary process for the construction industry.”

With the integration of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro into the business intelligence platform PowerBI, it is also possible to turn the results into charts and present them to the top management.

Saving time, paper and labour costs

Anel Group ensured that sheet revision notes were recorded on Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro. Draftspeople began to read those notes through Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro and apply them. With the possibility to track the steps, which could not be monitored with the previous method, unnecessary repetitive work, unmeasurable loss of time, and the need for sheet printouts have been eliminated.

The field management features of BIM 360 Build have also delivered significant benefits. Ümit Balaban describes them with an example: “Depending on project locations, some construction projects may be halted due to weather conditions or the employer may ask us to proceed regardless of the conditions. In such cases, you or your subcontractor may need to charge a fee for extra costs. “

Since everything is recorded on BIM 360 Build, you can easily monitor whether the employer received a revised quote and whether the extra cost has actually been incurred. The result can be reached by looking at the number of workers in the field, weather conditions and other data. Being able to record the process in its entirety ensures transparency.”

This structure also allows for an accurate evaluation of the subcontractors. The company name, number of workers, total time and progress are all recorded with the document management feature of BIM 360 Field. With the integration of BIM 360 Field Management into the business intelligence platform PowerBI, it is also possible to turn the results into charts and present them to the top management. These charts also show which subcontractor would be the best to work with in the next stage.

Labour savings in the Quality Control process

Using BIM 360 Field Management also offers benefits for the quality control process. With the legacy methods, it would take 80-100 minutes to prepare an average quality checklist. BIM 360 Field Management saved us close to 50 minutes in each checklist. We owe this time saved to the fact that BIM 360 Field Management allows you to instantly add the relevant document while devising the checklist as the documents are also on the same platform. Similarly, it is possible to link the list to documents or to put dots on it and link them to the equipment.

Ümit Balaban said, “Considering that a project is completed with 2,000 to 5,000 checklists, we can achieve a significant level of man/hour savings. One of our current projects was completed with 3000 checklists, saving us a total of 800 man/hours. This is just the tip of the iceberg as it has only been a few months since we started using the checklist function of BIM 360 Field Management. Once we start using the material approval checklists, we expect to see a further increase in our savings. Especially when you have operations abroad like we do, it is possible to get the return on your initial investment within a very reasonable time and manage more projects with the same teams.”

ccelerated improvement process with Forge and Dynamo

Ümit Balaban pointed out that there were many experts both within Anel Group and among Autodesk users who coded using Dynamo and that they were always on the lookout for codes that could be useful for them.

He said, “For instance, one of our BIM managers in Qatar wrote a code on Dynamo that allowed for the scaffolding system of a 40-meter tunnel to be automatically placed according to the data received. It was a code that helped us to significantly reduce the man/hours and to streamline our work.”

Stating that they also had an application which was written on Dynamo and which they used for cost estimation and quantity surveying, Balaban said, “In line with the volumes indicated in the planning, we wrote a code for the location of the objects that corresponded to those volumes, and we determined the costs and quantities based on this code. We have also started using Autodesk’s cloud-based development platform Forge. We are using Forge to ensure that the data extracted from BIM 360 Docs is well integrated into the applications on our platform called ‘Digital Anel’ and smoothly communicates with PowerBI.”

Anel Group Tender and Purchasing Director K. Serkan Kılıç said, “We leverage our engineering power to create solutions and aim to use cutting-edge technologies that we could benefit from the most. Autodesk has always been a trusted companion. Especially in a two-year retrospect, Autodesk AEC Collection, BIM 360 Docs, BIM 360 Field and Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro cloud solutions have helped us immensely as we seized opportunities around the globe. These technologies provided us with the agility to quickly adapt to remote working conditions, enabling us to use our teams in the most effective way possible, boost our operational efficiency and drive our costs down.”

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Staying on top of construction resource management is an absolute must. With today’s increasingly complex projects and tighter-than-ever timelines you simply can’t afford to misallocate the resources you have at your disposal.

There’s also the issue of labor shortages in construction. Research by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk revealed that 80% of contractors are having difficulties finding qualified workers. As the industry continues to grapple with workforce challenges, you need to be smart about how you handle and assign labor resources.

This article will cover all that and more. 

We’ll dive into the ins and outs of construction resource management, plus discuss best practices and tools that can help you ensure that all your resources are allocated effectively and are put to good use. 

Let’s get started. 

What is Construction Resource Management?

Construction resource management is the practice of planning and managing the use of construction resources, to ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget. 

Typically done by construction managers or project managers, construction resource management involves many tasks, including the following.

Monitoring the amount of resources available — everything from time and workforce to equipment, materials, and facilities.Allocating and reallocating resources based on project needs and timelines.Tracking and optimizing the use of resources.

The goal of construction resource management is to maximize the utilization of resources and reduce waste, ultimately meeting the project’s objectives in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. 

Why Workforce Planning is Essential

Workforce planning — which is a key component of construction resource management — involves monitoring and allocating team members across projects. 

Effective workforce planning entails monitoring schedules, team bandwidth, and jobsite capacities. Managers need to balance all these components to ensure that each project is well-staffed and that team members aren’t over- or under-allocated. It also involves reviewing the company’s workforce resources and forecasting workforce needs, so the firm can recruit accordingly. 

Workforce planning is critical, particularly amidst issues like labor shortages. When you have limited workforce available, it’s even more important to keep a tight handle on your workforce. 

There’s also the matter of labor logistics. The world is starting to open back up and everyone is eager to put the pandemic behind us, but some of the issues brought about by COVID-19 will linger well into 2021. 

Some jobsites may continue to have limited capacity, so it’s essential to map out how teams are distributed in the field. Being mindful of capacity limits will keep construction sites safe and ultimately prevent any pandemic or health-related issues and delays. 

Benefits of Construction Resource Management

Now that you know the fundamentals of construction resource management, let’s discuss the benefits that you’ll gain from the practice. 

Lower Construction Costs

When you don’t have a handle on how much resources you need for your projects, you may end up allocating either too much or little to certain activities. This leads to double-work, wasted time, and delays — all of which add more costs to the project. For instance, the mismanagement of equipment or materials can result in excess spend that can be better used elsewhere. 

Proper construction resource management can prevent such issues from happening. When you’re closely tracking the use of resources and reallocating them based on the project’s needs, you can ensure that time and money are always well-spent. 

Higher Productivity

By implementing construction resource management, you can see to it that team members are assigned to the right place and they have what they need (i.e., equipment, materials, and supplies) to do their jobs well. 

As such, teams are able to be more productive. There’s less downtime or waiting around, plus they can do their best work because they have the necessary resources at the right time.

Increased Visibility into Your Resources

Construction resource management gives you better visibility into your resources. The practice involves closely monitoring resource utilization, so you always know what you have at any given time.

This, in turn, helps you make well-informed decisions on how to use and allocate construction resources. 

bility to Be More Agile and Adaptable

It’s not uncommon for projects to run into sudden changes. If you’re not prepared, you may end up with inadequate resources to cover unexpected needs. 

You can avoid these situations by implementing proper construction resource management. When you constantly stay on top of how your budget, workforce, equipment, and materials are used, it’s much easier to re-evaluate and reallocate resources to cope with unforeseen project changes.

Creating a Resource Management Plan

One of the first steps to effective construction resource management is mapping out a plan for how resources will be allocated and used. While the specifics of this process will vary depending on your teams and projects, here are some general steps and considerations to keep in mind when crafting your construction resource management plan.

Determine the project timeline and all activities associated with it. Iron out all the necessary details involved in the project. Itemize the tasks and activities that need to be completed and specify the deadlines for each milestone. 

Determine the resources you need and the right allocations. Use the information from the previous step to figure out the right resource allocations for the project. At this stage, you’ll need to calculate the amount of resources required, assign them to the appropriate activities and project phases, and indicate when you’ll need them.

One thing you could do at this stage is to tap into your experience as well industry standards and previous project data to figure out the best allocations. 

Secure the necessary approvals. The next step is to get approval for the resources that you’re planning to use. Coordinate with the necessary parties and decision makers and ensure that you have the authorization to use the resources at the appropriate time. Be sure to complete this step before the project kicks off. 

Optimize and retool your plan when necessary. Your construction resource plan shouldn’t be set in stone. Keep an eye on it, even when the project is underway and don’t be afraid to pivot or launch a plan B if unforeseen issues arise. 

Top Innovations for Construction Resource Planning

Construction resource management shouldn’t be done manually. Equip yourself and your team with construction technologies that streamline the process of planning and allocating resources. 

Consider the following.

BIM 360 Plan

BIM 360 Plan offers robust capabilities to help you view and monitor supply chain and jobsite resources. The software’s customizable project views enable you to see work plans in List, Ganntt, or Swimplane view, so whether you’re looking for an itemized list of resources and activities or prefer to get a high level view of the project, you can do so easily with BIM 360 Plan. 

Bridgit

Bridgit is a leading workforce intelligence solution for construction pros. An excellent tool for planning and allocating workforce resources, Bridgit makes it easy to view which project roles are unfilled, so you can plan accordingly. It also has detailed reporting that offers insights into workforce utilization and project pipelines, enabling you to plan for your workforce needs.

Triax

Construction sites have many moving parts—including workers, equipment, and other materials—that need monitoring. However, the dynamic and fast-paced nature of jobsites make it difficult to do so. Enter Triax’s IoT solution designed for rugged working environments, Spot-r Mesh provides real-time visibility into all the resources you have on site. It’s low power requirements and easily deployable hardware give you actionable insights into your workforce and equipment on the construction site, making it simple to know resource location, utilization, and more.

Kwant.ai

Need detailed insights into workforce activities? Kwant.ai has you covered. The solution uses AI and IoT to monitor worker location and activities, giving you powerful intel for planning and allocating workforce. With Kwant.ai, you can easily see how workers are spending their time, which then helps you identify inefficiencies or areas that need to be optimized.

SkillSmart

SkillSmart’s compliance reporting and tracking software has excellent data and analytics tools to help you plan and manage project resources. SkillSmart InSight not only lets you track labor and compliance, it also provides real-time reports that cover payroll, contractor wage rates, and supplier tracking, among others. 

LaborChart

Another useful tool for labor allocation, LaborChart has several features for managing your construction workforce. One particularly helpful tool is the software’s Labor Allocation feature, which gives you a visual representation of your labor pool based on projects, trades, regions, and more. 

Proper Construction Resource Management is a Must

You can’t complete projects without the right workers, equipment, and facilities, which is why it’s critical to plan and allocate your resources effectively. So, take the time to understand each project’s needs then figure out the right resource allocation. To make things easier, use technology to automate various tasks and generate the necessary reports. 

For more best practices on construction management and technology, subscribe to our blog and get regular tips, stories, and news delivered to your inbox!

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Fact: technology and app usage is growing in the construction industry. According to the 2020 JBKnowledge ConTech Report, 22% of respondents indicated using six or more construction apps, up from 20.1% in 2019.

While the abundance of apps in construction is certainly a sign of progress (particularly with some reports that the industry is lagging in digital transformation), having lots of tools can be both a blessing and a curse.

Having too many choices when it comes to what tech to use can get overwhelming. It’s not easy to figure out which solutions to adopt, especially amidst growing teams and increasingly complex workflows.

Then there’s the challenge of ensuring that your technology decisions align with your high level business strategy and goals.

Finding and implementing the best construction tech is a tall order, but it’s something that you can accomplish if you take the time to build your construction technology stack — which is exactly what we’ll tackle in this post. The paragraphs below will shed light on actionable and expert-backed insights that can help you come up with the perfect tech stack for your company.

What is a Tech Stack?

A tech stack is a collection of apps and digital tools that are all used to serve a particular business function.

For example, sales teams or organizations can have a tech stack to facilitate the sales process. Teams could have an app for prospecting, another app for setting appointments, and a tool for tracking deals in the pipeline.

The same thing applies to construction professionals. There are apps that aid multiple components of a project, whether it’s design, estimating, building, or closing.

In some cases, the different tools in a tech stack can work together automatically (i.e. they’re integrated with each other or they’re all part of the same platform). Other times, apps are used in isolation and function as point solutions that simply address a specific area or need. 

In today’s landscape, the former is infinitely better than the latter. Apps that are tightly integrated make data exchange between solutions much more seamless, allowing them to be interoperable.

This brings us to our next point…

What is Interoperability and Why Does It Matter?

Interoperability is the ability of computer programs to exchange information with each other. Interoperability is essential to a successful construction technology stack, because it makes it easier for you to access data and insights — so you can then put them to good use.

When you’re using a variety of construction applications, getting them to seamlessly integrate and share information will help you gain a better understanding of your projects, which leads to well-informed decisions.

Interoperability within construction apps also helps teams be more efficient. Nathan Wood, Chief Enabling Officer at SpectrumAEC, said it best

“Interoperability means the ability for different project delivery stakeholders to effectively communicate and streamline information flow between one another, which is essential in the digital age of construction. Data insights will be hard to come by if you don’t first solve the interoperability dilemma. It’s about bearing down and investing the time necessary to build common language and optimize workflow, allowing teams to break down data silos and build them back better with the appropriate integrations and security protocols.”

How to Build Your Construction Tech Stack

Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of technology stacks and why interoperability is important, let’s look at the steps you should take to successfully build a construction tech stack that works for you.

Create Your Strategy

The most important business decisions start at the top. Implementing technology throughout a company will be an uphill battle without 100% buy-in from the firm’s leaders.

As such, the company’s leadership team must be aligned behind a common goal and everyone should understand how technology can help the firm execute on its objectives. 

What’s the role of tech in the overall business strategy? How much should be spent on the business’ tech stack and what’s the expected ROI? When those at the top have clear answers to these questions, it’s much easier to communicate and empower the rest of the organization to find and implement solutions.

Have the Right Team and Processes in Place

The term “people, process, and technology” is popular in the business world for a good reason: these three components must be closely linked to successfully execute in today’s modern environment.

Even the most powerful technology solutions will fall short without the right teams and processes. 

So, consider having a dedicated team to oversee your technology strategy. 

The construction firm Kraus-Anderson, for instance, set up the Business Technology Investment Committee (BTIC), a group that includes the company’s President, Head of IT, Head of Finance, EVP of Operations, General Council and President of Realty. 

According to Tony Peleska, Kraus-Anderson’s VP and Head of Information Technology and Digital Transformation, the BTIC created a process “to review and monitor decision points for success.”

This process, says Tony, includes steps like conducting technology requests and self-assessments, developing a business case for the technology, and creating a comprehensive IT project plan.

This process allows the teams at Kraus-Anderson to not only evaluate and implement technology in the company, it also helps them track the technology’s performance and measure ROI. 

See if you could adopt similar practices in your organization by assigning a team to oversee your tech stack and developing processes for technology requests and implementation.

Build the Right Foundation

The best way to achieve interoperability within your tech stack is to have various tools integrated with a connected construction platform

Think of a connected construction platform as the foundation on which your tools, teams, and workflows can function. It connects all these components together and provides a common data environment, so information flows smoothly across the entire project lifecycle. 

With a connected construction platform, people, processes, and technologies can stay aligned at all times, paving the way for higher levels of efficiency, smarter decisions, and ultimately better project results. 

Identify Gaps and Needed Workflows

When deciding on what to include in your tech stack, it helps to identify gaps and redundancies that you can address with technology. 

Start by listing out all the tools and processes that you’re using. From there, you’ll be able to surface gaps by finding the parts of your processes where tools don’t connect. For example, if there’s a step where you need to manually enter data from one app to the next, then you know that there’s an integration gap between the two solutions. 

You may also find redundancies — instances where two apps are essentially accomplishing the same thing or are requiring you to complete unnecessary actions or tasks. For example, you could be sharing and storing duplicate documents in several places without a clear connection, when it’s more efficient to just have a single source of truth. 

Look for Open APIs and Fine-Tune Integrations

At this stage, you may already have a platform in place. Pieces of your tech stack have started to come together, but you likely still rely on other niche applications to fill in the gaps. 

When looking for components to add to your technology stack, set your sights on applications with open APIs or existing integrations with your current solutions. This will make it easier to connect the various software that you’re using, so you can get the most out of them.

As mentioned earlier, softwareintegrations pave the way for data to automatically flow across your entire tech stack. This eliminates the need for manual entry, which reduces errors and data loss. 

Bringing It All Together

As the construction industry continues to evolve and transform, having a solid tech stack will help you keep up and remain competitive. 

To accomplish this, you need to start with a compelling high-level strategy and get buy-in from your organization’s leaders. It’s also helpful to have dedicated teams and processes around technology implementation. 

Finally, it’s important to choose solutions that can function in a common data environment, so that your data, workflows, and teams can stay connected. 

By taking these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating a technology stack that serves your organization for years to come. 

 

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