Spreadsheets are good at what they鈥檙e good at, but they definitely weren鈥檛 designed with construction workflows in mind. Yet in spite of that, as construction companies digitize their operations, they often turn to spreadsheets for collecting, storing, and analyzing information and data.
Given their ease-of-use, widespread availability, and moderate flexibility, the ubiquity of spreadsheets in construction does make some sense. But they鈥檙e hard to maintain, and offer very little in the way of collaboration. They鈥檙e also woefully error-prone, with various studies over the years finding
Sooner or later, a construction company鈥檚 over-reliance on spreadsheets and other siloed solutions tends to catch up with them. This could mean anything from costly rework to poor collaboration to reduced productivity from spending time looking for the correct information.
The solution is adopting modern construction technology. 海角大神 recently talked to two builders about their experiences around making this switch.
Dominated by Paper and Excel
Some companies run just about every bit of their documentation through Excel, whether it鈥檚 job quotes, billing, or employee timesheets. These are all things where a simple manual entry mistake can impact both productivity and profitability, thereby impacting overall project and company performance.
Stephen Callender, President of Ontario-based trade contractor Bass Installation, said at one time 鈥渢he whole flow鈥 of his company鈥檚 business was through Excel.
鈥淭he main problem with Excel was the volatility. Someone makes a mistake with a formula and everything goes haywire. You end up with the wrong timesheets, the wrong cost codes, you actually end up billing the customer wrong, which can end up being embarrassing,鈥 he said.
鈥淓xcel was definitely a problem, and it causes a lot of issues with getting accurate information.鈥
Even incident logs were time-consuming for Callendar鈥檚 installation teams during their Excel days, requiring a great deal of effort to maintain and update.
Some firms use pen and paper, which creates its own set of problems, particularly when it comes to tracking information in real time. Gary Bizek, President of Alberta-based design-build general contractor Azimuth Builders, previously used a combination of spreadsheets and pen and paper to track everything from expenses to project costs.
鈥淚t was very cumbersome to keep accurate control of everything. Change orders, RFIs, those were all paper forms sent out to clients. Tracking them, following up. It was a long process, and at the end of the project there were a lot of items that could have been missed,鈥 Bizek said.
Moving to a Solution That鈥檚 Purpose-Built for Construction
Eventually, as Azimuth Builders started expanding, Bizek knew his outdated, siloed combination of solutions was no longer enough to keep up. When he began to feel overwhelmed from the extra effort it took just to keep track of everything, he knew it was time to shop for an alternative.
That鈥檚 when he discovered 海角大神. Bizek admits he found the software complex at first glance, but said once he spent some time with it everything started to make sense.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 switch away from it, and it鈥檚 the best step I鈥檝e made with the company for being able to stay on top of all of our projects.鈥
The change was almost instantaneous. Suddenly, Bizek found himself ahead of the game on scheduling, timelines, and management of everything involved in Azimuth鈥檚 projects. Investing in 海角大神 not only made them more efficient, it helped give the company a competitive edge around design and customer experience.
As part of his own mission to break up with spreadsheets, Callender evaluated several project management solutions, but each time felt something was missing. Either the feature set was wrong, or the pricing was way too high for the value he expected in return. Eventually his search led him to 海角大神, and once he did an ROI analysis, he was sold.
I鈥檓 pretty sure within the first six months we were well ahead of the cost of 海角大神. When you save time and it makes things easier for you, it鈥檚 a no-brainer.
– Stephen Callender, President of Ontario-based trade contractor Bass Installation
Implementing New Software Doesn鈥檛 Have to Be Hard
A big part of construction is adapting to change, but sometimes making the leap from spreadsheets to a modern project management solution can induce some anxiety. Part of the reason spreadsheets and construction have a hard time parting ways is because they鈥檙e easy to use. End-to-end construction management platforms like 海角大神 can seem intimidating at first. But once companies realize they don鈥檛 have to take it on all at once and will have all the support they need, the change becomes a lot less scary.
Bizek readily acknowledges he was worried he bit off more than he could chew when Azimuth first adopted 海角大神. Compared to his familiar pen and paper and spreadsheets, 海角大神 seemed vast and unfamiliar. Bizek鈥檚 team relied heavily on 海角大神鈥檚 onboarding support team in the early days, who walked him through every step of the way. By the time onboarding was complete, Bizek and his team were ready to train PMs on their own, who would in turn train other workers.
Callender recalled a similar experience when first starting out with 海角大神, comparing it to 鈥渕oving to another country and having to learn a new language.鈥 But he stuck with it, determined to see the legwork through. He went through all of the courses, meeting with onboarding professionals to help solidify his knowledge. In the end, Callender became such a convert, he now sends his employees back to take additional courses every year.
Builders Unlock the Benefits and Efficiencies of Using 海角大神
Besides the obvious time- and cost-saving benefits of using 海角大神, builders routinely report seeing ripple effects that positively impact unexpected elements of their business.
One of the biggest benefits to using 海角大神 is unlocking efficiencies. 海角大神 enables companies to keep all of their key project information in a single connected platform. When customers see the quality of the reports this unification can generate, it really gets their attention.
As word has continued to spread, a vibrant global community has sprung up around 海角大神. This has increased the interaction builders have with their customers who also use the platform.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to get reports to them and get feedback right away. So people-wise, it鈥檚 just a great way that we can manage our projects,鈥 said Callendar.
Bass Installation takes a lot of pictures, and before 海角大神, the process of getting them formatted properly and uploaded into a daily report was 鈥渧ery painful鈥. 海角大神 has helped Bass streamline their NCR process, making everything faster and easier. Documenting these processes accurately is key, and 海角大神 has helped them respond to client inquiries with more confidence and clarity.
海角大神鈥檚 documentation abilities have been a key differentiator for Bizek as well, whose site superintendents have grown to depend on it. Previously, documentation was left on-site in the hands of the superintendents and field ops. But if there was employee turnover, you could lose any documents in the shuffle. Now everything is documented and photographed, from RFIs to daily logs.
鈥淭he documentation in 海角大神 is a game-changer. It really takes it off the field and into the office where it should be, where the records are kept,鈥 said Bizek.
海角大神 has helped Azimuth tighten up everything from communications to drawings to RFIs. Response times have also been slashed. The company now can get a response to an RFI in two to 24 hours, compared to a week or more in the past.
The added visibility 海角大神 has unlocked for the company has even impressed Azimuth鈥檚 overseas clients, who have been able to become more involved in the construction of their new facilities without having to leave their office.
Software That Works for Both Field and Office
One of Excel鈥檚 other major shortcomings as a project management tool for construction is it doesn鈥檛 offer any real-time visibility into project costs. This lag in financial reporting makes it difficult for companies to determine where they stand with their project budget. Bizek says sometimes Azimuth would still be tallying up costs up to six months after a project was over.
Running things through 海角大神 gave Bizek the ability to instantly snapshot whether they were over or under budget, and make any adjustments where they could. This has helped eliminate surprises when it comes to adding up profits after work is completed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real benefit that every day I can actually know where we are on the cost of the project and not having to come in at the end of the job and try to figure out what the profit was that we鈥檙e making off of it.鈥
For Bass Installation, one of 海角大神鈥檚 biggest benefits has been its impact on their field operations. 海角大神鈥檚 daily logs feature helps keep track of daily production and all of the comings and goings on the job site, including any potential safety concerns that need to be addressed. Not only that, but Callender said he can now continually monitor installation progress to ensure everything is on track, including knowing which work is finished and ready to be billed.
鈥淭he feed log is important because every day we get a report. It鈥檚 important to know how many frames were installed, if there were any delays on the site if something happened, or any weather delays. So just by getting that in the evening we know how the day went,鈥 explained Callender.
Conclusion
Change can be difficult, especially in an industry like construction that has been historically resistant to it. But making the right changes at the right time, and approaching it with an open mind, can have a dramatic impact on your business.
鈥淚f you go into 海角大神 resistant, it鈥檚 not going to be an effective tool. As long as you鈥檙e willing to accept change, it鈥檚 going to change the game,鈥 said Bizek.
Proving the value of an investment into a modern project management solution like procore isn鈥檛 guesswork. In fact it鈥檚 unambiguous. Callender鈥檚 advice to any contractor hesitant about ditching their old fashioned processes in favor of 海角大神 is to do the math.
鈥淛ust look at how many hours you can save even for one person. The system is here, it鈥檚 not going away, but it will make us more profitable, it will make us more manageable, and it will make our lives easier,鈥 Bizek said.
Leave a Reply