As a general contractor a few years ago, I was working on a tenant improvement project. One day I remember starting the demo on a wall. We took off the drywall and found out that there were all kinds of wires and pipes running through it. These did not show up on the drawings. So, I took some photos, wrote an RFI attached the photos to the document and sent it to the architect noting its urgent status. Then I waited, not knowing if he had even received the RFI. So, I called and left a voice message – and waited some more. Eventually I received a response to the RFI, but not without losing time sending and following up on the RFI.

While we don’t always encounter projects that require significant mid-stream alterations, there are nearly always questions, that must be submitted tracked, resolved and ultimately, if everyone agrees, incorporated into the project. And because of the environment we work in, there are procedures to be followed, communication channels to be adhered to and process that has to happen to keep things legal and everyone properly informed. In addition to the initial question, there is usually additional correspondence, drawings, sketches, submittals, email discussions, sub and vendor input, design team input, owner input, pricing and other information, which, can be quite a pile of “stuff” to keep track of. All of these items, whether in an RFI, ASI, or other communication create an issue.

Some issues are easier to resolve than others, but for the ones that are more complex, or involve multiple disciplines or take a while to resolve, it’s important to have an easy way to check on status. A lot of contractors track these issues in an Excel spreadsheet, which is great, but takes time and energy to keep current. Do you have a quick way of finding all of your outstanding issues? Do you have a process for organizing, storing and attaching all supporting documentation for an issue?

Some, if not most issues revolve around document management and project team communication. Without good document management, you may lose emails, plans, sketches, and correspondence related to the issue. Obviously, this can result in costly errors. In an ideal world, you should be able to search for an issue and see all of the supporting documents for that issue, without having to do multiple searches through files, folders and emails. What happens if one sketch or specification change affects multiple issues? How do you track that and how do you make sure that all issues have current information? Lots of questions about a difficult area.

Do you have any tips or tricks for tracking issues? Let me know what your method is by commenting below.

www.dexterchaney.com

I mentioned last week that I was busy preparing for the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas. Well, I’m now in Vegas, and as some of you may already know, Dexter + Chaney has a new product line! I don’t usually discuss Dexter + Chaney’s products, but I am too excited after the many months of hard work and interviewing industry experts not to introduce Venture Project Collaboration Software. So bear with me while I crow a bit about our new addition!

Venture Basics

Venture is web-based project collaboration software built around the needs of construction project teams, not individuals. Most of the construction operations software available today is designed for individual use and focused one specific function. Venture is designed for the entire project team and provides tools that help folks work together throughout the entire lifecycle of a project. Venture tools are built to give contractors visibility and control over three key areas of construction operations:

• Documentation
• People
• Communication

Document Management

It’s no secret that documents play a vital role in the construction process from beginning to end. But all of those documents and versions of documents are difficult to keep track of, not to mention expensive to print and distribute. Venture allows users to control document distribution, usage, and versioning from within one application.

Build the Best Team

When I played basketball, my coaches routinely told us “There’s no ‘i’ in team.” Similarly, construction projects aren’t completed by individuals. From start to finish, it takes a team working together to complete a job. Venture helps you manage your contacts using construction specific criteria, invite potential partners to bid on work, and even prequalify subcontractors, so you create the best team for the job.

Project Communication

I remember the amount of time I used to spend as a general contractor following up on project notifications and issues. Venture connects project participants inside and outside your company with the latest project information. When you send a notification, you can see who has opened and responded to it. With the ability to access information from anywhere, at any time, and track responses to notifications, your project teams will be able to communicate more efficiently on projects, saving time and money.

So now that I’ve done a little bragging, I’d like to know what you think. Please let me know your thoughts on Venture by commenting below.

You know the old adage that you have to spend money to make money. Nowhere is that more true than the construction industry. Without spending money bidding projects, you can’t get jobs to make money building them. A few years ago, the ramp-up to a new construction season was an exciting time of year. Not so these days. With more people bidding on fewer jobs, the market is much more competitive. Perhaps the toughest part, though, is that even if you bid a job and don’t win, you still incur costs to compete. While many of these costs are easy to identify, some are not, so just what are some things that keep bidding costs up?

Document Management

With the current levels of detail required by industry standards, code compliance and also by the different disciplines, the number of documents required for a project is huge. Obviously to bid a job, you have to access the documents, which can be costly to say the least when you consider the costs of plan room memberships and purchasing and printing documents. Keeping track of what’s current in that huge set of documents and making sure others on your team are using current documents are critical. It can also be very time consuming and expensive.

Team Prequalification

I was in a conference room full of general contractors a couple of years ago, and the presenter asked, “How many of you prequalify your subcontractors?” I was surprised at how few hands were raised. In today’s market, knowing the companies you work with is essential. Do they have the financial resources to complete a job; is their insurance up-to-date; how does their safety record look; what do their references say about their recent work; what experience do others in my company have with them?

Now more than ever prequalification should play an important role in deciding who gets to play on your team. With so many businesses struggling just to keep the doors open, you never know if a team member is going to make it through a project, or if they need a project just to keep the doors open. While it’s simpler (and cheaper) to bypass prequalifying your team members, not doing so could result in your team falling apart in the middle of a job when the pressure to perform is high.

Administrative & Communication Costs

While documentation management and team member prequalification may seem fairly obvious sources of added costs and risks, administrative costs may not seem so obvious. When I was a general contractor, I sent out invitations to bid, but the communication didn’t end there. Every time the plans or specifications changed, I needed to make sure the subs I invited knew about the changes and were using the current documents to prepare their bid. Back in those days, communicating this information required a phone call or a fax followed-up with another phone call. At other times, I wasn’t sure if I had enough subs bidding in order to get competitive numbers for my own bid. So, as bid day approached, I got on the phone and fax machine again to make sure that I didn’t need to invite more subcontractors to bid. No matter who did the calling or faxing, the time spent used up valuable resources, and was very expensive.

Reduce Bidding Costs

Although there is no silver bullet to reduce bidding costs, or even finding more jobs to bid, you can do a few things to limit your bid preparation costs. First, bid on jobs you have the best chance of winning. While a large job is ideal, if you know you can’t compete, bidding is like throwing money out the window. When do you bid, streamline communications so that it’s easy to notify and check on bidding subcontractors and vendors. Use a system to manage the documents you and your subs use to prepare bids. What are your biggest sources of bidding costs?

www.dexterchaney.com

The end of December didn’t just bring about New Year’s resolutions – it brought the end of the yearly accounting cycle. Needless to say, most accounting departments are rather busy right now. While talking to some other accountants, I was surprised to learn how many people still don’t file electronically.

Whether you have a simple accounting application, or a specialized construction accounting system, you should be able to file your taxes and payroll information electronically. Not only will this save you time, you’ll reduce the chances of making a mistake that could cost you later in the way of penalties and fines.

Electronic filing shouldn’t just be limited to your taxes, though. Keeping documents as electronic files reduces paper waste and clutter in your office because you can get rid of the filing cabinets. Electronic filing also gives you the ability to search with simple keyword terms, so you can find documents faster. Are you doing any of the following electronically?

• Archiving documents
• Filing payroll taxes
• Filing W2 forms
• Managing 401Ks

If the answer was no to any one of these, you have an opportunity to make your accounting office operations much easier. So my suggestion as you go through year end is stop and think of how you’re doing things currently, and investigate some tools and practices that will improve your processes. Be sure to make your accounting software work for you, and while you’re at it, reduce the time and resources you and your staff spend filing.

www.dexterchaney.com

When selecting new construction software, determining your company’s needs is vital. A common approach is to create the required features “shopping list.” Unfortunately, your features may not translate into a specific software solution. For example, you might require project management, but if you do a quick search, you’ll find there are numerous project management solutions that range from simple to complex. Although every company has their own set of business needs, the following are a few things to look for when evaluating construction software vendors.

Job Cost & Cash Flow

In my post about determining when you need construction software, I mentioned that controlling project costs is a key reason to purchase new software. So it makes sense that any software you consider should offer comprehensive job cost and cash flow solutions. Rather than looking in the review mirror after a job is complete and realizing you’re over budget, make sure you have the ability to import estimates, manage change orders, report on committed costs, and allow your employees in the field remote access.

Reporting

I’ve often heard of software acting like a black box – data goes in, information comes out, but you’re limited to what the black box can produce. Your construction software should not be a black box. Rather it should work the way you and your employees need it to work. Look for software that lets you “get inside the box” and report on information the way you want it, in the format you need it.

Integrated Document Management

For most companies, paper is still a big part of our day to day work. To help you manage your paper, look for systems with document imaging and management that go beyond “scan and store” capabilities. You should be able to search the text of the documents, not just the file names. The application should also integrate with other applications, allowing you to associate documents with your AP, AR, payroll, HR, etc. If you’ve ever spent more than a few minutes searching for approved change orders or time cards, you’ll quickly realize the advantages of this type of system.

While these things are important, there are many more that you will most likely need to consider when deciding on the right application for your business. And despite my comment at the beginning, there’s nothing wrong with making that feature-based shopping list. Just don’t neglect the fundamentals when you go shopping.

How do you approach software and technology purchases in your company?

Another week has gone by, and while my jet-pack didn’t show up, the Seattle rain did. We are officially in fall, so grab some hot chocolate and let’s discuss why, despite available document imaging technology, people still use paper.

Last week, I discussed that part of the problem with going paperless is access. People want to have access at any given time to all of their documents. To do so, they carry, file, and pile lots of paper. Unfortunately, because of all this paper, not only do we get bogged down as workers, processes become bogged down as well. If you make multiple copies of every invoice coming into your office, you know what I’m referring to.

No instructions required

There’s a second piece to this puzzle that I’ve left out so far: usability. Let’s face it, paper is easy to use. You may get paper cuts while filing, but you don’t have to learn new software or filing systems. In this fast paced world, no one has an extra week, or even much more than a few days to learn new systems. What’s the conclusion? In order to get past the rooms of filing cabinets and stacks of paper taking over desks, we need software that is accessible anywhere and that doesn’t require the user to read a 500 page manual.

Usability leads to use

Many people today own a smart phone or tablet device. I happen to have an iPad, which came with essentially no instructions. However, after taking it out of the box, I knew to charge my iPad and then download necessary business-related applications (after downloading Angry Birds, of course). There aren’t a lot of applications or devices out there that can tout this kind of usability, but it’s what makes the iPad successful as a device.

Software must be simple

With the vast amounts of information we have flying around us, the last thing we need is something to make our lives more complex. I’ve heard arguments that business software, particularly construction software, is too complex, and robust reporting features can’t be simplified. If these developers continue to believe this, they will fail. The technologies that are being adopted today aren’t difficult to use. Engineers and software developers like me are challenged to develop the next wave of technology that doesn’t make everyday tasks more convoluted. We have to put a premium on easy in order to succeed.

Does complexity keep you away from new technology? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.