| Online Technologies Make Saving Money Easier Than Ever |
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| Written by Tooey Courtemanche | |
| Tuesday, 24 July 2007 | |
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E-mail: More than Words Call me harsh, but if your clients use e-mail, your project team should, too-yes, even the ones who swore they never would. Expense is no excuse-e-mail is free on sites such as Yahoo and Google. When all of your team members are on e-mail, consider an online construction project management tool that can integrate with any e-mail system, such as Outlook and AOL and any mobile interface such as Blackberry. The easier an application is to use, the more inclined your people will be to use it and the more successful the results will be. Here's a tip: Avoid buying a tool that makes your team use a "new" e-mail system in addition to the one they've already got. If you make your users add complexity to their jobs (like having to use a whole new e-mail system just for your projects), you'll probably face resistance from new users. People want simplicity, not more complications. Prove It Let's suppose the contractor is at the project site with the client who says, "Let's go with an oak stain for the dining room." If the contractor simply says, "Okay," without documenting the request, he makes himself vulnerable to being told at some later date, "I never said I wanted an oak stain." But if the contractor sends the client an e-mail summary of their discussion, the potential for future disagreement is reduced significantly. One of the great advantages of a team that uses e-mail to communicate is that everything can be easily noted-and if you've ever been on the "gotcha" end of litigation, you know how important it is to record every communication. But just having e-mail is not the solution. If you already use e-mail, you know the frustration of trying to go back and find that one critical e-mail. Make sure that the project management technology you select can organize and search all communications that come through the system. In our floor stain example, the contractor would simply search the project communications using the term "Flooring," and instantly would see all the e-mails in the project's history related to flooring. Being able to quickly search communications not only saves time but provides built-in accountability. If you need to be able to prove who said what when, your construction management application should be capable of instantly providing the backup documentation. Location, Location, Location All too often, large amounts of time are wasted chasing down documents or lugging them physically from one location to another, increasing the risk of loss. Today's online project management applications provide online archive services and plan rooms that enable everyone on the project team to access any and all project documents. With archived documents and images, you no longer have to be the "keeper of the information." Your team is less dependent on you, your time is freed up and they get the data they need faster. It's a win-win situation. Don't Waste My Time Another costly time-waster is unanswered Requests for Information. These stalled communications can add weeks to any project. The most effective way to slash these costs is by using one of the new hosted construction project management tools that use e-mail to automatically number, organize and distribute RFIs to project team members. Whenever an RFI is overdue, automatic e-mail reminders continue until the person holding the information responds-enabling the project to continue on schedule. RFIs can be created by any team member and assigned to any team member, a democratic system that empowers more team members to ask for-and get-the information they need directly from the source. Before You Buy As is true of any technology, it's always best to try it before you buy it. Many web-based construction project management applications offer free trials. During your free trial, ask yourself:
If you decide to purchase a product, ask if the company offers money-back guarantees: don't get stuck paying for something that isn't working for you. The right web-based construction management tool will help you and your project team operate more efficiently, confidently and cost-effectively. Once you've found the right technology, you'll find that it will become one of your most vital tools. Just like a tape measure, you won't even consider doing a job without it. More Tips to Consider When Shopping for Project Management Applications:
Tooey Courtemanche is CEO of Santa Barbara, CA-based Procore Technologies. Inc. Courtemanche can be reached by phone at 1.866.4.PROCORE or visit www.procore.com. Comments (0)
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