Published on:
March 21, 2023
Establishing an efficient project management operations is important to every construction manager, especially since a single lapse can badly hurt their timeline and budget. However, juggling so many tasks and responsibilities, it can be truly challenging for construction management professionals to manage everything effectively. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of project management software is that is available in the market that can help streamline project tracking.
However, a lot of them are not necessarily designed to cater to managing construction projects, that’s why we’re enumerating the top 8 solutions construction managers (either a developer-owner’s in-house team or a 3rd-party consultant) should look for in a project management software to mitigate risks and protect their reputation effectively.
Construction management professionals often mistake project management software with a task management software (like Trello or Wrike) or a schedule management software (like MS Project). For us, a project management software does include some form of a task list or a GANTT chart – but as your will see below, there are a lot more features and modules needed in a project management software that will work best for construction.
Inspection is a critical component of project management. Not only do inspections help in closing out activities so workers can move on to the next set of tasks, it also contributes to the overall quality of the output. A project management software needs to have a mobile-based inspection solution to help construction managers streamline the process and ensure high-quality work from contractors and subcontractors. The solution should allow you to schedule inspections once a work is done, create inspection checklists, and monitor defect resolutions – all on a mobile phone or a tablet so inspectors can use it at the job site. It should also later on provide other project participants to closely monitor the status of inspections in order to plan resources for the next milestone/set of tasks better.
Punch listing is another essential component of project management. Others attribute punch listing as a quality management solution, but at Steer, we believe that it should be a standard module in a project management software because – like inspection management – it is a critical activity in the latter part of any construction project. It should also be available via a mobile app so team members can easily log issues for rework on-site. The software should allow them to tag snags/issues on design plans, take photos of issues on-site, categorize snags, and identify causes of snags by type of project & correlate snags with subcontractor and compare with benchmarks. This makes the punch listing process faster, without compromising thoroughness. Ultimately, the overall statistics regarding snags (and their resolution) should be easily tracked by project partipants over a mobile/tablet app or laptop.
Change orders are inevitable in construction projects and should be handled efficiently and monitored tightly because these can lead to significant delays and cost overages that are actually avoidable. You should get your hands on a software that streamlines approval of change orders so that you have clarity on their impact on project timelines and budgets. This should allow you to easily request change orders, estimate the impact on cost, schedule, and compliance, approve change orders, and see updates on plans and BOQ.
Another solution you should look for is one that lets you have close design coordination between you and your contractors to prevent the dreaded rework. A Request for Information (RFI) Management solution is an essential component of a project management suite that should enable you to streamline clarifications between contractors and designers, annotate directly on designs, have version controls, and access to a BIM viewer with tree-view layers – all on either team member’s smart phone/tablet or laptop. Not only will an RFI Management solution speed up the coordination between project participants, it also helps in minimizing rework, which is one of the biggest drivers in cost overages and delays.
Requests for Approval (RFA) is another critical process in construction projects, as they enable stakeholders to align on any changes or approvals necessary to advance the project. Having an RFA solution can streamline this process, resulting in timely approval, particularly for time-sensitive activities such as procurement. Additionally, this provides visibility and an auditable history of all requests, as every RFA will be well-documented and tracked.
A software that offers an RFA module enables Project Managers and owners to expedite approvals, allowing them to view and approve requests anytime, anywhere. By leveraging a software that digitizes the RFA process, construction projects can be completed more efficiently and effectively, with greater transparency and accountability.
Another solution worth considering is Compliance Checklists. This tool provides a means of ensuring that documentary requirements and quality and safety standards are met. The module allows for the tracking of every document review and history, as well as the inspection process via checklists. Additionally, the module may provide charts to enable monitoring of status updates.
Quality and safety are critical aspects of any construction project, and a project management software that includes quality and safety solutions is worth purchasing. This solution provides real-time quality & safety inspection results on your mobile phone, tablet, or laptop and can help you address issues in a timely manner to mitigate risks. While some professionals might consider safety management as a separate area, resolving safety issues goes into the list of deliverables (and therefore can affect project progress). Therefore we think it should be integrated well with the planning of resources (workers, equipment, and materials) and the corresponding activites to address safety issues.
Finally, it is recommended to have a Site Instructions & Submittals module in your next project management software, as it ensures that all instructions are documented. A general contractor typically issues a site instruction, which is a formal document with directives to other contractors or subcontractors that are outside the scope of the original contract. Site instructions cover items such as expansion of subscontractors’ scope of work, purchasing or testing of new material, addressing a defect, or rework. It’s different from a change order mentioned earlier, but we’ll unpack that in a different article. This module provides a centralized location for all site instructions and submittals, making it fast and easy for participants to review and provide feedback when required. Having a Site Instructions & Submittals module can improve speed and clarity of communication among project participants, ultimately enhancing the coordination efficiency and better quality of construction projects.
Managing construction projects is a challenging task that requires careful planning, coordination, and execution. Fortunately, Steer’s Project Management Solution has all these top modules and can help Construction Managers manage project risks and protect their reputation.
With Steer, you can streamline your management processes, reduce risks, and ensure project success. Whether you need to manage inspections, punch lists, RFIs and RFAs, quality and safety, change orders, design coordination, site instructions & submittals, or regulatory compliance, Steer has you covered. So, if you're looking for a comprehensive project management software solution, Steer's Project Management Suite. Read more about it HERE.
