Is Construction Planning Software Right for You?
It’s no secret that construction projects are becoming increasingly complex with a higher degree of specialization. This results in an increased need for robust automation, collaboration, and real-time reporting.
Is construction planning software right for you? It can help your company increase efficiency by reducing risk, error, wasted time, and materials. It can also increase the visibility of teams, keep processes lean and simplified and help you achieve greater success on a regular basis.
Here are a few things to look for as you make your decision. For more tips, you can download our Construction Planning Software Buyer’s Guide.
What to Look for in a Software Solution
Easy-to-Use Interface
Bells and whistles are great on some things, but the construction industry has a low tolerance for software that’s hard to use or doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. Field crews and trades need software that’s easy to use. Looks for a solution that has a low learning curve and one that offers customer education and support.
Robust Reporting Features
Reports, dashboards, and visualizations are critical in the successful planning of complex projects. The right solution will provide tools that make it easy to identify variance reasons, manage crew sizes, provide weekly look-aheads, and more. Automated real-time reporting ensures teams have this information and can adjust as needed.
Collaborative Whiteboard Area
A whiteboarding area provides an accurate view of the project plan so you can make better decisions. Look for a solution that gives you the ability to extend the project planning to include spreadsheets, branding, images, tables, CAD/architectural drawings, etc. Let it be your single source of truth for all our planning needs.
Communication Features
It’s no secret that our industry lacks communication and accountability, leading to budget and timeline overages. Look for a solution that provides an easy-to-use and understand visual platform that holds everyone accountable for their commitments.
Planning Features
Make sure the solution has the features you’re looking for. Some typical planning features include:
- Tasks: Allows users to populate tasks ahead of time to accelerate the planning session with easy drag-and-drop functionality.
- Variances: Delays and incomplete tasks can be tracked and explained. For example, marking the day’s task with “weather” will document the blocker and duplicate the task to be planned for another day.
- Dependencies: Define by connecting tasks across the plan. This allows the team to better understand the workflow and logistics of their plan as well as the chain-reaction effect on a plan if the weather does prohibit work for a day.