Just as technology underpins and improves much of people’s personal lives, construction projects can also stand to benefit from going digital. Improved efficiency, transparency and decision making are just some of the successes highlighted by InEight software users.
The general public went from home computers, first released in 1974, to having a smart phone in their pocket from 1992. In 2020, smart watches, wireless headphones and even smart glasses are a part of everyday life.
Through a global pandemic, technology has shown us how to run businesses online and be mobile like never before. Stay at home restrictions have forced businesses to quickly adapt. Even industries that require manual labour, like construction and manufacturing, have made significant pivots to implement technological processes.
While these transformations have been happening in some areas of construction for over a decade, technology use is becoming more widespread.
No longer does a project manager have to be on site to evaluate a day’s work, this can be done collaboratively using technology and software solutions.
However, it’s not just the industries changing how they operate, projects are becoming larger, requirements for information are becoming more comprehensive and the technology continues to evolve meeting these demands.
Construction contractors that use this data and intelligence can reap the benefits of increased collaboration, productivity, informed decision making, risk mitigation and efficiency all driving toward increased project success.
InEight Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific Andrew Harris says from the company’s experience with prospective users of the InEight platform, data collection is typically uncoordinated, often compiled in different formats and locations.
“Rarely is critical project data centrally sourced, in one place. We are seeing that surfacing critical data is important for on-site real-time decision making,” he says.
“Bringing project teams together to have consistent access to data is an organisational change task for companies but it’s about aligning people with that change and understanding the benefits.”
While the transition to this technology is significant for a business, it can be done in steps. The InEight platform is modular and users can choose to roll out each individual module that best supports their priority areas of improvement.
“InEight’s solutions span across the project lifecycle and there are disciplines across each stage of the project. For example, SME’s are seeing the the power of completion and handover tools, because they can view how a project is tracking throughout construction and view past performance data as an indicator to the current project’s success,” Harris says.
“Each company can pick high value modules on the platform and roll those out one at a time, when making these technology and business operation changes it’s all about education and enablement.”
The cost management and governance modules within the InEight platform are the most widely used. Throughout a project, cost and progress visibility is essential and the platform helps to monitor these parameters in real-time.
“We look at the implementation of the suite of InEight modules as increasing business value. Everything from ensuring the estimate and schedule are aligned at the start of a project, to the field capture and field force planning tend to be part of the natural evolution when implementing technology,” Harris says.
For contractors, the capture of this data can give a competitive edge even during the tender phase of projects.
“What owners are looking for now is a contractor’s confidence in their ability to execute projects, accuracy in the schedule and estimates and demonstration of the organisation’s ability to use technology to deliver consistently great results,” Harris says.
When plans are backed up by data, asset owners can be confident in the accuracy of project reports they are receiving, and even the plans that are proposed.
“The InEight platform produces accurate reporting based on consistent data so that contractors can report back to owners in a timely basis. This can be done in a format that suits the owner, and can really bring certainty to that project,” he says.
“We are seeing that our contractor customers are using the InEight platform to underpin their bids for projects and drive the evidence of being able to deliver a project on time and on budget.”
Following the use of the InEight platform for a first project, the data is stored within the platform and can be used to make informed decisions when planning for the next project.
Users are able to benchmark previous jobs and view past history to see if the next bid they are putting out is realistic and within their capabilities.
“The platform drives collaboration like this internally but it also allows contractors to invite the rest of their supply chain to provide contribution to that data as well. This creates alignment throughout the whole supply chain to ensure each team within a project is on the same page,” Harris says.
This is particularly important when working on multi-year projects as so many elements, whether it be personnel, suppliers or materials, are subject to change over time.
“Technology such as InEight’s platform ensures everyone involved on a project, can see and understand any changes or project progress in real-time. Users can also consolidate that information and communicate to stakeholders consistently and quickly,” Harris says.
“Each user can configure their own dashboards to see all of the insights for any section of project works. Everyone from the CEO to a specific project director can see a package of work through the platform instantly, providing transparency and quality communication to keep the job running smoothly.”
The opportunity to leverage this data can be used to make daily decisions on projects, but also to shape future infrastructure plans that may span many years into the future. This technological advantage can be used consistently to ensure project success through efficient and informed works.
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