In part I of this four-part series, Norb Slowikowski, president of Slowikowski & Associates, establishes that when all components of productivity are in place, a contractor is much more likely to earn a healthy profit. Also, if a project is disorganized, profitability will diminish. Part II will review how technology, the foremen, project management and communication play a role in profitability.
At the construction site, productivity rests in the hands of the foremen and their supervisors. In the office, the focus on productivity involves better estimating, planning and back office support. Both office and field personnel can increase productivity by leveraging the latest technologies to organize project steps, manage processes and share project-related information—from estimation through onsite supervision and on to project completion. Contractors that use On Center Software’s On-Screen Takeoff® (OST) and Quick Bid® (QB) solutions have done much to improve their office-based estimation and bid management processes. These integrated solutions enable estimators to develop more precise takeoffs and detailed bids in significantly less time compared to manual methods. On Center Software solutions allow contractors to:
- Save Time and Money: Reduce the cost of shipping and printing plans. Spend far less time doing takeoffs and estimating costs for each bid. Submit more bids to win more projects.
- Reduce Costly Mistakes: Eliminate manual entry errors and see visually on the screen that everything is accounted for, which decreases the likelihood of having to perform value engineering to recoup lost revenue and cost from an error-filled bid.
- Improve Collaboration: Get everyone in the company on the same page for how to bid and work a job.
- Differentiate From Competition: Submit bids, respond to change requests, and offer alternatives quickly and with confidence.
This is just the front end of any project. The bid opportunity for productivity improvement lies in making the detailed project information available where it is needed most, in the hands of the foremen as they walk through the jobsite.
Plans in the Foremen’s Hands
On Center Software recommends that contractors provide their foremen with Windows-based tablets configured with On Center Software’s free PlanViewer solution. With PlanViewer, the foremen have copies of the project takeoffs to view (not alter) the exact details. This eliminates the need for printing static copies of plans or blueprints and provides an interactive view into the takeoff process and what assemblies and conditions were applied during the takeoff. The contractor can better understand the project scope and have confidence that “if it’s colored, it’s counted.” In addition to takeoffs, PlanViewer provides foremen with:
- Project budgets (by cost code) and resource requirements, all of which can be viewed by building, room and floor.
- The ability to schedule by sequence of events, such as building out a restroom area first or last and providing a separate budget for those areas. Such granularity makes things more manageable for the foremen.
- Stocking lists outlining the materials to be used by building, room and floor. This tells the foremen exactly what they’re going to need, where and when. With fine-grained reporting—by room, for example—the foremen can do just-in-time materials management, instead of ordering everything at once and having to worry about storing it.
Foremen with this information in their hands are the most valuable resources on a job. They need to be where the manpower is practicing “management by walking around.” Putting technology and, more importantly, the information in the hands of the foremen will increase productivity and keep other workers on track as well. With these tools, the project managers and foremen can walk around the job and have a complete package of takeoff drawings, budget, assignments and stocking lists. This enables them to know where they are supposed to have material and how much for a given area.
Project Management
Now that the foremen can walk around with the current project information, they need a tool to manage the workers and develop weekly plans and assignments so that every person on the crew knows what is expected of them. On Center Software’s Digital Production Control® (DPC) solution enables foremen to better perform overall project management and manage labor by reviewing sections of a plan, work assignments and completion percentages. DPC is project management technology that ties together project data from the takeoff and estimating processes by digitally tracking labor production and payroll directly from the project manager’s and foremen’s tablets in the field. DPC allows field management to recognize production problems instantly, rather than at the end of a job when overruns can be more costly. The tool provides near real-time project information to back office systems and personnel. It also helps contractors, project managers and foremen to act on threats to bottom-line productivity by:
- accurately tracking project budgets by knowing the estimated labor for each item on the plan;
- showing actual live crew production rates;
- increasing crew production through proactive goal setting;
- knowing percent complete based on the earned value of the budgeted labor;
- lowering risks associated with project overruns and schedule delays; and
- improving bidding accuracy with continuous feedback of actual achieved production.
An example of using DPC on a project is deck I-wall framing. The foreman has the ability to specify how much time and how many people it will take to complete the phase of the project to make budget. It’s a terrible thing to wait days until payroll has been posted, percent complete has been turned in and reports have been generated to know whether the job is on track . Using DPC and an inexpensive color printer, foremen can select a work area and print copies for the crew members to show them their daily assignments. At the end of the day, the crew members bring the printed plans to the foreman to report how much of the area has been completed. The foremen enter the percent complete into DPC, updating the project schedule. Moreover, the foremen communicate using DPC, reporting expectations and receiving commitment to what needs to be done for the workday.
Communication
With powerful, yet inexpensive, Windows-based tablets and highly intelligent applications from On Center Software (including OST, QB, DPC and PlanViewer), contractors put all project-related information in the foremen’s hands. A contractor’s most valuable field resources walk around the job and have the ability to obtain all vital information more quickly and efficiently answer questions, resolve issues and keep the project on track. Providing information to foremen on tablets is about empowerment. It’s about communicating. It’s about giving the project leaders the tools they need to be effective. A company that can take the information and go beyond just estimating and focus on project management will improve the bottom line.
Slowikowski said that contractors go through significant efforts to see profit margins of 3 percent to 5 percent. By improving labor and project management productivity, even by small amounts, it doesn’t take a lot for a company to double profits from 6 percent to 10 percent. This is done with proactive management, which these tools allow a business to do.
Click here to learn more about how On Center Software solutions enable construction professionals to increase profit and save time.
