Chapter 3: Technology for Builders
Technology has transformed the construction industry in ways that were unimaginable 20 years ago. Drones are becoming popular tools in conducting site inspections, hard hats are gaining the ability to monitor the fatigue of the wearer, the use of prefabrication is growing at significant rates in Australia, and 3D printed houses are being built in a matter of days in China.
For the everyday trade business, these technologies are exciting but impractical, and have little effect on the way they work. However, even the smallest of trade businesses are now using technology to boost productivity, deliver higher quality work, and save money.
In this chapter of the Building a Better Trade Business eCourse, we look into simple and cost-effective technologies that smaller trades can use to grow their business.
Project Management Technology
Project management is a highly skilled profession. Without a project manager, construction jobs can easily derail, exceed budgets and timelines, and result in substandard work. However, not every business will have a specialised project manager to keep things on track. General contractors frequently need to assume project management duties, which can be challenging without prior experience.
Thankfully, there are a number of affordable project management tools that simplify this difficult role:
BuilderTREND
BuilderTREND is one of the most popular construction management programs in the industry. It consolidates pre-sale, project management, financial tools and customer management, and easily integrates with your other construction technologies like Cubit for estimating.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet streamlines communication and documentation, allowing users to note issues in real-time, collaborate with project teams, vendors and clients. It also accelerates resolution times by getting the right information in front of the right people quickly.
Asana
Asana is a great management solution for all variety of trade businesses. It allows teams to assign tasks, which are displayed in checklist style, and communicate instructions within those. You can track project progress and set up notifications when elements are overdue.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a veteran in project management circles, with over 2.5 million accounts to date. Like Asana, Basecamp improves project visibility and streamlines collaboration. Its aesthetic design makes it easy to establish and track teams and projects.
BuildTools
BuildTools is your answer to communication breakdown. It serves as a centralised platform where subcontractors, homeowners, project managers, architects and suppliers can communicate, so nothing gets lost in translation.
Drop Box
Dropbox is a simple solution to file storage and sharing, allowing you access important documents across multiple devices and invite others to collaborate. The files you save to Dropbox are automatically synced to your other devices, so you can revisit documents even while on the move.
G Suite
G Suite is a set of must-have online applications, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive and Calendar. The G Suite is purpose-built for collaboration, with simple file sharing, storage and editing.
Project management is a tricky but essential component to projects of all shapes and sizes. With the help of these five platforms, even novice project managers can ensure their job is completed on time, on budget and to standard.
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Mobile Apps for Builders
It’s often said that the fastest way to grow your business is from the inside. For trades, that can mean boosting productivity wherever possible. Mobile applications for builders are growing in popularity and complexity, allowing individual workers to reduce errors and boost efficiency. These mobile applications can do just that:
BuildCalc is a sophisticated construction calculator that allows users to make almost any type of calculation and save results when needed. It goes above and beyond other similar products on the market, offering sheathing angles, purlin angles, gable areas, backing angles, plan angles and stair layout dimensions.
iHandy Carpenter is a simple and effective levelling app, including rulers and protractors.
Aconex is a powerful document-sharing platform that is used on even large scale construction and engineering projects. It can store and send anything from documents and drawings to project communications and site videos.
Control Centre is a supervisor’s dream, allowing them to monitor the progress of a project while off site. Control Centre includes live streaming, time-lapse and image sharing features.
Xero has become industry standard for accounting. It supports automated bank feeds, payroll, online invoicing and real-time financial outlooks. Xero seamlessly integrates with Cubit, allowing you to import account codes and transfer finalised estimates.
Estimating Software for Builders
The key to any successful building business is accurate estimating, allowing you to anticipate all of your costs, preempt unexpected costs, ensure profitability before signing contracts and to be cashflow positive.
Like the technologies mentioned above, estimating software is helping trade businesses of all sizes to improve quality and save time and money. Whereas traditional approaches to estimating were tedious and time-costly, estimating softwares like Cubit have streamlined the function, effortlessly combining estimating and takeoff.
Cubit allows users to import their plans and minimises errors with pinpoint accurate takeoff from any angle. As opposed to using traditional methods of estimating, platforms like Cubit give you flexibility and control over your estimates, using template price lists to formulate new projects.
To experience how Cubit will save your business time and money, start your free 14-day trial today.
“Estimating & takeoff, brilliantly simplified.”
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