Managing your construction company is not an easy undertaking. You frequently need to manage multiple projects at different sites. If you have gotten into running a business due to your experience working in the field, many of the challenges may be new to you. Fortunately, the right tools can make it easier. These are seven productivity-enhancing types of applications that you need.
1) Plan Management
One of the most important elements you need is software that can help with managing building plans. You should have a system that lets your back office easily manage the latest plans. It should also help your people in the field quickly access those plans and see any revisions.
Ideally, you should have one tool that can handle CAD files, technical drawings and more. Additionally, it should have a mobile application for field use.
2) Time Calculator
If you are running any type of business, you need to know how people are spending their time. This is valuable for making sure you have an accurate payroll. It can also help with associating costs with each project. Get a great time card calculator mobile app. It will give you the tools you need to streamline your time recording. Plus, your team members can clock in using a simple tap of a phone screen.
3) Site Reporting
Another big part of managing a construction business is getting reports from job sites. This is a simple idea but one that can be very challenging in practice. The main difficulty of this is that the reports need to be easy-to-understand and well-organized. You will often need to look back at site reports to be able to analyze how well projects are going.
With the right software, you can make submitting reports easier for your personnel in the field. Additionally, you can keep everything organized for long-term analysis.
4) Job Estimator
Estimating your jobs will help you to ensure that your bids are competitive but accurate. Additionally, it will help you to maximize your profit margins. Learning how to write excellent estimates can take time. However, it is worth the necessary effort. Plus, if you find a great tool, you can make estimates quickly and accurately.
5) Gas Price Map
A lot of construction equipment runs on gas or diesel engines. Plus, most construction companies have a lot of trucks and other vehicles necessary for transporting people and materials. In other words, if you can save money on your fuel costs, you can help ensure that your margins are healthy. A good gas price map application will help you to do this. It can help you find all the best gas stations with low prices for both gasoline and diesel.
6) Project Management
Managing your projects and the relevant tasks are some of the most important parts of running a successful construction business. Having the right tools for this will help you to stay organized and make sure that everything that needs to be done is remembered.
One of the most important elements of project management for construction companies is scheduling when heavy equipment and specialist subcontractors will be used. If you have multiple projects, one project may block another.
7) Building Information Modeling
Finally, you should get some good building information modeling software. This is a tool that helps will representing and communicating the physical and functional characteristics of a building. It is based on an ISO standard, so the data can be shared easily.
The right BIM software will help you with planning, constructing and managing properties. You may be surprised by how much you can achieve with high-quality BIM software.
Get Started
Discover more today about the types of software you could use for your construction business. When you have the right tools, you will be well-equipped to run a smooth and profitable operation. Every business has different needs, but nearly all construction companies need a way to manage time, projects and plans.
