One of the greatest assets a company can invest in is the construction of property. Whether it’s starting from scratch or renovating an existing building, construction projects can deliver significant results and have a transformative effect on the business.
Yet delivering these projects on time and budget can be challenging. How can a company better manage a construction project so the organization achieves the highest quality output?
Construction project management software helps you manage projects so that you meet deadlines and come in within budget. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about advanced construction management software, including its features and advantages. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether investing in a construction project management tool is right for you.
What Is Construction Project Management Software?
Construction project management (CPM) software provides companies with a dedicated project management platform. Created specifically for managing the planning, design, and execution of a construction project, it offers a comprehensive view of the entire construction process, from beginning to end.
CPM software can be used by anyone involved in the delivery of construction projects, including project managers and their employees, architects, engineers, facilities managers, contractors and subcontractors, engagement teams, and other stakeholders.
What Advantages Can a Construction Project Management System Provide?
As organizations continue to grow and construction demands increase, generic project management tools struggle to meet requirements. Many people turn to CPM software because it offers functionality and benefits that are directly tied to the intricacies of construction project management.
These include:
- Being able to track and control costs through purpose-built functionality for budgeting, bidding, and change management
- Increasing cross-functional collaboration with shared workflows and notifications
- Automating standard processes with repeatable schedules and flexible workflows resources
- Striking a balance between configurability and best practices with their construction projects
- Controlling enterprise construction projects with both macro and micro views
- Allowing users to work in one centralized, automated tool, keeping all parties on the same page
In addition, CPM systems allow project teams to:
End reliance on tracking spreadsheets
Even the most advanced spreadsheet will never be able to support the complexities of financials, approvals, data automation, and conditional workflows, to name just a few of the elements of construction projects.
Deploying CPM software allows teams to eliminate the need for extensive spreadsheets because it offers a more effective way to manage enterprise construction projects at scale and reduce the risk of lost time, progress, or information.
Access a single version of the truth
With its ability to scale across functions, CPM software can give real estate, accounting, maintenance teams, leadership, project managers, and general contractors access to one system. Teams can share and use information, eliminating complicated file sharing. This puts teams on the same page when collaborating on metrics and terminology, reduces misunderstandings and wasted time, and simplifies executive reporting.
Give the right people the right access
CPM systems offer users different dashboard options based on what each person needs to know, with a dedicated system administrator granting access as required. This keeps things simple —reducing clutter, minimizing wasted time, and ensuring that employees have the right access to the right information at the right time.
It also increases security by keeping sensitive data out of the wrong hands, helping to uphold the standards of competitive bidding, and allowing organizations to control project financials and other private information.
Share information in real-time, no matter the location
Cloud-based CPM software expands the impact and access of the solution by allowing teams both on and off-site to view the same information via mobile devices and tablets. With real-time updates and automatic syncing, records are kept up to date, no matter where the user is.
No time is wasted having to manually transfer information in the system when back in the office, and important information is not lost in the process.
Track costs and financial projections
Sixty-two per cent of businesses said measuring the time and costs of their construction projects was their most significant challenge.
CPM software gives teams control over these challenges through the tracking and managing of any threats to schedule or budget, ensuring projects remain on the right path and within budget.
Access best practices
It's not uncommon to experience higher expenses, project delays, and ultimately reduced profits because of inefficient workflows and coordination. Knowing what works best for leading companies and what industry experts endorse can help remove roadblocks.
An effective CPM service can improve the overall quality of workflows by offering expert guidance and templated workflows. By having these workflows built into the system and available to configure, teams can get projects going properly while staying compliant with relevant regulations.
Features of a Powerful Construction Project Management Software
As with any software procurement process, understanding the features available is critical to identifying the right solution for your organization, and CPM software is no different.
That said, there are some commonalities that all solutions should have, including:
Scheduling
The ability to integrate scheduling across both work calendars and timetables is critical to reducing confusion and clashes which could impede project delivery. CPM software should be able to do this by highlighting:
- Current and future work schedules, including any recent changes or updates, with options to view by day, week, month, or even as a Gantt chart
- Standardized Gantt chart with views of when tasks should occur
- Project progress
- Real-time updates to identify scheduling disruptions or delays
Workflow optimization
Being able to pinpoint where a team is in a workflow not only provides critical updates on progress but also identifies what needs to happen next. CPM software can give users insights into the different construction workflow stages, from beginning to end, with:
- Access to information whenever and wherever needed
- Secure, reliable viewing of data and workflows
- The ability to approve contractor and vendor documentation
Budget and cost tracking
Perhaps the most critical feature involves project budget and cost tracking. With a CPM solution, organizations can define budgets and costs alongside individual projects.
This allows teams to:
- Understand actual construction project costs
- Track costs from pre-construction through post-construction
- Access location/regional differences in costs and labor
- Standardize and regiment both project budget and cost tracking
- Tie tracking capabilities into other elements in the system
Global implementation
For organizations that work globally, having a construction project management solution that can be deployed wherever they are in the world and customized to fit the needs of local markets is essential. Alongside tailored dashboards and easy-to-understand access to international standards, an efficient CPM solution should include:
- Purpose-built workflows that allow for simple review processes throughout different regions
- Regional-based reporting needs, including quarterly variance reports and property management reporting
- A comprehensive, inclusive income lease management suite for full portfolio management, as well as accounting compliance
Document management
Data is critical to effective project delivery, but much construction data is stored in unstructured sources, specifically documentation. Being able to access information, share it, and ensure that stakeholders are reviewing the right version is a key benefit for deploying the right CPM software.
In doing so, project teams can:
- Set mark-ups and redlines
- Check in and check out documents
- Attach photos, documents, and video files, including from the field or site
- Assign files to individual users
- Receive reminders via automatic notifications
- Improve shareability between users and applications
Construction Project Management Software in Action: A Case Study
A leading jewelry chain, Helzberg Diamonds was struggling to standardize their retail bricks and mortar processes. A third-party lease administration solution and a lack of standardization in other parts of the store lifecycle made it hard to have a clear overview of the lease status of all its stores. It was also challenging to ensure every outlet was compliant with appropriate regulations.
Working with Accruent, Helzberg Diamonds was able to deploy a cloud-based platform that covered Markets & Sites, Projects, Facilities, Workflow, Data Integrator, Capital Projects, and a web spreadsheet platform extension. This meant that it had a complete store lifecycle program in one system, consolidating all of Helzberg Diamonds’ real estate data, documents, and processes.
Read on to get more details on how Helzberg Diamonds were able to reap the benefits of standardizing their entire approach to their retail properties.
Find Out More About Construction Project Management Software
See how Accruent’s construction project management software, Lx Projects, can help your organization effortlessly manage new or renovation projects. Or get in touch with one of our team.
