Mobile Construction Management Keeps Everyone on the Same Page

Construction field management software can reduce confusion, errors, and delays. Using the wrong drawing or outdated specifications can cause costly mistakes and delays, which can put your project behind schedule and over budget. These issues can be avoided if you have accurate, up-to-date information in the hands of everyone who needs it, anywhere on the job site.

But many construction sites have one major barrier: limited to no connection to the network except in the trailer. Your contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and project managers lose valuable time running back to the trailer or even the office for the right document, or playing telephone tag with the foreman, the superintendent, or the project manager to get a simple question answered.

Even if you have a field mobility solution, delivering information to the field may involve a large amount of manual preparation. For example, documents may be accessible in the field only after someone has exported them as PDF files and uploaded them to a file-sharing website. This approach makes it difficult to track and control versions as well as limit document access to authorized users.

Field mobility and document management are a winning combination

Some mobile construction management apps on the market deliver a partial solution for field productivity. However, in most cases users must work with one app to view and manage drawings, another to work with other documents and data, and so on. And in some areas of the site, a cellular data connection may be weak or not available at all — making the mobile app useless.

Site workers need mobile access to current drawings, requests for information (RFIs), specifications, submittals and more so they can help reduce the errors, delays and rework that can impact project profitability. And for your project manager, the ability to enter data anywhere, handle subcontractor RFIs and submittals, and create checklists while on- site can make a big difference in productivity and timely communications.

A mobile app designed for construction job site management

Trimble’s ProjectSight offers construction field management applications including a mobile app for phones and tablets that works online and offline. The app provides access to your critical construction drawings and documentation through a real-time network connection so you can view them live or download them for offline use. And because ProjectSight automatically pushes new versions of drawings to user devices (or flags them when the device is offline), everyone on your project — in the office and in the field — can have the confidence that they’re working with current information.

Built by people with experience working in the field, ProjectSight also makes work easier for your trade partners. They can submit a question or information to the right people directly through the software. The ability to connect that question to a specific part of the drawing provides clarity of context. With no more back-and-forth of emails and phone calls, you can answer questions and resolve issues with greater speed and accuracy. And for greater value, the question and response can be visible to other workers or vendors involved, reducing confusion and redundant RFIs.

With ProjectSight, a project manager can create, track and update many key documents for work in the field, including:

• RFIs and submittals, to ensure accuracy.
• Safety notices and notices to comply, to manage compliance on the job site.
• Punch lists that can include photos and video, that can be pinned to drawings, and that can be easily assigned to a team or an individual worker.
• Customizable checklists for activities such as tracking the progress of on-site work and defining items for quality, safety, health, or any other inspections.
• Daily reports about site activity, crews present and hours worked, with data that can be entered into the app as it is received throughout the day.

• Easily fill out checklist items, add photos, comments, and record links to Checklist items.

• Assign approvers on the web, and sign using your finger on mobile to approve or reject.

And through a data sync feature, ProjectSight maintains data integrity with the web project and portfolios, so staff in the office and in the fieldwork with the same information.

Deliver the right information where it’s needed most

By using the ProjectSight mobile app on a phone or tablet, project managers and field teams can maximize their efforts for a correct, on-budget, and on-schedule build.

Reduce errors, delays, and rework

ProjectSight gives everyone in the office and on-site easy access to a single source of current project drawings, RFIs, punch lists, and more. This up-to-date information reduces the potential for errors and misunderstandings that lead to rework, extra costs, and delays. ProjectSight also includes a powerful 3D viewer for displaying building information modeling (BIM) data.

Improve communication and collaboration for all on-site personnel

All field teams can help ensure that everything happening on the job is progressing correctly with easy-to-use tools for communication and collaboration. They have access to the specs and drawings they need and can view previous versions for clarification. They can even initiate an RFI from the field.

Work productively with field tools

Instead of having to coordinate multiple tools, a project manager can use ProjectSight for everything — including entering report data, creating and updating lists, and viewing subcontractor and vendor submittals — all while working on-site. These features save time, reduce information errors, and eliminate the need to return to the office simply for entering data.

Part of Trimble’s ProjectSight platform

ProjectSight is Trimble’s next-generation construction project management solution, built for the specific needs of general contractors and their project teams. This top-tier, cloud-based software will help you manage projects and reduce risk through a single source of collaboration and information for all project stakeholders.

With the ProjectSight mobile app, this powerful tool is available on the device in your hand. A phone or tablet can help your field personnel communicate, stay informed and deliver a project with fewer delays, reworks, and cost overruns that impact your success and profits.