Pushing construction’s buttons?

In days gone by, the Middle East building industry was about as receptive to construction software as oil was to water. Even in more recent years before the downturn, many GCC construction firms, whose priority was to take advantage of the building boom, felt little need to spend much if any amount of time, implementing and adjusting to systems that appeared expensive, unnecessary and complex.

Today however, things are a little different. Following a huge slowdown in construction output over the last two years, the industry’s biggest software suppliers have been forced to get smarter, developing more advanced but easy-to-use progammes which can be quickly integrated into the hectic routines of project managers and which reflect the needs of the construction industry specifically. At the same time, construction companies themselves have become increasingly open-minded about technology, due to an immeasurable pressure on developers, contractors and architects to ensure projects are delivered on time and to budget.

“Lately, especially after the downturn, we have seen a shift in the way people are thinking about construction software,” explains Tekla’s development manager for Middle East building and construction software, Muneer Abdel. “More and more people are now turning to technology to enhance the efficiency of a project and reduce wastage.

“Everyone knows that the construction industry is a very wasteful industry, and whereas companies used to put the wastage costs on the property value, allowing the end user to cover them, now they cannot do this anymore, and thus they cannot afford the wastage. The problem with wastage is that it can mean you have to delay or even shelve a project altogether.”

Certainly, it is the view of the entire software sector that construction software is becoming more popular based on economic circumstances. According to CAD+T’s managing director Martina Schwarz, one of the biggest reasons for investing in these systems is as a means of achieving competitive advantage at a time when new contracts are more difficult to come by, and when successful project delivery is more important than ever before.

“One of the things we are seeing in the market at the moment is that it is becoming tougher for project managers to handle their projects,” she explains. “There is now much more pressure to ensure low costs whilst improving quality, and in less time.

“And the competition in this market is only going to get worse,” she adds. “To be competitive, companies need to reduce their costs, they need to know what they’re doing, they need to be faster and they need to be more accurate. The main way to save time and costs in this region is to automise.”

But whilst this may seem like a simple process, there remain a number of concerns for construction firms considering investment, starting with how to choose the right system that can really make a difference to their project delivery costs. With so many types, brands and systems available, it can be difficult for non-experts to know which is best for their specific company, and most suitable for their relative workload.

In short, there is no definitive answer as to how a construction firm might choose a particular brand or even type of software, as this depends on individual company needs, size and motives. That said, software suppliers seem to agree that one system, which includes sub-models for different areas of the project, is probably the best choice.

“In any project, there are always different personalities involved, and this needs to be reflected in the software choice,” explains Causeway Middle East’s chief operating officer Paul Madeira. “There is a huge difference for example between the builders on site and the people who are accounting for that work in the finance department, each with very different perspectives when it comes to project progress.”

He goes on: “But then other companies specialise on one part of the process and because of this, companies are forced to buy systems from different vendors. By contrast, our emphasis is very much on integrating and complimenting the entire process.”

Another concern is how to make the most of the systems available. According to the experts, training and quick implementation are the factors which have the biggest influence. “Training on software systems is absolutely crucial,” says Schwarz. “You can have the best software in the world, but if you don’t know how to use it you won’t get anything out of it.”

Executives from Causeway agree, and though they suggest training classes are not very common in the Middle East, companies such as theirs and others like Aconex have put a significant amount of effort into ensuring that on-site, 24-hour and/or lengthy training sessions are readily available. “Training courses here are not as common or effective as they are in say, the UK, so it is important that on-site and ‘training-the-trainer’ approaches are taken,” says Madeira.

Perhaps the only other major concern with these systems is their practicality in an industry which is pre-dominantly focused on outdoor, physically laborious site-work. Many contractors have in fact gone as far as to suggest that project management/collaboration software and mobile applications particularly are nothing but a waste of money.
“Really, this is like saying online banking is not practical compared to going into a branch, or that purchasing something online is not as practical as going into a store,” says Aconex’s general manager for the Middle East Peter Hedlund. “The truth is that construction software across the board can enable time-consuming, manual tasks (such as distributing drawings to multiple team members), to be completed in a fraction of the time by moving the process online. Also, by using a hand held device, contractors and project managers can use these systems on site to manage information in real time.”

Whether or not contractors are really ready for the big change however, remains unclear. Irrespective of their confidence in construction software, Causeway for example is of the belief that one of the biggest barriers to software prevalence in construction is a reluctance among contractors to disrupt internal operations. “The perceived disadvantages that customers may feel are the overall affects of change within an organisation. In this region, any change to operational procedures following a shift in the overall market is likely to be considered as a disadvantage. Ironically, there has never been a better time to understand how to manage costs effectively.” He adds: “Old methods no longer work in this market. New operational direction is required so that when the market turns for the better companies are more able to cope with the dynamic nature of the industry.”

Abdel agrees. “The construction industry has always been resistant to change,” he says. “The good news is that now the market is slowing down it has given companies time to study available solutions as well as the market situation. We have certainly seen an increase in the number of contractors using our systems.”

But for those who are still new to construction software, the question remains: how exactly do these systems work to speed up project delivery and reduce costs? Seemingly each different type of software will have its own way of reducing costs and time, though some general features are evident across systems.

Improvements in cost control for example are a side-effect of most systems, due to their ability to provide accurate estimates, and to report on project progress. “Typically, and without construction software, the cost of a project is only quantified at final account, when it is too late to do anything about the cost overruns,” says CCS Gulf’s general manager Ian Haupftleisch. “Effective use of software for resource-based, analytical estimating provides the foundation for reliable cost control throughout the life-cycle of the project. The estimate, for example, if done properly, can provide buyers with an accurate ‘shopping list’, quantifying resources to be purchased against budgetary restraints, significantly reducing over-orders, erroneous orders and ordering without allowances in place.

“Likewise,” he adds, “systems will allow accurate comparison of what is actually happening on a project with what was expected – all in ‘real time’. Cost information can be entered once where the information is first produced (eg head office, on site or the yard) and then managed through a single database.”

For Causeway, it is this ongoing and widespread need for cost control in the industry which has driven a niche market of financial accounting software applications, developed to meet the requirements of the construction sector specifically. “The lack of effective project controls in the construction industry is a major contributory factor as to why final outturn costs are often not accurately forecast, resulting in disputes, higher costs for clients and reduced margins for construction companies,” Madeira says.“Firms need to ensure they are in control – total control – not only of their projects, but more importantly, of the costs involved in creating, building and managing developments. From an initial bid to a final account, savings can be made.”

Despite a correlation between project costs and delivery time, software development companies continue to treat project speed as a separate entity. Tekla and CAD+T for example, both of whom sell building management modeling (BIM) software which is dependent on 3D drawings and pre-programmed supply information, are confident that their software solutions are particularly significant in speeding up project delivery.

Schwarz explains how the AutoCAD application, manufactured by US-based AutoDesk and sold on by CAD+T, effectively reduces ordering time as well as the time for supplies to be delivered to site, all by having the necessary building information programmed into the individual features of a drawing. In addition, she says how this information is crucial in ensuring that important processes do not have to be repeated, and that developments can be tested for durability in the early, rather than late stages. “With BIM you have the option to make decisions earlier through digital prototyping,” she explains. “Previously companies have had to actually try things out to know if their structures were stable or not, but now they can calculate on a virtual level how stable a structure is going to be. Linked to this is the ability of BIM software to reduce errors. At the moment, work is being done two or three times because it is not being done properly the first time.”

According to Tekla, the 3D feature is also extremely important. In giving contractors (who are actually building the structure) the opportunity to create their own 3D models, BIM massively reduces opportunities for delays and errors, which are prevalent in the current climate where contractors rarely receive 3D models from architectural departments or, at least, not a complete model. Specifically, the 3D modeling capability is extremely useful in reducing the number of requests for information (RFIs) and thus, can bring a project completion date forward by as much as four months.

“During any project,” says Abdel, “there is almost always a need to check information with the consultant (an RFI). This delays the project as contractors are unable to move forward while they wait to be told what to do.

“If there are a high number of RFIs, this can mean even more delays and can cost contractors a lot of money. The 3D environment, by allowing teams to visualise a project, can reduce the total number of RFIs from 1000 down to 20.” He adds that by including interactive features to facilitate contractor communication with the consultant, the software can also effectively reduce the time between requesting information and getting a response.

But as with all new products, in the end, a surge in construction software will depend on whether projects can be delivered on time and to budget in the future without the help of advanced technologies. Investors will certainly have an influence, should they have to wait significantly longer than expected for their developments. Market conditions may also play a part. Either way, as software companies continue to promise such significant cost and time savings on projects, no contractor can deny that the software is, if nothing else, a little intriguing…