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Business | Contracting

Systems Further Benefit Capital Building Programs When Applied to Multiple Processes

by Dodge Construction Network and Projectmates  on

New research from Dodge Construction Network and Projectmates reveals construction business owners can improve their processes and projects by using project management information systems (PMIS) beyond core functions. In the report, Building Better With Technology: How Owners Are Leveraging Software to Improve Project Management SmartMarket Brief, it is clear that most PMIS users experience many benefits. However, more owners who expand their use of PMIS compared to those with limited utilization rate their experience of those benefits at a very high level, including:

  • Better informed decisions on their projects (74% versus 39%).
  • Improved design solutions (67% versus 31%).
  • Better cost predictability (61% versus 35%).
  • Ability to mitigate design and construction risks (51% versus 30%).

“At Projectmates, we’ve witnessed the remarkable impact that a fully optimized PMIS can have on construction programs,” says Varsha Bhave, President and CTO of Projectmates. “Dodge’s survey findings serve as further validation of what we’ve long understood: the utilization of a PMIS can significantly enhance construction programs, making owners more efficient and promoting sustainability when this technology is fully harnessed.”

STRONG STRATEGY BRINGS STRONG OUTCOMES

When surveyed, owners fell into three types: those who ensured each division in their company had at least one competent PMIS user, those that centralized their PMIS expertise into a few users, and those with no strategic approach to PMIS competence. Those with a more centralized approach report the strongest results from their PMIS strategy.

  • Most of those with centralized expertise report high levels of satisfaction with the document management (78%) and schedule management (75%) capabilities of PMIS, far more than those with an unstructured approach (21% and 24% respectively).
  • A large majority of those with a strategic approach to PMIS reported the tool exceeding their performance expectations compared to those with an unstructured approach. This is particularly notable when it comes to effective document management (80% versus 53%) and risk issue tracking (71% versus 45%).

“Establishing a deliberate and strategic approach to utilizing PMIS across an organization is imperative to the success of their capital program,” says Steve Jones, senior director of industry insights at DCN. “Those who manage more of their processes in the PMIS from the start are set up to achieve more than those who take a more passive approach. Our findings reveal that by creating a specific, deliberate strategy for the means and the breadth of their PMIS implementation, owners achieve far more in the long run.”

The report contains more detailed findings and additional analysis as well as two case studies on owners’ PMIS implementation and use. It can be downloaded here.