Reflections on Technology Day 2014

Last week I was honored to present at the ninth annual Constructech Technology Day Conference. It was a very interesting event that showcased several very talented people and new solutions. I was invited to present my method for selecting Apps for use on Construction projects. The goal of my process is to determine if an app is appropriate to use within my company. The method that I presented for app selection was:

1. Platform: which one is best for you between Android, Apple and Windows?
2. Type: are you better off with a Point or Integrated Solution?
3. Cost: will you select a free, paid or “freemium” app?
4. Connectivity: will the app require full internet connection or can it work offline?

I also presented my concepts about:
App-Alchemy: a revolutionary way to connect “Best in Class” Apps through a cloud server. For example, what if I could take a progress photo with the FotoIn Mobile App on my iPhone, sync it to a cloud server such as Egnyte, and then use it to mark up a plan in SmartUse on my iPad? This concept allows users to create private integrated software bundles that work with each other in harmony.

App 4 U: a innovative way to build your own app. Have your tried a few “off the shelf” apps and not quite found the right fit for your company? Have you explored the option of hiring a consulting company to build a custom app? Do you want to build your on apps and distribute them to your team through the cloud? With the Quickbase Platform by Intuit you can easily do this yourself by a drag and drop process without the need to learn coding!

Some of the other great presentations that I heard were:

Women in Construction Panel
Nancy Novak (Balfour Beatty), Cora Carmody (Jacobs Engineering), Jennifer Heikkinen (Tocci), Terriann Nohilly (Turner), Cari Williams (DPR)

This panel of construction professionals discussed their role in the traditionally male dominated industry. They each provided their perspectives on how women have shaped and continue to shape the new dynamics of construction projects. One of the best stories of the presentation came from Ms. Carmody discussing her work with a summer technology camp for girls known as the Technology Goddesses.

Michael Zucchi (Zbrella Technology Consulting)

Mr. Zucchi presented his thoughts of the future of technology in Construction. He discussed the upcoming changes to Cloud, Big Data, Robotics and Automation. Mr. Zucchi challenged the audience to embrace the changing technology for the improvement of the businesses. In order to leverage new apps and platforms he advised the audience to create technology committees to research and explore new apps, create proof of concept projects to test new things out, and to develop a mentor program for employees to exchange ideas.

Gave Dobbs (SkyCatch)
Has your company contemplated using drones on a project site? Are you not yet willing to purchase a unit and train a pilot? What if your company had access to a UAV that could fly over a project to document the site, then return to a base station to recharge itself and do this again every hour? This innovative company has a fleet of rental drones that can document your project site on a for hire basis.

Later this week I will post part two of this series, which will focus on the great vendors that were in attendance.

Setting Up a Mobile Device Program

The construction industry is in the middle of a major change in how tasks are accomplished in the field. The traditional paper-based means to accomplish tasks are fading away and being replaced by innovative mobile based ways. In the current climate many construction firms have gone the route of utilizing mobile devices and apps to solve for workflow issues. In order to leverage these new apps and devices a company must first make the decision to try them out! So the question is: how do the companies create a program do that?

1. Set up a Technology Committee

First things first, take a look around your company and find those technology-friendly individuals that are willing to try out new mobile devices and apps. Set up a meeting to discuss the different app platform and hardware options. I would recommend using the same platform for smartphones and tablets. Next, create a meeting agenda and set up a regular meeting to investigate all the options available to you.

2. Review current workflow practices

After you form the Technology Committee, the first task they should tackle is to map out your current workflow processes you wish to improve. A few examples would be how does your field crew…

– Generate a RFI in the field?
– Document safety meetings?
– Take and share progress photos?

The committee needs to search the app market place for key words such as construction, safety, and quality. There are hundreds of choices out there for apps at the moment. It will take time to evaluate the app options that work best for you.

3. Select and Beta Test Apps

Once you have identified the workflows you want to improve, the technology committee must select the initial apps you want to try out in a beta test. Give your committee members access to the new apps on their mobile devices. Set a trial period of say 90 to 120 days to see how they work out and select the most suitable.

4. Deploy Apps and Train Employees

Now that you have selected and tested your apps, you are now ready to deploy the apps to the rest of the company. This process is different between the Apple, Android and Windows stores. You may want to research gift cards or Mobile Device Management software to help distribute the apps. You may want to consider bringing in an outside consultant to train your employees on the new mobile devices and apps to bring your employees up to speed quickly.

5. Annual Review

Once a year it is a good idea to evaluate the apps that you are using and make sure they are still working out the way you intended. The world apps is very different from the traditional software. Where software may have one or two updates a year, apps are updated on a monthly or quarterly basis. It is important to stay in top of these mini updates. Depending on the platform, you also have to be aware of platform updates that may affect app performance.

Mobile Device App Strategy Part 4

Last week I relayed parts of a discussion with Kyle Slager, the founder of Raken, a SAS platform that enables contractor a to create more effective daily reports. We discussed the pros and cons of both “Point Solution” and “Integrated Solutions”. This week I had a similar discussion with Patrick Gillam of Newforma. Patrick and I discussed the “Point” versus “Integrated” solution debate for apps. At the moment there appears to be two groups embracing apps for mobile devices in the construction world.

The first group is the smaller company that is trying to leave behind paper based systems. They gravitate to free or low cost “Point Solution” apps because they are easy to implement and learn. They are not interested in integrations as much as they are going digital from paper based work flows.

The other group is the larger company that has large enterprise systems in place. They wish to have field devices talk back to those systems. They want solutions that fit into their already designed platform system. These systems were very expensive to purchase and implement, not many IT Pro’s are willing to dump these systems and start over with unconnected apps.

The focal point of the debate seems to be: “What is the path to integration for apps in Construction?” There are two levels of integration to investigate within this debate:

App (Device) to Software (Server)
App (Device) to App (Device)

Patrick had a great comment on this debate ” You would not tell a Master Carpenter to use a pneumatic hammer to complete fine finish work!” At the end of the day for most business what their CIO must evaluate is this: What are the workflows you are training to accomplish and what systems need integration?

In the case of a higher level company and app user an Integrated Solution such as Newforma may make sense. Newforma offers several apps that talk to each other for this app debate. Their product is cloud-based and can run on desktop/laptop or tablets. Apps related to that product allow users to…

· View plans and specs
· Mark the locations of non-compliance items, punch list items, etc. on plans
· Mark up plans
· Manage field tasks such as punch list actions, etc.
· Manage project team contacts and companies

To read more about Newforma’s thoughts on the uses for technology in construction take a look at their blog at newforma.com. For example, here’s a blog post on apps for construction: http://www.newforma.com/apps-for-construction-the-missing-element/

What types of apps is your company using right now?

What are your goals for your mobile device program?

Please let others readers know what you think!