Building plans, work schedules, estimates, contractor agreements, bills of quantities and invoices are just some of the documents that construction firms handle for one project alone, and that is before any building even begins. As an industry, construction is particularly paper heavy!
Keeping track of all this paperwork and making changes can be an arduous task prone to errors, and when you factor in communicating the documents to the right people at the right time, without a robust document management system it is a recipe for disaster.
Construction professionals spend on average 35% of their time, or 5.5 hours a week, searching solely for documents.
Construction document management is the process of creating, storing, and distributing documents within construction firms. This can include digital or physical documents (by scanning them into the system), but as more construction firms are moving to digital practices, we would recommend ditching paper altogether and adopting a paperless approach for all round efficiency gains.
A good document management process would ensure that every document stored is the most recent version, and is available to all users that require access, for ultimate collaboration. It’s also good practice to ensure all documents are available to view even after a project has been completed.
Considering how often plans get changed throughout a project it is not surprising that document management is difficult to organise and manage, hence why it is so important to store every document related to a project, even if it doesn’t seem important.
When it comes to implementing document management systems, the benefits are undeniable, and the downsides of not having a robust process can be disruptive. Disruptions can include the need to re-produce documents because they can’t be located, project cost and time overruns, litigation from not storing the correct documents and lost time in locating documents.
Let’s look at some of the biggest benefits to using a good document management solution in your construction firm:
A survey by KPMG found that a staggering 69% of construction projects went over budget by at least 10% which equates to a shocking 9 out of 10 projects!
If all parties can access the latest schedules, blue prints and plans it means they are working on the right tasks at the right time, and will know which tasks to complete and which to disregard, all of which will help control costs. It can be easy to lose track of spending so it is vital to record all project expenses against the estimates and track costs through organised documentation to help keep on top of spending to highlight overspending as quickly as possible.
The root cause of most problems within construction comes down to poor communication and silos forming within firms, which can significantly impact productivity. Good document management ensures everyone is working with the same documents, both in the office and on-site, so everyone is kept in the loop if they cannot make meetings, or if projects change at short notice. It provides a single source of truth and immediate access to information that can be relied upon, that everyone agrees with.
Auditing is not a choice, it’s a necessity, and robust document management will ensure you are able to meet your auditing responsibilities with ease. Attendance records, training certificates, risk assessments and financial information can all be logged systematically so they can be located easily when needed to protect the business and avoid penalties.
If field teams are working on incorrect or out-of-date information then it is easy for mistakes to be made, some of which can be costly and time consuming to rectify. On large projects the consequences for mistakes can be staggering, therefore the ability to store all information and pull the latest plans is vital. Research by Autodesk found that 33% of mistakes alone were down to incorrect data.
It is estimated that workers spend 30%-40% of their time searching for documents, which is not only significantly wasting time, but it’s costing you money too because employees could be working on more valuable tasks in that time. Organised document management will allow you to find documents almost instantly at the click of a button and reduce the administrative workload on construction workers on site.
Document management might feel like an overwhelming task to implement, but once your new processes are established, the benefits will far outweigh the inconveniences of putting it in place. Regardless of your project length or team size, a good document management system is essential for any construction firm to drive efficiency and help your projects stay on time and within budget, aid auditing, reduce mistakes and improving communication within the business.
The document management feature in our construction solution, CIS 5, is second to none and can transform your construction management. For more information, please contact us today.
Posted On: October 05, 2023
