According to Wikipedia, the precursor to project management software was the Harmonogram, back in 1896, which showed task development in a floating chart. This was followed by the more advanced Gantt chart which looked more like today’s scheduling chart or diagram. This tool apparently broke down tasks for the building of Hoover Dam in early 1931.
In the last twenty years or so, project management software or job management software programs were built on the premise of these early tools. They were designed to help firms manage projects, combining scheduling, sequencing project activities with their assigned dates and resources, tracking progress and balancing workloads. Common desktop tools for this purpose have been Microsoft Project, ProjectXpert or Asta Power Project.
Then cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) versions of project management software tools emerged. These are online tools to help you plan out and manage your projects. You can go the whole hog with tools like Monday.com, Zoho and Asana but these are not construction-specific tools and are likely to have far more features than you actually need.
More than a simple project management ‘app’, these new cloud-based tools help teams collaborate so everyone works better together via their mobile, tablet or computer. As they’re device-independent, you can be on your Chromebook, your iPhone or your Windows laptop!
More recently, construction specific online project management software tools have come onto the scene, with HBXL at the forefront. These tools can be used wherever you are, whenever you want, catering specifically to builders’ unique needs.
Building projects are complex and risky to bring together. There’s lots to coordinate to pull off a successful building project – too much to carry in your head. Construction management software streamlines the management of building projects. A building project of course has phases with tasks assigned – as well as non-time based tasks that need doing by specific people on the project.
You also have piles of project documentation which need collating and you need to make sure everyone has the latest versions – otherwise you run the risk of using draft building plans or out of date specs.
What’s more, there are hundreds of decisions that need making and requests for information, resulting in hundreds or thousands of messages and pieces of information. No wonder projects often overrun as it’s hard to manage!
The benefit of a cloud-based job management tool is that you have all the information you need about your project at your fingertips – and so does everyone else on the project team. That’s the beauty of it. Everyone on the same page, following the build program, using the absolute latest documentation, recording their progress as they go. And no more faffing between different communication channels such as email, messaging apps and spreadsheets. Everything is in one place.
Here’s how BuildProjex by HBXL can help small to medium sized building firms plan, track, share and manage building projects. It centralises all of your projects in one place (including all communications such as instant messaging and comments on files). You can view your work by individual project or what’s going on in the business overall, to balance workload. It’ll keep everyone in the loop and on top everything – and keep your client happy by giving them regular updates. Information is everything, with their own specific ‘client dashboard’ which is updated as the project progresses.
- Firstly you create a project and set up your project team, inviting the relevant people to the party – your employees, subcontractors, consultants and clients
- Then you set up a shared Gantt chart so everyone can see progress tracking versus actual
- Next assign tasks to everyone and keep track of progress – what is to do, overdue and what’s complete
- Plus you can assign to-dos/RFIs to your client to keep their decision making moving
- Then reminder notifications will pop up for upcoming and overdue tasks to kick everyone into action
- You can use your shared calendar so everyone can see important meetings, deadlines and deliveries
- And you’ll have all your project files so everything is in one place– no traipsing back to the office to find documents. No excuse for anyone not to be using the latest!
- Furthermore you can upload your HBXL software outputs – PlansXpress drawings, EstimatorXpress quotations, schedules of work, specifications and Health & Safety Xpert documentation including Risk Assessments, Method Statements and more etc.
Why do you need BuildProjex? As we’ve said, managing building projects is hard work. Harder than it needs to be if you don’t have the right tools for the job. It’s easy to lose the plot when there’s so many moving parts. Using one tool, BuildProjex, will help you deliver stress-free building projects, every time.
BuildProjex is sure to be one of the most popular and best-rated UK job management software apps for building firms out there.
You can trial it free now.