Stop and imagine — just for a second — a portal for all your construction project management needs.
A magical place where contractors communicate with each other harmoniously, costs are tracked, budgets are adhered to, and the smallest, most menial tasks are completed automatically, as if by some form of sorcery.
That place, my friends, is very real.
Or shall I say, very virtual.
I’m talking about construction project management software — a place where all of your workplace dreams come true.
Of course, this only becomes a reality if you know how to effectively use said software in a way that inspires collaboration, communication, and ease of use.
We’re going to help you get there, though, so fret not.
In this article, we will teach you everything you need to know about construction project management software, including:
- What it is and why it’s crucial to project success
- What to look for in a software platform
- Why we believe monday.com is the ultimate solution for managing construction projects from here on out
So, tools down, and let’s dig in.
What is construction project management software?
Construction project management software is a tool or platform — typically online — that helps construction managers plan and execute projects.
Every platform offers different features and benefits. But as a guiding principle, effective construction management software should provide tools that allow you to:
- Estimate project costs
- Formulate budgets and track costs as you go
- Create employee schedules and timetables
- Interface with stakeholders regarding budget, progress, and updates
- Create and manage work orders and inventory
- Communicate with teams, workers, contractors, and other construction professionals
- Manage documentation relating to specifications, building codes, and regulations
But why use construction project management software?
All of this seems positive, but you might be thinking that all of this could be done without employing construction management software.
Perhaps, but definitely not as efficiently.
Here’s why:
Productivity
Construction management software, first and foremost, improves team productivity.
And, considering a massive 84% of PMs are looking for new ways to improve efficiency within their teams, it’s hard to overlook this win.
Cost-tracking
Secondly, construction management software provides a simple and effective way of tracking project costs.
Cost-tracking has always been at the top of the construction manager’s priority list, but considering the huge increase in softwood lumber costs in the last 12 months — up 112% according to some sources! — it’s safe to say many will be checking this report daily.
Communication
Here’s something that will blow your mind:
96% of us believe that the companies we deal with could improve their communication.
Or maybe that doesn’t come as a surprise, given that’s pretty much all of us.
You can start improving both internal and external communications by implementing a construction management software solution that offers smart communication features.Central point of truth
You’ll remember from just a few seconds ago that documentation management is one of the core aspects of a construction manager’s role.
Part of why it’s so important is that you’re dealing with a lot of different documents, often saved in different places or created by different owners.
Construction management software provides a central point of truth — a place for all of your communication, planning, and documentation to live. This allows you to find whatever it is that you need, whenever it is that you need it.
What features of construction management software should you look for?
Alright, so you’re pretty well convinced at this point that as a project manager, construction software is going to have a huge positive impact on your life.
But now you’re wondering: what features and functions should I be looking for?
And rightly so, there are a lot of options out there.
Let’s take a look at 13 features your construction management software platform needs to offer in 2021.
Document management
Whether it’s a high-level Gantt chart, a job costing spreadsheet, or your entire project plan, there’s a lot of documentation involved in managing projects, especially in the construction world.
Your construction software should allow you to import documents directly from your computer or smartphone. It should also integrate with online storage platforms like Dropbox and Google Drive.
Team communication tools
Your project management tool should offer several ways for teams to communicate.
Integrations with workplace comms tools like Slack are a good start.
To take things up a notch, though, team members and contractors need to be able to communicate in context. That means being able to comment and tag each other directly on tasks, like this:
Automation
You don’t need us to tell you that as a construction project manager, you’re busy.
As such, you’ve got little time to waste on manual, repeating tasks, like updating your construction scheduling software every time a new task gets completed.
Capable construction software solutions should have deep automation functionality that takes care of this kind of work for you.
However, you don’t want to get bogged down in complex coding every time you need to create a new automation rule, which is why you should look for a Work OS that makes working with automation recipes simple.
Timelines and Gantt charts
Often, your job as a project manager is not to be involved in the day-to-day operations of completing your project. Rather it’s taking a macro view of the undertaking, managing both timelines and resources.
So, your construction management software had better be equipped with some high-level planning gear, like Gantt charts, calendars, and flexible timelines.
Resource management
Speaking of staying at a high-level and managing timelines and resources, you’re going to want a smart way to understand the capacity of your team.
Capable and forward-thinking construction project management software like monday.com makes this easy, providing intuitive, visual reporting that allows you to actually see what your team has going on.
That’s not all you’ll need to report on, though.
Reporting
Maybe you need to give your stakeholders a progress report every week, or perhaps you’re looking to gain a deeper insight into general contractor performance.
Whatever it is, your construction company better have a good grasp on reporting and analytics.
Make sure that the construction management software you go with has a robust set of reporting features, as monday.com does.
Time-tracking
Time-tracking no longer needs to involve complex timesheets or fussy fingerprint scanners that never work properly.
You can take this whole thing digital by choosing a construction project management software platform that offers a simple yet effective time-tracking widget.
Cloud-based
Construction management software that is limited to the computer it’s installed on is, well, limiting.
What if your laptop goes down or runs out of juice and you left your charger at home?
Choosing construction management tools that are cloud-based gives you the ability to access them anywhere you have internet, from pretty much any modern device.
Mobile apps
Construction management doesn’t always take place in a lovely air-conditioned office.
Often, you’ve got to head down to the site yourself. Bringing your laptop along to jot down some notes or adjust the project budget is more than a little inconvenient.
A modern construction software solution should offer mobile apps on both iOS and Android, giving you access to project scheduling and planning from a smartphone or tablet when on the go.
Budgeting and cost management
A key goal of construction industry professionals is to ensure that any project they are commanding comes to fruition on time and under budget.
For many of us, though, math isn’t a strong point.
As a result, a capable budget planning and tracking feature is a make or break function when looking for a project tracking tool.
Pre-built templates
We don’t need to tell you that time is money. This is true whether you’re a contractor or running a multi-national construction firm.
To get you up and running quickly, you should seek a platform that offers pre-built templates for planning, estimating, and scheduling.
Custom permissions for contractors and external parties
One of the biggest benefits of implementing project management software is the ability to bring your project team together and work harmoniously in a single digital workspace.
The thing is, though, you might not want to share everything with everyone.
Project owners may need oversight on budgeting, expenses, and project progress. However, a subcontractor may only need access to the tasks that are assigned to them, with things like estimating and job costing being fairly sensitive information.
Rather than having separate workspaces for each person on your construction team, you should instead look for a project management software that allows you to set permissions on a per-user basis.
For example, you can allow contractors to see when a task is assigned to them, but hide other data, such as job costing and financials.
Flexibility
When you first hit go on a construction project management tool, you’ll probably want to get off the ground quickly with a premade template.
However, as your operations grow and you begin to work with a new contractor or 10, you’re going to want a bit more flexibility.
That’s where you need more than a project management tool. You need a fully-fledged Work OS.
A Work OS (operating system) is a software platform that allows you to create your own workflows and project management applications.
What is the best construction project management software?
At this point, you’re probably thinking: “That’s a lot to look out for. Can you just tell me which one to choose?”
In short, no.
Only you know what your company truly needs in a PM tool to create success, and every platform out there offers something different.
The problem is, your business is constantly growing and evolving, so what you need this year is likely going to be different from what you’ll need in 5 years.
This is why we believe whole-heartedly that the future of project management is the Work OS.
The future of construction project management software
Whereas a traditional project management software platform gives you a set of tools and frameworks to work within, a Work OS gives you a platform to build your frameworks.
That means you’ll no longer need to adjust internal processes to fit the software you have. And no more fluffing about with complex automation and API runs to try and get something simple to work the way you need it to.
We’re proud to say that monday.com represents the leading edge of the Work OS.
Here’s how it works:
Many teams have a tech stack that looks something like this:
In short, a bunch of different tools that do what they do, but also a lot of poorly managed work happening in between. That’s because the tools don’t overlap, or aren’t playing nicely together.
We learned from our own research that about 50% of the work our teams were doing existed in this whitespace.
So, we took to the drawing boards to expand the capabilities of monday.com to eliminate that whitespace.
The Work OS achieves this goal by focusing on 7 core capabilities:
- Building blocks: PMs drag-and-drop functional building blocks to build a workflow that makes sense. Start from scratch and build one up — or start with a template, break it apart, and reassemble
- Integration: monday.com allows teams to connect external data sources — like documents from Google Drive — as well as third-party apps, so you can retain existing processes without leaving the central digital workspace.
- Organization-wide use: the Work OS must serve all users in the company, rather than specific teams, roles, or functions.
- Automation: a goal of a Work OS is to automate as much as possible to remove human error and improve efficiency.
- Structured data store: data is captured through human action and automation. It can be consumed as is, or through the lens of the building blocks in your workflow.
- Analytics: users must be able to create reports and data visualization that make sense to them, rather than being restricted to dashboard and reporting tools that software developers deem appropriate.
- Permission: permissions and governance features should be flexible enough to be set on a per-user role to align with organizational standards.
What does all of this mean for you?
Rather than being confined to a prescribed set of tools and processes, you can use monday.com’s low-code app builder to design a digital workspace that fits your entire organization and allows for continued growth and development.
Sounds good, right?
Let’s get building!
Are you as excited to start planning a construction project as we are?
You should be, now that you’re an expert in looking for construction project management software that takes your builds from zero to hero.
Here’s a recap of the features you should be looking for:
- Document management
- Team communication tools
- Automation
- Timelines and Gantt Charts
- Resource management
- Reporting
- Time-tracking
- Cloud-based
- Mobile apps
- Budgeting and cost management
- Pre-built templates
- Custom permissions for contractors and external parties
- Flexibility
Or, you know, skip all the hard work and choose the solution you know has it all.
Yes, we’re talking about monday.com.
Get started today with one of our free construction schedule templates.
