Ebook: Construction Technology Survey

Viewpoint Technology Survey 2014 eBook

CONTENTS

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Viewpoint Technology Survey 2014 eBook Executive Summary. . .............................................................................3

COLLABORATION AND BIM.............................................................24

Methodology. . ..................................................................................... 4 Key Survey Terms................................................................................. 5

Percentage of Poducts That Use a Project Management or Collaboration Tool.............................................................................. 25

THE RESULTS......................................................................................6

When Contractors Will Start Using BIM.. ............................................ 27

Construction Types. . ............................................................................. 7

Benefits Achieved Through the Use of BIM Technology. . .....................28

Survey Participant Roles.......................................................................8

Bid Categories....................................................................................29

Contractor Size. . ...................................................................................9

SharePoint Functions Used by Contractors. . ....................................... 30

Timeline for Investing in Technology.. .................................................. 10

Percentage of Projects That Share Documents and Drawings For Collaboration................................................................................ 31

Applications........................................................................................ 11 Technology Categories. . ...................................................................... 12 Most Common Operating Systems in Use.. ......................................... 13 Who’s Using Smartphones and Tablets............................................... 14 MOBILE............................................................................................. 15 Top 5 Uses of Tablets and Smartphones.............................................. 16

Reporting Information to People Inside and Outside of Company........26

CONTENT MANAGEMENT............................................................... 32 Storing Project Documentation...........................................................33 Types of Content Most Difficult for Your Business to Manage Effectively.........................................................................34 Handling Daily Field Reports............................................................... 35

Barriers to Mobile Technology.............................................................17 Devices Used by Company Employees. . .............................................. 18 Mobile Devices Deployed by Their Organization................................. 19 Mobile Devices Carried in the Field. . .................................................. 20 BIDS.................................................................................................. 21 Receiving Bid Documents Electronically.............................................. 22

Acknowledgements............................................................................36

Performing a Takeoff. . .........................................................................23

About Viewpoint................................................................................ 37

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Compiled by Viewpoint Construction Software, the Construction Technology Survey is designed to provide construction firms with valuable information regarding the uses of various types of technology available today.

Our goal is to share the responses of contractors across North America regarding the technology they want and use. We offer the survey results as a valuable tool for companies reviewing technology tools or considering new options.

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METHODOLOGY

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The survey consisted of a total of 28 questions of which 5 were conditional based upon previous responses to questions regarding specific uses of technologies such as BIM and Mobile tools.

» 250 construction contractors participated in the survey across North America. » Over 50% of the responders noted their role as Principle or Executive. » Over 38% of the responders noted that they engage mostly in commercial/ industrial work

KEY SURVEY TERMS

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) ERP is a business management software usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities.

(Wikipedia)

Building Information Modeling (BIM) BIM is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building Information Models (BIMs) are files (often but not always in proprietary formats and containing proprietary data) which can be exchanged or networked to support decisionmaking about a place. (Wikipedia) CoBie: Construction Operations Building Information Exchange CoBie is a data format for the publication of a subset of building model information (BIM) focused on delivering building information not geometric modeling. (Wikipedia) Enterprise Content Management (ECM) ECM is a formalized means of organizing and storing an organization’s documents, and other content, that relate to the organization’s processes. The term encompasses strategies, methods, and tools used throughout the lifecycle of the content.

(Wikipedia)

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Mobile Electronic Forms Often referred to as an e-form, intelligent form, web-based or smart form. An e-form is the transformation of any paper-driven form process into an electronic process. Often these forms can also be used for data capture and validation.

Predictive Analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from modeling, machine learning, and data mining that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, or otherwise unknown, events. (Wikipedia) Project Collaboration Online collaborative solution to help all the key project stakeholders to increase project control at every stage of the project lifecycle.

Project Management A system to manage and facilitate all work activities in one system with workflow and standardized processes.

VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014

The Results

CONSTRUCTION TYPES

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What type of construction do you engage with? (Respondents could only choose a single response)

Commercial/Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.4%

Mechanical/Electrical Contracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Residential Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.9%

Industrial Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Heavy/Civil Construction including earthworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Specialty Subcontractor . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.2%

Pipeline Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0%

15.3%

0.7%

10.2%

Other (Other included responses such as, both

commercial and Residential, supplier to all types, forestry, and service.). . . . . . . . .

10.2%

SURVEY PARTICIPANT ROLES

8

Which best describes your role? (Respondents could only choose a single response)

RESPONSE

FREQUENCY

Firm Principle / Executive

51.1%

Accounting / Finance

8.0%

Estimating

10.2%

Operations

9.5%

Information Technology

2.2%

Service

2.2%

Payroll

0.0%

Human Resources

2.9%

Other (Please Specify)

13.9%

*Other Roles specified included; safety management, manager, insurance, owner, pre-construction, engineering manager, sales, office manager.

CONTRACTOR SIZE

9

Please select the range that best fits your organization’s gross annual revenue.

(Respondents could only choose a single response)

56%

12%

12% 8%

Under $10 Million

10–24 Million

25–49 Million

4%

50–99 Million

100–199 Million

3%

3%

3%

3%

200–249 Million

250–499 Million

500–999 Million

1 Billion +

TIMELINE FOR INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY

Over 50%

10

of respondents said that they will be investing in technology in 2014.

APPLICATIONS

78%

of respondents use three or more software applications in their business.

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MOST COMMON OPERATING SYSTEMS

12

Which of the following operating systems are you currently using?

(Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses)

RESPONSE

Apple

FREQUENCY 43.8% 93.4% 28.5%

Other

2.9%

TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES

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MOST HEAVILY

used technologies include: » Estimating (Standalone) » Project Management & Workflow » Business Information Modeling (BIM)

WHO’S USING SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS

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Which of the following mobile operating systems would you prefer for future business applications on your smartphone or tablet device (Respondents could only choose a single response)

VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014

Mobile

TOP 5 USES OF TABLETS AND SMARTPHONES

TOP

5

USES OF TABLETS & SMARTPHONES

1. Viewing email, calendar and contacts 2. View and approve documents 3. Daily project visibility 4. Collect employee time 5. Manage service work orders-collecting work performed

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BARRIERS TO MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

RESPONSE

17

FREQUENCY

Cost of devices

40%

User resistance to learning new technology

36%

Haven’t found suitable software to make it worth it

36%

Cost of software to install on the devices

24%

Low return on investment (ROI)

20%

Security concerns

16%

Other

16%

Dependability/Reliability

12%

DEVICES USED BY COMPANY EMPLOYEES

Smartphone

88%

18

What type of devices does your company assign to employees?

Tablet

55%

Other

8%

Laptop

64%

MOBILE DEVICES DEPLOYED BY THEIR ORGANIZATION

“Company assigned me a device.”

68%

19

NUMBER OF MOBILE DEVICES CARRIED IN THE FIELD

20

VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014

Bids

RECEIVING BID DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY

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PERFORMING A TAKEOFF

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32%

of respondents use pencil and paper when performing a takeoff.

VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014

Collaboration & BIM

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS ON PROJECTS

What percentage of your projects are you required to use a certain Project Management or Collaboration Tool?

Most Projects (over 51%)

26%

Some Projects (25%–51%)

16%

Few Projects (1%–24%)

34%

No Projects

23%

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REPORTING INFORMATION TO PEOPLE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF COMPANY

26

What is the primary software application used to provide reports and/or information to people inside and outside of your company?

ERP Applications

15%

Excel

53%

Other Business Intel

15%

Email, Edge Builder, Word, Acrobat Forms, ERP Viewpoint, PDF

15%

WHEN CONTRACTORS WILL START USING BIM

When do you think your company will start utilizing BIM (Business Information Modeling) tools?

1-3 Years

38%

3-6 Years

21%

6-9 Years

9%

Not needed for our business

32%

image from http://stellarfoodforthought.net/

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BENEFITS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF BIM TECHNOLOGY

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What are the current benefits being achieved through the use of BIM Technology?

Collaborating with project participants during the construction phase

65%

As a marketing tool for our clients to recognize our use of BIM

50%

Collaborating with the design team during the pre-construction phase

47%

For handing off COBie as part of the close-out and post construction phase

24%

image from http://buildipedia.com/

BUSINESS INFORMATION MODELING 22

After contract, do you generate your own CAD/BIM for your portion of the job?

Have you ever been involved in a job that required BIM?

DON’T KNOW

45

YES

70

NO

18 52 67 20

Have you ever had a BIM model provided before contract?

Does the estimate carry over to project management?

29

36 81 14 96 27

Do you adjust your labor based on feedback from project management reports?

0

15 80 42 20

40

60

80

100

120

SHAREPOINT FUNCTIONS USED BY CONTRACTORS

30

Which of the following SharePoint functions are currently used by your company?

(Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Internal Communication

50%

Document Management and Workflow

50%

Custom Sharepoint Sites Built for Our Needs

38%

Project Collaboration Tool

31%

Employee Portal

25%

We Collaborate With external Users in Our SharePoint sites

19%

PERCENTAGE OF PROJECTS THAT SHARE DOCUMENTS AND DRAWINGS FOR COLLABORATION

31

On what percentage of your company’s projects do project participants (e.g., contractors, vendor access) distribute documents and drawings for collaboration today?

(Respondents could only choose a single response) No Projects (0%)

12%

Few Projects (1%–25%)

38%

Some Projects (26%–50%)

38%

Most Projects (51%–75%)

12%

VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014

Content Management

STORING PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

What type of software does your company currently use as a document repository for projects?

(Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Microsoft Sharepoint

12%

Document Management System

24%

Network File Share

44%

Cloud Storage

42%

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TYPES OF CONTENT MOST DIFFICULT FOR YOUR BUSINESS TO MANAGE (MOVE, STORE, SAVE, SEARCH & DELETE) EFFECTIVELY

Which type of content is most difficult for your business to manage effectively?

(Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Email

12%

Microsoft Office Files

26%

Scanned Documents

26%

Job Site Photographs

23%

Paper Files

50%

Accounts Payable Documents

23%

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HANDLING DAILY FIELD REPORTS

How are you handling daily field reports?

(Respondents could only choose a single response) Written Form

52%

Spreadsheet

18%

Online Cloud Application

12%

Web Form

10%

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Viewpoint would like to Thank our participants for their involvement in the 2014 Viewpoint Technology Survey.

We would also like to thank our industry partners, who helped Viewpoint support this survey and help us to collect responses.

Industry Partners: Onsite Magazine Canada Associated Builders and Contractors & Merit Canada Construction Business Owner Magazine

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ABOUT VIEWPOINT Viewpoint is a global provider of innovative construction-specific software solutions and services that offer the AEC and owner communities the tools they need to improve project profitability and visibility, manage risk, and effectively collaborate with project owners and the entire project team. Viewpoint solutions include everything needed from preconstruction to construction and facilities maintenance, and are offered on a variety of platforms including Cloud, Mobile, SaaS and On Premises. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA, and with offices in the UK, Australia and Canada, Viewpoint has become the technology partner of choice, with customers located across the globe in more than 28 countries which include more than 30 percent of the ENR 400, and partnerships with more of the top 50 mechanical and electrical contractors in the United States than any other construction software provider. For more information, please visit www.viewpoint.com or 800.333.3197 for more information.

© 2014 Viewpoint, Inc. dba Viewpoint Construction Software. All Rights Reserved. Viewpoint®, Viewpoint Construction Software®, Viewpoint V6 Software®, Vista by Viewpoint™, ProContractor by Viewpoint™, Construction Imaging®, Mobile Field Manager™, 4Projects®, Viewpoint For Project Collaboration™ and Viewpoint For Estimating™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Viewpoint, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

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