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Manage all your new projects estimating is bidding on in one SharePoint list
Hand off new projects from Sales to Operations after the deal closes
How Construction managers can see all their project data in one SharePoint project dashboard
How to assign project team resources such as Project Managers, Superintendents and other team members automatically with automated email notifications
The Benefits of SharePoint and Office365 to Construction Managers?
Store all the projects in one simple location. no more scattered project data
Speed up the hand-off process for new projects, no more forgetting to tell the team about the new project
Automate notifications and project information as it goes out to new team members - no more errors and omitting people from the project communications
Eliminate wasted time in communication project information - it is automatically sent out to everyone
Works on Mobile for field teams and field-to-office collaboration with construction job sites
The 7 SharePoint Lessons in the Demo Video Are:
Create a SharePoint site for Construction Projects
How to Create a New Construction Project set up form in SharePoint
Track new construction bids and estimates coning from business development
Create automated email notification in Office365 from Estimating to Operations
Construction Work log Dashboard of all active projects
Assign Senior Managers, Project Managers, and Superintendents and notify everyone in real time
Constructions teams manage and update their project data to everyone knows accurate status
We will give you step by step instructions and you can watch the steps in the video below:
Step 1 - Create a Construction Management Site in SharePoint
We like to create a nice SharePoint site for the construction team, where they can easily manage all their projects. A good intranet page for the company can be used as the starting point for construction projects. On the screen below you see a link on the home page to all the Projects. This links to a site for both estimating to track pending jobs and construction managers to track active projects. This example is built in SharePoint online with a communication site template.
When you click on Projects image, you link to the Work log site here:
Step 2 - Estimating and Bidding Construction Project SharePoint List
Sales, estimating, and bidding can work on all prospective projects here. You can create a new project data list in SharePoint. Manage key metrics that drive business such as
Track new construction projects
Manage key revenue and client information
Notify construction and field teams of new projects that are starting or pending
Automate project hand offs between estimating, contracting and construction management
To get there Click the New Project Setup link:
That links you to this SharePoint List of all pending projects or New Construction Projects. Use this information to coordinate and plan team resources and who will be key resources on the projects. When resources are scarce and teams are busy, it is not easy to find the right leaders for all the work coming up in the pipeline.
Step 3 -Track Pending Construction Projects
We demonstrate here all the data we track for a construction project. You configure any data your company needs in your SharePoint List. From the navigation bar you can do the following items with the project data:
1. Search all the construction jobs, by data field
2. Log a new job
3. Quick Edit allows you to edit all the project data all at once. Many users love this feature.
4. Flows - allows you to make "code-less" workflows in SharePoint Online, so no real code needs to be developed
To start a new construction job clink the New Button. See the form pop up below you fill in:
For Construction these are some recommended data fields you may want to track. You may add more or less, depending on how much info you like to collect. Typically we want the "minimum" amount needed so we don't slow down or over burden the construction teams with data entry and data management. Just the key metrics to make sure we are:
On Schedule (this is everything in construction. Typically if you can stay on schedule, things are going well).
On Budget (everyone wants to know if we are on budget and who's been paid)
Recommended Construction Project Data
Project Name - create a good consistent naming scheme that will allow you to search and sort on projects
Project # - get a good numbering scheme, one that ties to customers, projects, and financials
Job Address - a location you can later use to plot on a map
City/Zip
Owner Entity - owner of the project
Customer
Customer PO Reference # - authorizing document from accounting and client
Customer Contact
Contact Email Address
Contact Address
Contact City/Zip
Project Billing Date - we like to have a day the client committed to getting billed, and payment terms
Booking Date - date project closed the sale
Start Date - the date the client wants to start
Completion Date - day project ends or is planned to end
Division - if you have divisions in your company
Job Type - we like to have categories of projects (small, medium, large. Or; software project, constructions project, marketing project)
Billing Type
Architect - who was the architect of the solution
Job Size - some clients like to sort on job size
Contract Amount (Pre-Tax) - total revenue
Estimated Profit - make sure your plan for profitable work before it starts
Full Time Supervision - does the project need full time or part time attention
Project Difficulty - some clients rank projects on difficulty, either we need senior resources or junior resources, or a tough client
Client Interaction - client notes
Estimator - person that estimated the job so we can validate any assumptions they made on the job
Does this article seem like a lot of work? If you want us to walk you through it in a meeting, click the Get SharePoint Help button and Request a Meeting
Step 4 - Email Notifications
Outlook Email is a great way to quickly share project information. SharePoint can send a "notification" email to anyone you want when you "trigger" that notification within SharePoint.
In this video demo, estimating sold a project and wants to notify construction teams about the new job. We walk you through a series of emails where we:
Notify the construction manager of the new job
The manager "confirms" they know about it
Manager gets a confirmation email with a link to all the project information
Estimating gets notified the construction team is ready for the kickoff
If you Click Save from the New Project Set Up Form this triggers Office365 to send an email notification.
The first email that goes tells management of the new job.
There is a Link to all the information about the project. See the sample email here:
All I have to do is click "confirm" button to respond from within my email inbox.
I get a confirmation message from SharePoint and it also sends me a confirmation email that lets me know that it was responded to.
Now estimating and construction know that the hand-off took place, we have record of it, and the next step is to schedule a kickoff meeting. You also get a confirmation email so you know for sure that they got your response and accepted the new project:
The estimator can meet with the construction project team to go over all the information on the job and collaborate on project planning.
Once you are assigned to the project, if anyone other than yourself edits any of the data, we set up a notification that will alert you to any changes so you don't need to have a meeting or loose any changes, you are always notified, in real time, and fully in the know of all information about your project. See a sample notification about changes to information here:
Step 5 - Active Construction Project Work Log Dashboard
Part of the workflow is to move the pending projects from Estimating over to Active projects on the Work Log for construction. We actually move all the data over to a new data SharePoint List called WorkLog. The project is also still back on the New Project List where you can delete it or treat it as an archive. Once it is active you want to notify all the construction team and they can click a Link back to the project to get all the information they need stored in one place in SharePoint. You can access the list from the Home Page under Manage Your Projects:
The image is linked to the Project Dashboard Work log of all active construction jobs on this new list here:
Step 6 - Automatically Assign and Notify the Construction Resource Assignment
From this screen the construction manger can assign key resources to the project. We show here how to hand-off and assign the resources of:
Senior Manager
Project Manger
Superintendent
As you assign people they get this email notification automatically.
Step 7 - Manage Construction Projects Daily from the Work Log Dashboard
Now the Project Manager can see all the data they need about the project, as well as the date it was logged. The PMs can now take over and do what they do best and start to manage the scope, schedule and budget of the project. As they plan the work and "work the plan" The team enters updates to the budget, forecast and actual hours, etc. If they click the link in the email they go straight to the source of the information in SharePointso everyone is on the "same page" with project information. We demonstrate how we set up a workflow that will notify the team members by email if there are any edits to the project information. This keeps everyone in synch, singing off the same song sheet, using the most up to date information. This is where the magic happens because SharePoint can elimiante a lot email and coordination meetings since everyone has accurate, up to date information, available from their phones, laptops, and any device, from any where. Here is a screen shot of what the Link in the mails goes to. A screen of all the project information in SharePoint.
Construction Management in the 21st Century using some simple tools in SharePoint and Office365 were shown in the video demo. We showed how to automate many of the hand-offs, email notices, and sharing of information through the construction job life cycle. The benefits you will receive may include:
Happy Construction Workers
Better relationships between the field and office and between estimating and project management
Less time wasted on busy work
Fewer errors because people had accurate information on jobs
Increased accountability between leadership and on the job teams
Improved communication because of fewer breakdowns in keeping everyone up to date with notices
Greater adoption of SharePoint and tools because they are easy and actually help people succeed
[post_title] => Construction Management with SharePoint - A How to Guide and Video Demo
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Check out the HingePoint Booth (#317) at Groundbreak 2018 in Austin, TX, November 13-15 2018.
Groundbreak is THE construction conference of the year, with over 3,000 attendees representing top ENR companies, over 70 sessions on topics such as hiring during a labor shortage, AR/VR, increasing job site productivity, leveraging technology to maximize ROI, and getting the most out of mobile, plus, work alongside developers at the industry's only Innovation Lab.
HingePoint is thrilled to attend this event as a vendor. After all, we consult, develop, and integrate software for the construction industry.
When and Where is the Groundbreak Conference?
Groundbreak is November 13-15, 2018 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX.
How to Register?
You can visit Procore.com/groundbreak for details on the event or click HERE to register and purchase your tickets.
The Cost of Groundbreak Conference?
You have until April 30, 2018, to purchase tickets at the early bird price, which is currently $995 (a $300 savings off the full price of $1,295). Afterward, ticket prices will increase to $1,095. Tickets purchased after 8/31/18 will be $1,295, so be sure to purchase your ticket(s) now!
--
About HingePoint
HingePoint offers cloud and mobile applications for construction and real estate that are easy to adopt and employees love. Specializing in the systems that run the construction and real estate business including SharePoint, Salesforce, Procore, MS Dynamics, and Autodesk. Scale and grow profitably with Financial and Project Management Dashboards, document management, and workflow automation for field to office collaboration.
HingePoint
8105 Rasor Blvd.
Suite 241
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 301-0000www.hingepoint.com
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[post_content] =>
Construction Project Management: Stop Using Spreadsheets
Having and maintaining accurate, up-to-date employee data is crucial in the construction business.
If your business is rapidly growing (like so many other construction companies in the Dallas area where HingePoint is headquartered) and you’re onboarding employees, vendors, and contractors, accurate data on who your employees are and what they are working on is critical for success.
Although it sounds like a simple task, project management for construction companies can be quite challenging and lead to more serious issues if not managed properly.
The Spreadsheet Problem
Many of our clients in the construction industry previously used Excel spreadsheets to manage their financial data, employee data, project status, and assets. Some were using old versions of SharePoint with unorganized data. When working with software and older systems, data about employees are prone to be full of errors (out-dated and inaccurate).
The trick is to get up-to-date, accurate information out of your data management system instead of old, error-prone data.
Spreadsheets are great tools for handling smaller and more manageable datasets. But what happens when you start hiring 10, 100, or even 500 employees at a time while managing employee data in a spreadsheet or in multiple, unstructured databases?
It gets unmanageable - fast.
As your construction business grows, more departments need human resource employee data because more information is attached to each employee. And soon, just having the right name, address, phone number, and social security number across the enterprise become more challenging if you don’t have the right controls and organization.
If this data is in an actual spreadsheet, then anyone can enter and change data in that workbook.
(See: Why spreadsheets don’t manage big data sets well)
The Situation
For example, a manager could get access to a Human Resource spreadsheet with employee names and other important information. Let’s say the manager has an employee named Suzanne, but she likes to be called Suzy. The manager changes the data because they can and there are no restrictions preventing it.
But there is a big problem. Now the source data – the system of record – is not consistent/accurate.
Suzanne will be called different names in different versions of spreadsheets.
(Check out our FREE eBook on The Secret To Systems Integration: The System Of Record.)
Throw time in there, too. Perhaps “Suzy” is a contractor who is keeping her time in a spreadsheet that gets sent to her manager. The manager sends Suzanne’s hours and all contractors to Human Resources so they can get paid. The manager’s project data is being merged with HR’s data.
The problem is that we have two different names in the system. “Suzanne” and “Suzy”.
No VLOOKUP formula or Pivot Table is going to solve this. It’s going to take someone to manually go in and fix the data.
This might not seem like a big deal, but as the company grows, these smaller errors will multiply in other departments. Once this happens, the employee data cannot be trusted, and it will take a lot of manual work to fix the errors each pay period. The data problems can become so big that businesses end up just not trusting their data, causing a lot of rework, manual data entry, etc.
The Solution
A lot of construction companies we work with the hope that the software an IT company is going to install will solve the data problem.
Unfortunately, this just adds another layer of complexity to the original problem.
The problem that needs to be solved is how you're going to clean up your data, actually collecting it, and then showing it in a way that lets you see the data in a new light.
Ideally, you want to make decisions with information that automatically reports to you.
Seeing year-over-year and month-to-month views of data can quickly identify trends. With the right devices collecting the data and the right systems transposing it into information, humans can focus on making strategic decisions that will make their customers happy.
That is how technology should work. And that what HingePoint can help you acheive!
If you're looking to solve your company's HR and Project Management employee data problem, we'd love to hear what you're looking to accomplish! Feel free to start a live chat with our solution consultant on this page, email us, or call us at (214) 301-0000 to get started today.
--
About HingePoint
HingePoint offers cloud and mobile applications for construction and real estate that are easy to adopt and employees love. Specializing in the systems that run the construction and real estate business including SharePoint, Salesforce, Procore, MS Dynamics, and Autodesk. Scale and grow profitably with Financial and Project Management Dashboards, document management, and workflow automation for field to office collaboration.
HingePoint
8105 Rasor Blvd.
Suite 241
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 301-0000
www.hingepoint.com
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[post_content] => Microsoft SharePoint is one of the best tools to manage company data. However, finding an expert SharePoint consultant can be a difficult and time-consuming task. Here are a few things to look for when searching for a qualified SharePoint consulting and development partner.
What to Look For in a SharePoint Consultant:
A good SharePoint Consulting Firm is a company that:
Has both consulting and development experience in your industry.
Can customize the out-of-the-box capabilities of SharePoint.
Understands how to organize data.
Let’s look at each of these in detail.
Experience in Consulting & Development in Your Industry
You don’t want a company with little experience in your industry. If the consultant cannot prove their track record of satisfied customers, then you might need to look elsewhere.
Always ask, what brands the SharePoint Consultant has worked with. Depending on what kind of solution you want, you may want to find a SharePoint consultant that has worked with trusted brands. For example, HingePoint has worked with brands like Marriott, Verizon, Presidio, and IHG.
Make sure that they have experience working in your industry (or a similar industry).
Ability to Customize SharePoint's Built-In Capabilities
To meet your business' specific needs, SharePoint consultants sometimes only need to use the standard "out-of-the-box" (built-in) capabilities that come with SharePoint.
But sometimes, they need to be able to customize SharePoint so it works the way you want.
If you're looking for customization and the consultant can only perform basic configuration without any customization, you're going to be unsatisfied.
The flip side is also true: if a SharePoint consultant only tries to push customization when you just need something basic, they aren't the right fit.
Always ask, "Do you just configure out-of-the-box or do you customize SharePoint?"
Understands How to Organize Data
Let’s face it, if you're using SharePoint, you most likely want to manage all the information in your company. SharePoint is a great document management system. Without it, your documents are probably unorganized and difficult to find. If the SharePoint consultant does not know how to make a hierarchy of data, you might not have the right fit.
Always ask,"Are you going to help me organize my data? Manage it on an ongoing basis?"
Conclusion
Hiring a SharePoint consulting firm can be an investment that provides a positive ROI almost immediately.
If you're in the process of finding the right consultant, we'd love to hear what you're looking to accomplish! Feel free to start a live chat with our solution consultant on this page, email us, or call us at (214) 301-0000 to get started today.
About HingePoint
HingePoint offers cloud and mobile applications for construction and real estate that are easy to adopt and employees love. Specializing in the systems that run the construction and real estate business including SharePoint, Salesforce, Procore, MS Dynamics, and Autodesk. Scale and grow profitably with Financial and Project Management Dashboards, document management, and workflow automation for field to office collaboration.
HingePoint
8105 Rasor Blvd.
Suite 241
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 301-0000
www.hingepoint.com
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[post_date] => 2018-01-25 16:22:14
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[post_content] => I’m so glad I attended the 2018 Economic & Real Estate Outlook event hosted by theNorth Dallas Chamber of Commerce. I felt privileged to be in this room with so many great speakers that included:
Ted Jones, Chief Economist - Senior Vice President, Stewart Title Guaranty Company
Bud Weinstein, Associate Director of the Maguire Energy Institute, SMU
The event made me feel proud to be a Texan, to be from Plano, and to have a company (HingePoint) that is hyper-focused on this specific industry. I'm grateful that HingePoint is designed to tap into the massive potential of the millennial workforce (what I call the young Rock Stars of the next generation).
Why?
Well, see what I learned from the event:
Top Takeaways from the 1st Speaker - Associate Director of the Maguire Energy Institute, SMU–Bernard L. Weinstein
Texas is forecast to grow 3% next year. That's thanks to a trend of people and businesses moving south, and the powerful Texas business climate to attract companies to the region and stimulate on-shore manufacturing.
100,000 new jobs in Texas last year (2017) and 100,000 more next year. HingePoint is proud to have added 5 of thosenew jobs as we grew last year.
Texas leads in Exports, especially crude oil and natural gas. But there is a risk if the NAFTA agreement impacts our trading with our friends in Mexico and Canada.
The stock market is rocking along, creating long term wealth.
Fossil fuels are going over the next 25 years and Texas has a lot of natural resources and capabilities to meet that demand.
In 2018, the United States is forecast to be the #1 country in the world for energy production, which will increase our exports, and provide for reliable long-term growth of the economy.
Energy dominance globally will be a great high ground for politics and growth globally.
North Dallas, Plano, Frisco, and Irving are the strongest markets in Texas! I'm so proud to be living and headquartered in Plano Texas since 2006!
Top Takeaways from the 2nd Speaker – Chief Economist – Ted Jones, Ph.D.
By the numbers, data counts! Amen! Facts and data really do tell a story. A story HingePoint helps our clients with: get control of their data so they can profitably scale and grow, using tech resources like Cloud, Mobile, and Analytics to optimize their business.
Bullish on the future, all trends are leading up and our competitiveness is increasing monthly.
Lowest unemployment raster in the past 44 years!
16% growth in Travel and Leisure jobs! That means there are people with discretionary income and spending, which further stimulates the economy.
Plano, Dallas, and Irving has 2 times the job growth of the national average! Thanks to all the entrepreneurs from EO Dallas(entrepreneurs organization), BizOwnersEd, Vistage, C12, and CEO Institute that grow our local economy.
Millennials are 14% of the population, but make up 30% of new home purchases! So they are aggressive, risk seekers, committed to living in Texas to raise families and have a great career. The rock stars of the future love Texas!
Businesses that tap into the millennial workforce and make products millennials want will flourish. That is why HingePoint is so excited about the future. We do both! Our cloud, mobile, and analytics applications for construction and commercial real estate will be key in helping this next generation of innovative leaders optimize and grow American businesses.
Disasters – first, they dip the economy. Then, it causes a boom as insurance and federal aid build the region. Hurricanes and fires will help to fuel the Texas and national economy.
Tax Reform – putting more money into the economy like Dallas' Southwest Airlines that gave bonuses to employees based on recent tax breaks. Lowering the corporate tax from 39% to 29% almost doubles net profit for some companies, and it will directly put money in the hands of businesses so they can hire more people and increase compensation. In turn, that will further stimulate the economy. If you invest in the stock market, it may continue to climb on in this economy.
Tax deductions for home mortgages over $1M will hurt California and NY with very expensive houses. This will further fuel the exodus out of those states to more affordable southern states like Florida and Texas. Texas is leading in population growth.
Nimble! The cost to drill is down. Rigs can be drilled in 19 days now, vs 40 days. Our energy development has increased rapidly (and with far fewer rigs), so we can basically scale up and down almost instantly to meet the demand. This allows for long-term sustained growth on the fuel of cheap and clean energy from natural gas.
Follow Dr. TC Jones on Twitter at @DrTCJ for more great economic stats every day.
Real Estate Round Table
I had the pleasure of sitting with the Hoque Global team lead by Mike Hoque and Mehrdad Moayedi (President & CEO of Centurion American) who developed The Statler Hotel & Residences to revitalize Downtown Dallas, and Kourtny Garrett, President & CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc. Everyone involved made some great points about the real estate climate in Dallas.
Below are a few of my key takeaways:
They're attracting great tenants downtown.
Investing in the legacy of Dallas and preserving our city's history will be a long-term investment that shows people’s faith in Dallas and Texas.
Hoque Global develops highly-successful restaurants (such as Dallas Chop House, Dallas Fish Market, Chop House Burger, and Wild Salsa), revitalizing downtown Dallas with shopping, bars, restaurants, and even parks that families love. I personally take out-of-town guests to the park (across from Statler) and it’s been a source of “family fun” for my wife and 3 daughters.
New tenants like Amazon (and others) may join AT&T. They'll find Dallas ripe for setting up a long-term presence in the south-central region that's full of the lifestyle and talent pool their employees want for sustained growth.
Can we rename "Millennials" to our "Next Generation Rock Star leaders, innovators, and citizens of America" that will take us to the next level of American morality, purpose, and keep this the greatest country on earth? Who’s with me?
I feel strongly 2018 is going to be a great year! At HingePoint, our purpose is to "help transform and grow people so that they can reach their full potential and make life better".
Is 2018 going to be great or what? I feel strongly it will! However, you don’t have to take my word for it… you can download the presentations and decide for yourself:
Dr. Bernard Weinstein’s presentation can be downloadedhere.
Dr. Ted Jones’ presentation can be downloaded here.
About HingePoint, LLC
HingePoint delivers cloud, mobile and analytics solutions for the construction industry. Specializing in the systems that run the construction business including SharePoint, Salesforce, Procore, Microsoft Dynamics, and Autodesk. Scale and grow profitably with Financial and Project Dashboards, document management, and workflow automation for field-to-office collaboration.
----
HingePoint, LLC
2300 McDermott Road STE 200-235, Plano, TX 75025
(214) 301-0000
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If you are not currently using Office 365 and Microsoft SharePoint to manage your construction projects… you should be! With a few simple configurations, SharePoint can be the foundation for a flexible, user-friendly, and affordable Project Management Information System (PMIS).
First, let’s clarify what Office 365 is. Some people think of Office 365 as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for document creation and Outlook for email. Most are unaware that those are only a tiny piece of everything Office 365 has to offer. We will discuss what these apps are and how to leverage them to their fullest capabilities at a later date (stay tuned to our blog). In the meantime, you can check out the Top 5 Integration Features of Office 365 and SharePoint Online.
Below are the reasons why you should be using SharePoint to manage your construction projects:
1. Chances are you probably already have SharePoint
Microsoft states that they have over 250,000 organizations using SharePoint and that over 85% of Fortune 500 companies now have SharePoint Online.
You are already saving money on licensing costs by owning the SharePoint application through your Office 365 licenses.
2. Security
Using groups to maintain a scalable security environment is typically your best option because permissions are applied to the Group as a whole, not individual people. So, when adjusting permissions, only one change is needed to a group, opposed to multiple individuals. You can define a security permission from a site collection, to a site, to the lowest component of a single item or document. It's very easy to assign these permissions directly to an individual user or a group of users.
3. Collaboration tools everyone will want to use
The ability to leverage Office 365 Groups, which deliver a means of group communication, is a solid alternative to popular messaging applications, such as Slack. Using Groups gives your team the ability to view, edit, share all group files, view and schedule group meetings with ease allowing for better communications among team members.
Granting external access in SharePoint Online is a breeze and no longer a time-consuming inconvenience. Simply connect a Microsoft account to their company e-mail or create guest links to give users access to folders, individual files, and sites within your environment.
4. 3rd Party Services Integration
Microsoft Flow puts real power in the hands of regular users by easily connecting and automating services vital to your business. Microsoft Flow features code-free interaction with hundreds of third-party services such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Facebook, Twitter, OneDrive, Microsoft Dynamics, and more.
5. Reporting tools that are ridiculously simple
SharePoint features powerful reporting tools to quickly view and share data. You can build, configure, and update scorecards and dashboards. Data visualization with Power BI: Embedding Power BI reports to a SharePoint page – display charts, dashboards, reports, KPIs, etc. on your SharePoint site makes the information readily available to users. Additionally, the analysis/metrics tools are now available within the program instead of having to import them; so, significant time is saved on importing data from other sources. You can also use Excel to build your reports and display them within SharePoint.
6. Mobile/Tablet Friendly
Access to everything, from anywhere, and on any device. This is HUGE for the construction industry! View and work on documents, while on the job site. With SharePoint Online, you have all the information you need on every device so you can get more work done with ease.
7. Task Management
SharePoint allows you to manage a set of tasks that may belong to a project, a business initiative, or a department. Users can also create customized list views combined with out-of-the-box workflows to manage personal tasks and assign tasks to their team members or anyone else in the company.
8. Flexibility to make it work how you want
SharePoint is designed to be configured however you want and to provide the most value when managing your construction project.
It can be very intimidating to try and figure out where to start with SharePoint because by default, SharePoint is installed as a blank site without any content.
At HingePoint, we have guru developers and architects that have ALL the Microsoft certifications. We can help you create a customized Web Parts, .Net, Office 365 APIs, SharePoint Online and Integration with Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory (AD), and SQL Server.
If you properly implement SharePoint, it will transform your company’s productivity. Employees will be more efficient, you’ll have better access to your company’s data, and you’ll be able to better report on key metrics. HingePoint’s custom SharePoint solutions have helped many companies struggling with unorganized data and manual, multi-step processes. Those same customers have transitioned into a more organized, productive organization through automated workflows and easy-to-search information.
About HingePoint
HingePoint delivers cloud, mobile and analytics solutions for the construction industry. Specializing in the systems that run the construction business including SharePoint, Salesforce, Procore, Microsoft Dynamics, and Autodesk. Scale and grow profitably with Financial and Project Dashboards, document management, and workflow automation for field-to-office collaboration.
[post_title] => Using Microsoft SharePoint as a Project Management Solution for Construction Industry
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[post_content] => Drones have a rapidly growing presence at construction sites where they help verify that work has been performed properly, on time, on schedule and according to plan while reducing the subjective manual data.
But a big problem that has arisen from the onslaught of drones is how can general contractors or property owners use drones to add value to what really matters – better monitoring and managing their projects and actually get useful insights out of the drone flights?
Drones that just fly high over job sites are limited with their ability to capture the entire site, and imagery taken by workers from ground level are usually out of context and hard to manage. It’s been extremely difficult to bring a drone’s construction-verification imagery, especially into a 3D BIM model.
But Dronomy has software that offers a robust solution to this problem.
“It adds knowledge to construction,” VP of Business Development said Gil Mildworth said.
Dronomy is a very exciting Israeli startup that created SiteAware, powerful technology that transforms off the shelf consumer drones into a sensor with brains that can create 3D “as built” models of construction sites just by flying a construction site. What makes this company even more exciting is their ability to get the drones to autonomously fly low and close to the actual structure, capture high-resolution data from all angles which allow for high-accuracy analysis of the construction project.
Dronomy can use the aerial imagery to build 3D models that can be overlaid and compared to BIM “as planned” models. General Contractors can compare each BIM model created by Dronomy to the previous model comparing “as planned” to “as built” over time. The solution, called SiteAware by Dronomy, also integrates to the existing workflows of the GC’s to provide automated content adding visual perspectives to punch-lists and for RFIs.
“We allow GCs and owners to continuously and remotely monitor their construction projects, adding unparalleled insights. The ability to compare the intention and the actual result of the construction is what adds value” Mildworth said. “You can even see what changed in the project automatically over time with our 4D progress report.”
SiteAware automatically highlights the delta or what has changed between models so the user can easily see and document what has changed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
“You can get half-inch-level accuracy for measurements just with simple autonomous drone scan of the work site,” Mildworth said.
The software is ideal for construction sites that are building from the ground up, like commercial or high-rise buildings, and sites that have many buildings, like a large apartment complex. This is where Dronomy differentiates itself as compared to others in the market.
[post_title] => Dronomy’s SiteAware Links Drone Data to Revit Models, Transforming Construction Sites with Drones
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Toyota and Lean Land in Plano, Texas
If you know anything about Toyota North America headquarters, you probably heard it is moving to Plano, Texas. They are building a remarkable new headquarters building near Legacy West.
But what you might not know is that Toyota has revolutionized how companies and organizations around the world work together through something called lean. Lean is a philosophical approach created by Toyota in the 1930s to eliminate waste so you can better serve customers.
"Being Toyota's neighbor in Plano is outstanding," HingePoint CEO and Founder Bryce Finnerty said. "We not only eliminate waste for our clients who are doing redundant work because of the software they are using, we have adopted the philosophy in our own work."
The HingePoint team has been reading “2 Second Lean” by Paul Akers for about a year now. We read a page in our morning, 30-minute huddle, and we all try to “lean out” our workflow.
Akers, who sent a personal message to the HingePoint team via YouTube, said lean is very simple and it should not be complicated.
"Lean is simply the elimination of waste by taking every process that you do every day and just removing that waste and making it a little more efficient and easier for you to do," Akers said. "Lean should make your work more enjoyable. If it does that you're going to be more productive, the quality is going to go up, the customer is going to win, the company is going to win and you're going to win."
Lean thinking is spreading. According to the Lean Enterprise Institute, almost all industries are applying lean thinking to their businesses: logistics and distribution, services, retail, healthcare, construction, maintenance, and government.
“Indeed, lean consciousness and methods are only beginning to take root among senior managers and leaders in all sectors today,” according to the Lean Enterprise Institute,
But what exactly does 'lean out' mean?
When we say “lean out your work,” we’re saying, “See where you are wasting time or resources and fix it.” Be like Toyota, and lean thinking will vastly improve your business.
If you only save two seconds on repetitive tasks, those seconds start adding up if you continuously improve. And if you take the philosophy to heart, you can lean out your life both personally or professionally.
Another good way to lean out your workflow is to fix what bugs you. Actually, all HingePointers are paid 40 minutes Tuesday through Friday to find something that bugs them and to fix it.
We’ve had employees redesign entire personal offices to learning more Excel keyboard shortcuts. You can see a list of more examples below.
So Why is Toyota and Lean Important?
Toyota vastly improved Henry Ford’s assembly line, by seeing how they could eliminate waste. Toyota called the philosophy of complete elimination of all waste the Toyota Production System.
“Waste can manifest as excess inventory in some cases, extraneous processing steps in other cases, and defective products in yet other cases. All these "waste" elements intertwine with each other to create more waste, eventually impacting the management of the corporation itself,” according to Toyota.
The production system was created with the objective of "making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible."
How does this apply to your business?
Toyota and lean thinking goes hand in hand.
But think about your own customers. Are they getting your best work in the most efficient way possible? Or do you have waste? Are you wasting time because you have some software that isn’t working the way you want it? Do you have all your data in one place?
Entire companies have been created around the idea of eliminating waste. HingePoint is one of them. We help you take control of your critical data that is locked in a server and can’t communicate with other systems.
HingePoint Lean
Equipment and Office
Started Leaning out (organizing and getting rid of stuff) Marketing Shared folders
Charge computer near the front door when not being used so it is easy to grab when leaving
Began Leaning out Office to fit new filing cabinet in closet to hold all paper documents for current clients
Organize File Folders/Cabinets
Got monitor adapters so team can all work on two screens in my home office
Bought extra plug-ins for computer home office to get in and out of home office quicker
Got another TV screen from Bryce to save time on group collaboration, extra screen for 2 Hingepointers
Set up 3 workspaces in my office so we don't have to waste time when the team gets to my house for a work session
Turn on computer first thing in the morning to let it boot up while I do other stuff rather than waiting for it to load
Got a second computer cord to save time plugging my computer in and taking my cord with me everywhere and then having to plug it in again when I get home
Bought a $15 keyboard and mouse so I can have two work stations in my office
SharePoint
Used Jonathan's template for Data Mapping to speed up my data mapping for SharePoint
SharePoint data mapping - do one column at a time, adding data in batches
SharePoint data mapping - use existing mappings as templates for similar sites
Created the project management folder structure for SharePoint in a dropbox template to save time when making cutover
SharePoint future state mapping - leave Brendan's comments when data is the same
SharePoint future state mapping - use keyboard to switch between tabs
SharePoint future state mapping - instead of typing commonly used phrases, copy from other fields
SharePoint future state mapping - a lot of the fields are the same across contracts; only change what is different
Set up all requirements for list views in new SharePoint so that I wouldn’t have to review what I was thinking and then rework the requirements after discussing with developers
SharePoint future state mapping - use keyboard shortcuts for review
When transferring files between folders, open two copies of Windows Explorer for the destination and source
SharePoint future state mapping - use keyboard shortcuts for review comments, like Alt+R+C for new comment
Salesforce
Use the best lighting when scanning business cards to Salesforce
Set up salesforce filters to automate reporting
Be logged into programs (SF) earlier in the day
Wrote down the configuration for the salesforce lead filters, so if they get deleted again it will be a quick fix
Tableau
When connecting to online data sources in Tableau, always have a good internet connection
When connecting to data sources in Tableau, validate credentials outside of Tableau first, don't try to troubleshoot inside of Tableau
Excel
Learn keyboard shortcuts in Excel for common tasks, i.e. Alt+H-I-R for insert row
In Excel, do as much navigation as possible with the keyboard
Excel shortcut: F2 to edit cell contents instead of double clicking
Started using some of Jonathan's excel shortcuts that he taught us
Other
Organized candidates, recruiting backlog
Turned off social media notifications to be able to focus more on work
Saved phone number for daily huddle GoToMeeting
Only work through one VPN at a time
Organized applicants in spreadsheet so I don't waste time trying to figure out who is who
Brought iPad to meeting with Dronomy to lean out bringing my entire laptop setup
Installed a Chrome extension called StayFocused to block distractions
Added Amazon Chime daily huddle dial-in as a contact in my phone
Created Content Widgets to easily share content on the blog
Use Power BI to create graphs wherever possible
Emptied downloads folder to avoid scrolling to find newly downloaded files
Close windows and tabs that are not relevant to the work at hand
Make scorecards for client throughout the week to avoid rushed work on Fridays
For data dictionary, fill out all data names for a screen first and then define them
Data mapping/dictionary - use two screens
Brought iPad to meeting yesterday instead of laptop to take notes so I didn't have to pack a whole bag
When working through VPN on servers, work in the morning/early afternoon to avoid lag that occurs in the evening and spend time packing up and unpacking my laptop and accessories
Edit template in meeting as we go, so we don't have to take notes and then do rework after the meeting
Improved server access status template
Had Jonathan set up Scorecards while I was in a meeting so I could send them out when I got home
When uploading client weekly reports, copy both reports together to avoid clicking down into folder structure
Tested everyone's email and password before sending them to the developers so we didn't waste anymore time
In future, send meeting invite to client and let them either accept or decline, rather than wait for them to respond to my emails
HingePoint covers the AEC Industry and is the author of The AEC Industry 4.0 Report and the Autodesk Industry Report 2017. HingePoint helps construction and real estate development companies take control of their company’s information. We combine systems, software, and data so all company information can be seen and accessed from one screen, like a smartphone or computer.
HingePoint provides Procore, SharePoint and Salesforce consulting for Commercial Real Estate and Construction companies. HingePoint also helps the AEC industry with development & integration of AutoDesk and Procore products with enterprise systems. We are a trusted partner with over 25 years experience of systems development and integration work in the AEC industry. Our clients range from top hotel brands and restaurant chains to AEC firms and real estate developers and Facilities Management. We provide BIM with ROI. Results Guaranteed…Literally Guaranteed.
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[post_content] => Having the right data in your Revit or BIM model translates into power.
Don’t believe that statement?
Ask HDR Inc.
HDR is an architecture, engineering and consulting firm that was founded in 1917. It’s employee owned with 10,000 employees. The firm has worked in all seven continents and has done notable projects like the Hoover Dam Bypass, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and The Roslin Institute.
HDR currently does a lot of work related to health care spaces, science and technology and education and civic spaces.
“Technology has evolved tremendously,” HDR health care architect Susana Erpestad said. “To design with true information or even evidence, it helps sustain the concepts you create.”
The way HDR uses data to inform design has changed the most. The firm uses a lot of parametric models, but the goal is always to match what is in the field with what is in the model.
By using virtually any software platform available in the market, teams find which platforms will inform the design they do.
“I think data is power,” Erpestad said. “I think part of the big impact we have right now is BIM and data management.”
James Bates, an HDR engineer, said they deliver a lot of their requirements and information through Revit. But they do not solely rely on it.
They are constantly in the field checking things against their designs.
“We collaborate face to face. We collaborate with software. We work in the same models,” Bates said. “Then each of us bring our different software that we use into that process so we can comprehensively build the building.”
Bates said the company has been able to sustain its technological advantage through new recruits.
“We have a lot of breadth of experience at HDR ranging from people just beginning in the industry and people being there for a really long time,” Bates said. “I think the way that software is adapted to the process – we can only get that from the emerging professional.”
Customized Revit Plugins
Extend Revit functionality with Revit Plugins and improve your productivity. We help our clients customize and deploy Revit plugins that automate key tasks, improve work efficiency and reduce errors leading to improved results and higher profit.
Try Our Standard Revit Plugin for Free
If you are not looking for a custom plugin, you might want to try our standard Revit plugin in the Autodesk App Store.
[post_title] => Data in Your Revit or BIM Model Equals Power, HDR Lead Architect says
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[post_content] => Construction managers will learn how to use SharePoint online out of the box tools to manage all their critical project data. We will show in the video demonstration how to:
Manage all your new projects estimating is bidding on in one SharePoint list
Hand off new projects from Sales to Operations after the deal closes
How Construction managers can see all their project data in one SharePoint project dashboard
How to assign project team resources such as Project Managers, Superintendents and other team members automatically with automated email notifications
The Benefits of SharePoint and Office365 to Construction Managers?
Store all the projects in one simple location. no more scattered project data
Speed up the hand-off process for new projects, no more forgetting to tell the team about the new project
Automate notifications and project information as it goes out to new team members - no more errors and omitting people from the project communications
Eliminate wasted time in communication project information - it is automatically sent out to everyone
Works on Mobile for field teams and field-to-office collaboration with construction job sites
The 7 SharePoint Lessons in the Demo Video Are:
Create a SharePoint site for Construction Projects
How to Create a New Construction Project set up form in SharePoint
Track new construction bids and estimates coning from business development
Create automated email notification in Office365 from Estimating to Operations
Construction Work log Dashboard of all active projects
Assign Senior Managers, Project Managers, and Superintendents and notify everyone in real time
Constructions teams manage and update their project data to everyone knows accurate status
We will give you step by step instructions and you can watch the steps in the video below:
Step 1 - Create a Construction Management Site in SharePoint
We like to create a nice SharePoint site for the construction team, where they can easily manage all their projects. A good intranet page for the company can be used as the starting point for construction projects. On the screen below you see a link on the home page to all the Projects. This links to a site for both estimating to track pending jobs and construction managers to track active projects. This example is built in SharePoint online with a communication site template.
When you click on Projects image, you link to the Work log site here:
Step 2 - Estimating and Bidding Construction Project SharePoint List
Sales, estimating, and bidding can work on all prospective projects here. You can create a new project data list in SharePoint. Manage key metrics that drive business such as
Track new construction projects
Manage key revenue and client information
Notify construction and field teams of new projects that are starting or pending
Automate project hand offs between estimating, contracting and construction management
To get there Click the New Project Setup link:
That links you to this SharePoint List of all pending projects or New Construction Projects. Use this information to coordinate and plan team resources and who will be key resources on the projects. When resources are scarce and teams are busy, it is not easy to find the right leaders for all the work coming up in the pipeline.
Step 3 -Track Pending Construction Projects
We demonstrate here all the data we track for a construction project. You configure any data your company needs in your SharePoint List. From the navigation bar you can do the following items with the project data:
1. Search all the construction jobs, by data field
2. Log a new job
3. Quick Edit allows you to edit all the project data all at once. Many users love this feature.
4. Flows - allows you to make "code-less" workflows in SharePoint Online, so no real code needs to be developed
To start a new construction job clink the New Button. See the form pop up below you fill in:
For Construction these are some recommended data fields you may want to track. You may add more or less, depending on how much info you like to collect. Typically we want the "minimum" amount needed so we don't slow down or over burden the construction teams with data entry and data management. Just the key metrics to make sure we are:
On Schedule (this is everything in construction. Typically if you can stay on schedule, things are going well).
On Budget (everyone wants to know if we are on budget and who's been paid)
Recommended Construction Project Data
Project Name - create a good consistent naming scheme that will allow you to search and sort on projects
Project # - get a good numbering scheme, one that ties to customers, projects, and financials
Job Address - a location you can later use to plot on a map
City/Zip
Owner Entity - owner of the project
Customer
Customer PO Reference # - authorizing document from accounting and client
Customer Contact
Contact Email Address
Contact Address
Contact City/Zip
Project Billing Date - we like to have a day the client committed to getting billed, and payment terms
Booking Date - date project closed the sale
Start Date - the date the client wants to start
Completion Date - day project ends or is planned to end
Division - if you have divisions in your company
Job Type - we like to have categories of projects (small, medium, large. Or; software project, constructions project, marketing project)
Billing Type
Architect - who was the architect of the solution
Job Size - some clients like to sort on job size
Contract Amount (Pre-Tax) - total revenue
Estimated Profit - make sure your plan for profitable work before it starts
Full Time Supervision - does the project need full time or part time attention
Project Difficulty - some clients rank projects on difficulty, either we need senior resources or junior resources, or a tough client
Client Interaction - client notes
Estimator - person that estimated the job so we can validate any assumptions they made on the job
Does this article seem like a lot of work? If you want us to walk you through it in a meeting, click the Get SharePoint Help button and Request a Meeting
Step 4 - Email Notifications
Outlook Email is a great way to quickly share project information. SharePoint can send a "notification" email to anyone you want when you "trigger" that notification within SharePoint.
In this video demo, estimating sold a project and wants to notify construction teams about the new job. We walk you through a series of emails where we:
Notify the construction manager of the new job
The manager "confirms" they know about it
Manager gets a confirmation email with a link to all the project information
Estimating gets notified the construction team is ready for the kickoff
If you Click Save from the New Project Set Up Form this triggers Office365 to send an email notification.
The first email that goes tells management of the new job.
There is a Link to all the information about the project. See the sample email here:
All I have to do is click "confirm" button to respond from within my email inbox.
I get a confirmation message from SharePoint and it also sends me a confirmation email that lets me know that it was responded to.
Now estimating and construction know that the hand-off took place, we have record of it, and the next step is to schedule a kickoff meeting. You also get a confirmation email so you know for sure that they got your response and accepted the new project:
The estimator can meet with the construction project team to go over all the information on the job and collaborate on project planning.
Once you are assigned to the project, if anyone other than yourself edits any of the data, we set up a notification that will alert you to any changes so you don't need to have a meeting or loose any changes, you are always notified, in real time, and fully in the know of all information about your project. See a sample notification about changes to information here:
Step 5 - Active Construction Project Work Log Dashboard
Part of the workflow is to move the pending projects from Estimating over to Active projects on the Work Log for construction. We actually move all the data over to a new data SharePoint List called WorkLog. The project is also still back on the New Project List where you can delete it or treat it as an archive. Once it is active you want to notify all the construction team and they can click a Link back to the project to get all the information they need stored in one place in SharePoint. You can access the list from the Home Page under Manage Your Projects:
The image is linked to the Project Dashboard Work log of all active construction jobs on this new list here:
Step 6 - Automatically Assign and Notify the Construction Resource Assignment
From this screen the construction manger can assign key resources to the project. We show here how to hand-off and assign the resources of:
Senior Manager
Project Manger
Superintendent
As you assign people they get this email notification automatically.
Step 7 - Manage Construction Projects Daily from the Work Log Dashboard
Now the Project Manager can see all the data they need about the project, as well as the date it was logged. The PMs can now take over and do what they do best and start to manage the scope, schedule and budget of the project. As they plan the work and "work the plan" The team enters updates to the budget, forecast and actual hours, etc. If they click the link in the email they go straight to the source of the information in SharePointso everyone is on the "same page" with project information. We demonstrate how we set up a workflow that will notify the team members by email if there are any edits to the project information. This keeps everyone in synch, singing off the same song sheet, using the most up to date information. This is where the magic happens because SharePoint can elimiante a lot email and coordination meetings since everyone has accurate, up to date information, available from their phones, laptops, and any device, from any where. Here is a screen shot of what the Link in the mails goes to. A screen of all the project information in SharePoint.
Construction Management in the 21st Century using some simple tools in SharePoint and Office365 were shown in the video demo. We showed how to automate many of the hand-offs, email notices, and sharing of information through the construction job life cycle. The benefits you will receive may include:
Happy Construction Workers
Better relationships between the field and office and between estimating and project management
Less time wasted on busy work
Fewer errors because people had accurate information on jobs
Increased accountability between leadership and on the job teams
Improved communication because of fewer breakdowns in keeping everyone up to date with notices
Greater adoption of SharePoint and tools because they are easy and actually help people succeed
When you click on Projects image, you link to the Work log site here:
That links you to this SharePoint List of all pending projects or New Construction Projects. Use this information to coordinate and plan team resources and who will be key resources on the projects. When resources are scarce and teams are busy, it is not easy to find the right leaders for all the work coming up in the pipeline.
1. Search all the construction jobs, by data field
2. Log a new job
3. Quick Edit allows you to edit all the project data all at once. Many users love this feature.
4. Flows - allows you to make "code-less" workflows in SharePoint Online, so no real code needs to be developed
To start a new construction job clink the New Button. See the form pop up below you fill in:
For Construction these are some recommended data fields you may want to track. You may add more or less, depending on how much info you like to collect. Typically we want the "minimum" amount needed so we don't slow down or over burden the construction teams with data entry and data management. Just the key metrics to make sure we are:
All I have to do is click "confirm" button to respond from within my email inbox.
I get a confirmation message from SharePoint and it also sends me a confirmation email that lets me know that it was responded to.
Now estimating and construction know that the hand-off took place, we have record of it, and the next step is to schedule a kickoff meeting. You also get a confirmation email so you know for sure that they got your response and accepted the new project:
The estimator can meet with the construction project team to go over all the information on the job and collaborate on project planning.
Once you are assigned to the project, if anyone other than yourself edits any of the data, we set up a notification that will alert you to any changes so you don't need to have a meeting or loose any changes, you are always notified, in real time, and fully in the know of all information about your project. See a sample notification about changes to information here:
The image is linked to the Project Dashboard Work log of all active construction jobs on this new list here:
Construction Management in the 21st Century using some simple tools in SharePoint and Office365 were shown in the video demo. We showed how to automate many of the hand-offs, email notices, and sharing of information through the construction job life cycle. The benefits you will receive may include:
As your construction business grows, more departments need human resource employee data because more information is attached to each employee. And soon, just having the right name, address, phone number, and social security number across the enterprise become more challenging if you don’t have the right controls and organization.
If this data is in an actual spreadsheet, then anyone can enter and change data in that workbook.
(See: Why spreadsheets don’t manage big data sets well)
The event made me feel proud to be a Texan, to be from Plano, and to have a company (HingePoint) that is hyper-focused on this specific industry. I'm grateful that HingePoint is designed to tap into the massive potential of the millennial workforce (what I call the young Rock Stars of the next generation).
Why?
Well, see what I learned from the event:
If you are not currently using Office 365 and Microsoft SharePoint to manage your construction projects… you should be! With a few simple configurations, SharePoint can be the foundation for a flexible, user-friendly, and affordable Project Management Information System (PMIS).
First, let’s clarify what Office 365 is. Some people think of Office 365 as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for document creation and Outlook for email. Most are unaware that those are only a tiny piece of everything Office 365 has to offer. We will discuss what these apps are and how to leverage them to their fullest capabilities at a later date (stay tuned to our blog). In the meantime, you can check out the Top 5 Integration Features of Office 365 and SharePoint Online.
SiteAware automatically highlights the delta or what has changed between models so the user can easily see and document what has changed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
“You can get half-inch-level accuracy for measurements just with simple autonomous drone scan of the work site,” Mildworth said.
The software is ideal for construction sites that are building from the ground up, like commercial or high-rise buildings, and sites that have many buildings, like a large apartment complex. This is where Dronomy differentiates itself as compared to others in the market.
[post_title] => Dronomy’s SiteAware Links Drone Data to Revit Models, Transforming Construction Sites with Drones
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