Best in Class Construction Management Software - Hands Down
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Autodesk Construction Cloud creates a one-stop solution for managing construction documents from correspondence, invoices, pay applications, change orders, submittals, RFIs, and meeting minutes. The ability to interconnect items is a huge time saver. For example, when taking meeting minutes, you can link an RFI/Submittal/issue to the agenda item so you are aren't having to go to a different module to find the item. The ease of assigning tasks and due dates to items encourages accountability. The ability to customize modules/reports/views is very intuitive and appreciated. It's easy to use out of the box and then allows you to increase the breadth and depth of the integration into your organization.
Pros
- Meeting Minutes: Simple to use and adapt from Agenda to Minutes, attach reference documents efficiently, and assign accountability to attendees.
- Budget/Cost Reporting: There is a learning curve, but the visibility of budgets and costs from inception to closeout is beneficial for the user and makes reporting to investors simple and consistent.
- Document Management: The version history on drawings "sheets" is very helpful when managing a project through design and construction. Issuing addenda, drawings, or tracking down a change in design is simple.
- Pay Applications/Change Order Workflow: the customizable workflows along with time stamps of reviews and response makes tracking down status and bottlenecks very easy.
Cons
- External Users: The ability to have external users review and respond to items or even just distribute items like invoices for example would be beneficial.
- Budget Format: There are so many layers to budgets/contract/etc. When you need to update a budget code, it feels like you need to do it in 3 places in 3 different ways to make it take effect.
- User Management: This has become easier since you don't have to login to a different system anymore but is still a bit cumbersome.
- Program Tracking: The ability to have multiple projects roll-up under a program would be a suggestion.
- Dashboard: The ability to have a dashboard reporting across multiple projects by type/region/program/etc.
Return on Investment
- Consistent processes for a development team to manage a portfolio of projects using different designers and contractors.
- Improved reporting and tracking to investors. We are able to provide our clients a consistent product when it comes to change orders, pay applications, and cost reports. This increases our professionalism and reduces the amount of time wasted in creating/updating excel sheets.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Procore, Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and Constructware (discontinued)
Other Software Used
Bluebeam, Microsoft 365
