Architecture and Engineering firms usually have many complex projects on their hands. Often more than they can handle, and what’s proven to be the main factor of stagnation is improper communication. Having a nice overview of all the projects, the people working on them, the ones finished or in progress, deadlines and overall team achievement stimulates the whole team and makes it easier to make informed decisions for every next step on the way. Now, understandably, it seems almost impossible to fit in all this but technology has come a long way, and now new and capable platforms are available, making this dream a reality. In the text below, we’ll discuss how these firms can benefit from such centralized management platforms, what are the advantages, and how it will affect their work.
Reasons for Architecture and Engineering Firms to Use a Centralized Management Platform
Better Communication, Better Collaboration
Better Communication, Better CollaborationThe pillar of any effective teamwork is proper collaboration between all its members and that’s only possible if everyone knows what they’re doing or expected to do. Communication channels have to be open 24/7 to all and every member of the projects; changes need to be updated in real-time, and suggestions or changes must be visible to all so that the project can move in a good direction. If you’ve been part of any team effort, even if it’s a school project, you know how frustrating it can be if some members are disoriented or don’t know what to do.
They’ll either do their work wrong or won’t do it all. Centralized management platforms allow every team to effectively communicate their ideas, and break down the project into fixed hours, smaller tasks, and phases while tracking each member’s progress and how far they’ve come with their task. It allows team leaders to have a real-time overview of everyone, and they can always jump in if they notice someone struggling with the task given.
Workflow Efficiency
We’ve mentioned how centralized management platforms help establish proper communication between team members, resulting in the proper collaboration of everyone involved in the project. Naturally, as a result, the overall workflow efficiency will become more effective and better. But, it’s not only that; rather, these platforms offer a range of tools for scheduling, task management, and the mentioned progress tracking, making it easier for team leaders to follow everyone’s steps and jump in if needed.
Those are factors directly affecting the overall workflow, while at the same time, they go hand in hand with the above-mentioned communication/collaboration effort. One interesting “gadget” you can see on FactorApp and similar platforms is interactive graphic presentations with many statistics, making it easier to track progress. The numbers make it simply easier to predict future progress and you can plan ahead of time. Another positive side to it all is the ability to get everyone involved, granting access to all project members so that they can help each other, making it a real team effort.
Sorting Your Documents
The most tiresome part of leading or managing a project is the mountain of different paperwork and documentation you’ll need to keep. Every single sheet of paper has its purpose and might come in handy later on. Now, it’s troublesome enough to lead any sort of project but keeping track of the data and all the paper is a task on its own. So, the biggest advantage of any centralized management platform is the ability to effectively store documents and to make sure you have everything in one safe space and you can access it at any given moment, whenever needed, and all it takes are two clicks. Plus, the management of documentation makes it easier to improve accountability and allows for total transparency.
Decisions Based on Data!
We’ve mentioned on several occasions how all the data is presented in a form that is much more comprehensible and easier to follow. But the main point of such a data breakdown is to give you a realistic picture of how far you’ve come and what steps to take next to keep the project going in the right direction. The only way to get a hold of all this is to make informed decisions based on actual data given and displayed to you in the right way. So, to make it a lot easier, managing platforms can do exactly that. So, if you want to keep up the progress of the whole team, it’s best to look at the data before making your next move.
Transparency
The sort of transparency we’re referring to is the one reserved for clients and stakeholders, as they’ll appreciate it the most. The ones investing money in your project are the ones most excited about the overall progress, as they’re expecting a profit. With the proper centralized management platform, this transparency will be easily achievable, making everyone happy.
This technology is the step we’ll need to take to bring ourselves closer to a more effective and more data-based approach to everything, not only projects. Why not take advantage of the technology available and opt for more efficiency and faster progress, while lowering mistakes and their cost?
