Tag Archives: SaaS

The use of Apps and Mobile web clients in construction projects

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by in Construction, Engineering, Project Management, Team Collaboration

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Apps – working independently on your mobile

Most of us are familiar with installing apps on our smart phones and also the process of getting these from the relevant app store.

Mobile App on a construction site

An app is a standalone program that can hold data locally on your smart-phone as well as call the host system to refresh data at certain points depending on the design.

This often means that apps can hold only a subset of data and need to sync with the central system and this works particularly well when working on individual tasks planned in advance.

Since they operate on mobile devices for the end-user it is important to have a simple to use interface with large bold text and a clear flow of functions to enable completion without instruction.

 

HTML5 web client – giving full online access to your data  

A mobile web client (using HTML5) is much like an app in that it can be added to your ‘home Screen’ on your phone appearing alongside apps and when run can look and feel very much like you are using an app.

There are some subtle but key differences since a mobile web client is in effect a web page in the mobile’s browser providing real-time information directly from the remote system of the service you are accessing. If this system is your central collaboration platform you potentially have a vast amount of information you can search for and gain access to.

For the end user a mobile web client provides the same benefits as an app with a visual interface and usability on a range of devices. The difference being that you have online access to a very large amount of data on the central system and the latest versions.

 

Accessing data on site – what to consider

Online collaboration cogsMobile access to data in field and mobile capturing of data may exist in a number of forms.  There may be a mobile app which is downloaded onto your phone or tablet and has a corresponding server side accessed via your laptop or desktop.  This is how the stand alone apps in construction work.

Both sides are kept up to date by synchronisation.

There are also mobile clients of the collaboration platforms.  Accessing these through a mobile device does not employ a separate mobile app but rather access is through a web browser which is opened on the smartphone or tablet.

The advantage of the latter is that since the collaboration platform is the central repository of all drawings and documents and the “one source of the truth” for those who use such systems, you can have access to all of this authoritative data depending on the design of the mobile client.  You could for example depending on the design and your permissions, access the latest revision of a drawing but also if necessary see the previous one or see other nearby systems also.

You could access any document, health, safety, CSCS status, induction, training, SOPs, methods, engineering forms or RFIs.

The issue with mobile apps here however is that you need to either duplicate work to upload of all these resources to the cloud again. For most sizable projects, however, collaboration platforms relying on real-time information exchange will be used. For these projects mobile web clients are a better alternative.

 

About Webforum Professional for Construction and Engineering

Webforum is a complete web-based service for all types of projects and collaboration. The system provides users with everything that supports a project available in one place: documents, drawings, issues, web pages and discussions, including the option to add support Project Planning, time sheets and Reporting. Webforum has chosen to work with a mobile web client in order to give you the full experience and access to real-time information.

To read more about how Webforum can support all areas of Construction Projects please download the Construction Product Sheet

Issues and Communication Brochure

See more on Issues and Communication

Project dashboard for Engineering and Construction

 See more on Drawing management

To see how Webforum can help you with your construction projects, please contact us

 

The cloud – can it make software more personal?

08 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Cloud Computing, Construction, Engineering, Information Management, Team Collaboration

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The very concept of moving software to and running your services from the ‘cloud’ can give an impression that there is a distance or remoteness about it. Perhaps this is also perpetuated by some global mass-market providers relying on high volume and simple generic features.

In many cases the situation is quite the reverse or should be with cloud providers now focussing more on the end-user and building long-lasting relationships. After all this is the measure of success for cloud companies to retain satisfied customers for a long period of time.

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Redefining service as part of software delivery
 Somehow the process of getting software out of a box, putting a disk into a drive and waiting for up to an hour while it installs while responding to various questions just seems so last century. Did we feel closer to the vendors that produced the software or did we even have contact with them except waiting on the phone to their help desk?

Does the cloud offer the chance of an altogether different experience and relationship with vendors even for SMEs and the end user? I believe it does or at least it should be an important aspect in deciding which vendor to work with. After all, in many cases for core business functions a trusted partner is a desirable outcome. Especially as it is a relationship that typically will last for years.

Addressing specific company needs – aligning objectives
 As a business owner or key decision-maker you are looking for your particular needs to be addressed and for any particular vendor to take time to understand them. This is especially true where you are operating in a specialist field. Furthermore, it is invariably not only a question of what you need but how it can fit in with what you have. In other words with your existing IT systems or processes.

Here are a few steps to help you get a better understanding of your cloud provider.

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Effective Issue and Defect management in Engineering and Construction

24 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by in Case Study, Cloud Computing, Construction, Engineering, Information Management, Project Management, Team Collaboration

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Managing issues and defects in fabrications or snag lists in finished buildings is a vital part of all phases in engineering and construction projects. Whether is it minor amendments to a design model or drawing that need alteration, defects found on a client inspection or general maintenance issues covered under a supplier warranty these all need addressing by the relevant responsible person or allocated resource.

  • How well are these issues managed at the moment in your projects and are they all visible in the same place for management oversight?
  • Can subcontractors and inspectors from other companies also be involved in the workflow associated from initial identification through to resolution, for example?
  • What about time spent working on issues, can this be recorded and the responsible party then be billed easily for the work?
  • What about supporting information, can it be added on mobile devices and also original drawings and specifications referred to?

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What if there was a solution to address ALL of the above and more?

Comprehensive Issue management within a project planning and document management solution provides the features to streamline your handling of these defects.

Here is what you can expect from such a tool:

  • Using documents stored in a document archive, relevant ‘As Built’ or design models relating to the latest version of the asset at fault can be linked to the issue for easy reference for the engineer assigned.
  • Issues can be raised and assigned on a mobile device including pictures taken on your smartphone, raised by email with relevant attachments sent directly to the issue management system or on a PC in the office.
  • Resources can be allocated, they can record time against the issues and this can be reported and billing invoices created.
  • Users are invited by email to a secure workspace and can if required just be given access to the issues module and only those projects relevant to them.
  • Issues can be categorised by project managers and the in-built charting used to give management and stakeholders an insight into trends and which areas problems are occurring and how efficiently they are resolved.

 

About Webforum Professional

Webforum is a complete web-based service for all types of projects and collaboration. The system provides users with everything that supports a project available in one place: documents, files, project plans, issues, discussions, time sheets, risks, reports etc.

Webforum provides the project the means to collaborate in a secure and controlled environment for all project phases from planning to implementation and monitoring. Webforum is a trusted SaaS provider with over 700 customers in 20 countries operating since 1997.

To see how Webforum can help you with collaboration, please contact us or visit the website. Alternatively, read more in the case study about how Webforum helped ProHeat an innovative Engineering company.

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Download ProHeat Systems Customer Case Study

 

Follow Webforum on LinkedIn

 

Project Contract Management – keeping track of the delivery

21 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by in Cloud Computing, Construction, Engineering, Information Management

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Contracts are the framework that allows companies to work with each other and most organisations will have many different contracts in place at the same time with customers and suppliers. During projects and wider programmes these contracts are often critical in delivering to both time and budget.

Contract Renewals and Re-negotiations – are your projects ahead of the game?

How often do companies only realise at the last minute or worse still let contracts expire before they are due for renewal? Does this lead to lost opportunities to perhaps get better terms next time or even to losing out on making additional sales for requested changes? On the other hand, often it can be too late to secure key resources or sub-contractors because they have been reassigned by suppliers.

Within projects (like ongoing operations) contracts still need to be in place and monitored. Often though projects are much more dynamic and time critical. The ability to keep on top of project contract renewals ahead of time can help to keep any project on track and identify opportunities to address changes head of time.

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Project Office oversight – the latest contract overview at your fingertips

How reliable is project management information on contracts in your company? Are they being handled individually by each project manager, the programme or stakeholders and in different ways? Perhaps a clunky internal system is in place relying in data to be input by lots of individuals without the true picture and not taking into account the needs of projects at all.

These are some of the challenges often faced by senior management and the project office in getting a reliable overview of contracts in place to deliver a project. Having the ability to extract the latest overall contract information at a click of a mouse would be a great asset.

Intelligent project contracts – what about if the contract itself could tell you it is coming up for renewal?

Attaching information to and storing contracts as specific contract documents within a project information management platform means the contract expiry date of the document can work for you. This can trigger email reminders to key people a set number of days before a contract is due to expire so they can take steps to renew well in advance.

What’s more if this can be linked directly to the relevant project then the project manager themselves can take steps to ensure their contracts are in order. Often in larger organisations contracts are administered centrally perhaps by a sourcing department without the knowledge of how critical these are to the delivery of a particular project.

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Company Directors – how the cloud will affect board decisions

31 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by in Cloud Computing, Construction, Engineering, Information Management, Information security, Team Collaboration

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At our recent annual Webforum company conference just outside Stockholm, Pelle Hjortblad (formerly CEO of Project Place and now on the Webforum Europe board) gave an introductory speech on Cloud Computing and the impact it will have on companies everywhere.

A lot is written about this subject and like everything potentially disruptive there is often a lot of hype on what it will mean and how it will change things. Here we explore a few of the many questions in the subject and take a decision-makers perspective.

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The changing face of the IT department – why do it all in-house?

IT has faced change as computer power has increased and moved from centrally run machines to PCs on every desk and then the expansion of internet usage to communicate and transact with the outside world. This evolution has shifted control and even power to internal IT departments and formed a large share of a company’s costs.

Most companies had a large IT department requiring high internal knowledge to understand business needs, manage changes and upgrades to infrastructure. Add to that the need to keep up with advances in technology and not to mention the latest security threats. Often companies IT expertise exceeded that of their core business.

Cloud computing is changing that strain on the IT department to be experts in all areas of technology by shifting the responsibility for many functions to vendors and their specialist data hosting providers. This should allow IT to focus their valuable resources on the needs of their company rather than just fighting to keep systems operational.

Information security: the cloud is probably already in your company

With the increase in free or very low cost personal management tools for sharing files and other information many teams within organisations are bypassing the IT department and just using these to help them be more productive.

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Do you know who has access to what information as well as whether data integrity and audit trails are being maintained according to company policies? After all certain company information is more likely to be of more interest to internal staff than anyone external – it is not just overall access but the ability to control who has access to what.

With the spread of social media and demands on project productivity making the right tools available is still essential. Using online enterprise-class tools for collaboration and information management gives access to the right people while maintaining oversight.

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