Computer Software in Construction Sector
Like in other spheres of life, the advent of computer software in the construction sector has impressively improved the functioning of those engaged in the sector by providing swift solutions to all the construction related activities thereby making their task easier, economical, efficient and faster. Today, the entire construction fraternity, including engineers, consultants, contractors, developers, builders and architects right from the planning of the projects through its completion, is totally dependent on software.
In short, software has carved out a niche for itself in the construction sector and paved the way for development by making all construction related activities facile and productive, whether it is engineering or architectural designing, detailing, procurement of material equipment or services, accounting, construction project management etc, software gives everything accurately with unmatched speed for any discipline with the click of mouse.
Due to innumerable innovative developments that have taken place in the infrastructure sector covering roads, bridges, tunnels, commercial and residential complexes, the application of sophisticated software have become the need of the hour. The market of software in construction sector is steadily inching ahead due to the spurt in construction activities. With large number of projects in hand with demanding deadlines, construction professionals always look for the most sophisticated solution matching their requirements and the software developers on the other hand are striving hard to make their offerings more and more attractive and compatible. Since market is flooding with newer software brands, the selection of right type of software is really a Herculean task. In view of this, the NBM&CW has attempted to give a bird eye view of the latest, user–friendly and innovative offerings from the software developers for the benefit of professionals engaged in the construction industry.
Major thrust has been given these days for the development of construction software by the software developers seeing the burgeoning activities in the construction and infrastructure sector across India. Since there are many options available in the market - what are the viewpoints of construction professionals before purchasing software for their work?
Angshuman: In the analysis & design (A&D) industry, the construction simulating software are of extremely advanced version of basic A&D software. The basic A&D market in India has become very peculiar in nature due to lack of commitment / false-commitment of the supplier. As a result the market has become extremely conscious in taking a decision. The company evaluates the software minutely till the last detail and then only it takes the decision. One way this is good, that unqualified suppliers would soon be eradicated but, those who are promoting their products well under business ethics will have to suffer. The Indian market is extremely conducive and potent nowadays for good products & services.
Venkateswaran: It is imperative that any organization scouring the market for an ERP or for a similar solution would have clarity in the objective/goals that they are looking to achieve using the solution along with an acceptable timeline to implement the same.
We believe that prospective clients these days primarily understand the necessity of an exceptional level of industry-specific functional details to be delivered in the system. They also expect the implementing/consulting organization to have copious experience in handling similar cases and utilize it to their benefit.
Our 15 years of expertise in consulting and providing systemic solutions through our ERP, BuildSuperfast, to this complex domain is aiding us in evolving with the progressive dynamics of this burgeoning industry.
How does your software help engineers and other construction professionals to be more productive while working? What are functional areas of your solution, its USP and how it’s different from others offering?
Angshuman: In analysis & design projects construction sequences play a vital role. Unless the construction sequence of a given project is simulated properly the final design remains incomplete / inappropriate. For major projects, say a pre-stressed bridge systems or buildings of height more than 35-40 storey, it’s important to consider the effect of the 4th dimension i.e. time. MIDAS products are master pieces in that aspect. Original procedure for the whole activity used to be feeding data into a basic A&D product, extracting the results and then simulating the construction part using spread sheets & results extracted from software. Spread sheets needed too much of rigorous human interaction, because of which the processes were prone to mistakes. MIDAS products have smooth the whole process made by removing human input into spread sheets thereby reducing the chances of plausible errors.
The functional areas of our products are simulating the time, thereby enabling engineers to monitor the whole process of construction, taking care of the changes / delay in the sequence of construction due to unavoidable circumstances during construction. In India, delay in the planned schedules is an unsaid part of the routine.
Our USP is construction simulation. The user friendliness, the versatility and the accuracy of the programs are something very unique from other offerings.
Venkateswaran: Using BuildSuperfast, a construction organisation can automate every activity and process of its work flow from the basic requirement of project feasibility to a more technical job costing analysis and maintain Work Breakdown Structures. Critically, the information emanating from various sources are seamlessly available to every personnel identified as part of the work flow, thereby almost completely eliminating manual inaccuracy and drastically reducing cost/time & resources required per process.
The solution comprehensively covers every functional requirement of entities in the industry, be it a government agency, a residential developer, a general contractor or a specialty or infrastructure contractor. The definitive result is to empower the client with automated business intelligence for effective decision making within mere minutes to create instant success, thereby giving the client the complete control of their future, present and past.
The functional modules grouped based on their usage: Project Planning System, Material Procurement System, Financial and Accounting, Asset Management System, Work Progress Management System, Client Billing and Tracking System, Customer Relationship Management System, and Human Resource Management System.
A dedicated MIS module to give single point of reports which are critical to the continual growth of the organisation will be available to ensure that the management is in constant control of those factors.
What are experts support, after sales services and training being imparted by your company to the customers/users? Is your company organizing ‘user-meet or any interactive forum where users can discuss issues of interest to their business field’?
Angshuman: Our technical team is 3-4 times bigger than the sales force. As we strongly believe that sales force is required only when the it requires lot of push. Push is required when the product & SERVICES are not upto the mark. Our user base is our sales force, we believe in creating satisfied customers. A small sales team exists in the company to perform the regular sales related activities. We organise workshops / seminars on latest technologies / onsite visits to fulfill the need of our users. Apart from these online / telephonic support, documentation are parcels of the services.
Venkateswaran: ‘The effectiveness of a tool totally depends upon the user that how efficient / competent he is to operate that is what we strongly believe. We in fact take pride in our BuildSuperfast Implementation Framework as much as the solution itself. Implementation of an ERP is typically an exercise of business process re-engineering and a critical change management exercise. We are involved with the client at every step of the process including the process gap analysis, formulating the blue print of the implementation, orienting different levels of users to their specific roles as part of the system until the system is ‘live’ in the organization, with every personnel knowing the right things to do. We also carry out periodical process audits to ensure the compliance of the system to the blue print. Our team of internal functional consultants are involved at various stages.
We are now extremely happy to share the news of an interactive online forum to collaborate with fellow users on BuildSuperfast and also discuss any topic with peers in the industry on our website www.micromen.com. This is one among the several initiatives to enhance customer interaction along with ‘topical user meets’ and ‘user awards’ which are in the anvil.
What are the ongoing developments in your organization for more user-friendly and comprehensive solutions, comply with changing conditions in the construction industry and user requirement?
Angshuman: We have a very active user feedback system. Product enhancement needs a clear understanding of the segment in which the product is going to be placed. Few reputed companies / reputed institutions are good enough to get the feedback. We have a very strong technical team which keeps interacting with our clients for localization of the products. Also we have made agreements with few renowned companies which help us from time to time in suggesting new functionalities / enhancing the products.
Venkateswaran: An automated work flow management system with an aim to completely automate personnel’s key responsibility areas and generate their respective performance indicators has been recently added to our ERP suite. This module can enable users to endorse approvals of every process from anywhere through a simple email or sms which will be sent to them automatically by the system based on standard practices. Similarly, automated alerts to individuals and after a period of time to their supervisors on non completion of tasks can also be enabled.
A number of efforts to redesign User Interfaces are being carried out to make the system completely intuitive and enjoyable to work with. Plus several path breaking, futuristic functional requirements are also being proactively explored. On that note, you can expect a major announcement from us by the end of this quarter.
During recessionary phase, software industry was badly affected. What are the measures adopted to overcome this pessimism within the organization and outside?
Angshuman: Within the organization the pessimism was not felt rather motivation was witnessed and the same fact took care of the external factors.
Venkateswaran: I would have to disagree with you on that. The software companies that were greatly dependent on the western markets were the ones worst affected. Significantly, our biggest market is India itself which as we all know was quite well insulated to the recession. True, it was uncertain times mainly due to the fear factor, but being a 25 years old company we have learnt the art of survival during testing times. A multitude of factors including sound financial practices and appropriate market positioning helped us come out largely unscathed.
Q: Is your company well positioned to avail emerging business opportunities in the wake of infrastructure development? Also how do you see the software market in the next two-three years?
Angshuman: We are just two and half years old company in India and when we compare ourselves with companies older than us we find our user base / revenue are bigger and these are growing every year. So I guess we are well placed. The things will definitely be much better after another 2.5 years.
Indian software market (not talking about general software) is in boom because of the tremendous infrastructural development in the country. This will remain same at least for 20 - 25 years.
Venkateswaran: Of course, yes, as aforementioned the solution is constantly being enhanced to offer more than what is expected by the ever-demanding industry. In addition to this, our enthusiastic team of personnel with the right mix of youth & experience highlights our preparedness to seize the opportunity when it comes our way.
Projections say that $1 trillion over the next five years are to be invested in the construction and infrastructure industry for us (India) to sustain a growth of 9% every year and the role of quality systems is going to be increasingly significant to achieve them consistently. We are extremely optimistic of contributing greatly to the cause.
In short, software has carved out a niche for itself in the construction sector and paved the way for development by making all construction related activities facile and productive, whether it is engineering or architectural designing, detailing, procurement of material equipment or services, accounting, construction project management etc, software gives everything accurately with unmatched speed for any discipline with the click of mouse.
Due to innumerable innovative developments that have taken place in the infrastructure sector covering roads, bridges, tunnels, commercial and residential complexes, the application of sophisticated software have become the need of the hour. The market of software in construction sector is steadily inching ahead due to the spurt in construction activities. With large number of projects in hand with demanding deadlines, construction professionals always look for the most sophisticated solution matching their requirements and the software developers on the other hand are striving hard to make their offerings more and more attractive and compatible. Since market is flooding with newer software brands, the selection of right type of software is really a Herculean task. In view of this, the NBM&CW has attempted to give a bird eye view of the latest, user–friendly and innovative offerings from the software developers for the benefit of professionals engaged in the construction industry.
Major thrust has been given these days for the development of construction software by the software developers seeing the burgeoning activities in the construction and infrastructure sector across India. Since there are many options available in the market - what are the viewpoints of construction professionals before purchasing software for their work?
Mr. Angshuman Pandey Manager & Head – Indian Operations MIDAS R&D Centre (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Venkateswaran: It is imperative that any organization scouring the market for an ERP or for a similar solution would have clarity in the objective/goals that they are looking to achieve using the solution along with an acceptable timeline to implement the same.
We believe that prospective clients these days primarily understand the necessity of an exceptional level of industry-specific functional details to be delivered in the system. They also expect the implementing/consulting organization to have copious experience in handling similar cases and utilize it to their benefit.
Our 15 years of expertise in consulting and providing systemic solutions through our ERP, BuildSuperfast, to this complex domain is aiding us in evolving with the progressive dynamics of this burgeoning industry.
How does your software help engineers and other construction professionals to be more productive while working? What are functional areas of your solution, its USP and how it’s different from others offering?
Angshuman: In analysis & design projects construction sequences play a vital role. Unless the construction sequence of a given project is simulated properly the final design remains incomplete / inappropriate. For major projects, say a pre-stressed bridge systems or buildings of height more than 35-40 storey, it’s important to consider the effect of the 4th dimension i.e. time. MIDAS products are master pieces in that aspect. Original procedure for the whole activity used to be feeding data into a basic A&D product, extracting the results and then simulating the construction part using spread sheets & results extracted from software. Spread sheets needed too much of rigorous human interaction, because of which the processes were prone to mistakes. MIDAS products have smooth the whole process made by removing human input into spread sheets thereby reducing the chances of plausible errors.
The functional areas of our products are simulating the time, thereby enabling engineers to monitor the whole process of construction, taking care of the changes / delay in the sequence of construction due to unavoidable circumstances during construction. In India, delay in the planned schedules is an unsaid part of the routine.
Our USP is construction simulation. The user friendliness, the versatility and the accuracy of the programs are something very unique from other offerings.
Venkateswaran. B Manager - Business Development Micromen Systems & Software Pvt. Ltd.
The solution comprehensively covers every functional requirement of entities in the industry, be it a government agency, a residential developer, a general contractor or a specialty or infrastructure contractor. The definitive result is to empower the client with automated business intelligence for effective decision making within mere minutes to create instant success, thereby giving the client the complete control of their future, present and past.
The functional modules grouped based on their usage: Project Planning System, Material Procurement System, Financial and Accounting, Asset Management System, Work Progress Management System, Client Billing and Tracking System, Customer Relationship Management System, and Human Resource Management System.
A dedicated MIS module to give single point of reports which are critical to the continual growth of the organisation will be available to ensure that the management is in constant control of those factors.
What are experts support, after sales services and training being imparted by your company to the customers/users? Is your company organizing ‘user-meet or any interactive forum where users can discuss issues of interest to their business field’?
Angshuman: Our technical team is 3-4 times bigger than the sales force. As we strongly believe that sales force is required only when the it requires lot of push. Push is required when the product & SERVICES are not upto the mark. Our user base is our sales force, we believe in creating satisfied customers. A small sales team exists in the company to perform the regular sales related activities. We organise workshops / seminars on latest technologies / onsite visits to fulfill the need of our users. Apart from these online / telephonic support, documentation are parcels of the services.
Venkateswaran: ‘The effectiveness of a tool totally depends upon the user that how efficient / competent he is to operate that is what we strongly believe. We in fact take pride in our BuildSuperfast Implementation Framework as much as the solution itself. Implementation of an ERP is typically an exercise of business process re-engineering and a critical change management exercise. We are involved with the client at every step of the process including the process gap analysis, formulating the blue print of the implementation, orienting different levels of users to their specific roles as part of the system until the system is ‘live’ in the organization, with every personnel knowing the right things to do. We also carry out periodical process audits to ensure the compliance of the system to the blue print. Our team of internal functional consultants are involved at various stages.
We are now extremely happy to share the news of an interactive online forum to collaborate with fellow users on BuildSuperfast and also discuss any topic with peers in the industry on our website www.micromen.com. This is one among the several initiatives to enhance customer interaction along with ‘topical user meets’ and ‘user awards’ which are in the anvil.
What are the ongoing developments in your organization for more user-friendly and comprehensive solutions, comply with changing conditions in the construction industry and user requirement?
Angshuman: We have a very active user feedback system. Product enhancement needs a clear understanding of the segment in which the product is going to be placed. Few reputed companies / reputed institutions are good enough to get the feedback. We have a very strong technical team which keeps interacting with our clients for localization of the products. Also we have made agreements with few renowned companies which help us from time to time in suggesting new functionalities / enhancing the products.
Venkateswaran: An automated work flow management system with an aim to completely automate personnel’s key responsibility areas and generate their respective performance indicators has been recently added to our ERP suite. This module can enable users to endorse approvals of every process from anywhere through a simple email or sms which will be sent to them automatically by the system based on standard practices. Similarly, automated alerts to individuals and after a period of time to their supervisors on non completion of tasks can also be enabled.
A number of efforts to redesign User Interfaces are being carried out to make the system completely intuitive and enjoyable to work with. Plus several path breaking, futuristic functional requirements are also being proactively explored. On that note, you can expect a major announcement from us by the end of this quarter.
During recessionary phase, software industry was badly affected. What are the measures adopted to overcome this pessimism within the organization and outside?
Angshuman: Within the organization the pessimism was not felt rather motivation was witnessed and the same fact took care of the external factors.
Venkateswaran: I would have to disagree with you on that. The software companies that were greatly dependent on the western markets were the ones worst affected. Significantly, our biggest market is India itself which as we all know was quite well insulated to the recession. True, it was uncertain times mainly due to the fear factor, but being a 25 years old company we have learnt the art of survival during testing times. A multitude of factors including sound financial practices and appropriate market positioning helped us come out largely unscathed.
Q: Is your company well positioned to avail emerging business opportunities in the wake of infrastructure development? Also how do you see the software market in the next two-three years?
Angshuman: We are just two and half years old company in India and when we compare ourselves with companies older than us we find our user base / revenue are bigger and these are growing every year. So I guess we are well placed. The things will definitely be much better after another 2.5 years.
Indian software market (not talking about general software) is in boom because of the tremendous infrastructural development in the country. This will remain same at least for 20 - 25 years.
Venkateswaran: Of course, yes, as aforementioned the solution is constantly being enhanced to offer more than what is expected by the ever-demanding industry. In addition to this, our enthusiastic team of personnel with the right mix of youth & experience highlights our preparedness to seize the opportunity when it comes our way.
Projections say that $1 trillion over the next five years are to be invested in the construction and infrastructure industry for us (India) to sustain a growth of 9% every year and the role of quality systems is going to be increasingly significant to achieve them consistently. We are extremely optimistic of contributing greatly to the cause.
NBMCW August 2010
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