Software unlocks building efficiency

These are the findings of a survey commissioned by software provider Autodesk, which quizzed middle and senior management across the industry. The survey also revealed that

71% of middle managers believe IT is key to their business and that printing and postage costs amount to £30,000 annually for a quarter of respondents.

Autodesk believes housebuilders could benefit from project management software in terms of improved collaboration, lower costs and increased efficiency. The northern division of private housebuilder Gladedale is already trialling Autodesk’s Buzzsaw software in an effort to improve costs and efficiency. Like many housebuilders it uses AutoCAD to produce plans and drawings, printing them on large-format printers and posting them to site. Gladedale realised that the cost of printing and postage to sites was both costly and inefficient, because complex projects often needed updated information and drawings quickly.

Trialling Buzzsaw at its £212m 1,200-home Oatlands regeneration project in Glasgow, Gladedale gave 53 staff access to the software, including the sales team, consultants and sub-contractors. It was a major undertaking, particularly to educate the construction team in using the software. The system holds all its drawings and other critical information, including standard house type range and standard details.

The benefits of the system included: total control of documents at any stage of the project; instantaneous access to information via the internet; reduced need for paper storage; reduced printing costs; immediate drawing updates for all concerned; increased project efficiency and reduced overheads. There is also the added bonus that large files can be transferred where email capacity is insufficient.

Gladedale was so pleased with the results it has now rolled the software out across six projects, covering 2,500 properties and storing 6,500 files.