Viewpoint Technology Survey 2014 eBook
CONTENTS
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Viewpoint Technology Survey 2014 eBook Executive Summary. . .............................................................................3
COLLABORATION AND BIM.............................................................24
Methodology. . ..................................................................................... 4 Key Survey Terms................................................................................. 5
Percentage of Poducts That Use a Project Management or Collaboration Tool.............................................................................. 25
THE RESULTS......................................................................................6
When Contractors Will Start Using BIM.. ............................................ 27
Construction Types. . ............................................................................. 7
Benefits Achieved Through the Use of BIM Technology. . .....................28
Survey Participant Roles.......................................................................8
Bid Categories....................................................................................29
Contractor Size. . ...................................................................................9
SharePoint Functions Used by Contractors. . ....................................... 30
Timeline for Investing in Technology.. .................................................. 10
Percentage of Projects That Share Documents and Drawings For Collaboration................................................................................ 31
Applications........................................................................................ 11 Technology Categories. . ...................................................................... 12 Most Common Operating Systems in Use.. ......................................... 13 Who’s Using Smartphones and Tablets............................................... 14 MOBILE............................................................................................. 15 Top 5 Uses of Tablets and Smartphones.............................................. 16
Reporting Information to People Inside and Outside of Company........26
CONTENT MANAGEMENT............................................................... 32 Storing Project Documentation...........................................................33 Types of Content Most Difficult for Your Business to Manage Effectively.........................................................................34 Handling Daily Field Reports............................................................... 35
Barriers to Mobile Technology.............................................................17 Devices Used by Company Employees. . .............................................. 18 Mobile Devices Deployed by Their Organization................................. 19 Mobile Devices Carried in the Field. . .................................................. 20 BIDS.................................................................................................. 21 Receiving Bid Documents Electronically.............................................. 22
Acknowledgements............................................................................36
Performing a Takeoff. . .........................................................................23
About Viewpoint................................................................................ 37
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Compiled by Viewpoint Construction Software, the Construction Technology Survey is designed to provide construction firms with valuable information regarding the uses of various types of technology available today. Our goal is to share the responses of contractors across North America regarding the technology they want and use. We offer the survey results as a valuable tool for companies reviewing technology tools or considering new options.
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METHODOLOGY
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The survey consisted of a total of 28 questions of which 5 were conditional based upon previous responses to questions regarding specific uses of technologies such as BIM and Mobile tools.
» 250 construction contractors participated in the survey across North America. » Over 50% of the responders noted their role as Principle or Executive. » Over 38% of the responders noted that they engage mostly in commercial/ industrial work
KEY SURVEY TERMS
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) ERP is a business management software usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities. (Wikipedia)
Building Information Modeling (BIM) BIM is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building Information Models (BIMs) are files (often but not always in proprietary formats and containing proprietary data) which can be exchanged or networked to support decisionmaking about a place. (Wikipedia) CoBie: Construction Operations Building Information Exchange CoBie is a data format for the publication of a subset of building model information (BIM) focused on delivering building information not geometric modeling. (Wikipedia) Enterprise Content Management (ECM) ECM is a formalized means of organizing and storing an organization’s documents, and other content, that relate to the organization’s processes. The term encompasses strategies, methods, and tools used throughout the lifecycle of the content. (Wikipedia)
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Mobile Electronic Forms Often referred to as an e-form, intelligent form, web-based or smart form. An e-form is the transformation of any paper-driven form process into an electronic process. Often these forms can also be used for data capture and validation. Predictive Analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from modeling, machine learning, and data mining that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, or otherwise unknown, events. (Wikipedia) Project Collaboration Online collaborative solution to help all the key project stakeholders to increase project control at every stage of the project lifecycle. Project Management A system to manage and facilitate all work activities in one system with workflow and standardized processes.
VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014
The Results
CONSTRUCTION TYPES
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What type of construction do you engage with? (Respondents could only choose a single response)
Commercial/Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.4%
Mechanical/Electrical Contracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Residential Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.9%
Industrial Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Heavy/Civil Construction including earthworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specialty Subcontractor . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.2%
Pipeline Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0%
15.3%
0.7%
10.2%
Other (Other included responses such as, both
commercial and Residential, supplier to all types, forestry, and service.). . . . . . . . .
10.2%
SURVEY PARTICIPANT ROLES
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Which best describes your role? (Respondents could only choose a single response)
RESPONSE
FREQUENCY
Firm Principle / Executive
51.1%
Accounting / Finance
8.0%
Estimating
10.2%
Operations
9.5%
Information Technology
2.2%
Service
2.2%
Payroll
0.0%
Human Resources
2.9%
Other (Please Specify)
13.9%
*Other Roles specified included; safety management, manager, insurance, owner, pre-construction, engineering manager, sales, office manager.
CONTRACTOR SIZE
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Please select the range that best fits your organization’s gross annual revenue. (Respondents could only choose a single response)
56%
12%
12% 8%
Under $10 Million
10–24 Million
25–49 Million
4%
50–99 Million
100–199 Million
3%
3%
3%
3%
200–249 Million
250–499 Million
500–999 Million
1 Billion +
TIMELINE FOR INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY
Over 50%
10
of respondents said that they will be investing in technology in 2014.
APPLICATIONS
78%
of respondents use three or more software applications in their business.
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MOST COMMON OPERATING SYSTEMS
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Which of the following operating systems are you currently using? (Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses)
RESPONSE
Apple
FREQUENCY 43.8% 93.4% 28.5%
Other
2.9%
TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES
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MOST HEAVILY
used technologies include: » Estimating (Standalone) » Project Management & Workflow » Business Information Modeling (BIM)
WHO’S USING SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS
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Which of the following mobile operating systems would you prefer for future business applications on your smartphone or tablet device (Respondents could only choose a single response)
VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014
Mobile
TOP 5 USES OF TABLETS AND SMARTPHONES
TOP
5
USES OF TABLETS & SMARTPHONES
1. Viewing email, calendar and contacts 2. View and approve documents 3. Daily project visibility 4. Collect employee time 5. Manage service work orders-collecting work performed
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BARRIERS TO MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
RESPONSE
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FREQUENCY
Cost of devices
40%
User resistance to learning new technology
36%
Haven’t found suitable software to make it worth it
36%
Cost of software to install on the devices
24%
Low return on investment (ROI)
20%
Security concerns
16%
Other
16%
Dependability/Reliability
12%
DEVICES USED BY COMPANY EMPLOYEES
Smartphone
88%
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What type of devices does your company assign to employees?
Tablet
55%
Other
8%
Laptop
64%
MOBILE DEVICES DEPLOYED BY THEIR ORGANIZATION
“Company assigned me a device.”
68%
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NUMBER OF MOBILE DEVICES CARRIED IN THE FIELD
20
VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014
Bids
RECEIVING BID DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY
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PERFORMING A TAKEOFF
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32%
of respondents use pencil and paper when performing a takeoff.
VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014
Collaboration & BIM
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS ON PROJECTS
What percentage of your projects are you required to use a certain Project Management or Collaboration Tool? Most Projects (over 51%)
26%
Some Projects (25%–51%)
16%
Few Projects (1%–24%)
34%
No Projects
23%
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REPORTING INFORMATION TO PEOPLE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF COMPANY
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What is the primary software application used to provide reports and/or information to people inside and outside of your company? ERP Applications
15%
Excel
53%
Other Business Intel
15%
Email, Edge Builder, Word, Acrobat Forms, ERP Viewpoint, PDF
15%
WHEN CONTRACTORS WILL START USING BIM
When do you think your company will start utilizing BIM (Business Information Modeling) tools? 1-3 Years
38%
3-6 Years
21%
6-9 Years
9%
Not needed for our business
32%
image from http://stellarfoodforthought.net/
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BENEFITS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF BIM TECHNOLOGY
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What are the current benefits being achieved through the use of BIM Technology? Collaborating with project participants during the construction phase
65%
As a marketing tool for our clients to recognize our use of BIM
50%
Collaborating with the design team during the pre-construction phase
47%
For handing off COBie as part of the close-out and post construction phase
24%
image from http://buildipedia.com/
BUSINESS INFORMATION MODELING 22
After contract, do you generate your own CAD/BIM for your portion of the job?
Have you ever been involved in a job that required BIM?
DON’T KNOW
45
YES
70
NO
18 52 67 20
Have you ever had a BIM model provided before contract?
Does the estimate carry over to project management?
29
36 81 14 96 27
Do you adjust your labor based on feedback from project management reports? 0
15 80 42 20
40
60
80
100
120
SHAREPOINT FUNCTIONS USED BY CONTRACTORS
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Which of the following SharePoint functions are currently used by your company? (Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Internal Communication
50%
Document Management and Workflow
50%
Custom Sharepoint Sites Built for Our Needs
38%
Project Collaboration Tool
31%
Employee Portal
25%
We Collaborate With external Users in Our SharePoint sites
19%
PERCENTAGE OF PROJECTS THAT SHARE DOCUMENTS AND DRAWINGS FOR COLLABORATION
31
On what percentage of your company’s projects do project participants (e.g., contractors, vendor access) distribute documents and drawings for collaboration today? (Respondents could only choose a single response) No Projects (0%)
12%
Few Projects (1%–25%)
38%
Some Projects (26%–50%)
38%
Most Projects (51%–75%)
12%
VIEWPOINT TECHNOLOGY SURVEY 2014
Content Management
STORING PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
What type of software does your company currently use as a document repository for projects? (Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Microsoft Sharepoint
12%
Document Management System
24%
Network File Share
44%
Cloud Storage
42%
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TYPES OF CONTENT MOST DIFFICULT FOR YOUR BUSINESS TO MANAGE (MOVE, STORE, SAVE, SEARCH & DELETE) EFFECTIVELY
Which type of content is most difficult for your business to manage effectively? (Respondents were allowed to choose multiple responses) Email
12%
Microsoft Office Files
26%
Scanned Documents
26%
Job Site Photographs
23%
Paper Files
50%
Accounts Payable Documents
23%
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HANDLING DAILY FIELD REPORTS
How are you handling daily field reports? (Respondents could only choose a single response) Written Form
52%
Spreadsheet
18%
Online Cloud Application
12%
Web Form
10%
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Viewpoint would like to Thank our participants for their involvement in the 2014 Viewpoint Technology Survey. We would also like to thank our industry partners, who helped Viewpoint support this survey and help us to collect responses. Industry Partners: Onsite Magazine Canada Associated Builders and Contractors & Merit Canada Construction Business Owner Magazine
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ABOUT VIEWPOINT Viewpoint is a global provider of innovative construction-specific software solutions and services that offer the AEC and owner communities the tools they need to improve project profitability and visibility, manage risk, and effectively collaborate with project owners and the entire project team. Viewpoint solutions include everything needed from preconstruction to construction and facilities maintenance, and are offered on a variety of platforms including Cloud, Mobile, SaaS and On Premises. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, USA, and with offices in the UK, Australia and Canada, Viewpoint has become the technology partner of choice, with customers located across the globe in more than 28 countries which include more than 30 percent of the ENR 400, and partnerships with more of the top 50 mechanical and electrical contractors in the United States than any other construction software provider. For more information, please visit www.viewpoint.com or 800.333.3197 for more information.
© 2014 Viewpoint, Inc. dba Viewpoint Construction Software. All Rights Reserved. Viewpoint®, Viewpoint Construction Software®, Viewpoint V6 Software®, Vista by Viewpoint™, ProContractor by Viewpoint™, Construction Imaging®, Mobile Field Manager™, 4Projects®, Viewpoint For Project Collaboration™ and Viewpoint For Estimating™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Viewpoint, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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