One of the biggest trends in preconstruction software is “standardization.” What does it mean and why does it matter?
The definition of standardization is pretty straightforward: it’s the process of ensuring that a company’s preconstruction department has certain standards across the board that allows project estimates to be consistent and recognizable. Creating preconstruction departments also makes it easier for teams from different offices to collaborate with each other and share resources.
It’s difficult to have innovation without standardization. Once you create standards for your preconstruction department, it’s much easier to come up with creative solutions to difficult problems, because you can have multiple different perspectives in play without having to get bogged down by other offices’ tools or processes. Additionally, it ensures that there is less opportunity for data error: if everyone is on the same page, it’s not as likely for important data to get siloed away in a single person. On top of all of that, it’s a major factor in talent attraction. Lack of good training and consistency in how to create a project estimate can frustrate even the sharpest of junior estimators.
This is where the importance of estimating software comes into play. If one office within a company uses one tool, and the other office uses another tool, it’s that much harder to build a centralized database, look at data from past projects to make a more informed decision, and communicate new ideas or tips and tricks across offices. Turning to a centralized preconstruction platform that can do the job of multiple tools helps make standardization much easier to implement across a company, whether small or large.
