At 2018’s Autodesk University, Autodesk has revealed that they have collaborated with Dodge Data and Analytics to start developing a standardized set of outcome metrics for the construction industry.
In business, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics that can be measured to determine project success (i.e. profit, monthly sales growth, customer satisfaction). While many industries already have reliable KPIs, the construction industry has only just started using digital workflows, and thus doesn’t have years of standardized digital data to draw on when attempting to identify which metrics drive success. The main construction KPI is the Experience Modifier Ratio (EMR), which tracks jobsite safety.
This year, Autodesk commissioned Dodge to study industry best-practices on KPIs: what the industry was doing, how it was helping, and what they should be doing in the future. Dodge surveyed over 200 construction and trade professionals on seven main categories where companies should be collecting data: change orders, schedule, labor productivity, problems discovered in construction documents, Requests for Information (RFIs), safety and inspections, and quality and close-out.
The study found that while contractors are generating data, they don’t have a meaningful framework to put it all together. Only about half of those surveyed were collecting and using data on these KPIs in a centralized way on over half of their projects. They also found that there were psychological barriers in the way of companies gathering information; just over 50% of general contractors said that they were holding back on consistently logging problems in construction documents because they were concerned it would be expensive or take too much time. However, they found that companies reporting frequent use of these practices found them valuable in improving their workflow.
The initiative is part of Autodesk’s push to industrialize the construction industry, standardizing processes according to best-practices to improve productivity. The company hopes that, through “industrializing,” construction workplaces will become better at using their best practices on all of their projects.
“While it’s important to use KPIs to see how you stack up against the competition, it’s more critical to first set benchmarks within your own organization,” Jim Lynch, the vice president and general manager of Autodesk’s Construction Business Unit, said. “This will not only help maximize company profits, but also contribute towards your goal of creating a safe environment for your workforce while continuing to deliver high quality projects to your clients.”
Read the full report here.