Managing projects can be a complex and tedious task. This is especially true for managing construction projects in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. There’s planning, budgeting, scheduling, contracts, communication with project stakeholders, meetings, tasks, tracking progress, tracking change orders, billing, paying vendors, risk management, punch lists and commissioning, among other things. Well, there is a lot. Construction management software helps to simplify and automate some of these tasks. Whether an individual contractor, a subcontractor, a small business or a large company, there are options to fit most companies’ needs and budgets.
Linarc
Linarc, founded by Shanthi Rajan in October 2017, is the fastest-growing collaborative project management platform in the construction industry according to a recent press release by the company. Linarc is a cloud-based collaborative construction management software that intends to give teams real-time access to project data wherever there is an Internet connection.
“I built Linarc to eliminate the inefficiencies that plague the construction industry,” Rajan said. “Linarc uses technology, integrated connectivity, intelligent data analysis and real-time updates to give everyone the tools, resources and information they need to perform at their best. As a result, projects run smoother, progress moves faster and projects are completed on time and on budget”
According to Linarc, its software can manage resources and costs and effectively track performance for multiple projects, helping to increase profitability, minimize delays and cost overruns, and reduce risks while uniting an entire project team to improve quality and time to decisions. Linarc software was designed to accomplish this with feature solutions for project management, operations management, collaboration and a plethora of mobile apps.
Project Management Features
The Project Management feature is broken down into four main tools: Schedular, Jobsite Manager, Project Financials and Workflow. The entire Toolbox within the Project Management Feature includes:
- Directory
- Master Schedule
- Crew Management
- RFI
- Punchlist
- Collaboration
- Plan Sheets
- Job Cost
- Project Financials
- Field Task Schedule
- Equipment Management
- Change Order
- Quality Checklist
- Workflow
- Files and Documents
- Field Journal
- Reports
- Secure Access
- Schedule of Values
- Material Procurement
- Submittals
- Safety
- Spec Book
- Photos and Videos
- Timecard
- Predictive Analytics
- Dashboard
Scheduler
The Project Management feature within Linarc includes Scheduler, which handles multiple scheduling tasks and includes optimization tools. The Master Schedule lets a team plan and design the breakdown of an entire project, including milestones and checkpoints, and also helps to track progress and performance along the way. A Contractor Schedule is also included that enables contractors to break down activities to field tasks and assign and track resources against project budgets and timelines. Both schedules can be synced as needed to update progress and list remaining tasks. The Scheduler can also be integrated with other scheduling tools, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial systems. Linarc also includes prebuilt customizable templates within the Scheduler, such as Residential, New Construction, Demo Build, Commercial, Renovation and Retail.
Jobsite Manager
Also included in the Project Management feature is the Jobsite Manager, which is designed to connect the office to the jobsite and allows the team to plan, schedule, assign and track fieldwork all from one central project workspace. Location awareness allows multiple jobsite locations to be tagged and then have information attached to each tag such as tasks, requests for information (RFIs), punch lists and more.
Jobsite Manager also helps to track contractor budget exposure based on work progress, which can provide a clearer picture of a project’s overall financials. The Jobsite Manager can even help optimize equipment investments by tracking site equipment usage by tasks to minimize idle time.
Visual documentation is also a big part of the Jobsite Manager as it allows teams in the field to share progress videos and photos to keep the entire team—both in the field and in the office—up to date on project status. Feedback can then be added to the visuals with team members reviewing and responding to comments. Markups, photos, documents and audio chats can also be added to plan sheets and then share them across any Linarc app.
Project Financials
The Project Financials tool within the Project Management feature enables teams to manage budgets by keeping track of estimates, cost revisions and change order impact—all within a centralized budget manager that can be integrated with any existing standard accounting system to eliminate double entries. The built-in Budget Office then allows teams to invite accountants and cost managers to the extended project team to help facilitate discussions and decisions in real time.
The built-in Job Cost Book helps teams to secure and share all of a project’s financial data on a cloud-based secure job cost controller. Actual project progress can then be linked to a schedule of values to help members understand the impact of cash flow. Prediction Analysis allows a team to monitor and manage cost variance and perform forecasting by using Linarc’s cost and schedule predictions and course-correct functions as needed.
Workflow
The Project Management feature also includes the Workflow tool, which enables data-driven automation to manage common construction workflows. This helps eliminate manual steps and interventions that can cause delays and result in inaccuracies. Custom workflows can also be designed for each unique project.
Prebuilt templates for common construction workflows, such as RFIs, change orders, submittals and punch lists, are included within the Workflow tool. Linarc’s workflow builder allows users to design custom processes that help connect data and steps with actions that can be assigned to users and then published. Users can start with any prebuilt workflow and then customize it by adding or removing steps or revising project duration and actions. These changes can then be published to a project or saved to the toolbox.
Operations Management
The Operations Management feature is broken down into three main tools: Resource Manager, Dispatch and Project Portfolio. The entire Toolbox within the Operations Management feature includes:
- Employee Management
- Payroll
- Field Schedule
- Vendor Management
- Budget Control
- Crew Allocation
- Reports
- Equipment Management
- Collaboration
- Dispatch
- Performance Metrics
- Dashboard
Resource Manager
The Resource Manager tool within the Operations Management feature is designed to improve resource utilization by optimally allocating resources across all projects with a centralized construction resource manager.
A Procurement Planner is included to help with vendor management, material requirement logs and jobsite material waste reduction. Vendor evaluation scorecards can be set up to help control costs, reduce risks and increase quality. Material requirements, specifications and quantities by type and project can be collected and analyzed to create volume orders that can help decrease material costs. Jobsite material deliveries and quantities that are pulled can be captured by field managers to help track and minimize material waste.
Dispatch
Linarc said that the intelligent centralized Dispatch tool aims to help increase jobsite productivity, minimize delays and reduce cost overhead. The built-in dispatcher algorithm is designed to pull weekly schedules and create a resource need grid for each jobsite. This allows task due dates, site readiness and project status to determine daily crew assignments.
Project Portfolio
The Project Portfolio tool provides portfolio visibility to all company project stakeholders, from team members to executives. Cost analytics help pull together cost performance data for all company projects, which gives a clearer picture of predicted costs, cash outlay and profits for each project.
Collaboration
The Linarc construction management platform is built on real-time connectivity and collaboration. The goal is to keep everyone connected and provide up-to-date project data to enable informed and timely decisions that can help to reduce costly delays. A shared collaborative space, called the Project Workspace, is available for every team member. Documents and files can be added to the workspace with access permissions set by project. The entire Collaboration Construction Toolkit includes:
- Team Directory
- Search
- Markup
- Audio and Video
- Channels
- Secure
- Meeting
- Topics
- Messaging
Mobile Apps
A suite of Construction Apps is included with Linarc and is designed to connect the office to the jobsite, helping the entire project team to stay informed, engaged and make critical decisions from anywhere. Apps are available in both native Android and iOS formats. The App Directory includes:
- Field Task
- RFI
- Scheduler
- Punchlist
- Collaboration
- Timecard
- Plan Sheets
- Dashboards
- Directory
Conclusion
The Linarc website states that its mission is to help companies deliver construction projects on time, with high quality and on-site safety. With the innovation and intuition of data-driven decisions, Linarc’s construction management software is purpose-built for the construction industry.
Companies looking for a robust construction management platform may find it worth taking a closer look at Linarc for its range of features. For more information or to get a live demonstration of Linarc in action, visit Linarc.