The International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, Nevada is only eight weeks away, and we could not be more excited! (Request your free tickets!) As we approach IBS, we want to provide you with a weekly preparation countdown, to make sure we are helping you prepare best we can. In these exclusive articles you can learn more about the benefits for you as an attendee, new product highlights, a Las Vegas location/event spotlight, and a special behind-the-scenes look at how we as exhibitors prepare for the biggest trade show in North America!

Congratulations! You did it!

After hours of painstaking research, budget discussions, software demos, and exploratory trials, you sealed the deal on the ideal construction project management software for your company.

. . . Now what?

It may feel overwhelming when you are first tasked with getting your new-to-you construction management software up and running at your company, but that's where we come in - the experts who make up ConstructionOnline's Success Team. Our goal is your success, and we'll show you that better project management is as easy as 1, 2, 3…

Some construction professionals have dismissed the importance of customer service in the construction industry, not worrying if the customer experience is good, as long as the project result meets expectations. Don’t make this mistake - your company is not a single-dimensional company. Yes, you are a construction company, so you must provide quality construction services. However, the customer is the reason for your work, and so the entirety of their experience matters, not just the result. Extraordinary customer experiences create happy customers, and happy customers generate new business.

There is no other way to put it: when you have a construction project in the works, regardless of how big or small, there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that must be put in place for things to go smoothly and without delay.

In my role as Success Coordinator for UDA ConstructionOnline, I’ve worked with hundreds of construction teams who have found that the implementation of UDA’s industry-leading construction estimating software has led to substantial revenue growth for their companies. Oftentimes, a company’s success can be determined early on by the priority they place on the simple things. For new customers getting started or current customers who are looking to do more, these are the three best practices that can be applied to support your success with construction estimating software -

Webster’s Dictionary says that success is “a favorable or desired outcome.” This means that to develop your definition of success, you will need to first identify the measurable outcomes you are hoping to achieve with your endeavor – allowing you to recognize the milestones of your success as they are reached. 

Known mainly for his military and political achievements, President Dwight D. Eisenhower found success following a principle he shared often, “[w]hat is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” In construction project management, the Urgent-Important principle suggests that project managers should ensure they are prioritizing the important tasks that might not have immediate deadlines. Here are three tasks that we think are highly important for construction projects that may not set off any of your urgent alarms.

Although punch lists are a familiar assessment tool in the construction industry, the many possible ways in which they can be applied are commonly overlooked. We all know that punch lists are the standard for end-of-project walk-thrus and inspections, but have you ever considered using a punch list app to successfully end each phase of a project, or ensure all necessary documentation is completed across the duration of a job? What about measuring your preparedness for a trade show or making sure a lead is fully qualified using a punch list? Below, we provide 3 unconventional yet easy adaptations for the common punch list format:

Depending on who you talk to, the term “Change Order” can solicit a broad range of reactions. The most common reactions might include heavy sighs, eye rolls, or pursed lips, while some uncommon ones could have you ducking for cover as every object within reach comes flying at your head. For many, Change Orders have done more than enough damage to a bottom line to warrant the type of disgust merely whispering the word can invoke. For others, however, Change Orders are the golden goose; these select few have mastered the art of the Change Order, and these are the ones you should be paying attention to. 

A favorite adage of mine is “you can’t improve what you don’t measure.” But you have to know what you want to determine before you can know what needs to be measured. In construction, the industry with the lowest start-up survival rate nationwide*, what most business owners need to know is as simple as this – are we going to make it?