Conquer the critical path

Webcore Builders shoots down construction barriers with technology and streamlined communication 

by Clair D. Urbain

In 1981, Andy Ball, a young project manager, sat down at a personal computer set up in a jobsite trailer. Then, a PC was a novelty in most offices and a downright curiosity on a construction site.

But what Andy Ball was able to do with that personal computer and a basic Lotus spreadsheet began a trailblazing path to squeeze out inefficiencies in scheduling and head off conflicts that brought jobsites to a standstill. It could plot the critical path of a project, identify bottlenecks and head them off.

“Project managers and subcontractors were impressed with how the computer allowed me to track job progress. It took jobsite communication to a higher level,” he says.

Today, Ball is president of Webcor Builders, a San Francisco Bay area general contractor that specializes in design-build office campuses, hotels and other large commercial properties. Its list of worldwide clients reads like a list of Who’s Who in the digital and business world.

“What is most frustrating about construction today is that even with technological advances, we are not completing building any faster than we were 20 years ago.

“Think about the Empire State Building. The building was completed in 13 months. That was in 1930. They used much simpler technology than we have today, but we can’t match that level of productivity,” Ball says.

Look at the critical path
Ball believes technology has improved construction techniques and increased actual jobsite productivity, but in his mind’s eye, the greatest advances in building efficiency are yet to be realized.

He believes tremendous savings in time and costs can be made before the footings are poured. It involves digitizing the design process and opening information flow between contractors, architects, engineers and the owner.

“Design-build projects require tremendous input from the design and engineering teams. But their job isn’t complete without contractor input. Once you can put all that information together, you can clear some of the stumbling blocks found on the critical path of a construction project. Once you’ve identified your critical path, any time you save is technically a savings to the entire project,” Ball says.

In his years as a project manager and later as the president of a company with $1.3 billion worth of contracts in play, Ball says the technology used in construction is a sword that cuts both ways. While it has streamlined some workflow, it has not solved some basic communication problems.

“If an engineer or architect can create a design on the computer, why do we insist that it must be converted to the paper form for review?” he asks. Incorporating new technology while clinging to old ways doesn’t leverage the technology to its full potential.

Further, Ball believes that computer-aided design (CAD) technology has been used to short-circuit the design process to save money up front. Result: Buildings are designed on-the-fly that require expensive change orders. Most change orders can be eliminated if the information exchange process is more open and responsive on the front end.

“Just because it comes out of a computer does not mean it is right. The team members must have the experience to foresee the problems on paper, then be able to correct them in the design phase before the work crews begin construction,” he says. He believes technology can help.

Building the information conduit
That’s why Webcor Builders commits time, talent and money to develop a better conduit for information exchange. It wires each of its jobsites for high-traffic Internet communications. The company also works closely with software companies to stretch the capabilities of the programs it uses to track and collaborate on projects.

“Every jobsite over $5 million has a T1 frame relay line for data transmission,” says Todd Mercer, Webcor Builders project manager. He is working on the second phase of the Electronics for Imaging Inc. (EFI) campus in Foster City, California. It’s just one of Webcor Builders’ projects that strive to digitize as many aspects of the job as possible.

As a matter of perspective, a regular phone line for data transmission could be compared to a soda straw.

A T1 line could be compared to a culvert, delivering bandwidth, or information delivery capacity, from the Internet to personal computers on the jobsite. Such a connection allows large, complex files to be transmitted in minutes and seconds instead of hours.

“Bandwidth is everything,” continues Mercer. “With more bandwidth, you get information delivered faster and that makes you more productive,” he says.

The EFI campus jobsite uses interesting technology. “We have safety training set up online through ClickSafety.com. Via the Internet, workers go through safety training modules. The program tracks each worker’s training progress and provides an up-to-date training record for each employee.

“We also have started to order many of our materials and supplies online. We would like to order even more building supplies online, but find the personal relationships our workers and subcontractors have can’t be easily replaced by the Internet. We’ve also found that e-commerce for construction supplies is not here yet, but close,” he says.

Every Webcor project manager, assistant project manager, superintendent and project engineer on a jobsite has a laptop computer connected to the high-speed Internet line. Further, jobsite managers carry Palm Pilot personal digital assistants (PDAs) that allow them to access information while on the jobsite. Users can take notes on these simple handheld units in the field, which allows them to download that information onto their computer.

The jobsite server, a computer that allows the laptop computers to share files and printers, provides the main link to the high-speed Internet line. It stores all jobsite data which is accessible to others who have access rights through project management software.

“Islands of automation”
While some of the software used by the teams readily exchanges data, electronic bridges must be built to get data to other areas of the company.

“We are still dealing with islands of automation,” says Mercer. “We are working to get our accounting and costing software to be fully integrated with our job tracking software.”

On the jobsite, team members use other high-tech tools. They use a digital camera to capture images that can be sent to engineers or subcontractors so they understand what needs to be addressed. They also use a paper scanner to digitize documents for easy faxing, filing and retrieval.

It takes more than computers
Even with Webcor’s technological commitment, hardware and software won’t cut it if the front-line parties don’t buy in to the concept.

“We want to use tools that are simple and functional. The Palm Pilot fits that description. When we are considering new software, one of my first questions is, ‘Can it interface with the Palm? If it’s not functional, it’s hard to get field people to use it,” says Ball.

Subcontractors have the most trouble adopting new technology, but it’s getting better, says Mercer.

“When we requested quotes a year ago for the EFI project, Internet access and the supporting programs were mandatory for the architects, engineers and subcontractors bidding on the job. We had a few subcontractors submit low bids without the commitment to the Internet. The building owner agreed that the Internet access was required, so we passed up some lower bids in favor of contractors who were committed to using the technology,” says Mercer.

Curiously, after one year, Mercer’s initial work on a new site finds subcontractors more interested in using the technology. “Last year, they commented that it wasn’t needed and they were concerned it was going to slow them down. Now, they say they want to use it. That’s progress.”

Mandate: take the lead
Ball mandates that employees take the lead in putting the software in place and working with software suppliers to assure it meets the company’s needs. “We work closely with Citadon, which is developing the ProjectNet Website to help it better fit our needs,” says Ball.

While software and Internet sites are getting better, the quest for e-commerce in construction is in its infancy. “When the business-to-business e-commerce sites started springing up, they forgot about how people do business. E-commerce couldn’t replace the relationships the subcontractors have with distributors and suppliers who have helped them get the tools and supplies they needed quickly or help them solve a problem on the construction site,” says Ball.

Still, Ball sees an Internet-based system as the best hope for wringing out costs in the pre-construction phase of a project. “The software is a tool that allows the free flow of information. It takes printing, stamping, mailing and transportation time out of the process. That means the team can react more quickly to issues and deal with them. That should help reduce change orders and help the team get the project finished sooner and with fewer problems,” he says.

Mercer agrees, but says team members still perceive that the digital process can take more time. “Team members think they may spend more time working on the computer to get a job done, but it usually takes five minutes to do what used to take 15 minutes to do. However, a portion of that five minutes is now spent waiting on the computer to process. So because a few minutes are not productive, the perception is that the entire process is unproductive.  In reality they have cut the actual work time by two-thirds,” he says.

Mercer says the Internet-based system helps accountability. “We have found the people on the team who least like the program are the ones who haven’t been doing their job correctly in the first place. ProjectNet, our project-specific Website, creates a central log where everyone can see job progress. We call it the ball-in-court function. If the ball’s in your court and everyone knows it, you’re much more likely to move it out of your court by acting on it,” says Mercer.

A return on investment?
Every project manager has an accountant peeking over the ledger, passing judgment on whether certain decisions helped or hindered the bottom line of the project. Nailing down the cost savings of a collaborative system can be elusive, but less daunting when you look at it differently.

“I can come up with numbers that allow me to quantify the cost savings of a non-event. This system increases efficiency and reliability. If a change order or work slowdown doesn’t occur because the software and process identified problems before they became problems on the jobsite, what is that worth? Those could easily be worth more than the cost of the entire system,” says Mercer.

Ball’s analysis is more direct. “If I can save a customer three weeks on a 14-month, $30 million project, look at the reduced cost to that customer. If the carrying cost on such a project is $60,000 a week, completing three weeks saves that customer $120,000. Plus, the owner doesn’t continue renting facilities or can begin to rent the property. Three weeks can mean as much as $200,000 to $600,000 for the owner.”

Finally, internal audits reveal the improved communication resulting from the system has reduced costs by as much as three percent in the design/development phase of some projects.

Published in the July/August 2001 issue of Contractor Tools and Supplies magazine.

back to top