2013 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook survey presented in this article are based upon preliminary results collected as of December 6, 2012 from almost 800 respondents. For final results of the survey, visit www.agc.org.

Computer Guidance is a proud sponsor of this year Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Survey and is pleased to be asked to comment on the results.

"Overall, survey respondents seem to be more optimistic than they were last year" stated Ken Simonson, Chief Economist, The Associated General Contractors of America.

"Everyone in the construction industry is trying to do more with less, and technology such as BIM, is one tool that can help people achieve productivity goals cost-effectively" stated Roger D. Kirk, Chief Executive Officer, Computer Guidance Corporation.

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Throughout 2012, Constructech magazine has featured a special section helping contractors make the right decisions around ERP (enterprise resource planning) technology. The series culminates with a look at what is next for enterprise technology in the construction industry. Roger D. Kirk, president and CEO, Computer Guidance Corp., www.computerguidance.com, Scottsdale, Ariz., sits down with Constructech magazine Chief Editor Mike Carrozzo to discuss what we should expect for the construction enterprise ahead.

"Three things jump out at me right away: mobility, ECM (enterprise content management), and decision support. You have mobility because you see that need to put solutions out at the source—the jobsite—to help improve productivity and to provide better information at source (of creation). That starts to reach things like equipment, timecard, (field) reporting … mobile project management, and extends to BIM (building information modeling). These types of solutions are being deployed extensively today and the proliferation of field-based apps helps improve jobsite communications and productivity and data capture from (the) field."

Embarking on the path of enterprise-software selection.

"It takes one bad experience (with an enterprise system) for things to really come into focus." These words sum up one contractor's struggle with ERP (enterprise resource planning) software. But with the investment—both time and money—that goes into an enterprise implementation, taking the proper steps to select and deploy the right ERP software on the first go-around can be significant.

But in many cases that is easier said than done. Contractors need to consider many factors when undertaking the task of integrating new software into a business. Deploying ERP software, in particular, is not only a hefty investment in both personnel and financial resources, but it also requires companies to look forward to what the business will look like down the road and ensure the technology has the capabilities to grow with the business appropriately.

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Contractors that manage and measure their projects, equipment, personnel, and timelines by turning information into power can also build success. In order to do more with less and still achieve operational efficiency, contractors need accurate and real-time financial and project information.

That’s why Enterprise Resource Planning solutions have become a mainstay of the industry. However, even the most powerful, reliable, and feature-rich ERP systems are ineffective if contractors cannot access the wealth of data these systems house.

The article provides real-life examples on how BI applications are successfully being used by three different functions within a company:

• financial management,
• HR management,
• and project management.

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Today, cloud-based solutions are available for everything from email and enterprise resource management systems to content management and customer relationship management applications. And, the inherent benefits of the cloud can be found deep and wide across every organization that has chosen to follow this path. The number of adopters grows exponentially on a daily basis, so it should be no surprise that so many leading construction companies have begun to embrace the cloud as well ... but with careful considerations.

Because of the maturity of hosted, cloud-based solutions, enterprise resource management and its associated applications are making a seamless move to the cloud. Taking an outsourced approach to technology is helping construction companies drive their businesses farther, faster, without any barriers to entry or concerns about system management over time. Careful examination of the business, technological and workflow considerations associated with such an approach to construction may prove that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.

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Manhattan has since switched over to using construction-specific ERP systems for its business lines. Part of the appeal to this approach is the construction-technology specific consulting Manhattan receives from partners like Computer Guidance, among others.

“With having a number of different businesses, it provides centralized operations, accounting, HR/payroll,” he adds. “Having a common platform makes it easier to have such centralized functions. Overall it helps increase our accuracy, as things are integrated and you know from beginning to end that things fit in well. There is no worry about getting bad data, like when you are piecing together a bunch of information from (disparate) systems.”

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