Why leading plumbing contractors leverage Autodesk Construction Cloud

After a plumbing or pipe-fitting contractor wins a construction bid, the next phase the company embarks upon includes planning, hiring, management, and communications.

Some of the challenges contractors face involve:

• Employees:

Pipe fitters and plumbing contractors perform dangerous work on a jobsite. Safety procedures, equipment and employee training need to be priorities. General contractors (GCs) will consider safety records when choosing a plumbing contractor. In addition, employee safety is one factor in attracting, hiring and retaining skilled talent in the current tight, competitive labor market.

• Information:

Moving from successful bid to installing a job, the volume of documentation and information to store and access increases. Many contractors juggle multiple projects at different job sites. So team members need to have immediate access to the latest plans and changes.

• Finances:

Many contractors are faced with paying for materials up front and billing for reimbursement, which is a hardship for smaller contractors. The quicker the reimbursement, the less impact there will be to a contractor’s cash flow. Submitting comprehensive documentation streamlines the reimbursement process. The ideal scenario is a single system to document job materials, work completed, project changes affecting materials, and a regular schedule for billing.

• Technology:

Most contractors realize technology can help them streamline their operations. However, when times are good and they have the money to invest in tech, they don’t have the luxury of taking time to research the best options and then implement them.

Planning and research are important in selecting appropriate software tools. There is great potential for contractors to benefit from cloud-based software platforms, especially with:

• Workflows

On most jobs, contractors have no influence in the GC’s software requirements. They are tasked with adapting for each project. But standardization inhouse can still help contractor teams in the field. Regardless of what the GC chooses, projects can be completed faster and more accurately by contractors using a typical workflow within their company. That workflow can be improved with a single software platform. Contractors can also increase efficiency by being able to work in the field using mobile technology.

• Risk

Contractors can minimize risk by having project teams use one source of real-time truth for project plans and documentation. Software solutions that support mobile devices keep contractors in the loop about project updates and drawing changes. Software can enable better efficiency and quality, reducing mistakes and rework.

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One solution for plumbing and pipe fitting contractors is the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) platform. It is easy to adopt and use, enables cloud collaboration and provides data security. All project information is housed in one place.

Autodesk reports that ACC has been adopted by some of the world’s leading plumbing contractors.

ACC gives field teams quick access to the latest plans while on the jobsite. Thus, it reduces rework and helps teams deliver higher quality projects. With real-time, centralized communications and plans, ACC tools eliminate the need to physically visit jobsites every time a contractor needs a progress update.

The tools on a cloud-based platform can track progress and billings and store communications, workflows, plans, and drawings. Once a contractor implements a cloud-based software platform, they improve their efficiency, productivity and profit.

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