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Digital construction management with SAP® – here’s how it works!
Digital facility & construction management is revolutionising the way in which construction projects are planned, coordinated and implemented, public safety obligations are fulfilled and service contracts for building management are processed. Facility & construction management not only includes the management of all processes and resources relating to construction projects, but also many small-scale tasks and workflows relating to cost management, safety and quality monitoring. How can all of this be digitalised? And what are the advantages? We get to the bottom of this in this article.
What is construction management?
All processes, resources, workflows and activities for planning and realising a construction project come together in construction management. Every construction project is different! For this reason, a new construction plan must be developed each time to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective completion possible. Construction project managers plan and realise all measures required for the successful completion of the construction project.
What does construction management involve?
In order to shed light on the benefits of digital construction management, it makes sense to first take a closer look at the areas of responsibility in construction project management. Site managers not “only” supervise the construction of a project, but also all the processes involved. They are planners, inspectors, accountants, managers, safety officers and administrators all at the same time! Construction management includes four main functions:
- The regular and complete procurement of all required resources. This includes labour, such as craftspeople and suppliers, their equipment and materials.
- Comprehensive plans and concrete objectives are needed to deploy and manage resources effectively. This also includes the budget and scheduling.
- Various workflows must be defined, implemented and monitored in order to successfully finalise the construction plan. This also includes preliminary planning and, after successful implementation, maintenance.
- Finally, site managers are also mediators! They must not only resolve conflicts, but ideally prevent them from arising in the first place. This involves putting in place measures to prevent problems, particularly in terms of transparency and communication. Professional defect and warranty tracking is the basis for this.
What is digital construction management?
Anyone who is already aware of the comprehensive range of tasks of a construction manager will quickly understand why the digitalisation of all these activities brings many advantages. Modern software programs help to procure and plan resources, control workflows, manage all measures effectively and always have the most up-to-date data available. Digital construction process management encompasses the efficient administration and implementation of all facility and construction management tasks, whether in-house services or external service providers commissioned by tender. A digitalisation expert can support companies as a professional partner in the implementation of all tasks that arise, from maintenance and services to construction project management, interface minimisation and holistic solutions in SAP®. The tried-and-tested solutions from PROMOS are based on many years of expertise. They minimise interfaces and support real estate companies from conception to operation throughout the entire life cycle of a property – ensuring the sustainable success of their real estate objects.
SAP® construction management – How and why?
SAP® is popular in many industries – and with good reason! The software group is known for state-of-the-art solutions that automate processes and centralise data. Digitalisation is a great help here, particularly because facility and construction management is a highly complex and fragmented field. Although SAP® applications are not specifically designed for construction management, PROMOS fills the gaps with specially developed SAP®-based solutions tailored to the housing industry. What does this look like in practice?
SAP® and the mobile solutions from PROMOS form a strong duo in property construction and help to overcome the digitalisation backlog. SAP S/4HANA® enables seamless use in the browser, while the mobile applications support on-site use on construction sites. Housing associations manage a large number of projects in which different sectors and stakeholders are involved. These solutions are particularly valuable for them, as they are based on a central data pool, offer structured storage and process support and have simple interfaces with user-friendly operation. Digital construction process management made easy!
Figure 1: Whether in the office or on site, you always have access to all relevant construction project data. The Professional App and SAP® ensure, for example, efficient project reporting or transparent building status recording during mobile on-site inspections.
 Figure 1: Whether in the office or on site, you always have access to all relevant construction project data. The Professional App and SAP® ensure, for example, efficient project reporting or transparent building status recording during mobile on-site inspections. |
What are the advantages of construction management with SAP®?
SAP® offers many solutions for different purposes and industries. Together with the intelligent mobile applications from PROMOS, real estate companies can reduce the complexity of construction projects and collaborate with all stakeholders in real time. The construction industry is facing the challenge of having to increase its productivity. According to an evaluation by the McKinsey Global Institute study, the industry has had a global productivity increase of only 1 per cent per year over the last 20 years. This small increase stands in stark contrast to other sectors. Higher productivity would bring immense benefits in eliminating the prevailing housing shortage.
Does the solution lie in digitalisation? Can modern technology and the intelligent management of data help to save time and money? Over 25 years of experience at PROMOS, which includes working with SAP® and numerous large real estate companies as well as small businesses, clearly shows that the answer is yes! Companies can overcome industry fragmentation with a collaboration platform that involves all stakeholders in a construction project and utilises smart technologies. Real-time collaboration makes it possible to utilise resources more efficiently and access up-to-date information, which increases productivity. So digital construction process management definitely offers a solution. Our extensive portfolio for facility & construction management, which is constantly growing to meet the new requirements of the industry, offers companies a wide range of opportunities to advance digitalisation in this area. With the Professional App, site managers have all the necessary forms in their hands on site, which makes communication and organisation much easier. The app makes it easy to record construction progress and defects directly on a smartphone or tablet. Seamless integration with the SAP® system ensures efficient data processing and management. A great help, especially for small-scale projects with many participants!
Figure 2: The form for carrying out the partial acceptance, based on the building status report and the areas to be accepted, is already pre-filled with the data from the SAP® system. This not only saves time, but also contributes to high data quality, as incorrect entries can be avoided.
 Figure 2: The form for carrying out the partial acceptance, based on the building status report and the areas to be accepted, is already pre-filled with the data from the SAP® system. This not only saves time, but also contributes to high data quality, as incorrect entries can be avoided. |
How can companies utilise the benefits?
Strong facility and construction management is crucial for the successful functioning of real estate. Every day, real estate companies face the challenge of managing construction projects efficiently, carrying out maintenance measures precisely and fulfilling complex public safety obligations. This is where a reliable partner like PROMOS, with customised solutions and functionalities as well as all-round support, can be a great help. Our many years of experience in the industry and high level of IT expertise are important here, as no challenge is too great. In numerous customer projects, PROMOS has already digitalised a wide variety of areas of a construction project, such as the P2P process at Bayerische Hausbau, a state-of-the-art construction account at the moderne stadt or optimised construction cost controlling for Gewobag.
Figure 3: The PROMOS construction account clearly records the income and expenditure of a construction project. Data from various modules is aggregated as line items or WBS elements for selected construction projects. This means that all relevant data is displayed in one list instead of in several lists, as is usual in the SAP® standard.
 Figure 3: The PROMOS construction account clearly records the income and expenditure of a construction project. Data from various modules is aggregated as line items or WBS elements for selected construction projects. This means that all relevant data is displayed in one list instead of in several lists, as is usual in the SAP® standard. |
Digital quality management plays an important role in facility & construction management. Digitalisation not only enables the efficient management of obvious tasks such as project management and invoice verification, but also structures complex responsibilities such as insurance claims and the easysquare solution legal safety regulations. PROMOS offers holistic consulting for maintenance, service and construction project management, in particular through the implementation of requirements in SAP®. The progress of all measures and work steps is kept in view at all times with project performance statuses. The tried-and-tested solutions in the PROMOS.GT solution library enable the customised implementation of requests and wishes, from conception to operation.
Conclusion
Digital construction management with SAP® offers numerous advantages: The cloud-based Affine architecture enables efficient administration of all tasks in facility management and construction. Real-time collaboration, intelligent technologies and data management can reduce the complexity of projects and increase productivity. PROMOS, as an experienced partner with over 25 years in the industry and a comprehensive solution library, offers customised support from conception to operation. The PROMOS teams have already successfully implemented digitalisation measures in construction planning in numerous projects for customers such as Schulbau Hamburg.
At a time when housing companies need to provide more living space and are therefore building more, digitalisation in conjunction with SAP® is opening up new avenues for efficient construction management and optimised processes. Contact us – we look forward to your enquiry! Together we will discover how we can drive your success with customised solutions and decades of industry experience!
