Using Mobile Cloud Apps to Support Geographically Dispersed Construction Teams

CLOUD COMPUTING AND MOBILE APPS

Cloud computing has its roots that date back to the late 1960s (Duncan, 2017). However, it was not until the late 1990s that the internet was able to provide the speed and bandwidth for the amount of data that would need to be accessed remotely that allowed cloud computing to enter into mainstream markets (Mohamed, 2018). Cloud computing can be defined as, “A computing environment where software and storage are provided as an Internet service and are accessed with a Web browser”?(Stair & Reynolds, 2018).The term “cloud computing” comes from the cloud symbol used in flow charts and diagrams to represent the internet (Block, 2011). The three main types of cloud computing are: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) (Reynolds, 2016). SaaS is a web-based software service where a company utilizes a provider for turnkey support in exchange for a fee (Stair & Reynolds, 2018). Cloud based construction software is typically utilized via a SaaS platform. The construction industry uses SaaS for better workflows via real-time and easily accessible programs that interface on mobile devices and computers. Also, by receiving data directly from numerous sources SaaS systems expedite accounting and financial tracking tasks (Demaree, 2016). SaaS systems must be scalable, going from a few hundred interfaces to several hundred thousand interfaces very quickly?(Hurwitz, Kaufman, Halper, & Kirsch, 2012). Systems integration is the process that the IT or IS department use to make a company’s individual systems operate like one overarching system?(Duncan, 2017).

Via the Internet or “in the cloud,” traditional storage and processing power have been removed from the individual or independent device and have been relocated to a central database, usually in a large data center. With better customer interface via high-speed browsers, advancements in data storage and retrieval such as virtual servers, and an increased amount of data centers, cloud computing was able to become a direct replacement for desktop software in the last ten years (Ronak, 2012). Now with the advent of smart phones and an explosion of software that allows smart phones to connect with cloud-based systems, mobile apps have replaced the Web browser to become the go to tool for geographically dispersed teams (Aparna, 2020). Mobile cloud computing (MCC) is very similar to using native, or traditional, mobile applications from the user’s perspective. However, since the actual computing is happening on a SaaS platform the programming language is cloud-based versus on the native mobile operating system. This allows for mobile access across a near infinite platform (Snigdha, 2021). According to 2020 Construction Technology Report produced by JBKnowledge, 92% of the construction industry uses a smartphone on a daily basis (JBKnowledge, 2021).

MOBILE APPS IN CONSTRUCTION

Most construction project teams, or companies, are spread over large and diverse environments. Usually, the project site along with the project team, are in a different location than the main office. However, some project team members, or support structures, will still be located in the home or corporate office area. So, utilizing a true cloud-based SaaS system means that none of the system users will need to procure any licensing or install software on their individual devices; and all types of computers, laptops, and mobile devices will access the system (Dubrova, n.d.). Another direct benefit of using SaaS mobile systems is that the data centers where the public cloud services reside have their own IT or IS departments, so individual companies will not need to maintain, upgrade, or protect a standalone system (Ronak, 2012). Mobile SaaS is an easy-to-use method for updating and sharing the design documents, estimating, costing, billing, production, and cost changes information across a physically disbursed organization.

Through the construction process, projects first start with an owner having an idea or need. That idea or need then typically gets designed by an architectural firm. The design firm can incorporate all the engineering disciplines needed to contribute to an overall concept, or in the case of most architectural firms they outsource the engineering. The engineering support is usually comprised of civil, structural, mechanical (to include plumbing), and electrical. The design firm pulls together all technical, functional, and aesthetic aspects of the concept. All this data, or information, is captured in a digital format on software such as: AutoCAD, Revit, 3D Studio Max, V-Ray, SketchUp, etc., and called the model. The model is a two- or three-dimensional rendering or representation of the owner’s concept (i.e., building). With the availability of SaaS platforms design firms no longer need to track separate models as they are altered by external team members. Collaboration can happen in real time via Web browser or direct mobile applications of most design software (webuild, 2020). If the design team is physically dispersed or if an architectural firm is leveraging subcontract support from external contributors, such as engineering support, then design teams use SaaS software such as BIM 360 Glue, or Navisworks to collaborate on the model. Since most construction designs today are created digitally, and they can be extremely large due to their complexity, so it makes sense to utilize a cloud-based platform with mobile integration for collaboration and overall completion.

Once a concept has been fully developed, which means the owner, designers, and authority having jurisdiction (i.e., city, county, state, or federal regulator agency in charge), have all approved it, the concept is put out for bid in the form of a design package. Being put out for bid means that the owner and usually the design agency or architectural firm acting as the owner’s representative want general construction firms to give a proposal on how much it will be to build the concept. Sometimes the owners or their representatives want the general construction firms to bid solely or combined with their preferred subcontractors. The subcontractors needed on a project consist of companies that specialize in one or more trades such as: dirt work, utilities, concrete, steel framing, drywall, painting, flooring, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, roofing, glazers (windows), doors and millwork (cabinetry), fire suppression, landscaping and irrigation, and others. SaaS cloud-based platforms have started incorporating the bidding phase of projects with mobile app integration for early or on the fly review. Some firms are electing to bid the less complex projects can even be reviewed and bid through mobile apps. ?

The immense magnitude of scopes, or tasks, needed to complete a construction project require a very large number of service providers or stake holders. In order for the owner to get the best market value or price on a construction project they need tens, if not hundreds, of companies competing to win the bid. To reach the number of bidders desired, owners or owner representatives post design packages on public cloud or web-based sites such as iSqFt, Bidsync, bidclerk. Or, if an owner is a large entity in their own right, they usually have a proprietary web or private cloud system that bidders can log into to bid on design packages. Examples of such entities are: Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy (DOE), individual states within the U.S., large universities, etc. These sites usually contain the entire design package to include narrative of concept, drawings of concept (blueprints), specifications of materials and workmanship, and any changes from the original concept captured in Architect’s Supplemental Information (ASI) or alternates (deviations in specific means to construct the concept). Both public and private entities are discovering the benefits of creating mobile apps to directly interface with their IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS platforms.

To create a proposal, or bid, general contractors (GC) and subcontractors (trade specialists) need to estimate what their costs will be in creating the concept. Numerous web and cloud based estimating software applications exist such as: Quickpen, FastPIPE, Sage 300, Trimble, Buildertrend, and SharpSoft. All of these types of services use industry accepted standards for construction and commodity costing such as Compass International and RSMeans. Through mobile app integration these systems are achieving a high degree of sophistication so that they can interact with vendors to establish “just-in-time” stocking or delivery of needed materials for construction projects. Just-in-time is a Lean management concept that aims to deliver exactly what the owner needs when they need it, thereby eliminating wasted time and money (Aziz & Hafez, 2013).

After compliance to the technical requirements are determined, owners typically procure services or award contracts to the lowest bidder or bidders in these types of solicitations. Typically, a general construction firm will have been awarded a direct contract with the owner to procure all the materials and provide all the labor needed to construct the concept. Once the GC has their agreement finalized with the owner, the GC will finalize its direct contracts with the subcontractors that were chosen. Many of these contracts are being executed on digital transaction management (DTM) software systems such as DocuSign because they offer global accessibility, built-in tractability, and enterprise integration. DTM software systems allow for real-time negotiations and changes to contracts that can be done from any smart mobile device, plus they allow for horizontal integration in enterprise networks (Diaz, 2010).

Once contracts are issued the project moves into the construction stage. It is at this point that most GCs will create a cloud-based project specific database utilizing a SaaS system if an owner or design firm one was not stipulated for use in the bid process. The existing design package (concept narrative, drawings/model, specifications, ASIs) is uploaded to create the foundation of the project specific database. Throughout the project, information is continually added to this database such as: proposals, contracts, submittals, schedules, invoices, transmittals, audits, tests, photos, correspondence, meeting minutes, requests for information (RFI), owner directed changes, additional ASIs, revisions to drawings or design model, and other items. During the construction phase the number of required database users can easily reach the hundreds if not the thousands mark. Each contractor, from the GC to all the subcontractors, need to interface with this database to access relevant up-to-date information, ask questions, share new information, keep track of progress across all tasks, review and update the schedule or timeline, track critical deliveries, document delays or setbacks, coordinate order of operations, submit billings, submit changes in pricing, and other tasks.

Each contractor involved in a construction project can have a team that ranges in size from a few individual contributors to tens of individual contributors. Data will be created by these individual contributors in standalone systems such as Trimble for excavating and global positions systems (GPS) mapping, MasterControl for quality control, Fluke for reading testing and analyzing, Dynamics for invoicing, Office 365 for documents schedules and spreadsheets, and numerous other systems or programs. The number of data interfaces and the amount of data creation can be truly astounding; therefore, the SaaS needs to have the capacity to be scalable. A single moderately sized construction project could easily qualify as big data by meeting the volume, velocity, and variety characterizes (Stair & Reynolds, 2018). Cloud based construction SaaS systems such as: PROCORE, Sage 300 (formerly Masterbuilder), eSub, Buildertender, PlanGrid, Fieldwire, etc., allow information integration and manipulation within the project database from multiple sources. They incorporate design information, bidding information, procuring information, construction information, and acceptance information. All these platforms have created mobile apps to allow for real time data creation and update from the field in the architectural engineering and construction (AEC) sectors of the overall industry. By utilizing the MCC to input data firms get real time uploads and better productivity on the front end, while leveraging the computing and mining power of the cloud (Snigdha, 2021).

?POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH USING MOBILE APPS IN CONSTRUCTION

Mobile SaaS cloud-based information technology (IT) is much like any other force multiplier used in industry. The results are directly correlated to the efforts as with the IT expression “garbage in garbage out” (GIGO). If mobile SaaS cloud-based IT is viewed in the same lens as the mass production or construction of usable data, then some direct correlations to manufacturing can be used. In manufacturing and quality assurance circles it is well known that small mistakes made on the front end of an automated process can lead to huge problems and errors on the backend or output of the same process (Business Zeal, 2021). Organizations must agree in advance on what constitutes data and what formats are going to be utilized, otherwise huge bottlenecks will occur that take large amounts of time and money to fix (Reynolds, 2016). Also, as with other large repositories of data, SaaS cloud-based platforms offer unsavory characters or criminals a rich opportunity to commit fraud and other crimes. The convenience that these data warehouses create for industry by compiling all their customer’s data in place also make for very attractive targets for those individuals seeking data to create false or improper accounts, identities, memberships, etc. An article in the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska talked about how local authorities believe that IT has made fraud easier in the current times. They based this belief on statics that show how reported fraud crime has more than doubled between 1996 and 2016 (Manna, 2016).

There are other factors that can cause an impediment or issues with using MCC in construction. Not all vendors, subcontractors, and suppliers are able to provide their employees with mobile devices. Some firms have not bought into the idea of using IT as a force multiplier and therefore do not see the need to expend valuable resources on integrating it with their business plan. Firms such as historically underutilized businesses (HUB) or minority owned companies can be too small to manage the cost to outfit their management, let alone field employees, with mobile technology. This can cause a self-perpetuating negative feedback loop with regards to government construction projects where a certain amount of HUB or minority participation is required. Many times, the utilization of these small firms can cause unanticipated added costs because of their lack of IT sophistication; which in turn, can run the risk of pushing schedules and budgets out of their anticipated ranges. Finally, many most large firms have boards, or are run by, individuals with no construction or IT background. Therefore, they do not fully appreciate the potential of MCC in the construction industry (JBKnowledge, 2021).

FUTURE OF MOBILE APPS IN CONSTRUCTION

Cloud based mobile SaaS systems are allowing the construction industry to leverage and utilize existing resources in the best ways possible. Lean has become the newest methods for delivering best value in manufacturing and construction. “Lean construction is a way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time, and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value” (Aziz & Hafez, 2013). The modern mantra of implementing Lean principles would not be possible without the connectivity of an accessible project database that has the flexibility and scalability to incorporate all forms of information. MCC allows for longer device battery life, near unlimited storage space, instant data synchronizing across all hardware platforms, all because these apps run on a cloud-based platform (Snigdha, 2021).

Soon, these very same SaaS systems will need to incorporate new technologies that are currently being developed by GPS mapping companies like Trimble and heavy equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, and Volvo, for automated or self-driving equipment. There is also a growing use of drones to conduct aerial topographical surveys, document project progress, conduct quality inspections, and project site surveillance. The data that the drones capture needs to be analyzed, categorized, stored, and shared in a near real time capacity (Jones, 2020). Modular construction has been around for several decades and is in greater use in Asian countries. Modular construction is at the forefront of turning construction into manufacturing by fabricating some or all assemblies offsite in a factory like atmosphere. By integrating MCC with modular construction better economies and quality can be gained simultaneously which will make the initial investment into this type of fabrication more palatable to firms by delivering a better return on investment (ROI). Another leading-edge technology that shows a tremendous amount of potential in the construction industry is 3D printing. By integrating design and engineering software with 3D printing capabilities a whole plethora of items can be created in a wide range of components. This synergy can be used to create higher quality and less expensive things like tools, beams, fasteners, supports, and even houses themselves (JBKnowledge, 2021). By using MCC for these applications, the computing power, storage capacity, and near universal access of the cloud can leveraged as a definite force multiplier and strategic market advantage.

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