New construction management platform improves speed, efficiency and accuracy

Trimble’s Construction Management Platform Bridges Industry Gap Between
Constructible Models and Project Financials

Trimble has announced the launch of Trimble Construction One, a connected, cloud-based construction management platform designed to improve speed, efficiency and accuracy at each phase of the construction project lifecycle.

Back in late-April 2018, Trimble acquired Viewpoint, and this new product replaces ViewpointOne. As part of the Trimble Construction One launch, Viewpoint and its subsidiary brands will now operate as Trimble.

In a nutshell, the platform connects estimating to the ERP.

The result is that when a contractor wins a job, that estimate becomes the baseline budget for the project with that information efficiently being sent directly to the project manager. With preconstruction and construction connected through the system, contractors have more predictability, which helps manage and run projects before ground is ever broken.

Essentially, the SaaS platform bridges the gap between constructible models and project financials. This results in easier project management and allows contractors to make more informed business decisions.

“The growing needs of our customers has always been our focus, and they’ve told us that connecting project finances with field and operational data is at the top of their wish list,” said Matt Harris, vice president and general manager,Trimble Viewpoint. “With Trimble Construction One, we offer expanded connections across the construction project lifecycle, enabling better data for decision making,” he adds.

Existing ViewpointOne customers are now automatically shifted to Trimble Construction One and its added benefits and flexibility.

The main benefits of this platform include:

• Planning: By connecting data from the project planning phases to the project actuals, contractors gain greater predictability in their construction outcomes;
• Execution: Tasks such as project management, field management and service management are more efficient and the ability to map that data back to the project helps optimize resources and save costs; and
• Management: Bringing financial management, business operations management, job costing, payroll and procurement together results in reduced project administration, meaning greater efficiency and more profitability.

“From a preconstruction point of view, Trimble already connects thousands of distributors and contractors, and manages millions of manufacturer items, prices, labour and metadata,” said Lawrence Smith, vice president and general manager, Trimble MEP. “Now, under Trimble Construction One, estimating is connected to the ERP, so when the contractor has won the job, that estimate becomes the baseline budget for the project—and that information is put in the hands of the project manager efficiently, through our estimating to ERP integrations.”

The platform’s connected data provides contractors with accurate real-time data and reporting, thereby simplifying strategic decisions or tasks such as whether or not to take on a new project in a challenging time, when to hire, or projecting project margins.

“Being able to very quickly see where my projects are financially, where we are percentage completion wise, where we are with labour hours, where we are with quantities—all those things being in one place means fewer administrative hours,” said Peter Hainsworth, director of operations, Ridgeline Electrical Industries.