Owning a construction business has never been easy and a project manager is ultimately a human who has his limitations in performing his duties to the best of his abilities. Owners and project managers both need certain project management tools with the help of which they can efficiently monitor and manage project processes and project developments. The construction industry is not only risky in its processes but also quite risky with the huge amount of money involved.

Good management skills along with a skillful mindset, efficient tools, and proper expertise ensure the completion of projects as per the draft plan. Construction project management software or construction management software streamlines tasks of a construction project and helps companies to manage project processes such as budget allocation, task scheduling, decision-making, communication, and coordination, etc and aims to make construction project processes easier through automation.

How do Softwares improve Construction Management?

Construction project management software assists construction project managers to define specific objectives for all employees and smoothen project processes by improving resource utilization, coordination, task scheduling, attendance tracking, punch lists, client billing, etc. These construction project management tools allow organizations to have a better insight into project processes and requirements, and control over documentation to closely monitor RFIs, change orders, purchase orders, etc to ensure the employees are adhering to budget estimates and timelines.

Construction Project management software enhances construction processes in the following ways:

• All the tasks and responsibilities involved in a construction project are automated using construction project management software.
• Cost estimation related to a construction project and the various billing processes involved in it can be easily computed.
• Multiple projects can be managed simultaneously without any impediments that can lower the efficiency with which the project is being executed.
• Real-time coordination and communication are some of the essential features of a construction project management software that allows dynamic updating of information and remote working facilities.
• Scheduling of tasks can be done in a breeze using construction project management software that helps in streamlining the project processes.
• Construction project management tools offer centralized storage of information that helps in saving extra time, effort, and cost that might otherwise have been wasted in referring and reviewing data from decentralized sources.

Different types of Construction Management Software

Deciding to use a construction project management tool might not be a big hassle for any firm but the main problem arises when a decision has to be taken to choose the best suitable tool that can be used as per the project’s requirements. Some of the construction management tools that are being used by construction companies across the world have been listed below:

1. **Procore-**This is one of the most commonly used all-in-one commercial construction project management software. Procore is a cloud-based tool that is specially designed to fulfill construction project management functions. Its flexible open API allows users to create an individual data source that is adequate and the latest in real-time that enables reporting across multiple tools and projects by connecting all applications that are being used by the organization.

Procore offers seamless integration of project contributors such as clients, contractors, sub-contractors all under one consolidated dashboard. Procore has a 90% customer satisfaction rate that is quite high when compared to industry standards. Some of the other features that Procore offers are:

• Transfer of data and documents in real-time across various organizations
• Integration with and access to more than 250 applications.
• Safety and quality parameters are inbuilt and predefined.
• Features such as field and site productivity tools that improve project management.
• Well-defined coordination tools that assist in coordinating designs and plans.
• Round the clock best customer service through phones, messages or emails, or even online chat.

1. Fieldwire- As the name suggests, it is a construction job site management tool for any scale of a construction project, in which entire teams come together to work together. It is one of the best cloud-based construction project management software, where all of the project team members can collaborate and share information in real-time.

Tasks are organized as per the project specification and the planned outlines that make it quite easy for the different team members to work efficiently and optimize their program much in advance. It offers a variety of options to organize, assign and schedule tasks that can be remotely managed from any device. Thus any probability of occurrence of errors is practically reduced to a small value. Some other Fieldwire features include:

• Entire design and plan management
• Hassle-free document and picture sharing features
• Effective tracking of problems arising during the project duration to improve site inspection and project status review.
• Instant generation of reports automatically
• Live messaging

1. **BIM 360-**Any user who wants to combine, organize and optimize construction projects can surely go for BIM 360, which is a unique platform that serves to connect project teams and data in real-time from design to construction stage, asserting wise decision-making, leading to more profitable and foreseen outcomes. It has provisions that reduce risk, improve quality, and ultimately assist in accomplishing projects in the stipulated time and budget.

BIM 360 manages quality dynamically, forecasts safety hazards, and reduces extra efforts that may consume more time and money. Some other features offered by BIM 360 are:

• Coordination and Communication
• Quality and safety management
• Document management
• Design collaboration and constructability
• Submission of reports and RFIs
• Reports and Analytics

1. **Stack-**Stack is a cloud-based construction project management software that is especially used in the pre-construction process to plan the entire project in its initial phases. Stack as a cloud platform offers provision to manage the centralized plan of action, initiate team collaboration, and facilitate document sharing and project reporting. It is one of the best software to estimate budgets for a construction project. No long hours are needed to manually takeoff and measure material quantities and Stack can do all this in the blink of an eye.

Stack has some more features that have been mentioned below:

• Intricate document management is easily done by sorting.
• Coordinate and connect with team members round the clock.
• Provides options with multiple drawings.
• Stack is very rapid in its processes without making mistakes.
• Stack helps in creating the best in the industry professional proposals, that are rarely rejected by clients.

1. Coconstruct- Coconstruct offers everything a user needs in one place to manage a construction project, especially for home builders. Communicating with clients and employees, coordinating the project, and controlling and reviewing the project budget can be done from this individual platform. This software is mostly used to manage the construction of houses and remodeling processes.

The best part about Coconstruct is that it also offers a mobile application for its users that not only allows them to run their projects remotely but also impress prospective clients. Users can add to-do’s, clock in, supervise schedules, and communicate with all parties at any time. Coconstruct also offers some features that are:

• Smooth bidding process
• Easy tracking of site processes and activity
• Enables budget estimation and helps in predicting project costs
• Easy sharing of documents and pictures
• Automatic invoicing to clients
• Can be used to track change orders and other expenses

Apart from these construction management tools, there are a few more tools that may not be trending but have the potential to integrate construction project management in different parts of the construction industry. Some of them are:

• **Smartsheet-**Smartsheets can be used for field tasks or projects, quality control and safety management, task scheduling, efficient budget management, and user-friendly.

• **eSub-**It automates time taking and error-filled manual processes to track project status in an automated manner as per the best practices.

• **RedTeam-**It offers assistance in the management of all stages of a construction project right from the pre-construction stage to the post-construction stage. It can manage all aspects such as business development, construction project management, scheduling, cost control, etc.

• **Monday.com-**It provides the framework for all types of construction project employees from contractors to engineers, to maximize profits by reducing inefficiencies.

• **Project Manager-**The best award-winning inexpensive alternative to construction project management tools, that may look simple but is quite effective. It is one of the best construction scheduling software and because it is quite simple, it does not require intensive training sessions.

• **Powerplay-**This is India’s first project management software that has been specifically tailored to serve the construction industry. It has everything a user needs to manage all aspects of a construction project along with provision for access to everybody on-site to update information in real-time. It is integrated with other messaging applications like Whatsapp to notify respective employees of their duties and faults. The best part of this software is that along with its web platform it also has a unique and user-friendly mobile application that is well equipped to perform all inherent functions of the software.

• **e-Builder-**This software is specifically designed for clients or organizations that provide end-to-end Project Management Information Solution(PMIS) and deliver project outcomes from capital planning and design via commissioning.