It’s Time to Customize Your Software
Software design as a trade
If you’re in need of custom software, James Cosman is your man. James started out as a software developer and went on to found VeilSun software. Much of the work that James and his crew do involves QuickBase, so Bob Salaj from QuickBase is also in the studio.
Tyler points out that custom software for specific construction companies is still a pretty new thing whose potential has yet to be explored.
Bob explains that he got tired of seeing money fly out the window due to the gaps and the overlaps between various specialized software packages. That’s what drove him to QuickBase.
James says he sees software design as an additional trade within the construction landscape. The people who are customizing software are crucial to the efficient completion of a job. They’re building information infrastructure.
Addressing Disconnect
James counted 35 different use cases for their software, but one his favorites are the ones that eliminate the need for liaisons that should be unnecessary. There are too many people out there whose entire job is to update P6.
Tyler points out that we seem to be at a point in construction-industry history that is particularly ripe for automation of job tracking and schedule-related communication. Bob discusses how project managers tend to default to Excel when they encounter complications. He and James want to help those people do things more effectively.
Eddie shares a real-life scenario presented to him by a GC friend just last week. He asks Bob and James to share what systems they would put in place in order to address this friend’s problem. James puts on his Matrix glasses and says he’d find the gaps. Then he’d use QuickBase and other solutions to fill those gaps.
Bob discusses the value-add that a contractor can bring to a project when they deliberately address systems in a proactive way.
Connective tissue
Tyler discusses the need for dot-connectors and process-mapping–people who can use data to inform relevant parties seamlessly about the status of project elements.
Eddie discusses serial builders who work on one project after another that are similar, such as schools. The repetitive nature of this situation may make their projects good candidates for optimizing systems.
The discussion shifts to the differences between small projects and large projects.
James acknowledges that yes, AI is part of the future of technology in construction, but he thinks the real growth in the coming years will be related to connectivity of data. Tyler shares about the time that was spent at a recent shoot hunting for a specific physical clipboard containing safety standards that could have been digitized and readily available to anyone with a QR code.
Bob lays out the benefits of the low-code/no-code customization available in today’s software and how it frees people from the need to operate within off-the-shelf software’s constraints. James points out that packages can be built to operate as stand-alone apps or to receive and properly process data sent as texts or email.
Training
Bob raises the issue of training and how effective onboarding would include encouraging newbies to seek opportunities to customize their systems.
Tyler asks James and Bob to share some other success stories, and James shares a few. He talks about systems adjustments that resulted in an increased culture of safety awareness and accountability. Then the conversation shifts to one-off solutions compared to cluster apps that are reusable in similar projects.
Bob shares about workforce management software that streamlines the scheduling of crew members with the skills and availability for specific jobs. We discuss master dashboards that allow big-picture
Data for the people
James shares the excitement that he experiences when he sees these systems working the way they should–and then when leaders also see that and use it as fuel to improve the systems even further.
Bob talks about spreadsheets full of KPIs that can be made substantially more useful when the data is integrated into user-friendly dashboards.
Megaphone Message
Bob would like to tell everyone not to settle for the status quo. Respect the people who’ve been doing the job. Respect the input from all generations and then embrace the change we’re about to see. James adds the suggestion that people be curious, ask questions, and get excited.
Quickbase - www.quickbase.com
Quickbase Construction Solutions - https://www.quickbase.com/solutions/construction-management-software
Veilsun - www.veilsun.com/
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