Building Delays Are Avoidable with Preparation and Proper Tools

Almost anyone in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, in any position will agree that building projects are anything but predictably cut-and-dry.  The majority of building projects are inherently prone to delays, derailments and disasters.

Executing without issue given the sheer size and scope of most projects, combined with the complexity of so many workers, tasks, tools, resources and materials all being coordinated at once, and on a deadline, is a tall order. Here are a few of the most common setbacks that could be avoided with the proper planning and tools.

Shipping & Delivery Distress

It’s hard enough to coordinate the logistics of construction equipment and building materials. You shouldn’t have to worry about shipping and distribution for blueprints, yet so many do.  Because building plans, drawings and other crucial documents can stack up the gigabytes in digital form, it’s hard to send them electronically. As a result, many of these documents get printed out, packed up mailed to the recipient. The sacrifice is immense, turning a time frame of a few seconds into a few days, not to mention the added shipping costs.

Solution: Traditional methods of sending files electronically, such as FTP and email, won’t be able to handle huge AutoCAD drawings. But instead of settling for snail mail, use a file transfer software properly equipped for the task. Check out our FTP Alternatives page to learn more.

Insufferable Inspections

The hallmark of a successful building project is a well-built, safe and sturdy structure ready to serve its occupants with long-lasting enjoyment and utility. It is largely in the hands of the Inspectors to see that this is accomplished, and done so safely and within regulations. While inspections can often contribute to delays, we can take simple preparations to ensure we instead benefit from the Inspectors.

Solution: Don’t jump the gun, even on a deadline, and call in any inspectors too early. Ensure that you’re entirely prepared for the inspection before you order one. Use online resources; sharing files with inspectors on the web can shorten the process and ensure a timely delivery of the project documents.  Similarly, don’t schedule an inspection too late, giving yourself time to make corrections as needed.

Blundered Blueprints

If you’ve ever tried to construct a complex model, toy, or furniture piece without an instruction manual, you can understand how difficult it would be to build a structure without blueprints. That’s bad enough, but what if you had the instructions, yet they were incorrect and you didn’t know it? Your job would be even harder! Builders deal with this problem all the time, and it’s because they typically use FTP to collaborate on a shared drawing file.  With so many revisions and updates, and so many different users accessing and updating the file, changes get lost or updates aren’t tracked or they’re overwritten. It’s a nightmarish scenario for building crews, but it’s avoidable.

Solution: Don’t use FTP for collaboration on such crucial documents – it isn’t suited for that. Instead, use a collaboration software tool that is specifically designed to establish a trail of accountability and prevent overwrites while ensuring everyone has the latest version of every file. Transferring files using transmittals and submittals keeps things more tidy and gives you nice document history.