Project managers often do not have the tools or the training for track-

ing actual performance versus plan, optimise their schedule or make efficient use of their resources. They are regularly surprised by problems that a bit of data would help them anticipate. They are unable to provide decision-making data to executives on ways to finish the project early or the cost of changes the executives want to make. As a result, the project can be guided by guesswork.

The consequences are high project failure rates and very inefficient use of the company’s financial and human resourc-es.

Along with the information management, development of design systems is becom-ing an increasingly complicat-ed challenge for architecture, landscape and interior design-ers for space utilisation, usage of advanced materials. Many builders retain properties and lease them out rather than transferring ownership to buy-

ers for which facility manage-ment and the need to obtain and maintain a large amount of information on the build-ing for repairs, renovations and emergencies. The construction industry is becoming a plat-form that provides collabora-tive project management, inte-grated design environment and real-time facility management. “The concept of project man-agement is to ensure that there is a higher chance of repeat-able and predictable results. By definition, a project is a unique endeavour” says Raj Kalady, MD, Project Management Institute (India).

Managing projectsSmaller Projects: Typically,

for smaller projects, project managers plan and schedule with only durations rather than work estimates and resource capacity. Due to the size of these projects, Project Managers do not really have to track a project budget because status reports are limited to completion date tracking. In such cases, there are many options that will meet these limited needs with Gantt and PERT charts. At this level where the automation process of laying out plans, preparing occasional status reports and producing some simple Gantt and PERT charts, the low end PM software tools cater to the needs.

Larger Projects: As the scale of projects grows and their impact reaches beyond one functional unit, the demand on the Project Manager’s technique grows

along with the capability of the PM software that is required. At this stage, a software tool that simulates the project and the ones that reschedule and optimise it every time there is a change is required. Budget is now an important issue in planning and tracking. At this point, software that gives the capability to budget and sched-ule internal employees as well as external consultants along with vendors, equipment and travel expenses is required. The software needs to provide more sophisticated earned val-ue reporting, slack and delay reports for fine tuning as well as the usual critical path and resource level capability.

Multi-project Environment: At this level, managers are managing multiple projects or operating in a mature project organisation where resource utilisation is managed across all projects and there are exec-utives with accountability for portfolios of projects. At this point, it is required to consoli-date multiple projects and pro-vide consistent information so decision makers can prioritise projects, allocate resources and schedule and track a pool of people working on multiple projects. Organisation process-es for portfolio management and software that can identify conflicting demands for the same resources as well as allow the executives to set priorities among projects that require the same resource are required. In this category, users require sophisticated risk assess-

ment tools, learning curve and resource loading features as well as detailed performance tracking.

Available options Players in the architecture,

engineering and construc-tion (AEC) industry made an attempt to implement Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), but there havent been where PLM has been successful. PLM tools like Enovia of Dassault Systems have been tried for the AEC industry. But it is quite unlikely that these will make their way to capture the AEC market as they have matured with inputs from auto and aero industries, and thus have workflows that are suited for these industries. In the global construction industry Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used.

In the US, almost ten years ago, there were many BIM-oriented initiatives that were spearheaded by governmen-tal agencies like National Institute of Building Sciences, universities and AEC software companies like Autodesk and Graphisoft. BIM is not limited upto 3D, it is also used as 4D and is extended to 5D model-ling. BIM architecture provide a virtual building development platform where the 3D build-ing design is integrated on the schedule of the project with time being the fourth dimen-sion and cost being the fifth. The 3D model in itself contains data about the design aspect. Additional data is attached to

CMYK

16 |Feature Project Management Software Projects Info | 12 - 18 July | 2010

Project management requires management and propagation of the right information at the right time in the lifecycle of a project life cycle. Lack of coordination and fragmented information can lead to delays in decision making which further slows down the mobilisation of resources and projects. There are software packages to the rescue. Purva Khole writes.

Where the control should lieWhere the control should lie

page 16-17 Feature.indd 2page 16-17 Feature.indd 2 7/9/2010 9:23:32 PM7/9/2010 9:23:32 PM

the 3D model that helps inte-grate workflows across all stages of the building lifecycle, start-ing from planning. A major-ity of large-scale construction companies are on a BIM plat-form using advanced software. Autodesk Revit is the global

leader followed by Bentley microstation V8 XM that is being used. Nemetschek is the BIM leader in the European market with Vector Works

and ArchiCAD. In India too, BIM has started picking up with the presence of global BIM soft-ware companies. The influx of multinational companies will boost BIM usage as they will undoubtedly bring in global practices.

Interactive Multimedia Technologies (IMT) has launched a web-based ERP solution eBuild with applica-tions solely adapted for the real estate and construction market. IMT eBuild can be modularised and each module can be linked at any time as per customer’s requirement. The software can be used to carry out functions of release of indent or purchase order, billing/transactions and dispatch of material/consign-ment, etc. Material manufac-turing companies can also col-laborate with real estate and construction companies using IMT eBuild as a vendor.

INS E-Solutions offers Asta’s software solutions into the con-struction market in

India. Asta Power Project is professional project manage-ment software designed to plan and deliver construction proj-ects on time and within budget. This tool offers a comprehen-sive range of project planning, resource and cost management features that are both power-ful and easy to use. Material manufacturing companies can also use this software.

In the project management software, specific parameters cover real estate, civil engi-neering, structural engineering and architecture, dealing with areas like blueprints and build-ing codes, while the industry shares with others such fields as accounting, payrolls, human resources and overall project management. So then, it is a given that this is a field that will benefit vastly from the use of software solutions. There are several software solutions for the construction industry. Some are suites, incorporat-ing solutions for many param-eters, like bidding, equipment maintenance, cost monitoring, change orders and invoicing. These solutions vary in terms of complexity, and users have to decide on one or another based on needs. According to Nishant Kumar Dean, Director – Marketing, Glozon Technolgies, “In India we need more of an IT analytical tool to support construction projects. Indian Construction companies have to be made aware about the available packages made in India exclusively for them through their understanding about the Indian processes and systems and not rely only on big packages.”

The consensus of opinion is that the use of soft-ware solutions is worthwhile only in the case of projects with a minimum area of 50,000 sq ft. Individual units of about 10,000 sq ft, will not find software solu-tions either cost-effective or necessary. With regard to task-specific tools, AutoCAD seems to be the most commonly used software among architects. This is specifically used for two and three-dimensional design and drafting, it allows customisa-tion and automation and to top it, it is user-friendly.

Autodesk is useful software where the user can make chang-es to one document, which will be automatically reflected in other levels. For example if changes are made in the floor plan, the elevation, the material needed and other parameters automatically get updated. He doesn’t have to manually go to each level and make changes. Pune- based Bentley Systems provides Staad.Pro which is construction software that is used for total design needs.

Architects adapt 2D and 3D CAD for making layouts and plans of which 3D CAD has grown very popular for inte-rior designs and walkthroughs simulation and visualisation. The real challenge in this is to prepare business processes and workflows and implement them in these tools. So the success of investment and implementa-tion of these strategies depends on how well people change their conventional working mindset.

to a pro-cess-based way of working.

CMYK

12 - 18 July | 2010 | Projects Info Project Management Software Feature |17

Advantages offered • The software is developed

to provide project man-agers with time-saving scheduling and analysis tools as well as archive data for use on future projects.

• Scheduling skills include analysis of the critical path using slack and delay data for optimisa-tion of resources to finish it at the earliest.

• Project software can be used to identify problems early and model alterna-tive solutions quickly. All of those tasks are best done with project man-agement software since even a small project can waste a considerable amount of a PM’s time if those tasks are done manually.

• The value of an archive is that it makes future estimates much easier and much more accu-rate. With the appropri-ate project management software, tracking actual performance in terms of hours of work and completion dates builds a database for estimating on the next project.

Featured companiesGlozon Technologies

Glozon Technologies is an ISO 9001:2000 company, led by a team of two IITians with a common goal of networking and database

management through innovative ideas and models. The company develops Esticon which is used for construction and EPC world to deal with BOQ, definitive and control estimation, status tracking, bid analysis and evaluation, and reconciliation. It can be integrated with ERPs and designed to provide reports to check time cost resource. The software is built on J2EE, compatible with all databases; web-based, access controlled and automated data backup facilities. The company has a strong technical team that is conversant with func-tional areas, solution development and system integration.

Email: marketing@glozon.comWebsite: www.glozon.com

Nissi Infotech Nissi Infotech is into development of softwares for the infra,

road, and construction and logistics companies. The company has an Infraconsoft road and construction management system as a solution for infra companies for tracking and managing inven-tory and tracking of vehicles of multiple branches remotely. This software also has a vehicle and machinery management module that offers host of facilities to solve the problem faced by fleet and heavy vehicle owners having multiple branches. This software is a web based; the management can get the reports from anywhere, anytime of their convenience.

Email: sales@nissiinfotech.comWebsite: www.nissiinfotech.com

Major Players • Autodesk• Bentley Systems• Aurigo Software Technologies• INS E-Solutions• Interactive Multimedia

Technologies• Graphisoft • Nemetschek• Tekla• Construction Computer

Software• Penta

Will PM software work well in industries such as construc-tion, whose processes are not necessarily tech-savvy in India?

Definitely, it’s not only about being tech savvy or being aware of technology. It is about redefining processes, making it more efficient and error-free with efficient utili-sation of resources and teams and developing capabilities to handle more number of projects, all in one go. From my experiences I found PM tools/ERPs are always useful to enforce standardisation, efficient working and defining accountability, reducing pro-cessing time, errors in calcula-tion and hence adding value to all aspects of construction management.

With the growth in scope of infrastructure projects where do you see the constructionsoftware industry headed?

The construction software industry has picked up gradu-ally but the speed is definitely slow. The Indian construction industry needs to be more aware of relevant IT softwares and services. Acceptance and appreciation of IT in man-aging construction and EPC projects needs to be under-stood. It is a specific domain and needs to have more industry experts come up and

operate through IT. The gov-ernment should take initia-tives in promoting the role of Project Management through IT while promoting infrastruc-ture projects in India.

What are the hurdles that you are facing currently? Does cost of the package (instal-lation and future changes in the organisation) deter cus-tomers?

Cost is definitely a deter-rent in making IT an integral part of infrastructure proj-ects in India. However, pro-viding modular solutions as per client’s requirement, with reduced costs per module is working well in Indian con-ditions. We can also focus on providing small need/solution based packages and retailing of such products on lower scales as well (for Rs. 0-100 Crore turnover com-panies). Mostly companies below a turnover of Rs 100 crore do not have a proper IT department or IT infra-structure to use such prod-ucts, cost being a major factor. Companies with a turnover of more than Rs 500 crore rely on big packages like ERPs/SAP and Primeverra. But there is definitely a market of retail IT products and small pack-ages to satisfy companies fall-ing between Rs 100-500 crore turnover in the country.

How is the use of technol-ogy in managing processes in India different from that abroad?

Indian process manage-ment and their standardi-sations are different from for-eign construction companies - Work force management, material management, supply chain processes, target setting and deadlines, resource map-ping and allocations, adjust-ments and re-targetting are managed differently in India. In India we need more of an IT analytical tool to support construction project

How do you think you are set to grow by in the next three years?

As per the Government’s plan of investing Rs 50,000 crore by 2012 in infrastructure development across India, I see a really good opportunity. I believe it is just 10 per cent value of total market available for IT in such huge plans.

"The government should take initiatives in promot-ing the role of Project Management through IT"Nishant Kumar Dean, Director - Marketing, Glozon Technologies in an interaction

with Projects Info

page 16-17 Feature.indd 3page 16-17 Feature.indd 3 7/9/2010 9:23:34 PM7/9/2010 9:23:34 PM