simon, Author at BaseStone

Complete all of your Workflows on BaseStone

March 25, 2019January 22, 2019 by simon

People use BaseStone for many different tasks and process on construction projects – as an inspection tool, to manage defects, create as-built redlines and track field changes, to name a few. In a meeting with one of our users a few months ago, he asked us ‘I know that you can do all of these different things individually on BaseStone, but how do I do all of them?’. We thought that was a very good point and have been working on ways to improve BaseStone so different workflows can be completed simultaneously more easily. Our latest feature lets users to add a ‘Type’ to a BaseStone issue. So whatever you are using BaseStone for, you can categorise your items accordingly. This makes it easier to view and create reports on just the information you need by using the filters.

Combine this with the new contractor field feature, and you can start to allocate work to specific contractors, giving better visibility of progress across the project. It gives you the ability to drill down into where there might be delays or blockages. In the near future we’ll be adding more functionality around dashboards, giving you even more visibility and insights needed for construction team management.

Note: This feature is only currently available on on the BaseStone web application, coming to the mobile app soon.

One Small Step for Snagging, One Giant Leap for Defect Management

December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 by simon

Whether you call it snagging, punchlisting or defect management, it’s a necessary process on construction projects. Defects are defined as ‘aspects of the works that are not in accordance with the contract’ so the process of identifying, managing and closing out these defects is important to ensuring that the client is satisfied with the end result. We’ve added a seemingly small feature to the BaseStone platform which paves the way towards truly powerful defect management system. We have found that there’s a huge range of the ways in which people do snagging. It can range from simply going to the site and taking photos of problems and scribbling down notes on paper to using an excel tracker, to having a fully fledged electronic defect management system.

Whilst a manual paper-based method can be highly prone to error and difficult to keep track of, an electronic system offers huge benefits including saving everyone time, improved snag management and having all the information in one place. On BaseStone, you can create snags from the field, capture photos and then assign this issue to the person responsible for fixing it. You can have back and forth communication through commenting until the issue is closed out and then sign it off with the electronic signature feature. Snags can also be exported in reports and given to those who do not have access to the system.

However through talking to users, we realised that an individual snag often needs to be assigned to both an individual and to a specific contractor. This extra information gives a better overview of the works that are outstanding for each contractor. It helps project managers to track progress more easily and identify where there might be blockages earlier in the process.

To make this possible we have added a contractor field to the issue. This seemingly small step unlocks huge potential when using BaseStone as a defect management system. It paves the way towards better visibility, project management and dashboard insights and we’re excited to be bringing you this functionality in the future. You can now set up and manage the list of contractors and they will be displayed in the dropdown menu on the contractor field – learn more here. In the new Issue Tracker view, you can can see all of the issues across all of the project folders and filter to see just the ones assigned to each contractor.
By using a digital defect management solution, such as the BaseStone application, you can track, manage, and close out defects faster, reducing the risk of delays or an escalation in their severity. This increase in productivity will enable you to handover faster, get paid sooner, and be able to refocus your efforts and resources elsewhere and on other projects. Give it a try and let us know how you supercharge your snagging with BaseStone. Watch this space for even more powerful defect management capabilities coming soon.

Please note: the contractor field functionality is currently only available in the web application, coming to the iOS application in January

Work Tracking Made Easy on BaseStone

November 26, 2018November 19, 2018 by simon

Whether it’s design changes or snags, there are many things that need to be tracked in construction. Usually trackers come in the form of an excel spreadsheet on a shared drive which is the primary source of information for a number of different people. Read on as we reveal how to use BaseStone as a tracking tool and how we’ve made this easier in the latest release. We found that many construction teams were using BaseStone as an information tracker (or alongside an existing tracker). They told us that it would make their lives a lot easier if they could view, search and filter issues across all of the projects.

New Issue Tracker Tab This is exactly what we’ve done in the new ‘Issue Tracker’ section which you can access from the main menu bar. Use the filters, search, tag and sort functions to display what you need. Clicking an issue will open it on the relevant drawing.

Using BaseStone as a Tracker : Case Study To highlight how to use BaseStone as a tracker, here’s an example of how the Costain Skanska Joint Venture (CSJV) track Field Change Requests (FCRs) on Crossrail’s C405 Paddington project. Using BaseStone as a tracker, the right people have access to the most up to date information including their designers, WSP, and subcontractors Fourway and SRW. Firstly, when a Field Change Request is raised by the site team, a new Issue is created on BaseStone. The drawing is marked up to show where the FCR is, the title of the issue is set to the FCR number and a description is added in the description field.

The FCR form is scanned and attached to the issue so that all of the information is in one place. Photos and additional sketches are also attached to the issue. Next, the FCR is assigned to the responsible designer from WSP to review. The assignee will receive an email notifying them the details of the issue. The designer will add a comment to the issue if they have any questions.

Fourway keep an excel spreadsheet of the FCRs outside of BaseStone for their own assurance process. As the project is in the later stages, they are working to close out the FCRs and need to locate them quickly on BaseStone to then mark them as closed on the system so that everyone can see the status. This is where the new Issue Tracker feature comes into play as the FCRs are across multiple project folders, set up by location and discipline. The Issue Tracker lets you search and filter across all issues in the organisation.

When all of the assurance information is attached to the issues, each FCR is exported in the form of a BaseStone report which includes the photos, comments and marked up drawing. This is given to the main contractor’s assurance team to sign off.

Implementation Manager, Malcolm Simpkin from the CSJV team said ‘finally a joined up way of working for the construction industry to emerge from the dark ages. Easy to use but powerful and effective project management collaboration tool’.

The importance of trackers in construction cannot be understated. As a common point of both information collection and retrieval for multiple parties, they have big part to play in the progress of the project. Trackers are most commonly held in Excel spreadsheets which can cause problems around versioning. Using a technological solution like BaseStone eliminates the risk that people are using outdated information and is the best alternative to using Excel trackers.

As well as tracking FCRs, BaseStone can also be used as a:

NCR Tracker (Non-Conformance Reports)

TQ Tracker (Technical Queries)

ITP Tracker (Installation Test Plan)

The new issue tracker is now in the web application. It will be available soon in the iOS app in the next release (3.7). We will be working to make further improvements to BaseStone’s tracking functionality. Please do let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can make your life easier.

You can sign up for BaseStone for free, just click on SIGN UP, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT US.

BaseStone at Digital Construction Week 2017

October 2, 2018October 6, 2017 by simon

BaseStone are very excited to be attending Digital Construction Week on the 18th and 19th October at the Excel Centre in London. BaseStone’s founder, Alex, will be presenting not only on one day, but both of them! So you’ll have plenty of opportunities to catch him speaking about productivity in the construction industry (full session descriptions and times below). Last year’s show was a huge success and the BaseStone team had a great time speaking to existing customers, users as well as making many new connections. It is the place to be for anyone looking to explore technology disrupting construction and move towards a more digital and productive industry. Check out the video we created at last year’s Digital Construction Week and register for your ticket here. Be sure to come and visit us at Stand E75, to meet and chat to us (or just to have a play on our arcade machine!). And don’t miss Alex’s sessions listed below.

18th October 13:30-13:45, Tech Stage: Use of Technology to Drive Productivity

Productivity in the construction industry has fallen steadily since the end of the second world war. Technology has been seen as a productivity enabler in many industries, and construction offers the largest potential productivity gain. BaseStone has developed a mobile and web based collaboration tool that links the construction site back to the office and supports over 10 site based activities. We will discuss how BaseStone has enabled engineers on complex projects to increase their productivity by an average of 65% helping reduce costs and risk to project programmes.

19th October 13:00-13:30, Industry 4.0 Stage: Productivity, Smart Contracts and the Blockchain

The construction industry is continuously cited as one of the most challenging industries to adopt change – in particular technological change. Several significant reports point to many industry wide problems that include decreasing productivity and tough payment practices. This session will explore the nature of data flow in the construction industry, the importance of end user engagement to boost productivity, and the application of smart contracts based payments underpinned by modern blockchain technology.