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