CMiC Layton Construction seamlessly extends data availability to the job site.
The Challenge
Layton Construction is a national general contracting firm with nine offices across the United States. With $1.5 billion in annual revenue, Layton consistently ranks in the ENR List of Top 100 Contractors. A customer since 2001, Layton initially chose CMiC to streamline their fragmented project management information. To mitigate significant losses in write-downs resulting from challenges with self-performed concrete jobs, Layton developed—using CMiC software—a module solution called the “Concrete Scorecard.” With a continued focus on innovation, their next challenge was to find a way to allow users to work seamlessly across desktops, tablets and smartphones—without data latency or loss.
The superintendents already used their iPads and other tablets for their planning, checklists and issue management. However, with daily journals, they still had to return to the trailer from the jobsite and record data onto a desktop computer. To reduce the number of times superintendents had to go back and forth between the jobsite and the trailer, Layton utilized IO in an attempt to ‘update’ daily journals on the jobsite. To accomplish this, superintendents would create a daily journal header in the trailer and email it to themselves, to which they would periodically respond throughout the day with notes and later add to the initial daily journal. Evidently, this method was clunky and limited the type of information that could be tracked. Out of frustration, many superintendents resorted to pen and notepad, requiring them to later manually enter the information into the daily journal.
Learn why Layton Construction chose CMiC to seamlessly extend data availability to the job site.Download this Case StudyThe Solution
Before Mobile, we had to go back to the trailer to find the answer to an RFI, or even to begin asking an RFI related question. Now, superintendents out in the field can discuss an issue right then and there by pulling it up right on their mobile device. It’s a huge time saver and the easiest way to access information.” – Jeff Metcalf, Dir. Information Systems, Layton Construction
After participating in a demonstration of the CMiC Mobile solution, Layton realized they had the opportunity to leverage the full CMiC functionality—on any jobsite. “The ability to have a single device was a goal of ours,” says Jeff Metcalf, Director of Information Systems at Layton. “We wanted something that would keep everyone on a single device. Mobile computing is the way of the future, and more people are doing data entry and tasks on a mobile device.” Unlike other mobile applications that focus on specific functions that are siloed from core ERP data, CMiC optimizes the user journey across devices—the data, security measures and permissions are the same in both online and offline modes.
As one of the first customers to install CMiC Mobile, Layton took about a year to test and experiment with pilot projects. Even though Mobile was still in its ‘beta’ phase, Layton had select team members work with the pilot in 2015. Although they did not mandate the use of Mobile company-wide, they found it “sold itself” to their team members, with many users switching to it exclusively.
“Before Mobile, we had to go back to the trailer to find the answer to an RFI, or even to begin asking an RFI related question,” says Metcalf. “Now, superintendents out in the field can discuss an issue right then and there by pulling it up right on their mobile device. It’s a huge time saver and the easiest way to access information.” Because CMiC Mobile downloads all project information locally onto the device, all records can be modified offline and automatically (or manually) synced into the database upon reconnecting.
The Result
After using the application for two years, Layton reports that 50% of their records are now being created through CMiC Mobile. Not only has Mobile improved accessibility out on the jobsite, but its value extends beyond the field: “The executives can approve invoices from the airport or on-the-go. Because it’s easy for invoices to ‘stack up,’ CMiC Mobile has helped to speed up the flow of information,” adds Metcalf. In addition, “the quality of the information is more accurate because superintendents don’t have to sit down at the end of the day and try and remember what happened because they already entered it into CMiC on the jobsite.” At Layton, tasks such as editing RFIs, creating daily journals and downloading checklists are now possible on the go for anybody with a smartphone or tablet.
Other Results Layton Construction has Achieved with CMiC:
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- Complete end-to-end management of projects within one integrated system that can be accessed on any mobile device
- Consistency of design language and features across interfaces
- Compatibility with Windows 10 devices, iOS tablets, and iOS and Android smartphones. Mobile keeps the line of communication open between all stakeholders, regardless of the device used.