Corey Bixby likes the simple method. The director of marketing and public relations for Grand Rapids, MI-based Orion Construction is a former business owner himself and knows business processes. He sees technology as a way to streamline construction industry tasks.
While employees at Orion saved time in their work, project managers, architects and others working with Orion Construction now understand in real-time the status of their current project, without information lag.
Architecture, engineering, and construction pros are well aware of how averse some in the industry can be about new tech tools—but things are changing as seasoned workers quickly convert after browsing plans on tablets. The trick in such conversions, it seems, is to make adoption of the tool easier for workers of all technological knowledge levels.
As a result of using SKYSITE, a construction management software, superintendents, project managers, architects and others working with Orion Construction now understand in real-time the status of their current project, without information lag.
Despite the obvious advantages of using project management technology for a $100 million construction manager jugging multiple projects, Orion Construction’s introduction to SKYSITE came almost by happenstance. ARC Document Solutions was performing printing work for an architect working for Orion and as a result of that connection, ARC sales rep Jordan Henderson broached the subject of project management tech.
“‘It’s not something we were looking for, but come tell us about it,’ I told him,” Bixby said. “Right away, I was very impressed with what he was offering. After a while, we took the idea up the ladder. I became ARC’s advocate.”
Employees at Orion have been pleased with how well SKYSITE has performed. And they’ve also seen time savings in their work.
“Corey saw a big need to centralize documents for all their projects,” Henderson said.
Orion Construction adopted SKYSITE in January 2016. Those working with Orion are finding the tool easy to learn, according to Bixby.
“Now, everyone here is using it. Jordan, and everyone at ARC have provided excellent customer service,” Bixby said.
That service at times has involved a hands-on, collaborative approach.
“I’m on jobsites a lot making sure managers understand it. When there’s an issue or a question, I get involved with training,” Henderson said.
No doubt the greatest advantage Orion has gained from using SKYSITE has been the help it has provided workers with everyday tasks. These days, superintendents working onsite for Orion can use SKYSITE on their Tablets to communicate with colleagues on the fly.
“To be able to go through a hyperlinked set of drawings—that speed of use is what they really like,” Bixby said.
Prior to adopting SKYSITE, Orion Construction was using Excel and Outlook to manage their construction documents. It was a system that was less than ideal for various reasons.
“In the past, sometimes a superintendent onsite didn’t have changes that were just made [to blueprints],” Bixby said.
That’s no longer an issue. Now alterations to construction documents are automatically updated for every SKYSITEuser on the project. No more missed updates.
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