Recently, SKYSITE exhibited at the 100^th Annual AGC Convention and I was lucky to be part of the team attending the event. As I was talking with a current SKYSITE user, I made a point to share some of my favorite tips. I mentioned one of the features I use almost daily, sending large files, but noticed that our guest was looking at me inquisitively. To my surprise, he had never used that function, in fact, it wasn’t on his radar at all.

That got me thinking, what else do I use every day in SKYSITE that might be less familiar to casual users? It seems we’ve been focused on talking about and training users on admin tools like markups, RFIs, submittals and punch lists, but we disregarded  that there are other features and tricks we use every day that people would find beneficial.

Luckily, we’re all about sharing and to help you get even more from SKYSITE, here are four features that can make your workday easier:

Send files

While many people know SKYSITE makes it easy to share documents, images, videos, and even folders; what’s not as well-known is you can also easily send files, including large ones that typically can’t be sent via email. By using SKYSITE to send your large files (think video, photos, DWG files), you avoid not only having to open another app, such as an FTP to share, but you also avoid paying fees for services or throttled down performance for free accounts.

Storage

While you may already be aware that SKYSITE is great for keeping your projects organized, have you tried using it to store other documents? Because there are no storage limits (in SKYSITE Projects) or per sheet charges, you can create folders and store all types of documents and media. For example, I keep a folder of all the videos we produce in my SKYSITE account. That way, my hard drive is freed up and I know they’re safely stored. As a bonus, I can easily share these right from the app.

Print

While we advocate using less paper, sometimes you just need a paper print out of a document. SKYSITE makes that easy for you. You can connect and send files for printing to over 170 global locations right from the app. It’s easy and works like a shopping cart, and you can deliver prints to yourself or another location. My favorite, while it may not happen often, is you can be in California, and order a print to be delivered in London.

Use punch lists for tasks

SKYSITE’s punch list is an easy to use tool to prepare the traditional list of work, that’s not to spec, near the end of a project and prior to final payment. However, many of our users also use the punch list function to create tasks for themselves and their team from the start of the project. It’s an easy method to assign and create a task on a drawing, and you can even attach a video or voice memo. You get easy accountability and tracking to make sure the work gets complete.

While SKYSITE is the best construction management software for easy project management, don’t forget to check out some of the features that can make your everyday work life a little easier.

In the construction industry, AEC professionals lose countless hours dealing with paper documents. Seemingly minor delays searching through paper often add up to more than 8 hours a week. That’s a full day lost, just to paper. Handling construction document management manually requires the sifting through email, digging through paper documents, and searching digital files. What if you could streamline this workflow, and make those 8 hours a week into productivity?

SKYSITE is construction document management done right! A quick and easy solution that simplifies the organization, communication and access of critical information. Now you and your team can stay up-to-date on the current set while working in the office or on the job site.

A Simplified and User-friendly Experience

Can you pinch, tap and swipe? If so, SKYSITE was designed for you. A simple, user-friendly interface makes navigation quick and easy. You can find what you need in just a few taps, and SKYSITE’s highly advanced features can help you keep in touch with your project and your team. SKYSITE’s mobile and cloud based tools keep your team connected, whether they are in the office, or at a jobsite around globe.

Compared to other construction project management software, SKYSITE provides a simple, flexible and unified platform that offers the features you need. SKYSITE lets you publish and organize documents, create and respond to RFIs, manage submittals and Punchlists, and do it all from your desktop or mobile device.

Get Organized, Be Productive

SKYSITE keeps all your team’s information in a single, organized digital work space. Coordinating and sharing information with the right people couldn’t be easier, even while on the go. You have all your information at your fingertips. Features like Desktop Sync, auto-hyperlinking and full-content search ensure you can operate at your best. No more digging through stacks of paper or shipping redlined documents, everything you need is at your fingertips.

One of the major roadblocks to efficient collaboration is missed or lost information. Simply keeping track of all the changes to thousands of documents during a project is a massive challenge. SKYSITE makes it easy with its Latest Documents feature that always displays the most current version of any document. No more wondering if you are looking at the latest file, with SKYSITE, you always are.

Smart Sync tools make it easy to upload your files, and keep them in sync across all your devices, and to all your team members. SKYSITE’s smart sync technology ensures everyone gets what they need, but can’t accidentally delete things they shouldn’t.

Mobile access from iOS and Android devices keeps your jobsite team up-to-date with the latest information, and gives them the tools they need to deal with RFIs and Punches, on the spot, even tagging photos right to documents.

SKYSITE creates an engaging, collaborative and smart way to working together. This cloud-based construction project document management tool gives you a competitive edge with smarter, smoother communication.

What are you waiting for? Start your free trial of SKYSITE and enjoy the power of productivity.

Christian Burger is president of Burger Consulting Group, a Chicago-based IT firm. He’s been in the construction industry for nearly 25 years, working for FMI (Fails Management Institute) and software developer JB Edwards and Company prior to founding his firm in 1997. Much of his work is concerned with IT strategy for clients. He publishes regularly in industry journals, frequently speaks at industry, and teaches a technology course for Northwestern University’s Masters of Project Management program. We recently spoke with Burger about Building Information Modeling (BIM), and project management analytics.

What’s trending in project management technology?

Burger: The industry is moving in a collaborative direction. We had an early collaborative period, in the early 2000s, and today it’s version 2.0. Now contractors must decide—do they want collaboration for project management?

Isn’t mobility in project management solutions really the state of the art these days?

Burger: Superintendents, and many others, are doing project management functions on the jobsite. So in addition to collaboration, you’ve got mobile—for meetings, inspections, and more.

Isn’t cost management also increasingly becoming part of the picture, too?

Burger: Now, project managers need more flexibility—and cost management is part of that. And more project management technologies are building cost management into the tool.

Isn’t a certain amount of technical knowledge among contractors regarding project management tools expected now? And isn’t that bar of knowledge constantly rising?

Burger: Really what you’re looking at is BIM [building information modeling], augmented reality… A good project manager has got to be able to see that schedule [or another task] gets done. As a project manager today, you’ve got to be thinking BIM, or you’ll become a dinosaur.

Do you see many companies providing analytics in project management technology?

Burger: Absolutely. Now you have clash detection, sequencing, 4D, 5D—to look at the projects, you must have a different grasp. An old school project manager could visualize it in 2D, but when you’re in a model, you’re in a 3D world. And that model is being looked at and modified by many people.

To what degree are owners driving greater adoption of technology?

Burger: International work, government, some retail owners, and anybody that’s big and located at many sites is doing it, because the know what they need. The owner handoff is a big deal; they want the model handed off. They know the value of BIM, and expect it.

So to sell such technology, one must sell to the owner?

Burger: A lot of technologies can be spun up quickly in an organization, though BIM is not one of them. It takes time [to implement], but BIM will change the way you work.

Do you expect drones to be used in project management?

Burger: Probably in the future, yes. The advantage of drones to project management would be checking on work—they can give camera access of a hard to see location. It also could be good for things like liability, where drones could help show who’s on the jobsite.

What problems does project management tech still have to work harder to solve?

Burger: Some of the very large companies are starting to mine data. They’re looking at average RFI response time on a job, and average response time on submittals. When they’re seeing data that shows there’s a problem, they’re responding. Smaller companies aren’t mining that data much, yet. A portfolio-oriented project management solution could help that.

How important is BIM capability to long-term prospects of AEC firms?

Burger: It’s everything. I was with a $200 million general contractor recently and they didn’t have BIM, and they’ve lost jobs due to having no BIM capability. Not having BIM will keep you from attracting good people, as well. And BIM reduces re-work, cost, and change orders.

Aren’t contractors who haven’t adopted these tools putting themselves out of work?

Burger: The room for old school contractors is getting smaller and smaller for those who fail to adopt the new technology… You’ve got not choice, if a company is going to take a hand in their own destiny, then they’ve got to get on board with technology. Not just their IT department, their whole organization must be on board with this.

See how project management tech is revolutionizing document management.