Digitization is the foundation for forward-thinking builders

The lack of hours in the day or even complete days in the week is something that every builder struggles with. Construction will have to start working together in a different way to meet the future challenges. Digitalization is an important pillar in this, according to Pieter Beuker of Pro4all. He talks about how companies in the construction industry can make huge efficiency gains through digitization and are immediately prepared for the upcoming Quality Assurance Act. 

Since 2001, Pro4all has been helping construction companies collaborate in a digital way. "We work from a certain vision and believe that central document management, quality assurance, BIM and digital planning are essential in the modern construction process," explains Beuker. "Until recently, we put four applications against that. Docstream is an application for centralizing documents so that users are always assured of the most up-to-date information to achieve insanely good quality construction work. Snagstream is an application that allows users to run quality rounds with digital forms. Bimstream, in turn, is designed to share and view 3D models centrally, while Leanstream is for creating digital schedules."

Prostream 

With the latest application Prostream, Pro4all combines the four separate solutions into one integrated application. "With Prostream, companies can reduce the amount of manual operations even further," Beuker says enthusiastically. "Today it is still often the case that quality assurance is carried out via a drawing, with the work planner having the greatest difficulty in tracking down the current drawings and putting them into the inspection application. With Prostream, that is a thing of the past. The foreman or work planner always has access to the latest set of drawings and in the same application on his tablet or smartphone he can indicate any deviations on the drawing using 'snags'. In a relatively accessible way, the construction site is digitized and visualized via Prostream. An example. Suppose the first pile goes into the ground. This is recorded in the application and can be checked immediately: is the material of good quality, is the pile in the right place, and so on. Deviations are thus immediately visible. That often prevents much bigger problems afterwards."

Quality Assurance Act 

Many companies anticipated the Quality Assurance Act several years ago, according to Beuker, and are now reaping the benefits. "We believe that companies in construction can absolutely distinguish themselves on the basis of quality. Especially now that prices are going through the roof. Clients expect and demand a quality project upon completion. Parties that have already focused on a piece of digitalization are tomorrow's winners. Of course, it is a utopia that construction will completely digitize within a short time; it will take many years. There is still a lot of hardcopy. That's why we introduced the QR code. As soon as a drawing is final, a QR code is created. The brazier on the construction site, for example, can thus scan the drawing and check whether it is the latest version. And that same QR code can also be used to create a repro job. In this way, we build the bridge between the digital world and the construction site." 

Challenge

Pro4all has a clear dot on the horizon. "We want to make sure that builders can collaborate digitally in an easy way, so they can focus on the real work," says Beuker. "That is quite a challenge, but we are convinced that we will succeed. Thanks in part to the recent capital injection from Main Capital Partners, we are able to further roll out our 'roadmap' to accelerate digitization in the construction industry. Companies that see these changing times as an opportunity can gain a competitive edge. Because just as concrete and steel are the solid foundation of a building, digital tools are the foundation of forward-thinking organizations."