RFIs & Submittals On The Go: Improving Construction Profit Margins With Information Management

This is part of our Essential Strategies to Protect Your Construction Profit Margins, this section focuses on effective tactics to avoid profit erosion and manage costs. Learn how to handle contracts and change orders efficiently to maintain a healthy bottom line and secure financial success in your projects.

Seamless information management and optimal communication are the keys to proper construction administration and protecting your construction profit margins, but it’s not always that easy.  

In the bustling world of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC), the secret sauce to successful construction administration lies in seamless workflows and crystal-clear communication. Yet, achieving this ideal can often feel like herding cats. Stakeholders, from general contractors to design teams, frequently find themselves on frustrating expeditions through their databases to find crucial project information. This struggle can lead to communication bottlenecks, information logjams, and, ultimately, frayed nerves and lost time.  

Let me run a scenario by you and let me know if it sounds familiar.   

You’re on a construction site for a routine inspection when you spot a doorway that seems… off. You turn to the foreman for answers, and they present you with the sheet they used for guidance. But alas, there’s a hint of ambiguity in the design, leaving room for interpretation especially about where exactly that door should be. 

In the old days, this would mean scribbling notes on the spot and trying to remember the details until you could get back to your desk to draft the Request for Information (RFI). Sound familiar? It’s a classic example of the inefficiencies that plague construction administration in the field. 

But hey, we’re now living in the golden age of smartphones and user-friendly apps like Newforma Konekt. These tools offer a simpler, more efficient way to tackle contract administration workflows, slashing the risk of human error along the way! 

And, with a recent JBKnowledge ConTech study showing that over 92% of stakeholders involved in a construction project use their smartphones on a daily basis; it’s clear that the combination of mobility and efficiency is at the heart of the digital transformation in the AECO industry.

That’s where Newforma Konekt sets itself apart from the competition; with its industry-leading mobile capabilities empowering everyone from contractors to architects to redefine their workflows. The industry craves solutions that are both simple and convenient, and that’s where information management platforms like Newforma Konekt shine the brightest.

With Newforma Konekt Mobile as the premier and trusted construction administration platform for all AECO professionals on the go or in the field, you’ve got access to your project data wherever you go. The mobile companion app helps construction teams on the field or design teams on the go to always maintain constant and organized communication. 

No more shackles to your desk – this app unifies conversations, issues, action items, and contractual workflows into a single cloud-hosted platform, providing full project visibility and enhancing the efficiency of your construction administration workflows in just a few clicks.

The beauty of Newforma Konekt Mobile lies in its ability to empower users on the go. Just think, you can be on-site at the project waiting for crucial information before pushing ahead or off-site working on the next project, and you turn on your handy Newforma Konekt app; noticing a new request has come in.   

Rather than having to wait to get back to your desk or go pop open your laptop to go over all the project details, you can consult all your project emails and respond to the RFI or Submittal on the spot.   

With just a few clicks, you can include all the necessary information, visuals and contacts necessary and send off your official response within seconds: saving you over 10 minutes per action.   The response is logged within the project record and redirected to the relevant stakeholders, ensuring seamless collaboration and avoiding costly human errors.  

No more tedious note-taking or delayed responses – everything happens in real-time, ensuring accurate information and saving you valuable time. 

Delays are a project’s worst enemy. With Newforma Konekt Mobile, you can respond to RFIs and submittals on the spot, keeping projects on track and avoiding unnecessary delays. No need to wait until you’re back at your desk – simply tap, type, and transmit your response in seconds. 

If you don’t tackle RFIs and submittals swiftly, projects can hit some serious bumps that can spell rework, safety headaches, a bigger bill, and delivery delays. And you know what comes next – the blame game kicks in, trust takes a hit, and project coordination teamwork starts feeling the strain.  

To steer clear of those wallet-draining mishaps, tools like Newforma Konekt, with their easy-to-learn and user-friendly interface empower teams to automate the contract admin process, cutting down on human error and speeding up those review times big time. 

So, let’s say you’ve recently logged and sent off a submittal for specific building materials. With Newforma Konekt Mobile, you can receive a submittal response, within the app, review, it and submit the official response back to the contractor without having to wait to get back to your computer. 

If you need to take immediate action on a submittal or an RFI, you can quickly execute your task and send off more information with just a few clicks right from your phone.  

Giving users the ability to receive, review and act on their construction administration workflows opens a new level of flexibility, collaboration, and convenience; keeping information flowing to stay on top of those project deadlines. 

Despite your best efforts to skim through your project emails and highlight and label every incoming Issue, RFI or submittal, some things inevitably fall through the cracks, through no fault of your own. It unfortunately results in communication bottlenecks, lost emails, misplaced attachments and siloed email chains have plagued projects with lengthy delays, strained stakeholder relationships and project issues that go unchecked.  

But, with Newforma Konekt, you can forget the stress of combing through thousands of emails in a crisis.  

The Newforma Konekt Mobile’s Email Activity Center ensures that project emails are organized and easily accessible wherever you may be, whenever you need them.  

Looking for that one email you got a few months back talking about the new dimensions of that room with the main electrical panel and can’t figure out which inbox or database it’s in? No worries,!

With Newforma Konekt, you can quickly search and comb through not only just your inbox, but all the emails associated with the project on the go, so that you can get access to the information you need it, exactly when you need it. And unlike other players in the industry, Newforma Konekt allows you to truly find that needle in the haystack by searching deep within your project records, going as far as the content found in attachments to get you what you need. 

Improving communication between the construction and design teams can sometimes seem like a daunting task, especially when you’re on the go or in the field. But, to reduce those communication bottlenecks and enhance those construction administration workflows; the industry needs the flexibility to do it on their own terms. 

A staggering 89% of respondents in a recent JBKnowlege study highlighted mobile integrations and capabilities as a crucial factor when purchasing new software. It’s clear that mobile technology is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. 

The Newforma Konekt mobile app was crafted specifically to address these challenges head-on. Whether you’re in the field or on the go, you now have a simpler, more efficient method via your phone to tackle the pains of contract administration workflows, significantly minimizing the chances of human error along the way! 

By meticulously organizing and preserving project data, users gain the ability to track project decisions and documentation long into the future, even if team members have transitioned to other projects or companies.  

Curious to see how Newforma Konekt can streamline your AECO workflow woes in construction administration and document workflows? Schedule a demo today to learn more!