Construction Scheduling Software Buyer’s Guide

Construction is a massive industry that drives economic growth around the world, accounting for 13% of global GDP. Construction companies are beginning to see the benefits of digital transformation—but the pace of change has been slower in construction than in other industries. 

Some technologies, like building information modeling (BIM) and project management software, are well-known and widely used in construction. But many firms still rely on traditional methods of email, spreadsheets, and paper forms to manage their projects. 

The global construction market is expected to surpass 14 trillion USD by 2030—nearly double the value of the market in 2022. To achieve this remarkable growth, the industry must embrace construction technology that can increase productivity, profits, and staff satisfaction. 

When introducing technology to construction management, scheduling is a great place to start. Construction has unique scheduling challenges, like coordinating multiple work sites with complex job sequencing subject to safety procedures and permit approvals. Construction scheduling software handles these complexities faster and more accurately than manual scheduling, helping to improve efficiency and communication among the workforce. 

Read on for a comprehensive guide to buying construction scheduling software: 

1. What to do before the search
2. Assemble a software purchasing team
3. Take inventory of existing software
4. Benchmark current processes and workflows
5. Document relevant business goals
6. Discuss budget
7. Finalize a list of requirements
8. Construction scheduling software: feature checklist
9. Questions to ask during the search
10. Skedulo makes construction scheduling simple

What to do before the search

The right construction scheduling software makes a big difference; teams can improve communication, reduce double-bookings and no-shows, avoid understaffing important projects, and improve the utilization of skilled workers. Better scheduling means more completed jobs—and ultimately, higher profits. 

With so much at stake, it’s important to have clearly defined goals and requirements before the search. Take the following steps before contacting vendors:

Assemble a software purchasing team

Too often, purchase decisions are made without enough input from the people who will use and administer the software. When there is a major disconnect between what users want and what the software provides, staff will be unhappy and may not use the software as intended. 

As a first step, build a software purchasing team that represents each relevant role: executive leadership, managers, schedulers, human resources, IT support, and field teams. Ensure you account for the perspectives of full-time staff, part-time staff, hybrid workers, temporary/seasonal workers, and subcontractors. However, make sure the team is still the right size to be effective; too many people can lead to a protracted decision-making process. If needed, use different feedback mechanisms to get the perspective of additional groups without adding them to the formal team. 

If your construction business has multiple divisions that will use the software, like residential and commercial construction, ensure each side is represented. Including diverse perspectives from the start will help avoid frustration later on. 

Take inventory of existing software

Next, review the software already in use by the workforce. These could be BIM, asset management, cost estimating, enterprise resource planning (ERP), workforce management, or accounting tools. Consider their features, current usage, and any feedback that has been collected from staff. 

For each platform in use, determine if the new construction scheduling software is meant to replace, supplement, or integrate with it. If you are unsure, make a note and evaluate again once you have reviewed a few construction scheduling software providers.

Benchmark current processes and workflows

Examine the company’s current processes to gauge how well they are working. Review the end-to-end workflow for scheduling new work, assigning workers to jobs, and communicating changes to field teams. Evaluate if RFIs, work orders, safety reports, invoices, and other important documents are being completed consistently. Note any bottlenecks or recurring issues you discover.   

Use concrete data points to measure workforce productivity and current performance whenever possible. Measure schedule adherence, on-time project completion rate, average time to schedule, utilization rate, or other KPIs to create a benchmark for future comparison.

Document relevant business goals

Using feedback from the purchasing team, create a list of business goals this software will help accomplish. The goals can be short-term or long-term goals, but try to be specific and data-driven whenever possible. For example, the software you choose should increase workforce productivity—but productivity can be measured in total vs. on average, by team vs. by individual, and by project vs. by task. Get specific and define the metrics that will be measured on a regular basis. 

Business goals will be highly unique and specific to each construction company, but here are a few examples: 

• Increase schedule adherence by [X%] by [DATE]
• Reduce travel time between job sites by [X%] by [DATE]
• Increase the on-time job completion rate by [X%] by [DATE]
• Improve workforce utilization by [X%] by [DATE]
• Maintain 100% compliance with permitting, approval, and safety regulations

Discuss budget

Construction profit margins can be tight, depending on the cost of materials and availability of new projects, so budget is an important factor. At this stage, decide (approximately) what the company is willing to spend on a new software platform. This will largely translate to subscription fees and implementation fees for a SaaS platform. 

As you consider the “hard costs” of buying software, also consider the ROI of fixing operational problems. Inefficiency and under-utilization cost the company money, and on the flip side, solving those problems will save money. For scheduling software specifically, there is a strong connection between scheduling and revenue. By increasing worker utilization, reducing scheduling errors, and ensuring coverage at all job sites, more projects will be completed (and be finished on time). 

Finalize a list of requirements

With a clear grasp of the company’s needs, operational workflows, business goals, and budget, you can finalize a list of requirements for construction scheduling software. This list should be a clear summary of the purchasing team’s findings thus far.

Construction is a highly regulated industry, so make sure any compliance requirements are clearly represented on the list of requirements. In addition to compliance, the list should include requirements for software features, reliability, and integrations.