‍📅 Date: February 4, 2025

📍 Location: Oracle Industry Lab, Deerfield, IL.

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Event Overview

"The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry" event is Oracle's premier gathering for owners, healthcare stakeholders, and technology innovators. Hosted at the renowned Oracle Innovation Center, this venue provides a dynamic space for showcasing cutting-edge solutions in healthcare construction. Known for hosting unique events like reality capture demonstrations and indoor drone races, the Innovation Center sets the stage for forward-thinking collaboration.

This year, Oracle emphasizes owner attendance and healthcare-focused content, making it a prime opportunity to engage with key decision-makers shaping the industry's future.

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See Doxel Live  

Hands-On Innovation Experience:

Doxel will participate in Oracle's interactive Hands-on Innovation Experiences, delivering 15-minute sessions demonstrating how our technology revolutionizes project tracking and execution for healthcare construction projects.

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Why You Want to Attend The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry Event

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Engaging Key Stakeholders:

With a focus on owners and healthcare decision-makers, this event provides unparalleled access to industry leaders.

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Strengthening Partnerships:

It's an excellent opportunity to foster strong relationships with Oracle's product team and other innovators in the healthcare construction space.

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Showcasing Innovation:

Through the Hands-on Innovation Experience, we'll highlight how Doxel's capabilities drive better outcomes and more innovative processes for healthcare construction.

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Doxel Team Representation

We're excited to be part of this visionary event and look forward to sharing highlights and insights from "The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry." One of our top product leaders will represent Doxel at the event, ensuring insightful engagement with attendees and Oracle's team.

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Learn more about the event here.

In the fast-paced construction of data center, life sciences, manufacturing, and hospital projects, keeping up with construction progress is both challenging and essential. Increasing project complexity requires greater emphasis to coordinate work and understand risk on the project.

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That’s why we’re excited to introduce Systems View within Doxel’s Work In Place (WIP) view. This new capability offers a deeper, system-level visualized breakdown of construction progress, giving teams clearer visibility into on-site activities and enabling a more precise understanding of the project's status.

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‍What is Doxel's Systems View?

Systems View is an advanced feature in the WIP view that allows teams to go beyond trade-level tracking, providing a detailed 3D view of construction progress for specific systems within each trade, such as hot water and chilled water within plumbing. Systems view is particularly useful for complex mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. This added layer of granularity offers project teams deeper insights into the progress of each system, empowering them to monitor and manage intricate project details.

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“Our trade partners have different crews working on specific systems within piping and electrical scopes. Since our schedule is also broken out by system, having this level of detail makes conversations with trade partners much easier and ensures accuracy in aligning tasks with the right crews and schedule requirements."
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-Michael Olszewski, HITT Construction

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With Systems View, users can:

• Track Progress by Specific Systems: Instead of viewing all work under a single trade, users can drill down to monitor the progress of each system within a trade. For example, users can now separately track the completion of domestic cold water, domestic hot water, sanitary vents, sanitary waste, and storm drains within plumbing. In HVAC, users can independently isolate mechanical ducting to see the progress of supply, return, and exhaust ducts.
• Switch between Trade-Level Progress by Stage and System-Level Views:  Trade- Systems View enhances the team's capabilities by providing a more detailed look at individual system progress beyond general trade-level stages. This enables teams to monitor overall trade progress while identifying specific systems that may lag or be ahead.
• Gain System-Specific Insights: Systems View helps users see completion percentages across individual systems within each trade. For example, when tracking a hospital project’s electrical work, users can monitor and view expansive details of each critical system separately—such as fire alarm, lighting, nurse call, power distribution, BMS, and teledata—enabling more precise adjustments and planning.

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‍Systems View Enhances Takt Planning and the Last Planner System

In complex projects, traditional tracking did provide valuable trade-level insights but often lacked the detail needed to align each system with Takt times, leading to inefficiencies. With Systems View, project teams will gain real-time, system-specific insights that empower them to monitor each system’s adherence to Takt schedules, catching issues before they become bottlenecks. 

With this added visibility, teams can identify delays early and reallocate resources as needed to maintain steady progress. Ultimately, Systems View reinforces Takt Planning and the Last Planner System, driving projects toward efficient milestone completion.

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Delivering Real-Time, System-Specific Progress Tracking

Imagine a typical Monday coordination meeting for a data center project. The Project Manager or Supervisor is focused on the progress of the mechanical system in Data Hall 1, where multiple subcontractors are working concurrently. The meeting kicks off with questions about the status of supply ducts and whether the HVAC team has completed their work.

With Doxel's Systems View, the project engineer can instantly access progress data for HVAC ducts, filtering by both system and zone. In just moments, the team discovers that only 80% of the supports are installed, with delays caused by mechanical piping in the same area. Using the system filter, they isolate the data and confirm that the piping crew is scheduled to finish by day’s end, clearing the path for the HVAC team to complete their work.

This level of real-time, system-specific insight enables more effective coordination, allowing the supervisor or project manager to make informed decisions on the spot. The result? No wasted time, better workflow sequencing, and a more streamlined project timeline.

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Making Complex Data Center Construction More Manageable 

Data center construction is highly sophisticated, involving multiple systems that must be meticulously coordinated. Before the introduction of Systems View, project managers relied on trade-level data, making it challenging to understand system-specific delays or progress. With Systems View, project managers can:

• Filter progress data by electrical, plumbing, or HVAC systems to identify what's advancing and what's stuck.
• Identify dependencies between systems and allocate resources to the areas most urgently.
• Coordinate subcontractors more effectively by providing clear visibility into specific system progress, enabling timely interventions.

For example, in one data center project, the HVAC system installation was delayed due to incomplete electrical work in the same zone. Using Systems View, the project engineer quickly identified the bottleneck, reallocated resources, and adjusted schedules. This proactive management helped the team finish the system installation on time, preventing downstream delays and additional costs.

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‍Accelerating Complex Construction- Life sciences, Manufacturing, and Hospitals

‍Industries like life sciences, manufacturing, and healthcare demand strict timelines, compliance, Strict timelines, compliance requirements, and intricate system interdependencies drive construction projects in industries like life sciences, battery manufacturing, and hospitals. Systems View empowers project managers to:

• Track system progress in real-time, ensuring critical components—like cleanroom HVAC systems in life sciences, power distribution in manufacturing facilities, and medical gas systems in hospitals—remain on schedule.
• Use data-driven insights to prioritize systems essential for compliance, operational readiness, and commissioning timelines.
• Enhance safety and quality by identifying potential issues early within high-risk systems, allowing teams to take timely corrective action.

Systems View helps teams deliver complex facilities efficiently and predictably, whether managing cleanroom infrastructure, advanced manufacturing lines, or hospital surgical suites. By providing granular tracking, it enables earlier inspections, faster system sign-offs, and mitigates risks that could impact schedules or budgets.

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Stay tuned as we continue to enhance Doxel's capabilities, bringing more tools to help you deliver projects on time and within budget.

"If teams use Touchplan alongside Doxel, it would provide excellent confirmation that what we have done is what we said we were going to do. It would also allow us to look forward in the progress charts and ensure our forecasts for activities align." said Project Controls Manager, CRB.

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Plan with Touchplan

Transform your weekly planning from a manual, time-intensive process into a dynamic, digital workflow. Touchplan’s digital pull planning and Look-Ahead Planning tools enable real-time collaboration, helping teams anticipate roadblocks and ensure efficient planning at every project phase.

Monitor with Doxel

Doxel uses AI-driven progress tracking to provide live updates on project execution. By automating activity monitoring and delivering visualized progress insights, Doxel keeps site performance aligned with plans, ensuring accountability and maximizing productivity.

Refine in Real Time

Touchplan and Doxel combine advanced technology with proven Lean Construction methods to create a unified workflow for continuous improvement. Teams can analyze progress trends, address inefficiencies, and refine workflows, driving success both today and on future projects.

Lean Solutions for Smarter Construction

• Improved Predictability: Real-time execution data paired with production tasks enhances Plan Percent Complete (PPC), enabling smoother workflows and accurate forecasting.
• Actionable, Real-Time Insights: Early alerts from Doxel’s real-time updates, combined with Touchplan’s easy-to-use planning platform, empower teams to make timely adjustments and keep projects on track.
• Optimized Schedules: Synchronize production pull plans with Critical Path Method (CPM) schedules to identify risks, refine timelines, and boost project performance.
• Enhanced Transparency: PData-driven reports improve communication and accountability between Owners and project teams.

Why Choose Touchplan + Doxel?

Touchplan + Doxel empower teams to:

• Eliminate inefficiencies and bridge workflow gaps.
• Achieve unparalleled visibility into project progress.
• Reduce costs through smarter planning and execution

Leaders like CRB are already experiencing measurable success, setting a new benchmark for construction excellence

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Doxel is excited to announce its participation in the groundbreaking Data Centre Automation Conference (DCAC) Live Europe 2024 conference, which will be held in Dublin, Ireland, from October 15 to 16, 2024.

Doxel is excited to partner with DCAC, the people’s conference designed to inspire and evolve the data center industry. Aligned with DCAC’s mission to disrupt, challenge, and foster collaboration, Doxel looks forward to contributing to the meaningful conversations and connections that propel visionaries, builders, and manufacturers forward in this fast-growing sector.

DCAC Live Europe 2024 will gather top industry professionals from the world of data center automation and focus on how cutting-edge technology can enhance critical infrastructure efficiency, scalability, and automation.

Doxel accelerates construction by automating progress reporting, identifying hidden issues early, preventing rework, and improving collaboration through visual data. Attendees will be able to see advanced Doxel features, including:

1. AI-Powered Insights:

Doxel’s platform automatically leverages AI to track project progress, providing real-time insights into productivity, cost, and quality. This allows teams to make data-driven decisions, reducing delays and keeping projects on budget.

2. Predictive Analytics:

Doxel uses predictive analytics to spot potential risks before they turn into problems. This proactive approach helps teams avoid costly overruns and delays in projects, keeping them running smoothly and on time.

3. Comprehensive Project Tracking:

With Doxel, data is collected automatically throughout the project lifecycle. This allows for continuous progress monitoring and ensures stakeholders have visibility into every aspect of the construction process.

4. Optimized Decision-Making:

Doxel’s simple dashboards make complex data easy to understand and help teams make quick, informed decisions for better project results.

5. Join Doxel for Live Demos and Networking:

Visit Doxel’s table for live demonstrations of its AI-driven platform. See how automated progress tracking helps monitor, manage, and control every stage of your data center project. Meet with the Doxel team to discuss challenges and explore custom solutions tailored to your needs.

Why Attend DCAC Live Europe in Dublin?

As the demand for data centers grows, effective and automated construction progress tracking is more critical than ever. DCAC Live Europe 2024 is a great opportunity for data center professionals to learn about the latest in automation and technology. With expert-led discussions, technical workshops, and solution showcases, attendees will stay ahead in the evolving data center landscape.

DCAC Live Europe:

• Dates: October 15-16, 2024
• Location: Dublin, Ireland

Website: DCAC Live Europe 2024

In the latest episode of the Data Center Revolution Podcast from DCAC 2024, Saurabh Ladha, CEO of Doxel and Joseph Pinzon, CRO of Overwatch deliver an insightful conversation on the cutting-edge advancements in data center construction. Here are some of the topics covered during the podcast:

1. Automating Construction Workflows: Joseph and Saurabh discuss how Doxel’s AI-driven platform helps construction projects run more efficiently by automating tasks and providing real-time data on project progress enabling teams to track productivity and quality, leading to fewer delays and cost overruns.
2. Veterans: Why both Doxel and Overwatch love hiring veterans and the contributions veterans make to the construction and data center industries.
3. Why Wall Street is Rewarding Fast Construction: Joseph and Saurabh discuss how automation and AI is revolutionizing  the data center industry, from reducing project timelines to improving resource management. The demand for more efficient data center construction is higher than ever due to increasing digitalization across industries.
4. DCAC’s Role in Industry Innovation: The discussion highlighted the importance of events like DCAC, which bring together thought leaders and innovators in the data center space to share knowledge and collaborate on solving the industry’s biggest challenges.

Catch the full conversation below and explore how technology is reshaping data center construction:

“You have the ability to take software and compress time to market”

– Joseph Pinzon, CFO, Overwatch.

Unlocking Productivity for the Future

Better tools for the field and reducing risk on every project!

Long considered the backbone of economic growth, the construction industry continues to face a productivity challenge that cannot be ignored any longer. According to a McKinsey report, construction productivity has remained stagnant for decades, with the sector’s growth rate falling far behind that of the global economy.

For an industry that influences everything from infrastructure to housing, this productivity gap is not just a business problem—it’s a societal one. However, a growing consensus is that construction owners who commission and pay for projects hold the keys to transforming the industry. By leveraging their influence and adopting modern practices, owners can be the driving force behind a new era of construction productivity.

The Current State of Construction Productivity

Before exploring solutions, it’s essential to understand the scope of the problem. McKinsey’s analysis highlights that construction productivity has only increased by 1% annually over the past 20 years, compared to 2.8% for the global economy. This productivity gap has resulted in significant cost overruns and delays, with projects exceeding budgets by 80% and timelines by 20 months on average. The industry must adopt new innovative technologies and practices faster to mitigate this trend.

The factors contributing to this stagnation are numerous, including:

• Fragmentation: The construction industry needs to be more cohesive. Many construction firms work on different project parts, leading to inefficiencies and communication breakdowns.
• Lack of Standardization: Unlike manufacturing, where standardization is the norm, construction projects are often bespoke, leading to inconsistent quality and productivity.
• Outdated Practices: Many construction firms still rely on traditional methods that have not evolved in decades, resisting the adoption of digital tools and innovative approaches.

Given these challenges, it’s clear that a radical shift is needed. And that shift can start with the owners.

The Owner’s Role in Driving Productivity

Owners play a pivotal role in the construction ecosystem. They are the ones who set the expectations, define the scope, and ultimately bear the financial risk of projects. Owners can drive change across the industry by taking a more active role in risk mitigation and pushing for productivity improvements. Here’s how:

1. Adopting Performance-Based Contracts

One of the most effective ways for owners to drive productivity is by adopting performance-based contracts. These contracts tie compensation to achieving specific milestones and performance metrics, such as staying within budget or completing a project on time. This approach aligns contractors’ incentives with the project goals, encouraging them to innovate and find more efficient work methods.

2. Embracing Digital Transformation

Digital tools can revolutionize construction, from design to execution to delivery. Owners who prioritize digital transformation can see significant productivity improvements. For example, Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows for more accurate planning and coordination, reducing the likelihood of costly errors and rework. Doxel empowers construction teams with AI-driven project benchmarking and analytics, enabling faster, data-backed decisions that reduce costs and improve on-time delivery.

According to McKinsey, using digital tools could improve overall productivity by 14-15% and reduce project costs by 4-6%. Project management software can also streamline communication and collaboration, ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page.

3. Leveraging Technology for Project Benchmarking

One of the most potent tools that owners can use to enhance productivity and benchmark their projects is Doxel. Doxel is a powerful tool for project owners looking to enhance productivity and benchmark their projects. Its Production Rate tracking simplifies comparing completed work against the schedule, enabling owners to measure progress and manage timelines effectively.

The data collected from the site is analyzed to deliver precise insights into project progress, quality, and potential risks. With Doxel, owners can establish clear benchmarks, compare them against industry standards and past performances, and identify inefficiencies early. This empowers them to make informed decisions that keep projects on track, within budget, and up to the highest quality standards.

By integrating Doxel into their project management practices, owners gain a significant competitive advantage, ensuring precision and efficiency in every project.

4. Fostering Collaboration and Integration

The fragmentation of the construction industry is a significant barrier to productivity. Owners can address this by fostering a more collaborative and integrated approach to project delivery.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is one such approach, where all parties—owners, contractors, architects, and engineers—work together from the outset, sharing risks and rewards. This collaborative environment encourages innovation and problem-solving, improving outcomes for all involved.

5. Prioritizing Sustainability and Resilience

Sustainability and resilience are increasingly important in construction, not only for environmental reasons but also for long-term cost savings and productivity gains. Owners who prioritize sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient designs or renewable materials, can reduce their projects’ lifecycle costs. Furthermore, resilient designs that withstand extreme weather events or other disruptions can minimize downtime and maintenance costs, ensuring the project remains productive over its lifespan.

Investing in Workforce Development & Solving Your Labor Issues

A skilled workforce is crucial for enhancing construction productivity, but the industry is currently grappling with a significant labor shortage. With many skilled workers nearing retirement and fewer young people entering the field, construction projects face increasing risks. However, Owners can address these challenges by investing in the right technology, such as Doxel, which offers three key solutions to keep projects on track:

(1) Accelerating the onboarding process due to its ease of use,

(2) Boosting jobsite worker productivity, and

(3) Enabling project leaders to identify when additional skilled trades are urgently needed to meet schedules.

Feedback from our clients highlight that Doxel helps onboard new engineers quickly, bringing them up to the level of experienced superintendents. Moreover, Doxel reduces the time spent manually tracking progress by 95%, freeing up the most skilled team members to focus on higher-value tasks.

While attracting more people to the industry is vital, a long-term perspective is essential. However, Doxel provides an immediate impact by optimizing the available labor on-site. For skilled trades, Doxel’s production rates are particularly valuable. They empower superintendents with hard data, allowing them to demand additional labor from trade partners when it’s clear that the current workforce won’t meet project deadlines. This data-driven approach helps ensure that projects stay on schedule and that trade partners fulfill their commitments, avoiding potential liabilities for delays.

Featured Case Study:

Layton Construction’s experience with Doxel has been transformative, particularly regarding time savings and efficiency. On a recent 82,000 SqFt healthcare facility project, six superintendents and project engineers were initially spending a combined 60 hours per week manually tracking progress. With Doxel’s technology, this time was slashed by 95%, reducing the task to just 3 hours total. This significant reduction in manual labor translates to 57 hours saved weekly, allowing the team to redirect efforts toward safety, quality, and effective coordination with trade partners—resulting in an additional $2.17 per square foot per year being reinvested into these critical areas.

The benefits continued beyond time savings. Doxel enabled a 10% reduction in overbilling by providing precise progress tracking, simplifying billing processes, and eliminating disputes over the percent complete. Additionally, Doxel’s production rate tracking made it easier to secure commitments from trade partners to meet deadlines, ensuring the project stayed on time. As Brandon Bergener, Superintendent at Layton Construction, noted, Doxel has also made it easier to access additional manpower when needed, further enhancing project efficiency and productivity.

The Benefits of Owner-Led Productivity Improvements

When owners lead in driving productivity improvements, the benefits extend beyond individual projects. Here are some of the broader impacts:

• Cost Savings: More productive projects are less likely to experience cost overruns, saving owners money and allowing them to reinvest in other areas.
• Faster Delivery: Projects delivered on time or ahead of schedule enable owners to bring assets to market faster, generating revenue sooner.
• Improved Quality: Focusing on productivity often leads to higher-quality outcomes, as fewer errors and rework mean that projects are completed to a higher standard.
• Enhanced Reputation: Owners who consistently deliver successful projects build a reputation for reliability and efficiency, attracting more business opportunities in the future.
• Sustainability and Innovation: By pushing for sustainable and innovative practices, owners can position themselves as leaders in the industry, setting a standard for others to follow.

Overcoming Barriers to Change

While the potential benefits are clear, driving productivity improvements in construction is challenging. Owners may encounter resistance from contractors accustomed to traditional working methods or stakeholders who are wary of the costs associated with new technologies. To overcome these barriers, owners should:

• Communicate the Value Proposition: Clearly articulate the benefits of productivity improvements, not just cost savings but quality, safety, and long-term value.
• Support and Resources: Offer training, resources, and financial incentives to help contractors and other stakeholders embrace new practices.
• Lead by Example: Demonstrate a commitment to productivity by adopting these practices on their projects, showing they are serious about driving change.

Conclusion: The Future of Construction

The construction industry is at a crossroads. It must overcome its productivity challenges to remain cost-effective and meet future demands. With their unique influence and authority, owners are in the best position to lead this transformation. Owners can drive the industry forward by adopting performance-based contracts, embracing digital tools, fostering collaboration, prioritizing sustainability, and investing in workforce development. The time for change is now, and the future of construction lies in the hands of those who are willing to push it forward.

Delivering on construction productivity is no longer optional—it’s essential. By taking a proactive role, owners can unlock the full potential of their partners and projects and set a new standard for the industry as a whole.

Citations:
McKinsey & Company. “Delivering on construction productivity is no longer optional.” Retrieved from McKinsey & Company.

At their core, construction projects rely on cash flow. But it isn’t always simple—considering the complexity of projects and the fact that a company is likely managing multiple of them at once. Some projects take months or years to complete, and payments happen throughout the entire duration.

With so many payments coming and going over the course of a project, it’s crucial for project teams to stay on top of daily progress and constantly evaluate where it stands financially. Otherwise, a project is at risk for being under or overbilled. Billing accuracy is vital for any large scale construction project success.

Under and overbilling in construction

They may seem self-explanatory, but let’s get a few terms out of the way:

Overbilling occurs when a contractor is ahead of their progress and bills for contracted labor and materials before the work is completed. While this may help offset slow payments, it puts the contractor at risk of spending the extra money on something else if they don’t realize they’ve overbilled.

Underbilling happens when a contractor completes a certain amount of work on a project, but doesn’t bill for the full amount. This is typically the outcome of slow billing practices.

Both under and overbilling can lead to a state of negative cash flow, which can be detrimental to a construction company’s profitability and expected outcome on a project.

So, how does it happen?

Underlying causes of under/overbilling

Incorrect estimation

Even before the project starts, money matters. If contractors are unable to correctly estimate project costs—or worse, underestimate their costs—it could set them up to be underbilled and out of cash before the project is completed. This deeply impacts their ability to make money (or at the very least break even) on the project, and it may go unnoticed until the very end when it’s too late.

Inaccurate progress tracking

If a contractor isn’t precise about what has been completed thus far, they will likely bill incorrectly. Trying to guess the percentage of completion could quickly cause them to over or underbill, and as a result the project’s entire budget will be at risk.

Lack of project management

Construction is like a delicate dance, and poor project management could throw the entire routine off balance. Especially on bigger projects with multiple subcontractors, a disruption in one contractor’s ability to complete work could have a ripple effect on the entire project’s timeline and budget.

Effective project management allows a company to catch and correct any potential problems while holding everyone accountable for their part. If everything is settled at the end of the project, it’s already too late and nearly impossible to course correct.

Mitigate billing risks and improve billing accuracy with automated progress tracking

Subcontractors that accurately measure daily progress have the ability to bill more precisely and maximize profits. For general contractors and owners, AI-powered progress tracking ensures accuracy by providing a single source of truth on percentage completed.

Being able to track and even predict progress is a powerful advantage—the more data you have from one unified source, the less likely over and under billing occur, improving billing accuracy.

The best part? The technology already exists to enable companies to collect better, more accurate data with less manual effort. Leveraging features such as automated estimate at completion (EAC) and earned value analysis can help guarantee a company’s project financials and reporting are spot on.

To learn more about the ways your construction company can maximize profitability and improve billing accuracy, schedule a demo today.

Introduction

Establishing a consistent and realistic schedule is a significant challenge in the highly regionalized and variable construction industry. Construction executives overseeing projects across different regions, such as U.S., Europe, and Asia data centers, need a reliable method to benchmark project timelines.

Benchmarking in construction is the process of comparing a project’s performance, processes, or standards against industry best practices, standards, or the performance of similar projects. It allows you to understand where you stand compared to your expectations and highlights areas for improvement. This process helps set realistic goals, improve resource allocation, and reduce costs. However, traditional approaches based on estimates and past experiences often need to be revised, leading to inaccuracies, delays, and cost overruns.

Data Center Construction: The Importance of Benchmarking

Data center construction presents unique challenges due to the need for specialized systems like redundant power, rooftop control units, automatic transfer switches, and fire suppression systems. These features are essential for ensuring high operational standards and reliability.

To maintain project success and adhere to stringent timelines, referencing benchmarks in data center construction is critical. Benchmarks provide a reliable framework to keep projects on schedule by aligning construction activities with established standards. For instance, systems like redundant power and climate control must be installed according to precise timelines to avoid disruptions.

Owners can prevent construction delays by utilizing tools like Doxel to track each phase of construction, comparing progress against benchmark data from previous projects. Understanding the time required for each phase is vital, especially since timelines can vary due to regional and environmental factors. Traditional estimates often lead to inaccuracies, resulting in delays and cost overruns. However, leveraging benchmarks based on actual production data reduces these risks, enabling the creation of more realistic and reliable construction schedules.

The Challenges:

Large complex construction projects with accelerated schedules often lack production data due to a combination of factors related to the complexity, variability, and traditional practices within the industry. Here are some key reasons:

1. Project Complexity and Variability

• Unique Project Requirements: Each large construction project is often unique, with different designs, site conditions, materials, and labor forces. This variability makes it difficult to standardize production data across different projects.
• Custom Workflows: Many large projects involve customized workflows and bespoke solutions, which can vary significantly from one project to another. As a result, collecting and comparing production data becomes more challenging.

2. Fragmented Industry Practices

• Multiple Subcontractors: Large projects typically involve numerous subcontractors, each responsible for different aspects of the work. These subcontractors may have their own methods of tracking progress, which may not be standardized or shared with the general contractor.
• Lack of Centralized Data Management: Often, there is no centralized system for collecting and managing production data across all subcontractors and phases of the project. This fragmentation leads to gaps in data collection and reporting.

3. Traditional Work Methods

• Reliance on Experience and Estimations: The construction industry has traditionally relied on the experience and judgment of skilled professionals rather than data-driven approaches. This reliance on “gut feeling” and historical estimates rather than empirical data can result in a lack of detailed production metrics.
• Paper-Based Processes: Despite advancements in technology, many construction projects still rely on paper-based processes for documentation and reporting. This makes it difficult to collect, aggregate, and analyze production data efficiently.

4. Inconsistent Data Collection Practices

• Varied Data Collection Methods: Different teams within a project may use different tools and methods for data collection, leading to inconsistencies. This lack of standardization can make it challenging to compile accurate and meaningful production data.
• Manual Data Entry Errors: When data collection is done manually, it is prone to errors, omissions, and inconsistencies. These errors can render the data unreliable for creating benchmarks or analyzing production rates.

5. Cost and Time Constraints

• Data Collection Costs: Gathering comprehensive production data can be costly, requiring investment in technology, training, and additional personnel. On tight budgets, these costs may be deemed unnecessary or impractical.
• Time-Consuming Process: Collecting and analyzing detailed production data can be time-consuming, particularly on fast-paced projects where schedules are tight. The perceived burden of data management can lead to it being deprioritized.

6. Technological Adoption Barriers

• Resistance to Change: The construction industry has been slow to adopt new technologies that facilitate data collection and management. Resistance to change and the perceived complexity of new systems can hinder the adoption of tools that could help gather production data.
• Lack of Integration: Even when technology is adopted, it may not be fully integrated across all aspects of the project. Disconnected systems can result in siloed data that isn’t easily accessible or usable for broader analysis.

7. Short-Term Focus

• Focus on Immediate Outcomes: The pressure to deliver projects on time and within budget often leads to a short-term focus on immediate tasks rather than long-term data collection and analysis. As a result, production data is not prioritized as a key project deliverable.

The lack of production data in large construction projects is a multifaceted issue rooted in the complexity of projects, traditional industry practices, fragmented data management, and the challenges of technological adoption. Addressing these barriers requires a shift towards more standardized, data-driven approaches and greater investment in tools and processes that facilitate the collection, analysis, and use of production data across the construction industry.

Production Rates Before Doxel:

Benchmarking Without Actual Production Data

In major construction projects, the ability to plan, execute, and deliver on time and within budget is critical. However, one of the significant challenges many projects face is the lack of access to reliable production rates and the difficulty in creating accurate benchmarks. These data points are essential for informed decision-making, resource allocation, and performance tracking. Without them, project managers and teams often operate in the dark, leading to inefficiencies, cost overruns, and increased risk. The key challenges that arise when production rates are not readily available and benchmarks are insufficient, highlight the importance of overcoming these issues for project success. They include:

1. Inaccurate Project Estimations

• Lack of Baseline Data: Without access to production rates, project managers struggle to establish accurate baseline data for labor, material, and equipment usage. This leads to inaccurate cost estimates and timelines, resulting in budget overruns and delays.
• Unreliable Scheduling: Estimations based on assumptions rather than historical data can result in unrealistic schedules, which may cause disruptions and conflicts across different project phases.

2. Inefficient Resource Allocation

• Over or Under-Allocation: Without reliable benchmarks, allocating resources such as labor, machinery, and materials becomes a guessing game. Over-allocation leads to unnecessary costs, while under-allocation can cause delays and productivity losses.
• Difficulty in Scaling: Large projects often require the ability to scale operations quickly. The absence of production rates hampers the ability to predict resource needs accurately, leading to inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

3. Poor Performance Tracking

• Lack of Real-Time Data: Without production rates, it is challenging to track performance against benchmarks in real time. This makes it difficult to identify issues early and take corrective action before they escalate.
• Difficulty in Benchmarking: Creating benchmarks requires historical data to compare current performance. Without this data, teams may rely on industry averages that do not accurately reflect the specific conditions of the project, leading to skewed performance evaluations.

4. Challenges in Continuous Improvement

• Limited Feedback Loop: Without detailed production rates, it is difficult to establish a feedback loop that informs continuous improvement. Teams lack the necessary data to analyze what worked well and what didn’t, hampering efforts to refine processes and increase efficiency over time.
• Inconsistent Best Practices: Without benchmarks, it is challenging to identify and replicate best practices across different projects or phases. This inconsistency can lead to varying levels of quality and efficiency, even within the same organization.

5. Increased Risk and Uncertainty

• Higher Risk of Disputes: In the absence of clear benchmarks, disagreements over performance, costs, and timelines are more likely to arise, leading to potential disputes between contractors, subcontractors, and clients.
• Greater Project Uncertainty: The lack of reliable data increases the overall uncertainty of the project, making it harder to manage risks effectively. This uncertainty can impact stakeholder confidence and potentially lead to financial and reputational damage.

Not having access to production rates and benchmarks in major construction projects can lead to a range of challenges, from inaccurate estimations to poor performance tracking and increased risk. Addressing these issues requires a concerted effort to gather, analyze, and utilize data effectively to create reliable benchmarks and optimize project outcomes.

Doxel is an automated progress tracking solution that provides real-time, objective data on construction performance. Unlike traditional methods that rely on manual tracking and subjective reporting, Doxel uses AI and computer vision to deliver frequent, precise, actionable insights. Doxel speeds up construction by automating progress reporting which surfaces hidden issues early, prevents rework, and enhancing collaboration with visual data.

Production Rates After Doxel:

Accurate Benchmarking: The Solution

Doxel’s automated progress tracking leverages images from 360 degree cameras for reality capture by converting images into construction elements.  This technology provides precise data on production rates, such as linear feet of conduit installed per week across multiple projects. By comparing this data across different trades, sites, and contractors, Doxel enables teams to create more realistic schedules based on actual performance metrics.

Controlling Project Schedules with Benchmark Data

Owner’s reps, sometimes considered the Director of Construction, are responsible for fostering collaboration between stakeholders to bring data centers and large projects in on schedule and under budget.  Consider a scenario where an owner has built multiple data centers using Doxel and has significant benchmark data on productivity rates for each stage in construction.  This collaboration can provide enormous benefits when analyzing bids from the GC.  Where project schedules are overly aggressive, project owners can challenge GCs on their ability to commit to accelerated schedules, fostering a sense of alignment.  With Doxel’s historical production rate data, the GC can confidently assess the feasibility of the proposed schedule. The added transparency between the owner and GC, facilitated by Doxel, helps deliver projects on schedule using historical benchmark data.

Managing Production Rates in Doxel

Benchmarking: Use Historical Data to Set Realistic Schedules

• Doxel allows construction teams to benchmark using historical data, ensuring that schedules are based on actual performance rather than estimates. This approach provides a solid foundation for setting realistic project timelines.

Risk Reduction: Avoid Overcommitting and Mitigate the Risk of Delays

• Avoid Overcommitting and Mitigate Risk: By relying on accurate production data, teams can prevent overcommitting, reducing the risk of delays and cost overruns to keep projects on track.
• Deliver Accelerated Schedules with Certainty: Leveraging precise data enables teams to confidently meet the demand for faster project completion, ensuring speed without compromising quality or increasing risk.

Informed Decision-Making: Make Data-Driven Decisions That Clients Trust

• With precise production data at their fingertips, construction teams can make informed decisions that clients trust. This transparency builds confidence and strengthens client relationships.

Enhanced Reputation: Deliver Projects on Time and Within Budget

• Delivering projects on time and within budget boosts a construction firm’s reputation and secures future business. By leveraging Doxel, teams can consistently meet or exceed client expectations.

Conclusion

In the construction industry, informed scheduling decisions are crucial for project success. Doxel’s production rate data provides insights to optimize schedules, reduce risks, and ensure successful project delivery. By leveraging this data, construction teams can confidently commit to achievable timelines and deliver exceptional results.

Ready to optimize your project schedules with Doxel’s production rate data? Contact us today for a demo and discover how Doxel can help your team achieve faster schedules with confidence and reduced risk.

By incorporating these insights and leveraging cutting-edge tools like Doxel, construction teams can navigate the complexities of project scheduling with greater certainty and efficiency.