Construction and Civil Engineering: What will be the best project management tool in 2024?

November 8, 2024
9 min
Project management expert monitors the construction site

Yes, here we are: the year 2023 is about to end, so it's time for the results and the first forecasts for 2024! The first thing we can highlight is that, despite the labor shortage and record inflation, 2023 proved to be a prolific year for the Construction and Civil Engineering sectors. With nearly 46,000 new projects under construction, in Quebec alone, there was no shortage of new projects to say the least! And the year 2024 promises to be just as intense! And with so many new starts planned, the effectiveness of your project management will play a crucial role in the success of your business: it's best to be well prepared.

In this race for profitability and efficiency, Would you like to arrive first? To achieve this, the new technologies could well become your most valuable ally! But you still have to make the right choices: what software is really made for your business? Which digital tools will allow you to make more profits and which ones simply risk wasting time and money?

To help you see more clearly, we conducted the survey: what will be the best project management tool in 2024?

What is project management software?

First, let's get back to basics: what is project management software?

Project management software is a computer tool specially designed to help you and your teams coordinate, plan, and ensure the successful implementation of your tasks, activities, and resources. It is a valuable management tool that should allow you to streamline your workflows and to reach more easily your specific goals within a specific period of time and planned in advance.

Because it offers you a clear and real-time overview of all your objectives, deadlines, assigned tasks and the progress of your projects, project management software facilitates the work of your project managers, allowing them to be more effective on a daily basis.

The main objectives of such a project management tool are multiple:

  • It ensures the effectiveness of project management by centralizing all project-related information, thus improving communication and collaboration between the members of your teams.
  • It helps with resource management by accurately assigning tasks and monitoring their completion, thus maximizing productivity while minimizing the risks of overwork and errors.
  • It promotes decision making by providing up-to-date and reliable information on the performance of the project.

In recent years, project management software has gradually established itself as the essential tool for any company that wants to improve operational efficiency and continue to generate profits. Whether it is an aid in planning, task tracking, information sharing or resource management, these tools online management Bring a undeniable added value and play a decisive role in the success of Construction and Civil Engineering projects.

What are the selection criteria for project management software?

To determine which is the best project management software for your business, you still need to know what criteria and features to consider! To help you, here is a non-exhaustive list of the main selection criteria to consider when choosing your project management tool:

1. Ease of use:

Remember: a good management software should facilitate the work of your team, not complicate their life! Orient yourself to a intuitive and easy to use project management tool. Request demonstrations, discuss them with your team, and take the time to make sure that this new tool will really make your processes and task management easier.

2. Relevant features:

Before choosing project software, make sure that it includes all the features you need. To bring real added value to your operations, a new management tool must Respond to your specific needs, such as project planning, task assignment, resource tracking, etc.

3. Real-time collaboration:

Your new project management software must, in addition to streamline your task management, facilitate your working relationships and exchanges between the various members of your team. Power collaborate and communicate remotely and in real time is essential for a effective communication and quick decision making. The objective is to promote collaborative and effective work!

4. Accessibility:

Accessibility is an essential feature. For project management software to fully participate in lightening the workload of your project manager and to perfectly fulfill its role in supporting operations, it is essential that each user can use it. connect anytime from any device. It is a priority!

5. Customer support :

One responsive customer service and competent is crucial to solve possible problems quickly! Make sure the company that provides you with your project management software has a effective customer support and ready to answer any questions you may have. They are the ones that will allow you to take full ownership of your new project management tool.

6. Integration with other systems :

The advantage of integrating project management software into your business is also to save time! It is therefore essential to make sure that your new online tool is able to integrate easily into your work processes and to the software you already use for billing and accounting for example.

7. Data security:

Since the implementation of Bill 25 in Quebec, this is all the more important: it is essential that your project management software be able to guarantee the security and confidentiality of your data, those of your employees and those of your customers.

8. Good value for money:

To be the best possible project management software, your new management tool must offer you excellent value for money. It should not only be affordable, but also powerful! Your return on investment must be significant and undeniable.

Free project management software, what are the limits?

When shopping for a new project management tool, it's natural to start by focusing on free versions of project management software well known. But is it a good idea? These free project management software can they really help you? Are they relevant to your business?

Asana :

Although Asana offers basic features for project management, its free version is very limited and does not allow you to generate advanced reports or customize your dashboard. In addition, it does not allow effectively manage large teams, a key aspect in Construction and Civil Engineering, fields where the number of actors working on the same project is important.

And the paid version? The paid version of Asana is not ideal for the construction industry due to several shortcomings. Its interface, although user-friendly for smaller projects, is complex and impractical for large construction projects involving many stakeholders. Asana lacks construction-specific features, such as managing materials, setting construction schedules, and integrating design plans. Finally, its cost can be prohibitive for larger construction companies, where the number of users needed can quickly drive up costs.

Trello :

Trelle is easy to use and allows visual task management quite interesting. However, its free version offers limited features concerning risk management, project planning and cost monitoring, which are crucial aspects in the Construction and Civil Engineering sectors.

And the paid version? The paid version of Trello remains insufficient for the construction and civil engineering sectors because it does not offer functionalities specific to these sectors, such as managing the progress of work on site or the coordination of various trades. In addition, it does not allow a detailed and real-time visualization of the progress and delays on the project.

Monday :

Monday is characterised by its ease of use and its customizability. However, its free version offers very limited features! For example, it does not understand no advanced options like custom dashboards, cost tracking, and report sharing. Additionally, it can only accommodate up to two team members, which may not be enough for large-scale construction projects.

And the paid version? The paid version of Monday does not provide essential tools for major construction projects, such as detailed management of progress on site, effective coordination of different trades, and accurate and real-time monitoring of costs and deadlines.

Wrike :

Despite robust tools for project planning and collaboration, the free version of Wrike doesn't Do not allow sharing reports and does not offer no real-time monitoring of costs, which can be a problem for large-scale construction projects.

And the paid version? The paid version of Wrike, while offering many more valuable tools than the free version, lacks essential elements specific to the construction and civil engineering industry, such as detailed and integrated field monitoring tools. In addition, the absence of coordination functionalities specific to the various trades involved in a construction project makes it complex to manage interdependent tasks and to synchronize teams.

Zoho Projects :

Although Zoho Projects offers good collaboration features, its free version has limitations on documentation management, an essential aspect in civil engineering and construction projects.

And the paid version? The paid version of Zoho Projects also doesn't offer tools specifically designed for the construction and civil engineering sector. In particular, it lacks functionalities for the detailed management of work on site and the coordination of various business teams. In addition, real-time cost monitoring, which is crucial for budget control in major construction projects, is not sufficiently developed.

In conclusion, although these free project management software, widely known, have some advantages, their biggest flaw lies in their lack of specialization and adaptability specific to the Construction and Civil Engineering sectors: they are too general! While they offer some great options for project management, these free online management tools don't meet the complexity requirements inherent to Construction and Civil Engineering projects.

In addition, remember that the final objective of these management tools offered for free is to you push to pay for the full version. However, these versions complement, in addition to being very general and therefore, can't adapt to our sectors activities, are often very expensive! Obviously: you pay for the fame of the software, but that's not what's going to help you improve your internal processes, your planning capacity or even your productivity.

If you want to invest in the best project management tools for your company and your team, it is essential to choose management tools including functionalities and flexibility match the unique requirements of your projects and from your sector!

What are the specific needs of Civil Engineering and Construction in terms of project management? 

We mentioned it, the best project management software are the ones that adapt perfectly to your specific needs and to the specificities of your projects and your business. Construction and Civil Engineering projects are complex, they are divided into numerous tasks, require the mobilization of numerous resources And of several people. It is therefore essential to take this into account if you really want improve the management of your projects thanks to an online project management software. But, basically, what are the specific needs related to Construction and Civil Engineering projects?

Complex project management and planning :

Planning is the secret to success for a Construction or Civil Engineering project! Your projects require detailed and accurate planning of complex and interdependent tasks, the best project management software will be the one that will offer you a Full reading And a accurate overview of all your projects in real time and at any time.

Financial management and cost control :

La cost control is a key element in the life cycle of a construction project. Your project management software should allow you to: Predicting cost and profitability of each of your projects. It is essential that your online management tool helps you identify problems before they occur so that you can best adjust and forecast each expense.

Payroll Management :

A good project management software should help you save time by automating and digitizing a large part of your tasks, which requires a automatic consideration of CCQ payroll rules and codes for example! If your payroll management is facilitated, you will certainly save time!

Resource Management :

The management of material and human resources is crucial for the success of a Construction or Civil Engineering project. Your project management software must therefore be able to offer you effective solutions to manage your resources: thanks to it, you must be able to assign, in a few clicks, the right workers to the right tasks, with the right materials and the right machines, to the right project!

Field management and site monitoring :

In Construction, as in Civil Engineering, site supervision is an essential component of project management. The best project management software will be the one capable of offering you innovative tools to improve your site monitoring ! Examples: Of online timesheets to put an end to manual processes and constant back and forth between field workers and accounting staff, or a punch tool that works offline to allow you to track the working time of each of your employees, even when internet access is not possible. A feature that not only allows a better site supervision, but also to obtain an accurate overview of the real labor cost of each task, thus contributing to better control of costs and resources.

In addition, a good project management software must be able to offer you the possibility of completing and transmitting site reports and daily newspapers in a few clicks. Thus, you record in real time all the activities and tasks carried out on the construction site, thus providing a detailed overview of the progress of the project. Project management software can significantly improve the accuracy, efficiency and transparency of your site monitoring.

Documentation management:

Document and information management is crucial in the construction industry. The tools of documentation management allow centralize and share effectively plans, reports, specifications, and other essential documents.

Collaboration and communication:

One smooth communication between teams and stakeholders is essential for the success of a construction project. Communication and collaboration platforms offer virtual online workspaces where team members can exchange information in real time.

Personalized management :

Because your needs are specific, a good project management software must be able to offer you excellent customization features, especially when it comes to your forms, daily reports, and dashboard.

So what will be the best project management software in 2024?

You will have understood it,The best project management software in 2024 will above all be the one that suits you! The one who answers to your specific needs, to your expectations and to your teams. The one who will know integrate easily into your processes and will bring you real added value on a daily basis in the field and in your offices. And in this field, Civalgo could well satisfy you and your entire team!

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