Construction software for municipalities

Construction software suited to the challenges of municipalities

Dutch municipalities are currently facing various challenges in the field of housing and housing facilities. In order to effectively tackle the housing shortage, many municipalities will have to build heavily in the coming years. In addition, both the government and buyers are setting increasingly higher requirements for sustainability, energy efficiency, insulation and accessibility of homes and publicly accessible buildings.

The large number of (often complex) municipal construction projects requires a system for managing and archiving documentation that combines far-reaching digitization with clarity and ease of use. Good building software for municipalities meets that need. But what exactly is construction software? What are the benefits? And why is construction software ideal for municipalities? You read it below.

Some of the municipalities that use our software:

This is how the municipality of Zoetermeer keeps track of all their ongoing projects.

Various municipalities, such as the municipality of Zoetermeer, are now using Prostream to manage large (construction) projects.

The challenges

There is currently a great need, but also a shortage of affordable housing in the Netherlands. To tackle this scarcity, Dutch municipalities will be building a lot in the coming years. The municipality of Zoetermeer, for example, expects to have more than 155,500 inhabitants by 2037. Currently there are about 130,000. In order to accommodate this expected growth, thousands of new homes will be needed in and around the city in the coming years.

Another challenge: the increasing focus on the environment and energy aspects in municipal construction projects. When building new homes or renovating existing buildings (such as old town halls), municipalities must comply with the stricter nitrogen standards. In addition, they must also take into account the insulation standard and the energy efficiency of a building. Moreover, the purchase prices of materials are rising and it is difficult for municipalities to find construction companies that have sufficient skilled personnel to meet deadlines within the set budgets.

A final challenge: in a municipal construction project you have to deal with a wide variety of parties involved. Contractors, subcontractors and suppliers of materials: they all play their own role. It is a major challenge to organize document flows in such a way that all parties can efficiently perform their (sub)tasks.

Good construction software enables municipalities to grasp the above-mentioned challenges by the horns and is the tool that helps municipalities to manage complex construction projects in the right direction.

What is municipal building software?

Good construction software enables municipalities to grasp the above-mentioned challenges by the horns and is the tool that helps municipalities to manage complex construction projects in the right direction. You have access to one central, clear software package in which you not only arrange your document management, but also monitor the progress of projects. In addition, you streamline project management, all processes, communication and collaboration with chain partners with construction software.

In practice, such a collaboration platform often has different names, such as document management system (DMS) or common data environment (CDE). Whichever name you use, construction software doesn’t only give you an overview, but also provides insight. You have one platform where all your information is gathered, from contractor quotes to BIM files. And from construction drawings, photos of the progress and measurement reports to reports and delivery lists. Long searches for the right documents are a thing of the past for civil servants and project managers if they use good construction software. Everything is safe in the cloud so that it can be accessed anytime, anywhere and from any location. At the same time, all information is optimally protected against hacks and crashes. The various chain partners can access precisely those data that are relevant to them. You can set access rights per file, so that everyone can only view and edit what is necessary. Additional benefit; everyone works centrally on the platform and through automatic version management you always know for sure that you are working in the latest and most current file.

What should you pay attention to when choosing construction software?

Nowadays there is a lot of available options when it comes to construction software. That makes it difficult to see the wood for the trees. However, not all software is the same. For example, there are ‘point solutions’ that digitize and support a specific process in construction, but also platform solutions that can be used more broadly. For municipalities, the second option is often the best, especially because it offers the best opportunities to maintain control over all links within a municipal construction project.

Whichever you choose, it is especially important that construction software for municipalities has the following features and functionalities:

The perks of construction software for municipalities

Construction software for municipalities is completely focused on the challenges you encounter in a construction project and on the role that the municipality plays in this. For example, the software is designed for the processes and working methods within the construction industry and for facilitating trouble-free cooperation between chain partners such as civil servants, architects, contractors, electricians and suppliers of building materials. The result? Everyone in the chain can do their work more efficiently and with fewer errors.

In addition, construction software makes it easier to comply with the Quality Assurance Act (Dutch: WKB). Good news for municipalities. For example, the legally required quality standards of new constructions within the municipality can be tested and recorded by means of construction software. And through functionalities such as automatic version management, the ability to send large (graphical) files, preview files, tasks and workflows, local synchronization and making documents easier to find (with labels and metadata), a municipal construction project runs faster, more efficiently and with less chance of error.