This interview was conducted by Will Synnott, Director of Sales at Disperse. It has been edited for length and clarity.
For context: Rob has used Impulse, Disperse's visual performance tracking solution in its version 1 iteration. That version focused mainly on offering a good photographic record of the build site. That is still an essential part of Impulse, but today's solution is increasingly geared towards providing high-level construction insights. Read more about the capabilities of the Impulse platform here.
Will: Please tell us something about your role.
Rob: Sure. I am currently a Planning Manager at Sir Robert McAlpine. I've been with the company for five years. I got into planning when I was 18 and started off working for Skanska in an assistant planning role.
I moved on to Senior Planner and eventually grew into my current role in Planning Management.
Will: Have you seen many benefits from digital tools over the years?
Rob: I would say so. It seems that the planner's role picks up the lion's share of digital tools. And specifically, 4D planning, I do think, is beneficial in creating more realistic programmes.
You see, when you look at a programme (US: schedule), it can almost be described as an analogue tool. But when you link the schedule to a digital 3D representation of the project and can scroll back and forth through the construction progress, that's very powerful.
Especially when it comes to showing client stakeholders, who may know nothing about construction, they can follow the progress visually, and you don't need to train people to do that; it's intuitive.
Will: You have used Disperse extensively. How, specifically, do you feel the platform has helped you in your role?
Rob: Mainly, it saved me a great deal of time. Rather than needing to go out and take photos of points that differ over time, Disperse gives me a level of consistency where I can get a set view of that project every week. The ability to compare historic photos week on week to show what progress contractors have or haven't made is very powerful.
(EDITORIAL NOTE: this functionality has become even more pronounced through a relatively new feature called Weekly Pace. It shows a high-level overview of spaces that have progressed or have been stalling per subcontractor and offers direct photographic evidence of that progress without needing to root around for it.)
The consistency aspect is an important part. In fact, I'd say Disperse has been the one thing that has been consistent on my entire project.
For example, when we have just one planner on-site, and they are on vacation, or site managers go on holiday, you'll need to rely on construction diaries, but those show a lot of fluctuation in terms of information. Not everybody keeping a site diary goes into the appropriate level of detail. And with Disperse, that becomes a non-issue. We always have a high-quality photo taken in the same spot regardless of whatever else happens on site. It offers peace of mind.
Also, it's been useful in meetings. Rather than everybody needing to imagine what area of the job we are talking about, we can just pull up a recent 360 degree photo in question and make it plain for everyone. It helps with making meetings more engaging as well.
When we were discussing certain areas of the project and the lack of progress there, I could just quickly jump in and demonstrate the area in question. Due to how the software is structured — you can go by building, by level, by area — it's very quick to find what you need and pick out a photograph that would otherwise have taken considerable time to manually find in a folder on the desktop. And that saves everybody attending the meeting time as well, so the savings are compounded.
Will: Do you use it post-completion too?
Rob: When we've had to settle final accounts and needed to have difficult conversations, Disperse has been a good tool to show the pictorial record of subcontractors working beyond their contract periods. It's been invaluable for that. And, really, it's such a small outlay for such a significant commercial benefit.
Will: What about implementation — do you have any tips for other construction people on integrating technologies like Disperse into their workflow?
Rob: I had no problem starting to use the software very quickly, even though I have had no training in using Disperse. I do have quite a techie background, though. But other managers, who may not have been as technically minded, soon saw the solution's benefits and started to ask for logins. It does not take long to demonstrate, and for them to get up to speed with the platform.
It's very accessible. And not just for other construction professionals. It also gives clients autonomy in their understanding of progress because they have an independent view; it's not just my view as a planner. That verifiability, that a client can be sure that there are no smoke and mirrors, is very important to creating trust between stakeholders as well. Transparency is becoming more important in building, and, frankly, it's needed too.
Will: did you use the Disperse platform daily, and if so, how?
Rob: I have been using it every day. We've had Last Planner workshops, and when we were discussing areas, we could literally flick up the progress. We could highlight trade contractors that had been underperforming, and it's made having difficult conversations just that much easier because … well … no room for them to escape.
During those conversations, we actually had the Impulse window open onscreen, and due to the fluidity of the setup — how easy it is to navigate around to the different areas — driving those meetings was simple.
Will: compared to collaborative meetings you've had in the past, how has Disperse increased the efficiency of those meetings?
Rob: It was the engagement in the main. Without Disperse, you don't want to know how many times we've sat in a room to discuss an area, and people didn't exactly know what we were talking about. With Disperse, we can simply have it up on the monitor, showing areas and highlighting with the mouse exactly what we are talking about. That's very engaging for people.
So it wasn't just the speed and ease of operation but also the way it prevented people from nodding off in the corner.
Will: Did you use the platform in other meetings besides those Last Planner ones you mentioned?
Rob: Sure. We've had a lot of focus workshops with clients as well. We would zoom in on the different areas, showing them what they looked like at the current level of progress and going through the strategy of what now needed to be done with them.
Will: Have you ever worked with it remotely?
Rob: During COVID, definitely, Disperse was a godsend. I was able to remotely create reports, take progress pictures by screenshotting the Disperse photos, and simply paste them with good quality into a Word document. It saved me two 2-hour commutes a day in that time.
Accessing remote sites is simple, and it's something I am needing to do more and more as the work at Sir Robert McAlpine is becoming more sector-based and location-independent.
I can just log on and don't need to drive over all the time. A lot can be managed by using Teams for meetings in combination with Disperse for knowing what you are talking about.
Will: how much time would you say the platform saves you?
Rob: It's actually saved me about half a day per week, the time it would typically take me to take pictures and gather data.
Without Disperse on a project, I would need to go out to the site, checking two individual blocks, going to every level. Imagine how many photos I can take in that time. Then I've got to get back to the office, rename the images to what level they're on. It's very time-consuming. I am probably underestimating that 'half-a-day', too.
And then, of course, I've only taken pictures of the things that matter to me in the moment. What if, somewhere down the line, we have legacy issues? Count on it that we are not going to have the relevant pictures anymore — another argument for the consistency and comprehensiveness that Disperse offers.
As I've said, there is a peace of mind that comes with that, too. You know that the pictures are going to be taken no matter what happens on-site. And you need to rely much less on site diaries, which, as I've said, differ a lot between them, also because different people tend to identify different things as important.
Will: Thanks Rob. Very interesting to hear how you've used Disperse as a tool to facilitate communication, and what you've said about consistency. It's a great point I think we often don't stress enough.
For now, I'd like to thank you for your time, and perhaps we can do another interview when you've used the newest version? I think you'll love it. In version 1, we've had some deep features that, unfortunately, people weren't accessing enough.
We've completely revamped the solution now. All the data that used to be buried in reams and reams of reports is now translated into actionable visual insights. I hear from current users that they are finding it very helpful, especially when it comes to keeping tabs on subcontractors.
Rob: Looking forward to it, Will!
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