This story was originally published by FRANK KALMAN on the Bluebeam Blog.

Despite the temptation to implement new technology quickly, it’s important that there are practices in place to ensure the tool is evolving in the long run.

ost construction industry leaders would likely agree that implementing new technology can be a complicated process.

From identifying pain points to researching possible solutions to going about the lengthy process to test and implement the new technology, the process can be painstaking—even though such efforts have largely gotten relatively easier and more accessible recently.

Still, it’s important for construction leaders to remember that any new technology implementation is a marathon, not a sprint.

While many focus on the initial dash to become operational on new technology, it’s critical to account for long-term considerations. Even once the initial phase of implementation is complete, seemingly solving the problem, it’s worth maintaining a continuous-improvement approach.

Here are six things construction leaders can do to ensure they’re taking the long view when implementing new technology.

Make training continuous

It’s easy to focus on the initial implementation training when installing a new technology. Construction leaders have by this point spent months (or even years) researching the new tool and orchestrating its implementation.

Yet, there are several reasons why training should be designed as a continuous, long-term process.

No matter how well-designed your initial technology implementation training may be, people aren’t likely to retain it all the first time around. Often when taking on new technology, people don’t know what they don’t know—so they retain what’s taught to them just to get by, without fully realizing the context of the tool.

Revisiting concepts taught in the initial training may be helpful several months after the implementation training. Then, as time passes, additional ongoing training should take place about new features and tools.

Appoint technology champion(s)

It’s likely that the initial technology implementation featured a leader or group of leaders responsible for the complex process of overseeing the effort and all its components. This leadership structure should persist long past the initial implementation.

Depending on the size of your company or team taking on the new technology, this can be one person or several people. A large municipal department, for instance, may appoint a council of strategic advisors to oversee and maintain the long-term efforts associated with new technology implementation.

These people should meet regularly to craft new training and other initiatives to ensure that the technology’s use is progressing. They should also come from different divisions or disciplines across a company to ensure every perspective is represented.

Initiate internal user groups

A great way to embrace a continuous-improvement approach to a new construction technology implementation is to form an internal user group. This group is designed to meet regularly to share knowledge of the new technology and explore new possibilities of how the tool can be used.

Perhaps the best way to make these groups effective is to make them social as well. Have them meet after working hours so they feel more informal and community-oriented, rather than just another meeting during the workday.

Devise external knowledge sharing

Equally as critical may be coming up with ways for external knowledge sharing on new technology. While internal user groups are tremendously effective in expanding a company’s use of new technology over the long term, it’s important that construction firms have a way to bring in external knowledge, too.

Attending or organizing industry events on new technology, or starting one that brings in like-minded users from other organizations, are all ways to channel external knowledge that will pay dividends long into the future.

Conduct regular technology audits

No matter how long a tool has been in place and how knowledgeable people may be on it, construction leaders should get into the habit of conducting regular, formal audits on the technology. Whether you bring in an outside group to conduct the audit or use your internal technology leadership team, doing this ensures that the technology remains effective at improving your firm’s efficiency and solving new problems that arise over time.

Embrace failure

Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect. New technology implementations can be messy. Try to embrace the small failures that will inevitably come, allowing you to iterate to ultimately maximize the value of the new technology. After all, such failures are often the best learning opportunities.

This story was originally published by FRANK KALMAN on the Bluebeam Blog.

Bluebeam’s dexterity as a construction technology makes it invaluable to the industry, but standardizing its tools and features to specific job roles or workflows makes it even more valuable.

Standardization is paramount in construction. Whether you’re a superintendent on a multibillion-dollar skyscraper project or an estimator on a mixed-use development, every industry player needs to abide by a set of standards to get the job done.

Using construction technology is no different. As digital collaboration tools continue to play an outsized role in the industry, it’s critical that those who are leading technology implementations customize the tools so workers can learn them quickly and apply them on the job effectively.

Perhaps no construction technology benefits more from standardization than Bluebeam. The tool’s pliability is one of its greatest strengths. Here’s how to apply standards to Bluebeam so you can get the most out of the technology.

Simplify what you see 

Construction is a complex industry. Any given job may have more than 100 different types of roles, from the general contractor overseeing the production of a build, to the architects and engineers determining a project’s fine details, to the electrician carrying out those details.

Bluebeam is designed to help all of these people do their jobs better. Still, its capabilities are so robust that any first-time user might become overwhelmed. Therefore, it’s critical that, upon implementation, Bluebeam is customized with standards that are specific not just to each role but any particular workflows as well.

The best way to do this is to eliminate anything that’s unnecessary in Bluebeam’s interface. If you don’t need to create forms in Bluebeam, for example, scrap the icons and buttons to remove them from view. Repeat this with any other unneeded tools, panels or capabilities.

Create Custom Profiles, Tool Sets, Icons, Etc. 

Revu, Bluebeam’s flagship PDF markup tool, has a seemingly endless amount of features. One way to completely customize Revu to better serve a job role or workflow is to save specific interface settings as a Profile, which can then be shared with other project colleagues.

Watch the video here https://youtu.be/RswYZRTXsVM

By creating custom Profiles, users can re-order and even turn off any of the interface’s panels and tools, ensuring that only the most used and relevant tools are in view. Users can do the same with the toolbars within Revu. Standardizing workspaces in Bluebeam with custom Profiles, and sharing those Profiles across teams, will go a long way toward simplifying the overall experience of using the technology.

Customization doesn’t stop with Profiles in Bluebeam. Markup tools—the symbols that are saved in the Tool Chest—can also be standardized as a custom tool set. Moreover, users can upload their own markup icons to standardize for use in a specific project or workflow.

Like with Profiles, implementation leaders should take advantage of such customization. From tool sets to specific markup icons, create a standardized experience in Bluebeam for your team that is as specific and simple as possible.

Review standards often

While establishing standards in Bluebeam is essential at the beginning of the tool’s implementation, it’s equally important that custom elements—from Profiles to tool sets—are reviewed and updated regularly.

Bluebeam is like a fine wine—it gets better with time. As knowledge of Bluebeam expands as people on your team continue to use it, it’s worthwhile to potentially integrate new tools and features as part of your customized standards.

Review these standards on an informal level every quarter, while larger, more robust standardization updates should happen once every six months to a year. Use these opportunities to gain feedback from users on which standards should be updated or eliminated.

The bottom line

Bluebeam’s versatility as a construction technology makes it invaluable to the industry. But with such flexibility comes the need to customize it for specific types of users and workflows. Failing to set standards when using Bluebeam—or any construction technology—risks slowing down the tool’s adoption and overall effectiveness over time.