# Software



## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

B Ray said:


> I just started working for a new company , this company doesn’t use any software , except computer ease , this company wires 15,000 new residential homes a year and everything is in file folders, can’t find anything. What software will offer scheduling , each home listed and has documents tab for blue prints, all options and any changes, create work orders and I would love to have a section for photos as well .
> 
> In the near future, I will be starting a service department as well , I understand most software won’t be able to co exist and will need something like Service Titan for the service department .
> 
> ...


That will be custom. There are several CMSs out there that would work such as Drupal. I think Lotus Notes is one of the oldest and very comprehensive but a bear to set up and maintain,

Effectively what you need for documents is a general database but it needs to be fairly free form which traditional databases aren’t. Hence a content management system.

For scheduling you can try to get fancy and use P8 or even Microsoft Project but they mostly just get in your way. If you don’t have several critical paths (your Gantt chart looks like a stairway) it’s overkill. A simple calendar system like Google Calendar really works very well for most businesses.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

This is really nice software for a construction company, and can be utilized for service.









Knowify - Construction management software - 14-day free trial


All project data in one place. Run your contracting business with confidence using the best of CRM, project management & invoicing software.




www.knowify.com





Ideally though, you need and want something completely different for service. Just two very unique businesses with two completely different customer needs.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Ask @flyboy what he uses.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

MikeFL said:


> Ask @flyboy what he uses.


He used Successware 21 or something like that, but that would be useless to this guy. He does new resi builds. Even if he wanted to do service, @flyboy would tell him to use Succsware.

there are a ton of good service platforms.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Any company doing 15,000 homes a year, that's got to be a $100m/yr+ company. That's a much different animal than a 10 truck company or even a 50 truck company, and the software at that scale is a whole different animal. Most of the zillion apps on the market would likely scale up for a company that size. Plus you figure half (or way more than half) of them won't be there in five years. Choosing software is like getting married and at that scale it's real big expensive wedding, you need it to last. 

Computerease actually seems like a pretty decent product / company. Are you using any of the project management features in Computerease? The web site says it has document tracking and scheduling, which would cover what you're asking about. This is a very common thing with technology, users fail to learn and use all the features. Of course it's also possible these components of Computerease are not that strong. But it should definitely be your first best option, because your company is already married to it, so you might as well get what you can out of it. 

If it doesn't do what you need, having custom workflows developed as @paulengr mentions for processes to capture what Computerease doesn't, seems doable. And it's probably a better option than implementing a second mammoth software with a lot of overlap with Computerease. 

A software migration for a company this size is no joke, no matter how hard you try to do your homework, it could be a disaster. So you'd have to find something that beat the crap out of Computerease on paper before your company would want to take the leap.


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## mofos be cray (Nov 14, 2016)

Am I the only one that thinks it unlikely that a company that does 15000 new builds a year doesn't have any software? Its 2020.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

mofos be cray said:


> Am I the only one that thinks it unlikely that a company that does 15000 new builds a year doesn't have any software? Its 2020.


I thought that too first time I read it, a company that size has at least an IT guy if not an IT department. But he says they do have Computerease so they actually have a pretty capable construction software. I think they just aren't using Computerease or anything else for project management, scheduling, document management, etc. (If those functions are in Computerease, it might not be Computerease's fault the company isn't using them.)


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

paulengr said:


> That will be custom. There are several CMSs out there that would work such as Drupal. I think Lotus Notes is one of the oldest and very comprehensive but a bear to set up and maintain,
> 
> Effectively what you need for documents is a general database but it needs to be fairly free form which traditional databases aren’t. Hence a content management system.
> 
> For scheduling you can try to get fancy and use P8 or even Microsoft Project but they mostly just get in your way. If you don’t have several critical paths (your Gantt chart looks like a stairway) it’s overkill. A simple calendar system like Google Calendar really works very well for most businesses.


Thanks, I will check out Drupal , just going to be a long road ..


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

Switched said:


> This is really nice software for a construction company, and can be utilized for service.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Exactly on the separate software for service and the houses ... Thanks


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

mofos be cray said:


> Am I the only one that thinks it unlikely that a company that does 15000 new builds a year doesn't have any software? Its 2020.


Trust me , same thing I thought until I seen all the files at my desk ...


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

splatz said:


> Any company doing 15,000 homes a year, that's got to be a $100m/yr+ company. That's a much different animal than a 10 truck company or even a 50 truck company, and the software at that scale is a whole different animal. Most of the zillion apps on the market would likely scale up for a company that size. Plus you figure half (or way more than half) of them won't be there in five years. Choosing software is like getting married and at that scale it's real big expensive wedding, you need it to last.
> 
> Computerease actually seems like a pretty decent product / company. Are you using any of the project management features in Computerease? The web site says it has document tracking and scheduling, which would cover what you're asking about. This is a very common thing with technology, users fail to learn and use all the features. Of course it's also possible these components of Computerease are not that strong. But it should definitely be your first best option, because your company is already married to it, so you might as well get what you can out of it.
> 
> ...


Yep, you get it ... I’ve been here 5 weeks and I spend hours a day creating or looking for paper work , doing this many homes , will be able to save time and speed up production, also will downsize employees and allow all supervisors more time to complete all daily task.


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## Wardenclyffe (Jan 11, 2019)

15000 / 365 =41 houses a day,... can I have a weekend off,...


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## NoBot (Oct 12, 2019)

B Ray said:


> I just started working for a new company , this company doesn’t use any software , except computer ease , this company wires 15,000 new residential homes a year


This sounds like Phishing or a Troll to me. 15,000 new homes per year?


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

Is this for a national EC that does multi family and semi custom homes in multiple states? 

You guys wire homes for RedDoor and D.R.Horten?


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

NoBot said:


> This sounds like Phishing or a Troll to me. 15,000 new homes per year?


Lol, sorry you feel that way , we are in Florida and have multiple locations , we do all of Lennar, lot of Pulte ,Taylor Morrison amongst many other builders . it’s a lot of jobs going out daily and we are growing , our location averages 25 jobs per day . Tuesday we did have 40 jobs go out ... My location has 6 supervisors and needing 2 more ..


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

Wardenclyffe said:


> 15000 / 365 =41 houses a day,... can I have a weekend off,...


We pay piece rate and we have many crews working 6 or 7 days , they have 3-4 people per crew and will start and complete most 3,000 feet homes in a day .l


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## mofos be cray (Nov 14, 2016)

B Ray said:


> We pay piece rate and we have many crews working 6 or 7 days , they have 3-4 people per crew and will start and complete most 3,000 feet homes in a day .l


32- 48 man hours for a 3000 ft² house? How minimal of circuits are you running?


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## B Ray (Oct 15, 2012)

mofos be cray said:


> 32- 48 man hours for a 3000 ft² house? How minimal of circuits are you running?


Usually 6 in the kitchen , bath circuit, garage, laundry 
8-10 for 15A DF


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