Construction contains thousands of big
and small tasks. How can a client and contractor know if they have all been
completed as intended? Congrid offers an answer to that question.
Congrid is a Finnish construction software developer. The company provides software for punch lists, quality and safety audits, and design document distribution. It operates in Finland, Sweden, and the U.K.
The company’s founding team members, collectively,
offer a combination of expertise in construction management, software
development, and marketing and sales. “I come from the electronics industry. I
came into this business through my old schoolmates,” says Timo Makkonen, Congrid’s CEO. “My specialty
is business development and leadership.”
A Need Looking for a Solution
In 2012, Matti Huusko, one of Congrid’s co-founders, did his thesis work on
the use of digital tools for construction site quality management. He planned a
new process and detailed a software program to carry it out.
Huusko did an international search to find
a software tool to fulfill his needs but was left empty-handed. He suggested to
his then-employer, a construction company, that it develop the necessary
software. However, the idea did not catch on, as the construction firm did not
see itself as a tech company.
At the presentation of his thesis work,
Huusko met another site manager who talked about the same issue. Together, they
turned to Timo Makkonen for help on how to start developing software. Makkonen
knew coders who were eager to join in, and the pieces for starting up a
construction software company were in place.
Finding Out Where to Start
The founders of Congrid had a clear vision of
the product they wanted to design for comprehensive site quality management. In
2013, they started to “sell with PowerPoints,” as Makkonen puts it.
That proved to be a good strategy because it provided Congrid with insight on
where to start.
Instead of covering the whole quality
management process at once, customers first wanted to document errors and
observations. They also expressed a need for including safety features to the
app.
“We thought that there were already
good tools in place for recording safety issues and doing safety
measuring,” Makkonen explains. “Nevertheless, safety audits became a
fulfilling part of our solution.”
Integration and Openness Are
the Keys to Success
Capterra, an online software directory,
currently lists 1150 construction-related products, 320 of which are in the construction
management category. Congrid has about 10 direct international competitors in
its field. In spite of that, it has been able to gain a 60 percent market share
in Finland.
Congrid provides a single user interface
for safety and quality audits. However, the company does not want to build a
closed garden. Makkonen believes that both all-encompassing solutions and
software that integrates well with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
will succeed.
“Already, in 2016, we had started to offer
integration with ERPs. Customers can create the project and basic information
for Congrid in their enterprise systems,” says Makkonen.
Congrid’s founders believe in open
ecosystems. That’s why they are involved in Finnish initiatives like Platform
of Trust and FIRA Open Data Platform. They also want to promote the philosophy
of openness in the U.K., where they entered the market recently.
Growing Internationally
After establishing a strong foothold in Finland,
Congrid wanted to start probing international markets. The company’s
Scandinavian customers offered a channel to the Swedish market. According to Makkonen,
going to Sweden was a natural choice, as the construction culture and
quality-related practices are quite similar in the neighboring countries.
Market research in Denmark, however,
suggested that Congrid would face tough competition in a construction sector that
would not be as familiar as that of Sweden. The company decided to head out to
the U.K., even though they knew that it too was a very competitive market.
“Our system supports both an extensive
and a lighter quality management approach,” says Makkonen. “Quality
management practices vary by company. Our solution adapts well to different company
needs. We’ve also noticed that Grenfell and other serious incidents have
brought forward the need for a change in the mindset. Project parties need to
know more precisely what was built and by whom.”
Benefits, But Not Without
Commitment
Congrid’s motto is “know what you’ve
built.” The team members say they want to provide the builder with sound
sleep. You can’t reach this level of confidence simply by buying a new
software. Makkonen notes that clients also need to build a quality-driven
culture and process.
“Consultative selling is in our
spotlight in this and the coming year. The other thing is to ensure the quality
of the customer’s data that our system gathers,” Makkonen explains.
“If customers want to learn from past projects, their data must be valid.”
Congrid supports lean construction: saving
time and money during and after the construction process by doing things right
the first time and minimizing process waste. Congrid’s customers have already reported
time savings of 50 percent on inspections and quality and safety audits.
Serving the Project Office and
the Worksite
Congrid’s solution consists of two cloud-based
apps: one for the desktop and the other for mobile devices. The desktop app is
for task planning and project-level control; the mobile app serves at the work
front, telling workers and inspectors what to verify during each task. Users
can take photos and add notes to them. The system also retrieves the relevant
design documentation for the job to be done or inspected.
“Construction workers get specific instructions
about what to do from Congrid. They also self-verify that they’ve done the job
as specified. This personal responsibility will hopefully increase their
commitment to doing and documenting the job properly,” says Makkonen.
Congrid has two pricing tiers: a project
license and a user-specific license. The latter is meant for quality auditors
who work on several projects at the same time. The project license does not
limit the number of users.
Congrid’s founders have been able to resist
the temptation to bloat their software with new features. Instead, they want to
make better use of the data the app provides. Makkonen explains: “Data
visualization and machine learning will help builders better understand cause
and effect in construction projects. We are already taking steps in that
direction.”
To learn more about Congrid, go to congrid.com.
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