6 Strategies to Eliminate Data Integration Problems Across Your Construction Program

Construction projects rely heavily on technology for planning, tracking, and executing various work activities throughout the life of a project. When it comes to construction-related software, the options are practically endless. There are hundreds of products designed for scheduling, commissioning, finance, procurement, program management, modeling, estimating, and accounting, not to mention homegrown solutions.

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It should come as no surprise that large projects involving multiple contractors and subcontractors often result in everyone using different systems. In a perfect world, these systems would simply “talk” to each other. The construction schedule program would automatically connect to the commissioning software. The procurement log would be tied to the construction schedule. Of course, this is easier said than done.

The only thing harder than delivering a project on time is organizing and maintaining system integrations throughout the project. Maybe I’m simply an unlucky individual, but it seems that every program I’ve worked on has encountered data integration issues. In this article, I’m going to cover the most common challenges I’ve encountered and the best options to resolve them.

1. Don’t Build the Plane While You Fly It

Delivering a project is hard enough. The last thing the team needs is to attempt to manage the project while testing out a new software or technology. If the tool doesn’t work as intended, it can cause significant delays or costly mistakes.

Instead, test new technologies by building a couple of fake projects and running the integration as if they were real. This allows you to test your processes and programs for errors without any risk. You can even have real people provide feedback on the fake projects.

2. Connecting the Data is Easy; Getting the Cadence Right is Hard

Mapping two or more systems together is relatively easy. Even people without advanced computer science backgrounds can figure out how to make data connections that will return information in the correct format. However, mapping and cadence issues can still happen.

To eliminate issues with data connections, start by creating and maintaining a detailed data map. Over the course of the project, people will leave and join your team. Having a Rosetta Stone that explains how the systems are mapped together can help avoid confusion and speed up employee training. It’s also important to keep a schedule of when systems automatically update or import data.

3. Build in Data Validation Checks

After integrating a couple of systems, you could find issues that pop up weeks or months later. These challenges could be a result of simple coding errors that are not easy to spot. To prevent these problems, the team should build in periodic quality checks to help ensure that the data quality hasn’t been compromised.

Major gaps should be fixed immediately. However, some challenges may be minor. For example, a simple update to the system could be identified that would streamline the data entry process. Minor enhancements can be added to an update wish list to be implemented at a later date.

4. Build the Right Team

While integrating new software may start as an easy connect-the-dots project, it can quickly spiral into a complex plate of spaghetti during the implementation. When this happens, you need to have plenty of IT support to maintain the system and make updates. Planning ahead for this scenario by staffing the team with sufficient resources and bandwidth will reduce the overall friction of the effort.

5. Make Sure Data Flows the Correct Direction

Systems are typically connected with the purpose of sharing data in both directions. System A will provide certain updates to System B. System B will provide different data points back to System A. This ensures that both systems agree and are consistent. Most systems will both give and take information. The only exception to this rule is reporting which will remain an output only tool.

Examples:

• P6 to Commissioning - P6 provides the initial dates and the Cx software provides a detailed update.

• P6 to Procurement - P6 provides the need date for materials and the procurement software provides the updated lead times.

• P6 to Accounting - P6 provides the cash flow projections and accounting provides the updated accruals.

6. Have a Backup Plan

Sometimes, issues arise with technology that causes major disruptions or can’t be fixed easily. In those cases, it’s advantageous to have a backup plan. Ask yourself, “If this doesn't work, what will we do?”. Most likely, you may need to switch to a manual process such as a spreadsheeting exercise. Unfortunately, I've experienced this more times than I care to admit. If your system integration hits a rough patch, don’t leave your project team unprepared and left out in the cold.