According to Elsa Huerta, director of Administration and Technology at ESCALA, technology for the real estate project management industry has gained key importance. In an exclusive interview with NotiPress, the director reported that the technologies in charge of centralizing solutions help to optimize the processes of real estate projects, in all areas, including costs, time, quality, security, risk communication, and resources.
The technology applied to the construction industry has grown in parallel with the evolution of the market. ESCALA data shared with the news agency reported that in 2021 there was a 35% increase in the demand for industrial space in Mexico. Likewise, the entity that registered the highest demand was Nuevo León, especially the city of Monterrey, whose gross demand was placed at 313 thousand square meters.
Likewise, new technologies used for project management have emerged that focus on isolated fields and solve specific issues. Examples of these software are Power BI, MS Project, Neodata, Opus and Primavera, the company said.
Although there are multiple web platforms, applications, and portals for the industry, ESCALA specialists highlighted PMWeb, as it is a tool that centralizes the control and communication of the project in a single platform. During the interview, the director highlighted that said technology arose in response to the need to integrate solutions beforehand, offering control of costs, times, quality and portfolio work from a centralized business approach.
Based entirely on the cloud, PMWeb incorporates more than 25 solutions, and among the most recent are data management and custom spreadsheets. According to a January 2021 publication on the tool’s official portal, it was added to communication with Microsoft Power BI in order to provide companies with intelligent data management and visualization of projects managed in PMWeb.
Likewise, in Huerta’s opinion, communications and transactions within real estate projects require traceability at all stages. In this sense, the technologies that centralize the operation optimize time, cost, and quality control processes, allowing corrective actions to be taken when required.
In case of not having these technologies, construction projects could face greater challenges and difficulties; but, above all, they would be at greater risk of presenting unnecessary risks. In this regard, the ESCALA specialist highlighted the importance of companies carrying out the management and administration of projects on platforms such as PMWeb, advised by ESCALA, whether they are investment funds, developers, contractors, or project managers.
Regarding this, in the interview with NotiPress, he highlighted that technologies alone are not enough since the participation and commitment of the entire company involved is required. Therefore, the implementation steps and expert advice offered by companies such as ESCALA are as follows:
- Assign a project leader to manage the requirements of those involved in the implementation of the platform
- Have defined project management processes to be configured in it
- Have catalogues, definitions, requirements and needs defined before the start-up
- Show clients the real and practical impact of technology tools, as well as your long-term vision
Finally, Huerta highlighted the usefulness of technology in the development of real estate projects to optimize decision – making in the face of possible risks. “There are various situations that can arise in a construction project: projects out of budget and on time, poor quality of materials, errors in asset management, construction out of specification, late communication, etc.” he added.
Written by Ali Figueroa at NetiPress
