SmartBuilder Software Ltd today announced the launch of SmartBuilder1, a powerful web-based mobile software system, for the Irish and UK construction markets. SmartBuilder1, which works on Android smartphones and tablets, is the first complete system of its type for the construction market. It is focused on saving contractors time and money and on helping them to bring in buildings with zero defects.
SmartBuilder1 being used on location
The construction sector was one of the first to adopt mobile phones. Now with the advent of SmartBuilder1 it is set to join the enterprise mobility revolution with the adoption of smartphones and tablets with sophisticated mobile software systems.
As outlined in a Constructing Excellence Report (2009) there is only a 50% chance of any building coming in on time or on cost. According to a Chartered Institute of Building Report (2008) nearly 67% of high-rise buildings are delivered late. In an industry where profit margins are now also under sustained pressure, SmartBuilder1 is focused on delivering a positive impact on contractors’ bottom line.
SmartBuilder1 is designed to help construction companies deal with some of their greatest on-site challenges; keeping projects on track and delivering them on time, ensuring high-quality, helping project teams become more efficient, achieving timely communication of issues on-site and tracking everything that happens in-field.
SmartBuilder1 being used on location
SmartBuilder1 allows managers on-site to update progress in-real time, to record reasons for delays, and action people from in-field about issues. The system can be used to identify and tackle problems on-site at the earliest opportunity and to action others to solve them faster than before. This is especially valuable for managers who can communicate detailed information immediately with sub-contractors, clients and their teams.
Users can also perform quality inspections much more efficiently. Instead of taking out drawings, markers, clipboards, notebooks and digital cameras, users can tick issues off the touch screen, image the problem, mark-up the drawings electronically on screen and communicate this to those who need to fix the defects. Smartbuilder1 also provides a valuable audit trail of everything that happens on-site which is then stored securely in “the cloud”.
According to Peter Daly, Managing Director, SmartBuilder Software, “Given that world construction output is $7.5 trillion annually and that there are 5 billon mobile phones on the planet, the potential overlap between these sectors is huge. Smartphones and tablets will be everywhere on construction sites within a few years but they need the right software to be really useful. That is where our offering comes in.” He added, “We see a lot of evidence that the Irish, UK and international construction sector is ready to embrace this technology which can make an important contribution to productivity.”
SmartBuilder Software, headquartered in NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD, was established in 2010 by two experienced entrepreneurs Richard Mulcahy and Peter Daly. They established the company to develop mobile software systems for use on construction sites in Ireland, UK, USA and other international markets. The company is primarily focused on the UK market and also has a London office.
A video of SmartBuilder1 being used on a construction site can be viewed via www.smartbuilder1.com.
ENDS
28 June 2011
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712 or Peter Daly, SmartBuilder, e: peterdaly@smartbuilder1.com, t: + 353 1 716 3585 or m: +353 87 814 6905 or twitter @peterjdaly.
Editor’s Notes
SmartBuilder1 is not an “app”. SmartBuidler1 is mobile software-as-a-Service (SaaS), that is software accessed via the web (“the cloud”), which is the current dominant model of delivery of new software. SmartBuilder1 has a desktop client as well as a mobile client and a database in a remote data centre accessed via the web where the data is stored and the application hosted. The mobile works off line while in-field and then syncs wirelessly when connected again to the web.
SmartBuilder Software Ltd was founded in January 2010 by two experienced entrepreneurs Richard Mulcahy and Peter Daly who have started and run companies in a number of areas including software. The company’s technical team is working with advisers from the construction sector to develop its products. The company, headquartered in NovaUCD, with an office in London, has developed a powerful software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering to improve productivity on building sites. While SmartBuilder Software will base its development activity in Ireland, its sales focus will be in the UK, the US and other international markets.
Referenced Reports
Never Waste a Good Crisis, by Constructing Excellence (2009) and Managing the Risk of Delayed Completion in the 21st Century, by the Chartered Institute of Building (2008)
NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is the hub of innovation and knowledge transfer activities at University College Dublin. NovaUCD is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research and for the development of co-operation with industry and business. NovaUCD as a purpose-built centre also nurtures high-tech and knowledge-intensive enterprises such as SmartBuilder Software. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.ucd.ie/nova