Punch List Software Makes Defects Easier to Track, Repair

Punch List software can be adapted to other uses, such as safety and inspections.

By Deb Wood

As contractors begin to work with punch-list field software, they’re learning even more ways to harness its computing power to improve quality and safety in the field.

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“It helps us speed up the punch-list process and make it less manual,” says Greg Smith, regional director of virtual design and construction for Skanska USA Building in Seattle, which uses Vela Systems field software. “We’re also using it for correction items and generating requests for information. We take pictures or highlight the problem on the drawing. The guys in the field are out with the tablet and can instantly send that information to the project engineer who can follow up and resolve the issues.”

Skanska has employed Vela Systems at jobsites across the country and recently began using it in the Northwest on the $144-million, 18-story tower for Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and the $277-million MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash.

“The biggest use for it is a paperless punch list near the end of the project, but we’re using it for deficiency lists right now,” says Kevin McCain, Virginia Mason project executive for Skanska.

“It saves someone having to run in and scribble information on a piece of paper,” McCain says. “You do it right from the field, get the information accurate and get a photo of it.”

Skanska USA Building Superintendent Frank Conversano conducts above-ceiling inspections using Vela Systems Field Software. (Photo courtesy Vela Systems.)

Skanska also uses Vela and the tablet PC to take concrete-lift drawings generated from a building information modeling model into the field. Crews know where all of the embeds and block-outs should be according to the model.

“The crews build from that as opposed to having to flip through architectural and shop drawings,” McCain says.

The software also can tie the punch-list information with the model and show in the model where quality problems exist.

“Field-enabling BIM is changing the way construction is delivered,” says Josh Kanner, co-founder of Vela Systems. “The model has the information around how the project should be built and can help organize the data to be acted on in the field.”

Electronic punch lists

Skanska built an exterior skin mock-up of rooms at Virginia Mason and used Vela software for the punch list. When noticing problems, the superintendent or foreman marked it on the screen plan. It’s tagged with a “digital push pin” with the location and the subcontractor responsible. The superintendent can take photos of the item requiring a fix, or add a voice or text message to the file and send an e-mail to the subcontractor responsible. Vela’s server creates consolidated lists for each subcontractor on the job.

“They quickly can walk into the area and bring up documentation,” Kanner says.

FinishLine, another punch-list management software developed by Active3DB, also works with a plan on a tablet PC and consolidates items needing remedial action by a subcontractor. Robert McIntosh, president of Active3DB, estimates inspectors save about 50% off the time it takes to complete a punch list on paper and enter it on a spreadsheet, plus it decreases time spent distributing the list.

“All of the effort is at the data-collection level, and you don’t have all of the extraneous back-office effort,” McIntosh says. “There are cost savings both in the inspection process and in the administration and distribution of the information to the various parties.”

The general contractor, architect and owner can participate in the FinishLine punch list, which keeps each party’s items separate but consolidates them on one deficiency list for the subcontractor.

Brandon Fujimura, a project coordinator at Benjamin Woo Architects in Honolulu, Hawaii, says he appreciates the ability to review what the contractor has already identified as punch issues and what has been corrected. He also finds conducting a punch analysis valuable for tracking common issues to watch out for.

“It’s much easier than the paper system and a big time saver,” Fujimura says.

Joint venture partners Albert C. Kobayashi of Waipahu, Hawaii, and Kiewit Building Group of Honolulu used FinishLine at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk in Honolulu, which Benjamin Woo Architects designed. And developer Cowperwood Co. in San Antonio, Texas, plans to use FinishLine on its $75-million Biological Sciences Facility and Computational Science Facility project for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.

John Stark, general manager of E-COMM Corp. of Cumming, Ga., maker of the E-Z Punch Inspection System, which runs on a handheld device, also reports a reduction in inspection time, by at least 50%. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Greeley, Colo., used E-Z Punch on its 1-million sq ft Fort Carson, Colo., BCT-H Barracks Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“The field engineers, using Palm Pilots, liked how quickly we could return the information and get it back out to everybody,” says Eric Smith, project superintendent for Hensel Phelps.

Stark adds that the real savings occur over the life of the project as contractors identify issues, correct them and ensure the same thing does not occur again.

“You can see the quality trend,” Stark says. “There’s a ramp-up in the number of defects identified and then you see a decrease in those defects. That’s the benefit of quality management.”

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Turner Construction Co. of New York has used DBO2 SafetyNet system for about five years. It allows the company to collect safety observations, compile them and analyze safety issues, not just on that job but also in a region or companywide. The company’s safety professionals and superintendents enter data into SafetyNet, either on a PDA, Blackberry or computer, and can note whether corrections are made.

Vela Systems software on tablet PCs allows field personnel to immediately gather and aggregate QA/QC information from projects to identify trends early and reduce jobsite and corporate risks.

Turner now is piloting the use of DBO2 and Vela Systems for quality-assurance and quality-control checklists. None of the projects is in the Northwest.

“In theory, if you do your QA/QC well, while work is going in place, then the punch list should be that much shorter,” says Jim Barrett, national director of virtual design and construction for Turner. The company integrates architects into the process to review the contractor’s punch list and to create their own lists.

“When you bring it to the field, it’s timeliness,” Barrett says. “While work is going in place, you can be reviewing based on your company’s standards of how things should be built properly.”

Vela’s QA/QC capability includes a content library with more than 200 checklists organized by MasterFormat.

“It allows you to use Vela Systems for the whole project because you are doing QA/QC on everything from excavation and foundation up through the punch-list process,” Kanner says. “You can measure if your QA/QC program is effective by measuring the frequency and type of punch-list items you wind up with at the end.”

Company executives can access lists, daily diaries, which include how many people and how much equipment are onsite, and monitor how well the job is going.

Active3DB’s McIntosh says FinishLine also has proven value as a prepunch and quality-control tool for contractors checking the rough construction so it doesn’t cause problems later, and for owners during the warranty period.

“One of our first customers is using this for maintenance issues,” he adds. “You can get a lot of life out of one application.”

Useful Sources:

Vela Systems: http://www.velasystems.com/
FinishLine: http://www.punchlist.net
E-Z Punch: http://www.e-zpunch.com