Clancy Construction has grown from a small family business to an innovative organization through the use of construction software. The award-winning indigenous Irish company with three generations of growth and expertise embraces construction technology to provide comprehensive design and construction solutions throughout Ireland.
Clancy prides itself on safety, quality, and collaboration, focusing on getting projects done right the first time. “Our motto is “Built on Partnership,” reflecting on our value of collaboration and listening to our clients,” says Aidan Maher, Contract Manager at Clancy Construction.
During the financial crisis between 2007-2008, Clancy decided to examine their business and proactively adapt to changing markets and technologies by adopting lean methodology and construction software.
“We wanted to be ahead of the curve and provide our team with the tools they needed, but realized this would not happen overnight,” says Maher.
In 2013, Clancy began utilizing construction software on design-build projects to fine-tune its approach by lessons learned from each completed project.
When it came to adopting new technology, anticipating developments in the regulatory sphere provided another motivation. In 2017, the National BIM Council of Ireland released the Digital Roadmap 2021 to support the digitization and efficiency of construction in Ireland. To meet the requirements, Clancy adopted BIM 360 to bring better quality management to their projects.
Instead of merely going out and purchasing a single tool that solved one problem, Clancy took a step back to look at the bigger picture. They had issues they wanted to address today, but knew that to grow, they needed a strategy to improve their whole business. Beyond issues in the field, Clancy had the foresight to see the more profound benefit of cloud technology: capturing and collecting project data and customizing it to suit what they wanted to track and measure.
After using BIM 360 on a joint venture, they decided that they needed to invest in a field management software that combined mobile technologies for on-site use with cloud-based collaboration and reporting. With BIM 360, Clancy could take advantage of new ways to manage field processes, such as quality, safety, distribution of plans and drawings, and mobile 2D and BIM construction document access. Doing a Lean review of the company’s processes helped the team decide which problems they could solve with digitization.
Clancy knew it was time to transition from paper-based processes to digital. They took a holistic approach by working with all of their departments to identify appropriate tools and map processes that could be digitized. That was the natural part. Clancy’s leadership knew the most critical role would be to bring everyone in the company on board with digital transformation. Changing workflows would impact each individual, changing the way they historically worked. Keeping in mind the human impact on technological adoption, Clancy worked with their team to integrate new technologies into the company.
Quality and safety are the bedrock of Clancy’s approach on the jobsite as they’ve set a zero-incident goal on every project. They operate a Grade A Safe-T-Cert safety management system, a level that few companies within Ireland comply with.
Clancy has utilized construction software for a variety of tasks, but most importantly, to meet their high standards of health, safety, and quality. Using BIM 360, Clancy moved from a paper-based system to a digital checklist. The digital checklists are linked to Inspection Test Plans and contain all relevant material, including markups and photos, in one central repository. Having data in a central location also allows Clancy to comply with Ireland’s BC(A)R regulations introduced in 2014. They are also able to ensure the site team has access to and are working with the latest drawings through the cloud, with a full history of all previous versions, providing transparency for surveyors.
Clancy also takes an innovative approach by utilizing QR codes to help control defects and to monitor supply chain performance. All rooms and equipment on a project can be tracked with a QR code and linked to elements in BIM 360, enabling Clancy to electronically monitor progress on things such as deliveries, installations, QA/QC processes, and inspections. They are also able to capture information to record and track defects and resolution of issues quickly.
Clancy has found the software easy-to-use and has provided leadership to encourage adoption across the project team.
“The introduction of BIM 360 has brought about a better system for the company to deal with quality, project data recording, checklists, and much more. The user-friendly system supports our core value of collaboration,” says Maher.
Aligning their technology strategy to their overall goals, Clancy is now able to not only consistently capture critical project data, but also analyze it to implement continuous improvement across their company. With a particular focus on health, safety, and quality, Clancy explores new ways to improve operations by investing in drone and VR technology, as well as refining their current processes. By examining their processes and adopting new technologies, Clancy can ensure their deep roots will grow into the future.
This customer story was originally published on Connect & Construct
