Think ERP and what comes to mind? One would usually think of
verticals such as BFSI, retail, manufacturing and services. There
have been few solutions designed specifically for the construction
vertical. Even if this is considered to fall under the
manufacturing vertical, few solutions go beyond automating common
processes.
“If you look at most ERP offerings, solutions for the
construction vertical are available only as a feature. These
features only automate certain parts of the construction business
and not the entire business,” informs Balaji Srinivasan,
Founder and CEO, Aurigo Software Technologies.
The company’s ERP solution BRIX aims to change this. The
solution leverages on the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform to provide
ERP functionalities to the construction vertical.
Srinivasan explains that while traditional ERP solutions only
automate the aspects of personnel, material, machinery and money,
BRIX takes this further and automates the entire process post
design. BRIX allows organizations to manage cost estimations,
tendering, contracts (on a daily/weekly/monthly basis), and also to
conduct paperless inspections at construction sites.
“65 percent of the work happens on the construction site with
no connection between the site and the back office. The automated
inspection tool can help monitor the construction process, remotely
yet efficiently,” says Srinivasan.
The feature is a lightweight application built on the
Microsoft .Net platform with only a 60 KB footprint. It can be
loaded on a tablet PC, or a PDA and consists of forms fed in
earlier with project information. An individual can simply mark a
check against each process parameter for a project once the
inspection is complete. The inspection information is stored in a
cache memory which is later uploaded to the company’s system
once connectivity such as a Wi-Fi connection becomes available.
This tool reduces the human error associated with filling
information manually. It also reduces the time for inspection to
less than 20 minutes from 4-5 hours required previously. This,
according to Srinivasan, can help improve efficiency, accuracy and
transparency in the entire construction process.
After a few projects, the system can help build an intelligent
database based on the entire project information. This information
allows intelligent forecasting of project cost estimations based on
previous project history. This will help companies come up with a
precise cost estimation rather than having to round off to a higher
figure during the tendering process.
“With the deployment, construction companies can experience
up to 10 percent cost savings. Intangible benefits include better
quality of construction and timely completion of projects,”
claims Srinivasan.
There is also a Web-based version available, which can be deployed
based on the Software as a Service model wherein the solution is
hosted on a VSNL server backbone.
Speaking about the adoption of BRIX on demand, Srinivasan says,
“Construction companies have evolved and many customers are
moving towards ERP-on-demand. While the western audience is more
open to leasing, the Indian mentality is more inclined towards
owning. Hence, though Indian organizations are open to having the
solution hosted, they still prefer to own the license for using
it.”
Within a short span of time, Aurigo’s BRIX solution already
has around 10 customer deployments including Nagarjuna
Constructions, RDS Projects, IDEB Projeccts Navin Housing and
WoodCraft.
The company has also tied up with the National Institute of
Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) for localization of
BRIX for India. The company recently undertook an initiative along
with Microsoft to set up an ERP lab to train professionals on BRIX
at NICMAR’s Pune campus.