Autodesk Launches Contractor Self-Assessment Tool to Measure against Their Competition

If you want your construction company to be best-in-class, you need to be able to objectively measure yourself against them.  To help assist with that difficult task, Autodesk has announced the release of a new self-assessment tool to measure where your company stands against your competitors based upon 7 different key performance indicators (KPIs).

Autodesk’s quest for this assessment tool came with the help of Dodge Data and Analytics (DD&A), with whom they recently teamed up with on a survey of more than 200 US-based contractors. That survey laid the baseline for Autodesk’s new assessment tool, called the Construction Health Check, which is available starting today.

Current KPIs in the Construction Industry

There is currently only 1 widely accepted KPI in the construction industry, called the Experience Modification Rate, or EMR.  That number is used by insurance companies to determine how big of a risk a company is, based, in a very general sense, upon their worker’s compensation claims. Some would say EMR is not even a great way to determine how safe your company is, let alone using it to determine the overall health of your company.

The New 7 KPIs of Construction

While the EMR focuses mostly on past events, the 7 KPIs on Autodesk’s health check focus on the proactive procedures your company takes on their projects:

The 7 KPIs of Construction. An interactive tool of this is available on Autodesk’s website.

1. Construction Documents

2. Request for Information (RFIs)

3. Change Orders

4. Schedule

5. Safety and Inspections

6. Labor Productivity

7. Quality and Close Out

Based upon my experience as a project manager, it’s hard to argue against any of the 7 being a great way to measure the success of a project or company. By determining how your competitors are performing in these 7 areas, your company has a better chance to continue to thrive as the industry evolves over time.

Currently, the only way to compare your company to another in these categories is through word-of-mouth.

Autodesk’s New Construction Health Check

The Construction Health Check is a free, online survey that takes less than 15 minutes to complete.  Once all questions are complete, you’ll receive a full summary of how your company compares to others, based upon the 7 KPIs listed above.

To give you an apples-to-apples comparison, the tool takes into account your type of company, the size, and your geographic location. Since this is just the start of the tool, the data will only get stronger as more companies continue to fill out the assessment.  Results will be updated constantly to reflect new entries. 

While the report will tell you where you stand against others in your category, it will not suggest or provide solutions to overcoming deficiencies in any of the categories.  It is only meant as a conversation starter, so you can make more informed decisions and better define success.

Link to Survey: Construction Health Check | Autodesk