Summit guides Master’s destiny
A sophisticated industry-specific software solution from RedSky IT is helping a veteran Bahrain construction firm operate more efficiently while lowering costs.
01 October 2010
THE entire process of assessing and installing a new software system poses a number of challenges to any construction company. There are a number of criteria that need to be met and companies looking to acquire new software need satisfactory answers to the following before going ahead with their purchase: Is the system suitable for the construction industry? How stable is the software provider? How will the system be implemented? How will the system be supported?
Bahrain-based Master Construction, which this year marks two decades in the construction industry, turned to RedSky IT for its software solutions and reports having derived immediate benefits from its decision.
Established in 1990 by Antony John and Samir Saffy, who had both been employed as engineers for Bahrain Ministry of Works Power and Water Division, Master Construction relied upon a simple software accounts package utilising a finance department of clerks processing paperwork and producing reports.
The big break and expansion for Master came in 2005 with the liberalising of freehold property legislation in Bahrain, which allowed developers to expand their operations. Master took advantage of the liberalisation by partnering with developers, which resulted in real growth in the company. At that time, the company employed more than 1,000 staff and ever since they have retained the policy of using its own labour. Four distinct divisions now exist in the company involved in plumbing, fire-fighting, plant and carpentry. Access to these resources provides control of supply and quality of service.
With its rapid growth, Master Construction soon realised that to provide effective management, and to allow the firm to modernise and expand, a more suitable construction-specific software solution was required. This was when the search was started for a construction-specific ERP.
The first challenge was finding an industry-specific solution that managed all the requirements of the company and which was suitable for the construction industry.
Elaborating on what prompted the company to look for an integrated construction software system in the first place, John, the general manager of the company, says: “We had reached the point where the company was growing quickly and we realised that to keep control of costs we needed an integrated software package which could manage all our construction processes.
“We knew other contracting companies who had come to the same realisation and had installed generic accounts packages that ultimately proved to be unsuitable for construction, so we embarked on a detailed assessment of various systems.”
To identify the most suitable software for Master Construction, the company based its research on the requirement for a system that was suitable for construction companies and related industries, rather than a general accounts package that would then have to be developed to meet its requirements.
A number of systems were evaluated but they fell short of the specific requirements of Master Construction and invariably they turned out to be expensive, with no clear illustration of the long-term cost of ownership of the system. This was not an option for the partners, who had built the business on sound and prudent financial principles. They required a proven and established construction-specific system that had a defined cost and which would allow them to grow and expand.
A cost-effective solution within a budget was required, which could provide an illustration of the total cost of ownership over a five-year period.
Master Construction’s quest ended with RedSky IT, and its Summit construction software, both of which have a long track record in the construction industry in the Middle East.
Summit Foundation met all the requirements for an industry-specific solution within a budget, according to John.
“Summit is organised around individual Project Ledgers, which met our requirement for immediate access to project data. We also liked the delivery structure of the Summit Foundation system and the RedSky IT policy of employing in-house consultants who have previously worked in the construction industry. It made the whole delivery process easier as the RedSky IT project manager had firsthand knowledge of the construction industry – they immediately knew what we were talking about,” states John.
“We required a system to manage construction processes such as subcontractor applications and certificates, payroll for a workforce of at least 1,000, and one which was established and tried and tested,” he adds.
John indicates that the company chose RedSky IT as its software provider of choice, as it met all its requirements. “It was a combination of industry suitability of the software, the method of delivery and the support systems and, of course, cost. We also required reassurance about the long-term level of support for the system. RedSky IT were able to satisfy all our requirements and they have continued to meet, if not exceed, our expectations,” he points out.
RedSky IT provided a delivery schedule which identified each step of the implementation. “We spent a number of days on project management, which pays off in the end. On the advice of RedSky IT, we appointed an internal project manager for the system implementation and he provided co-ordination. Overall, the process went very smoothly without much disruption to daily working. The process started with Finance, which took only eight weeks to “go-live” from delivery. The system only required 17 days training, which were carried out at the Master Construction premises in Manama,” he explains.
Having installed the software, Master Construction began to see the immediate benefits of it. “As well as the advantages of immediate access to data, the company also embarked on reorganising itself to cater for the new system which allowed it to upgrade its staff with an overall reduction in staff overheads. “This was a cost benefit I was anticipating but didn’t expect to achieve so quickly,” John says. “Overall, we now have a more lean and efficient administration structure due to the introduction of Summit, all of whom work within the one system. The fact that everyone is working with the same data reduces time and effort and it allows our staff to get on with their jobs.
“We can also foresee that the audit process has been improved, which has led to a reduction in waste, both in time and materials, and we expect our auditing bill to be significantly lower,” he adds.
John continues: “I describe the Summit system as our watchdog. It controls down-the-line site activity, which minimises waste and mismanagement. We now have immediate access to data. We are not spending time searching for data and as all main costs are captured in Summit – purchasing, sub-contractors, cash, payroll – I now know we have a complete and accurate picture of the status of each of our projects.”
Commenting on his future plans for Master Construction and use of the Summit system, he says: “We are always looking to provide a better service to our clients and that requires us to continue to improve our systems and working practices. The next development will be for Master Construction to gain accreditation to ISO quality management systems. We see Summit contributing to our ISO assessment due to the way Summit provides structure to our procedures, allowing them to be documented and audited.”
Since installation, the system has expanded to include two associated companies in the group: Project Management Services Company, which is involved in project management and AMetal, which supply low-cost housing throughout the Middle East and Africa.
“I am happy to entrust RedSky IT systems to manage all these important processes in the business,” concludes John.
The Master policy has always been to exceed client expectations whether it be with regard to quality of finish or completion within time or budget.
Master now operates with the Grade A licence for buildings up to 35 storeys and recent projects include Marks and Spencer in Seef Mall, Relax Inn Hotel in Hoora, College Executive Building at Hoora, Juffair Views Juffair, and Kuwait Finance House car showroom and bank in Manama.
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