Processes are firmly anchored in our everyday work. We know exactly what we have to do every day and how we have to carry it out. But how well could we handle something unfamiliar?
On the one hand, human is a creature of habit. Many project managers want to have all details planned and organized at the beginning of a construction project. This requires software that detects errors at an early stage and supports the planning of projects with BIM.
On the other hand, people are inquisitive and interested in innovations. New technological possibilities should be available in a software to ensure the best possible implementation of projects. That is why updates are so important in everyday design work. They secure that not only performance is optimized, but that market-relevant functions are introduced. This allows you to react flexibly to changes in the market.
Before a major release (main version of the respective year), you should watch the webinars of the software developer and thus get a basis for deciding whether this update provides the desired improvements for your company. However, you should not skip too many updates, because with increasing development also comes benefits, such as performance and process improvements. Due to the constant improvement, you should not only regularly run the updates in your company, but also adapt your processes for optimization in order to be able to extract the greatest possible benefit - even if this is often accompanied by a certain amount of effort. Your software provider should be able to support you in this and also make you aware of the possibilities and necessities.
An update can have many advantages. In this text we look at the 3 most important ones: shortened project lead times, optimal interface usage and partnership-based communication.
Every project should be completed as quickly as possible. In order to shorten the project lead time, waiting times must be minimized and processes must be streamlined. The software developer supports this with the updates. Throughout the year, work is carried out on improving loading and processing times so that designers can make better use of the time gained. There are also new functions that can save a considerable amount of time.
There are some interfaces, such as the IFC interface, which ensure smooth data transfer and communication between the project participants. These are also updated on a regular basis. To utilize the interfaces efficiently, the current versions must be used. These can be found in the latest release of the software.
Many people are usually involved in one project. For a corresponding communication, not only the IFC interface is necessary, but also the regular updating of the entire software. Only then can smooth communication between the project participants be ensured, since they are working in the same versions. For trouble-free use of the software, an update is often unavoidable, since formats created with a newer version cannot be opened with the older one.
Since updates often open up important new features and close security gaps, they already have two important advantages. In relation to the benefit, the effort is low in most cases, as the software developer is happy to provide support. In the end, you have to weigh up the benefits of the new functions, whether you want to accept a minor effort and whether you want to adapt to the market conditions. In times like these, it is usually very important to react flexibly. Then you have the chance to work in a profit-maximizing way. In the next text you will learn why updates are also important for optimizing performance.