Construction Safety Management is a Key Component of Every Contractor’s Responsibility
Using BIM 360 within Autodesk Construction Cloud, Arpada has digitized reporting across 25 construction sites, improving on-site safety by 75% and saving over 100 hours and €3000 per month.
How Outdated Construction Data Management Creates Safety Issues
Historically, like many similar organizations, Arpada managed construction safety with disconnected tools such as email, instant messaging, and spreadsheets, without traceability for issue management. In the previous workflow, the safety manager would manually write down safety observations, take photos on-site during issue remediation, then enter the issues into an Excel spreadsheet to aggregate the information and send it back to the field. The lack of a transparent digital process and the inability to collaborate with stakeholders within the project led to data loss, poor communication, and overall inefficiency.
“We quickly identified that managing safety on-site was cumbersome, and we needed to take more steps to address issues in a timely manner.”
- Cristina Calderón Gallo, Safety and Sustainability Director
A Common Data Environment Improves Collaboration and Communication on the Ground
To better connect the field with the office and enhance collaboration and communication on-site, Arpada adopted BIM 360. Arpada’s goal was to digitize and streamline safety management on a unified platform to ensure safer execution on-site and increase the production capacity of its technicians.
Leveraging partnerships with Autodesk Extended Account and Construction Customer Success teams, Cadlan, and Tech Data, Arpada created a BIM Champion training program to boost adoption. Through weekly virtual engagements, the team integrated BIM 360 into 25 different projects across Madrid.
“The main challenge to overcome was changing the way our employees worked. By providing on-site training, with careful follow-ups and constant technical support, led by a change champion on the ground, we were able to standardize the safety issue management process, streamline safety tracking, and increase adoption on-site.”
- Cristina Calderón Gallo, Safety and Sustainability Director
Stronger Collaboration and Communication on-site Strengthen Market Position
By implementing an issue management program for safety inspections, Arpada saved over 100 hours per month and €3000 per month due to the digitalization of safety inspections across 25 projects.
Safety managers also developed key performance indicators to detect areas for improvement at Arpada. During safety inspections on construction sites, workers can resolve issues in real-time using mobile devices. The construction safety team is responsible for taking photos and updating the status of incidents to “resolved.” With the newly implemented process, technicians can resolve issues 75% faster, leading to safer sites and generating a single closure report. The new issue tracking method with BIM 360 also reduced reporting time by 95%, as the status of issues is traceable in real-time.
The success of Arpada’s cloud-based safety management program and its positive impact on every aspect of Arpada’s delivery process demonstrates how digital safety programs in construction can transform the industry.