Why Crows Nest Software

PLATFORM-BASED SOLUTION

A Software Platform is a digital foundation supporting unified functional assets that run seamlessly and cohesively within the digital framework, producing project informational continuity and visibility to all project stakeholders regardless if the information is sourced internally or externally.

Crows Nest is a Project Management software platform solution encapsulating subcontracting-specific functional assets, streamlining critical project related processes across each project, with customizable integrations to and from related industry specialty solutions.  Crows Nest is specifically designed for the special needs of project-based subcontractors, fabricators, installers and service providers.

PERVASIVE COMMUNICATION

The Crows Nest platform enables natural project-wide communication throughout the project team.  Project-wide visibility of the Project Estimate is paramount to all downstream project-stakeholders.  Contract Managers, Project Managers, Engineers, Procurement, Production and Installation resources must have immediate and constant visibility of the project’s budget initially set within the Estimating functional Asset.  Each project is also provided a dedicated communication area containing time and date stamped topics with associated notes. Document management further facilities instant access to internally created and externally received communication offering a total project-based communication record.  Requests for approvals via formal submittals are tracked in real-time capturing sent and returned date, further offering a complete communication record protecting the subcontractor from delay penalties and rejected deliverables. Crows Nest custom created Notifications and Alerts may be created and utilized in this context.

Subcontractors must also communicate with other subcontracting trades on the same project.  The Contact Functional Asset within each project enables the sharing of the various outside contracting firms, their personnel, and related contact information

CROWS NEST TASK MANAGEMENT

Whether formalized or not, every company has an overall process for executing its business operations.  Generally the overall process is sequential in nature starting from the project’s inception area (perhaps the Estimating Department), carrying forward throughout the project’s lifecycle.  Further, each department has its own established process consisting of individual task sequences continuing until the department’s process is completed. At this point the next department commences with its task series, and this continues until the project has closed out.

Crows Nest offers a very flexible Task Management engine which automatically triggers and assigns tasks based on the completion of a predecessor task, with each task indicating a date formulated due-date which is based on the project’s overall milestone dates.  In this manner, tasks that are completed within their calculated due date will ensure the project’s forward progress on time and within budget. Further, all completed tasks are visible to all project stakeholders thus mitigating task assignment confusion. Task assignments relative to a project’s fabrication or services are also the underlying vehicle for Crows Nest’s production scheduling and respective Gantt Chart manipulation.

FUNCTIONAL ASSETS FROM ESTIMATING TO CLOSEOUT

The Crows Nest Platform encapsulates numerous Functional Assets that automate a subcontractor’s daily project execution requirements including:

• ESTIMATING
• SCHEDULING
• TASK MANAGEMENT
• REAL-TIME JOB COSTING
• DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
• RFI TRACKING
• RFQ TRACKING
• WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT
• SCHEDULE OF VALUES PROCESSING
• CHANGE ORDER MANAGEMENT
• PROGRESS BILLING
• INVOICING WITH RETAINAGE
• CAPACITY MANAGEMENT
• PURCHASING & RECEIVING TRACKING
• INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
• TIME / LABOR TRACKING
• INTEGRATIONS WITH ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
• INTEGRATIONS WITH 3^RD PARTY SOLUTIONS
• SERVER OR CLOUD-BASED
• MOBILE APP: ANDROID / IOS MOBILE
• CUSTOM REPORTING

In summary, Crows Nest solves a common modern problem found in many subcontracting environments known as ISLANDS OF AUTOMATION by instituting a digital platform enabling the sharing of all critical information among all project stakeholders, and across all projects.  Project communication and event memorialization is also pervasively provided while Crows Nest Task Management glues all of the project’s moving pieces together in a naturally forward-moving path to on-time and on-budget completion. Coupled with the subcontractor focused set of functional assets, Crows Nest uniquely offers seamless project cohesion, communication, documentation and execution.