The Ideal Software for IPD Projects

Even though some or all the contractors involved in the IPD will have one or more internal software solutions they use for project management, cost tracking and accounting; finding an independent software platform they can all use collaboratively on the IPD project has historically been tricky to find.

What 4castplus brings to the table in this scenario, is that it is a standalone project cost management solution that delivers a suite of integrated powerful tools for managing the complexities of major projects. The fact that it works standalone – meaning that it does not require the support of any accounting system or other enterprise systems – is unique at this tier of construction project management platforms. The additional advantage that it offers is that it has very powerful and flexible integration tools (both manual and automated) for importing and exporting data to and from each partner’s ERP.

What this means is that 4castplus can be deployed as an independent system that acts as a secure and collaborative platform for all members of the IPD to utilize. Figure 1 below shows a mock-up of how separate JV partners could all work together on the same project management platform to deliver the IPD project. 4castplus can be configured to have each partner’s personnel login securely and access only their own area, or optionally shared areas with other partners. Users can leverage the project management features around project planning, budgeting, forecasting, change orders, coding, etc., along with the rich and powerful reporting that can be sliced and pivoted in a multitude of ways. They can use the built-in jobsite cost tracking so that they can get project costs in real-time – then export all the labor hours uniquely to the payroll systems of each IPD partner.