Visualise your construction data with Power BI

Does it take a long time to generate reports in your construction company? Is the data already out-of-date by the time a report is compiled and submitted to management? This is probably because your staff often have to collect data scattered across various tools and spreadsheets which is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. Furthermore, it creates the risk of making decisions based on out-of-date or inaccurate reports.

Here’s where a lot of construction companies can see the benefits of integrated digital solutions where systems are interlinked and exchange information.

Microsoft Power BI is a data visualisation platform that comprises a suite of connectors, software services, and applications. It facilitates the effortless integration of various data sources, enabling you to merge data from your ERP system with information from Excel, Google Analytics, or other applications. With Power BI, you can create dashboards that succinctly visualise key business data, offering a quick and clear view of your construction company’s critical metrics.

Rapidly develop visually appealing dashboards.

Power BI enables the creation of visually appealing dashboards and reports that are customisable to your preferences. It offers various options for crafting tables, flowcharts, graphs, maps, and more, regularly adding new features. Power BI is an effective tool for engaging key stakeholders with insightful reports, providing them with the necessary information without overwhelming them with raw data.

Are you curious about the standard Power BI reports construction companies can use to better manage their projects and service orders? Read our blog titled “Three useful Power BI reports for the construction industry” for insights into reports that can enhance your project oversight and service execution.

Seize opportunities and mitigate threats

During a construction project, various factors can impact the trajectory of your work. Regularly analysing available data helps you proactively respond to these (unexpected) events. Microsoft Power BI empowers you to understand a project’s status quickly. For instance, you can monitor actual versus forecasted costs on a per-project basis, track material usage, and immediately identify areas of profit and potential loss. With this knowledge, it becomes simpler to keep projects within their predefined financial boundaries.

Consolidate all relevant data within a single unified environment

Your ERP system and various software solutions are a treasure trove of data for your construction company. While data is a valuable asset, extracting maximum value from it can be challenging due to the complexities of data integration. Microsoft Power BI simplifies this by linking directly to your ERP system. Leveraging its numerous connectors, you can merge ERP data with information from your logistics or estimating software. Power BI allows you to transform this data into actionable insights through effective organisation, combination, and visualisation. This process is not only time-efficient, but once set up, your Power BI connections, reports, and dashboards essentially require only analysis and strategy planning, saving you even more time and effort.

Construction firm De Vries en Verburg has implemented Power BI for their reporting and dashboard needs. Their controller, Jan Muit, remarks on the transition: “Our goal was to establish an information system that ensures our reports are precise and comprehensive, and that also provides the appropriate information to the relevant staff promptly.” This highlights their commitment to enhancing data accuracy and accessibility within the company.

Getting your data ready for analysis can be time-consuming and both a physically and mentally exhausting activity. With user-friendly Power BI dashboards you get a 360-degree view on your projects with the most important metrics in one place and available on all your devices. Whether it is to do with tables, graphs, workflows or maps, with Microsoft Power BI you slice and dice your data and easily get the reports you want with just a few clicks in user friendly dashboards.

In construction projects with many moving parts even a small error can be the difference between profit and loss. By creating regular reports, you can easily spot any warning signs and take corrective actions ahead of time.

Get full insight into your data and read it through the executive dashboards. How much was spent so far and how far along in the project are you? What are the forecasted costs against projected margins? All good questions and CVR has proven to be one of the most valuable reports for construction businesses.

Managing risks in construction through digital tools and process optimisation means moving towards live data dashboards and instant reports as well as real-time sharing of information to ensure full visibility at every stage of the project, transparency and optimal collaboration. These are key prerequisites for better time management, risk assessment and timely project delivery.

Your ERP system contains a lot of data and information about your construction company. Data is incredibly valuable when it is gathered, aggregated and interpreted correctly. With Power BI all your tools are linked with each other making recording and retention of data quick and simple. Thus, you have all the information you need to monitor both costs and margins of a project in real time.

By using an ERP system integrated with Microsoft Power BI, you can convert all your data into useful information. Once reports are ready, all you have to do is analyse them and decide what actions to take to grow your business.

Power BI is an indispensable tool for creating dashboards and analyses in your construction company. Microsoft Power BI is part of the Microsoft Power Platform. By using the Microsoft Platform, all data from programs you work with is shared across the platform. Wondering how this looks like in practice? Download our whitepaper below.