How Sobha Hartland Improved Site Collaboration and Productivity with Digital Construction Project Management

Founded in 1976, the Sobha Group is one of the largest real estate organisations in India and the Middle East. A division of Sobha Group, Sobha Hartland, is located in Dubai and is developing an 8 million square feet freehold community in Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum City. With a reputation for delivering the highest quality with no compromise, Sobha Hartland relies on digital construction technology to successfully deliver this world-class development and other projects across its portfolio.

2,760

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7,375

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Tackling the Paper Problem with Construction Data Management Tools

In 2014, Olaf Wagner was charged with heading up a new department at Sobha Dubai/Middle East and was keen to ensure that his team used mobile business applications wherever possible. Wagner understood clearly the challenges of managing construction data with paper solutions: Critical information could get lost due to the difficulties of sharing drawings and specifications manually through paper or communicating site issues via handwritten notes, photographs, and emails.

Wagner believed that mobile technology offered a clear path for Sobha to break away from these inefficiencies, reduce emails, and share all relevant information in real-time and on one platform.

Implementing the Best Construction Quality Management Platform for Your Digital Transformation

Wagner discovered PlanGrid within Autodesk Construction Cloud™ in the App Store. On further investigation, he saw that it met Sobha’s requirements for the project, and he downloaded a free trial.

Wagner piloted PlanGrid on a project to complete the Hartland International School, a social, cultural, and learning hub for the community. This was the perfect opportunity to test PlanGrid before rolling it out to the broader team - resulting in 2,760 issues stamps successfully closed with 7,375 photos on record.

The adoption of PlanGrid was quick as the platform is intuitive and easy to use. The ability to filter construction data collected via PlanGrid and visualize the areas of concern helped drive implementation and has brought site collaboration and data sharing to a new level for Sobha.

Raising Performance Levels Across the Organization with Construction Data Management

PlanGrid has brought standardisation across the organization. The team records issues as they arise and assigns them accordingly with photos and notes - all from within the application.

PlanGrid has become a repository of valuable information for Sobha and is the single source of truth for all of their projects. All relevant data is recorded in the application and is easily accessible when required. This provides peace of mind and proof of the work to top management, clients, and external auditors.

Wagner has also seen benefits from a people management perspective. He can effectively track his team’s performance, based on the number of stamps placed or updated, and they are visibly energised to work with a mobile, cloud-based application.

Most importantly for Wagner, PlanGrid enables his team to deliver a uniform inspection process for Sobha across the project lifecycle, ensuring that the same attention to detail is given throughout the project.

Because of PlanGrid, Sobha continues to deliver on its promise of uncompromising quality and lavish attention to detail.