Are you interested in maximizing the overall productivity of your BIM team? Keep reading to find out four specific actions that you can take to improve your remote team’s productivity through accountability, technology, and communications!
BIM professionals are uniquely impacted by working from home. Many were already familiar with virtual meetings long before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Often, BIM professionals find themselves spending numerous hours each week as part of virtual teams across multiple companies and trades. All this cross collaboration means that it is crucial to ensure you are doing everything you can to maximize you and your team’s productivity. Learn what to work towards below:
4 Ways to Maximize the Productivity of remote BIM workers
- Develop a rhythm of regular daily accountability. It is a good idea to have daily accountability communications. These communications can include daily briefing meetings or simple phone calls. During these communications, it is a good idea to discuss work plans, goals, and expected hours for the day. It is also important to include a report out procedure to identify whether daily goals were achieved and how many hours were worked. This helps a manager identify and remove roadblocks, even if the team is remote.
- Make certain the team has access to reliable file sharing. BIM workflows often require the use of large local or network-based files. Many BIM teams commonly share these files with each other, project teams and field team members, so having reliable, convenient access to file sharing is important. Autodesk’s BIM Collaborate Pro is an excellent file sharing tool which BIM teams can utilize.
- Develop a technology solution that allows workers to have a single desktop. If a BIM team is working on a hybrid schedule, they will need to work from their offices and homes. Providing more than one workstation per person is cost prohibitive (as BIM roles require high-end computer workstations). Moving a single workstation between the office and home is even less desirable, so it is a good idea to utilize remote desktop access tools and virtual machine technology. Researching these options with technology partners in your business can produce great results.
- Ensure the entire team communicates regularly. Whether accomplished with a daily stand up meeting, or weekly check-in, getting the entire team together on a video call helps protect a team’s culture even when part or all of the team is working remotely.
Are there any other tips you would include as ways to improve your team’s productivity? Share your thoughts with us! This post is a part of our BIM series. Check out our other BIM blog posts: “The Five Essential Actions to Ensure BIM Success” and “The Four Common Pitfalls to Avoid in the BIM Process.”
