AIMCO PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Streamlining punch lists with FinishLine technology

Key Improvements

  • Team Communication
  • Project Management
  • Overall Efficiency

Aimco is a large-scale property operations corporation working in multiple markets in the United States with Corporate Headquarters located in Denver, CO. While property operations are the main focus, they also work in redevelopment, acquisitions/dispositions, and retail leasing.

In 2014 Aimco approached FinishLine for a solution to manage multi-family projects across several locations. Notable projects included Preserve at Marin, a luxurious apartment complex in California and Park Towne Place Apartment Homes in Philadelphia. We spoke with Jared Hazard, Project Manager for Construction Services who is based at the San Mateo, California Regional office. Prior to FinishLine, the inspectors at Aimco used the paper and pencil method to generate punch lists which was then entered into Excel spreadsheets.

Addressing an old system

Once data was entered it had to be sorted to generate reports for subcontractors. Then reports had to be emailed to the responsible parties. Completing this was time consuming and put a burden on project managers. Not only was managing punch lists with spreadsheets difficult, but their outdated system created issues at the project and corporate levels. It was challenging to estimate the closeout process and communicate that easily to upper management.

According to Jared, “As much as we were doing, it just wasn’t efficient with the old process we were using.” Aimco knew options and solutions were out there and decided it was time for new technology to gain control. After researching other punch list apps, viewing a FinishLine demo, and piloting the software on the job site, Aimco decided FinishLine Software was the best option. Aimco takes full advantage of FinishLine’s collaborative features with project owners, general contractors, architects, and subcontractors participating.

“(FinishLine is a) great tool for being able to communicate more quickly and efficiently all the way through the different tiers of contractors.”

Getting everyone on the same page

When it comes to devices on the job site, the Aimco team mainly uses iPad for the FinishLine Pro App. Jared said, “(FinishLine is a) great tool for being able to communicate more quickly and efficiently all the way through the different tiers of contractors.” He also mentioned that adopting FinishLine has streamlined communication by improving the speeding up how information is shared. Being able to determine project status has been key for Aimco. The owner and project manager can easily view project status updates in FinishLine and report it to their team.

Project Teams use FinishLine’s reporting system to show items that have been completed, what is pending, what still needs to be addressed, and who is assigned to those items. Additionally, Project Managers use FinishLine to refine their objectives, by breaking down issues according to location on the project is easy, since FinishLine used location-based technology. Jared also noted that, “(FinishLine) is a great tool to have in our meetings to really get people motivated.”

“(FinishLine) is a great tool to have in our meetings to really get people motivated.”

Total team collaboration

Prioritizing incomplete work, quickly showing teams outstanding tasks and who is responsible gets everyone on same page. In terms of project management, Jared mentioned that “It’s helpful to know whose court everything is in.” FinishLine has been an excellent platform for Aimco to view overall project status. They have also customized the software to their needs by setting up project areas in specific ways.

For some complex aspects of projects setup, Jared and his colleagues have found the FinishLine support team to be very accommodating. Training new users has been a positive experience with the high-quality trainings that Tom Orr (Implementation Manager) provides. They’ve had great experiences with the responsiveness of the FinishLine team noting, “…I can’t say enough about Tom and the support he’s been able to offer, especially for new users like us.” Jared has found FinishLine to be “super accommodating” and the software “does everything that I want it to do.”

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FinishLine streamlines punch lists and inspections