HABAU GROUP: Efficient Management of Construction Defects

Efficient Management of Construction Defects

How general contractor the HABAU GROUP keeps an eye on defect management when working with 60 subcontractors

The HABAU GROUP, headquartered in Perg, is one of the top four construction companies in Austria and works internationally as a full-service supplier. Around 5,700 employees manage projects in construction engineering, civil engineering, pipeline construction and plant and steel construction. The group’s current reference projects include two in Vienna: the House of Social Security (Das Haus der sozialen Sicherheit) of the Austrian social insurance institution umbrella organisation and Atzgersdorf Education Campus. The HABAU group of companies uses innovative technology such as PlanRadar to run these projects. As a result, coordinating project workers for defect and quality management has become much more efficient.

For complex plans in particular, with up to 60 subcontractors, it is not always easy to have a complete overview of everything so that all the deadlines can be met.

Klaus Zacherl, HABAU Hoch- und Tiefbaugesellschaft m.b.H., site manager for industrial and general contractor construction

The challenge: difficulties communicating about construction defects

The HABAU GROUP uses lean construction management in its projects. When the sequence of all work steps is scheduled, the details of which trade undertakes which task and when are carefully stipulated. Why? Because individual smaller delays or problems caused by construction defects can have a disastrous effect on the plans for the overall process. This is why Construction Manager Klaus Zacherl needs to ensure that he is up to date and informed of everything, including all the construction defects.

Try free today

€35

m project value

60

subcontractors involved

100

per cent on schedule

The solution: recording, sharing and managing construction defects with PlanRadar

The HABAU GROUP has been using PlanRadar for defect management since 2017. Workers record any defects that are identified on digital construction plans or on BIM models with the software. To do this, they create a separate ticket for each case, which is located in the right place on the plan, together with comments, images and audio recordings. With PlanRadar, the building site team can automate communication related to construction defects. The project workers send information to the responsible subcontractor in real time and Klaus Zacherl ensures that errors and construction defects do not reoccur in a number of construction units. One decisive factor in choosing PlanRadar was how intuitive the software is to use. “We can introduce new team members or subcontractors to the tool in just a couple of minutes. After a brief explanation, they can quickly use PlanRadar themselves,” said Klaus Zacherl.

Efficiency and high quality need to be combined. Through lean construction, alongside our commitment to cooperative project management, we can ensure that processes within the HABAU GROUP and with all partner companies are continuously improved.

Hubert Wetschnig, CEO of the HABAU GROUP

The result: efficient communication of construction defects and less follow-up work

The results speak for themselves — with PlanRadar, Klaus Zacherl and his team can ensure that construction defects identified in the first finished unit do not occur in the following units too:: “Before we used PlanRadar, following up in the office was a very difficult and time-consuming process. Data had to be transferred from paper to Excel lists, photos had to be sorted and assigned to a case and then all the information had to be communicated to the right person. Faced with the tight timescales of lean construction management, this was always a problem for us. With PlanRadar, everything is done within seconds.” The company also enjoyed the software’s benefits on another project: working on the House of Social Security (Haus der sozialen Sicherheit), the umbrella organisation of Austrian social insurance institutions. The 16-storey office tower from the 1970s was revitalised in less than two years for 35 million euros according to the passive house standard. The HABAU GROUP used PlanRadar to ensure that defects were efficiently recorded and processed so that the project remained on schedule. PlanRadar is also being used for construction quality assurance at the new Atzgersdorf Education Campus in Vienna. An educational institution is being built on behalf of the City of Vienna to care for babies and children aged 0 to 14 and is due to be finished in 2022.

Try free today

The result: efficient communication of construction defects and less follow-up work

PlanRadar is an excellent tool that we are using for various tasks such as defect management and examining versions of plans. Through efficient communication with PlanRadar, we save time and save on costs.

The HABAU GROUP uses PlanRadar software for these tasks:

Defect recording & management

Construction defects are recorded as text, video, images and audio on construction plans and building models and communicated to project workers in real time.

Learn more

Defect recording & management

Plan Comparison

Teams can compare various plan versions on site with just one tap and identify particularities immediately

Learn more

Plan Comparison

Managing subcontractors

Contractors use PlanRadar for free. This enables the HABAU GROUP to easily and efficiently coordinate the rectification of construction defects.

Learn more

Managing subcontractors

Get started in 4 easy steps.

30-day free trial Book a free demo now

1. Create an account

2. Upload plans

3. Invite users

4. Download app

30-day free trial Book a free demo now