The TH Yrityspalvelut project aimed at improving information management in renovation projects. A digital tool gives a better overview of the schedules, changes and costs to all parties.

What kind of problem was the project trying to solve?

There are a number of small and medium-sized companies in the renovation sector that do not have any digital tools for the efficient management of renovation projects. Agreements and changes to them, scheduling, communications to customers and other interest groups in the case of changes in particular, possible disputes and documenting take up too much time from productive work. This is why communication and documentation are often omitted completely or done in a passable manner at best. It is difficult for the parties to know what is being done, why it is done and how much it will end up costing.

Objective: Fast and smooth flow of information

The objective of the project was to create a “WhatsApp” for renovation projects, i.e. a digital service platform that facilitates communication between different parties involved in the project and, at the same time, documents renovation projects appropriately and transparently. The digital tool allows the information on the progress of a renovation project to flow quickly in image and text format, eliminating the need for construction site meetings, emails and phone calls.
 
The efficiency of the work of renovation builders and contractors will be improved significantly when the documentation and communication regarding different projects can be found in one place, clearly and categorised according to projects. This eliminates the need for emails and phone calls that may be hard to allocate to the relevant project. The possibility of sending photos and text describing the progress made in a project eliminates the need to draft separate reports to customers.
 
A quick communication of unforeseen and surprising events and the related costs also make it easier for housing managers, housing companies and property owners to manage and monitor projects and make decisions. All communications and decisions will be recorded automatically for subsequent auditing. Renovations are documented in an appropriate manner, and the information is stored in a place where it is easily retrievable anytime.
 
On a national level, the objective was to improve the productivity of renovation work significantly. The resulting transparency will also help prevent grey economy and deceit.

What was done in this project?

In collaboration with its product development partner Kompozure Oy, TH Yrityspalvelut created a service platform that centres projects into one digital tool. It combines the agreement, scheduling, communication, follow-up, approvals and documentation during the project. The idea was to test the service platform with a pilot customer and the housing companies and contractors of their choice and to collect experiences and feedback on the test for further work.

Soon after the implementation of the service, the user feedback showed that the service required some further development. A tender stage documentation and communication feature were added to the service. During the project it also became clear that it was necessary to add different levels of access rights and views for users that work in different roles. Further work caused delays in the schedules, and the pilot testing of the service could not be started as planned within the time window reserved for the project. However, the changes were absolutely necessary for the functionality of the service.

Who benefits?

Renovation workers, contractors and their subcontractors and customers, i.e. housing managers, housing company boards and property owners. The new version of the service platform created during the next phase of the project would be released for public use and it would benefit anyone renovating their apartments.

What kind of results were obtained?

Based on the feedback from partners and future pilot testers on the demo versions, all parties were excited about starting the first renovation projects supported by the “Whatsapp of Renovation Projects”. Regardless of the fact that the project schedule was exceeded, the service will be tested in a real-life renovation project, experiences will be collected and the results will be reported. If the service proves to be useful, it will be commercialised under a shorter, clear Finnish title työtilaus.fi.