If you're looking for a construction quality management software solution, chances are, you need it to help you achieve the following:
- Ensure and provide evidence of regulatory compliance
- Centralise and store all quality data
- Build with consistency
- Reduce errors and reworks
But when there lots of different options on the market all claiming to do the same thing, it can be unclear which one will deliver and get you the results you need.
After working with hundreds of construction companies, across numerous different projects, we discovered that to achieve all the above, getting the following capabilities from your construction quality management solution is a must:
- Fully integrated quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) – Most quality management software solutions focus on QC, which is useful for addressing existing problems, but can't prevent issues from happening. The best solutions combine QA and QC, which enables you to identify root causes and prevent problems before they occur. This is the difference between proactive quality management and a more reactive approach.
- Connect quality directly to your workflow activities - Digitalising quality processes for the sake of digitalisation alone is rarely helpful. Instead, connecting quality to your activities allows you to ensure each activity has been carried out with quality standards in mind from the start, and makes it easy to locate issues when they do occur.
- Create a detailed, accountable digital audit trail - The best solutions don't just store quality data, but provide a traceable, accountable record of all project data down to "who did what when" to provide all-important evidence of compliance.
While all of the solutions we'll discuss are designed to help digitalise and streamline quality management, not all of them fulfil all the criteria above.
We created Sablono to solve this very issue. Sablono meets every single one of the criteria above to provide proactive, accountable quality management.
If you'd like to learn more about Sablono, you can click here to schedule a demo.
We'll also cover other quality management systems (QMS) in this post. Here’s the full list of the six best construction quality management software solutions we cover:
1. Sablono – Best for large, complex projects
Sablono is first on the list of best construction quality management software solutions because, unlike many other options on the market, it offers interconnected quality assurance and quality control features.
This means Sablono by design does not just resolve quality issues - it prevents them from happening in the first place. Created to minimise defects, get to the root cause of quality issues and integrate quality directly into your workflows, the following features help Sablono users to get it right first time:
Quality assurance features: Prevent defects and errors and avoid reworks
- Centralised digital platform (Manage all project data and workflows in a connected quality management system)
- QA checklists (Attach digital QA checklists directly to workflow activities)
- Quality Audit Trail (Create a fully accountable digital audit trail of all quality and compliance-related data)
- Workflow templates (Build repeatable workflow templates with predefined quality standards for each activity)
- Issue Templates (Build repeatable issues workflows to streamline issue resolution)
Quality control features: Gain full visibility and quickly rectify any issues that occur
- Mobile App (Real-time quality reporting)
- Activity Tracker (Gain visibility so you can quickly fix issues)
- Automated Handover Notifications (Let trades know when work is rejected/approved)
- Activity Sign-off (Sign-off trades work as soon as it’s ready for review)
- Issue Sign-off (Get notified as soon as issues are flagged)
- Issue Lists and Reports (See and share all issues in on place)
- Photo Documentation (Attach geo-tagged photos as evidence of quality and compliance standards being met)
{Note: Want to learn more about how Sablono can help you with your construction quality management? Get in touch with our team and we'd be happy to answer any questions.}
We created Sablono to replace static quality management systems with a connected digital platform that brings all aspects of progress, quality and cost together so you always know how changes to one part of your project will impact other areas.
The platform allows you to plan your quality workflows at an unmatched level of detail – no matter your project size, complexity, type or industry.
Here’s a breakdown of our key quality features:
Centralised quality management system
Sablono isn't just a quality management system - it's a connected platform that brings together all aspects of progress, quality and cost for truly accurate project insights.
Unlike other siloed systems, everything is connected which means that if anything changes, you'll automatically know how this relates to the project as a whole, and how this, in turn, will impact other parts of your project.
For instance, if an issue occurs, Sablono automatically shows you exactly where in your workflow this happened and the specific activity it relates to so you can quickly resolve it. You'll also see which trade is responsible and how any sort of delay will impact your schedule so you can adapt accordingly.
QA Checklists
Sablono’s customisable QA checklists are designed to ensure that all required quality data is captured in one go, without the need for backtracking or rectifying later on.
Unlike other solutions, QA checklists can be attached to specific activities to embed predefined quality standards directly into your workflows from the start.
Clear standards ensure that every single activity is carried out in line with the requirements, reducing the chances of reworks and errors.
Plus, the ability to make the completion of QA checklists mandatory before trades can mark the task as 'complete' offers extra peace of mind around quality.
Photographic Evidence
With Sablono’s Photographic Evidence feature, you can take photos on-site and directly attach them to your activities. This means you can provide tangible evidence of quality and standards being met - even while on the go.
Plus, the added geo-tagging functionality ensures you always know exactly where each photo was taken, which is often required for compliance with building regulations.
Workflow Templates
With our workflows and building sequences, you can outline every aspect of your quality workflows – from defining activities, responsibilities, hold-points, QA checklists, and more.
After this, you can turn these into reusable templates that allow you to standardise and quickly scale quality best practices across your project.
Creating detailed plans through predefined workflows enables you to manage quality proactively, leaving significantly less room for errors and reworks.
Issue Templates
Issue Templates help streamline your issue management process to ensure that your work always meets quality and compliance standards.
By creating reusable templates, you can define the essential questions trades need to complete when filling in notes. This ensures the right protocols are always followed and that issues are resolved quickly.
Quality Audit Trail
Our Quality Audit Trail creates a retrospective digital record of everything that happens on your project. As trades complete QA checklists and attach notes, photos, documents and other quality-related information directly to activities, Sablono automatically compiles a comprehensive audit trail.
This transparent record showcases every detail of a project, down to the granular level of who completed a task, and when.
With an undisputable record of information, the Quality Audit Trail helps provide greater accountability across your team, and also serves as a powerful tool for claims mitigation.
Automated Handover Notifications
Sablono makes updating trades on approvals and rejections easy. With Automated Handover Notifications, you can quickly let your trades know whether their work has been approved or rejected.
No more missed messages or confusion. Once work is marked complete in Sablono, trades will receive automatic notifications right to their devices. This helps keep your project processing and ensures everyone is in the loop about quality.
Activity Sign-off
You can build Activity Sign-off into your workflows to make sure your management team always get a final look at work before it’s signed-off.
The moment work is ready, thanks to automated notifications, management can swiftly review and sign-off to ensure that all work meets the required standards.
{Want to learn more about Sablono's quality management software? Get in touch with our sales team here.}
Issue Sign-off
With Issue Sign-off, as soon as an issue is flagged by a trade, management automatically receives a notification. This means you'll never miss a beat when it comes to addressing and resolving any challenges that arise on your construction project.
Issue Lists and Reports
With Issue List and Reports, you can easily see and share all raised issues in one convenient place.
No need to try and remember when and where an issue occured – everything is automatically pulled into a single list. Use extensive filters to easily find the issues that are most relevant to you - from the team that carried out work to the specific area and so much more.
Quickly spot emerging challenges and export and share detailed issue reports with your project partners in moments to streamline issue resolution.
Mobile App
Sablono's Mobile App not only allows you to report quality directly from the site using your phone, but it also gives you access to real-time quality data.
With the app, trades can report work in the moment, ensuring that any issues or deviations from quality standards are addressed promptly.
Activity Tracker
With Sablono, you can manage 200,000+ activities in a connected platform. Sablono’s Activity Tracker allows you to finally gain real-time visibility into all construction activities happening on your site.
By replacing old, disjoined Excel trackers with a single source of truth, you'll receive updates in the moment, allowing you to stay on top of all quality measures and quickly address any issues that arise.
Additional features
Sablono comes with many other powerful features that we didn’t mention above that drive project progress, ensure compliance, and facilitate seamless payment processes. You can pick and choose from to best fit your specific business needs, this includes:
- Commercial Dashboard
- Commercial Look-Ahead
- Commercial Planned Works Valuation
- Baseline Scheduling
- Look-Ahead Planning
- Planned vs Actual Dashboards
Explore the full range of features Sablono offers here.
{If you’d like to learn more about how Sablono can help you with your quality management, you can do so here. Someone from our team will be in touch to discuss your requirements.}
What do users have to say about Sablono?
“Our workflows of quality control and progress monitoring have been hugely enhanced by Sablono’s capabilities. The platform provided Q ENERGY not only with operation efficiency, but also with an essential audit trail to mitigate against future claims and it also made real-time quality documentation and progress monitoring our standard."
Claudio Schlageter, Team Leader, Project Management, Q Energy
"Sablono helps us to drastically reduce paperwork and efficiently tracks all essential information throughout the construction process. It also aids in monitoring open quality issues and enables the on-demand creation of Punchlist reports for specific scopes of work at any time."
Muhammet Zeyrek, Construction Manager, Q Energy
Head over to G2 to see more reviews.
{Get started with Sablono here: Speak with sales}
2. Autodesk Construction Cloud - Good for enterprise
The Autodesk Construction Cloud offers an all-in-one suite of construction software tools that includes quality management. The construction quality management software is designed to streamline the quality management process, identify quality issues on-site, maintain accurate documentation, and provide centralised issue management.
Key features include:
- Centralised document management - Benefit from using a single cloud-based document management platform to maintain accuracy and avoid mistakes while staying on schedule.
- Digital quality inspection checklists - Ensure your entire team can access and conform to all quality standards.
- Connected workflows - Create links between issues, RFIs, checklists, and documents to provide more context and improve decision-making to ensure quality.
- Customised forms - Set up your quality and safety forms to fit your construction project’s needs and ensure all crucial project information is captured
Learn more about Autodesk’s features here.
What customers say:
“A more than wonderful collection in its integration with a high level of quality and unlimited technologies that are equivalent in all details, especially with the recent updates and the wonderful integration with BIM.” - Hussain A.
“ACC is very easy to use. As an administrator the ease of implementation is high. That results that our users are quickly up to speed. The integration with Revit is one of the key features for us. The potential to collaborate with a team on multiple locations at once is key. For the field we integrated the functionality to generate a QR code on the sheets at approval (DoCheck). makes it easy to check if the printed version is the latest. Created Forms are self explaining and helps to fulfil the need of tracking quality on site.” - Frank P.
Head over to G2 to see more reviews.
3. Novade – Good for defect management
Novade offers products such as Novade Lite and Novade Enterprise, which are digital platforms designed to help manage and improve quality assurance in construction projects. It provides capabilities for site inspections, HSE compliance, and site reports, among other features.
Key features:
- Forms: Allows for the creation of customised form templates for data collection across all project sites.
- Tasks: Manages tasks and workflows related to quality assurance and compliance.
- Site Inspections: Digitises inspection and test plans, and manages quality assurance checklists.
- HSE Compliance: Enforces compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations.
- Quality Assurance Modules: Includes features for managing inspection and test plans, permits to work, site diary, building handover, and maintenance.
- Digital Platform and Analytics: Offers a digital platform with analytics capabilities for better decision-making and reporting.
- Integration with Tech Partners: Provides integration with other technological partners for seamless operations.
- Customer and Project Specific Features: Tailored features for different types of customers (e.g., general contractors, real estate developers, etc.) and projects (building, infrastructure, utilities, etc.).
Additionally, the platform allows for the digitisation and centralisation of quality assurance processes and offers features for quality data capture, sharing, analysis, and visualisations It also emphasises the reduction of rework costs and quality administration tasks through its capabilities.
Overall, the platform appears to offer a comprehensive suite of tools to drive quality assurance in the construction industry. Learn more about Novade here.
What users say:
“I like this tool because UI is good and easy to use. The tool is very secure and robust. It boosts up productivity and quality. I think it is the best tool available in the market for construction management projects. Easy to fill timesheet, easy to track progress, field communication, collaboration and coordination feature works very well.”
“This is a payroll system which offers a variety of features such as commission management, quality control, analytics, activity tracking, project management, push notifications and more.”
Head over to G2 to see more reviews.
4. Procore – Good for document management
Procore offers a connected construction platform that aims to improve the quality of construction projects while ensuring safety on-site. The platform provides various tools and features to enable better collaboration, documentation, and insights related to quality and safety.
Key features:
- Mobile Accessibility: Procore is designed to be accessible from mobile devices, allowing on-site teams to easily contribute to and comply with safety regulations and quality specifications.
- Documentation and Reference Materials: The platform provides a centralised location to manage and access all necessary documentation, reference materials, and records required to meet quality and safety standards.
- Insight and Reporting: Procore enables users to gain greater insight into the root causes of quality and safety issues by capturing more information from field teams. This includes identifying risky behaviours, near misses, incidents, and other related data.
- Risk Identification and Improvement: Through everyday tasks, Procore helps users identify risks and track opportunities for improvement, contributing to a safer work environment and higher-quality projects.
- Analytics and Reporting: The platform offers insights and reporting tools that help users analyse project details, providing valuable information to drive decision-making and continuous improvement.
- Quality and Safety Tools: Procore provides a range of specialised tools for quality and safety management, including features such as site diaries, contact directories, digital documents, forms, incident management, inspections, observations, photos, reports, task tracking, and action plans.
- Integration Capabilities: Procore offers integrations with over 500 apps to enhance functionality and customise the platform to meet specific project needs.
What users say:
“Procore allows for a very simple experience keeping all documentation in one place. If users within a project/company keep up with Procore and input the data then it makes tracking of information and backup documents very easy, meaning fewer mistakes and rework on construction projects. I have used this for 4 years now, and we don't even use it to the fullest extent, and it saves me hours a week.
I would recommend it to anyone looking into project management software. And the best bit is that Procore actually listens to their users and improves elements that need work on, rather than having it as a flat platform not does not progress.” - Kyle K., Construction Manager
“Streamlines many of our industry's daily tasks and creates efficiencies in processes. Our team has been able to cut out a lot of double entries in multiple systems and has increased the quality of our documentation and communication.”
Head over to G2 to see more reviews.
5. Visibuild – Good stand-alone quality solution
Visibuild offers stand-alone construction quality management software designed to create a culture of quality, reduce defects, and increase profit margins.
The platform provides a digital quality assurance solution that engages all project stakeholders, builds accountability and shared ownership, and offers real-time visibility over critical activities. It aims to streamline the quality management process and enhance collaboration among project teams in the construction industry.
Key features:
- Template Library: Provides a library of templates for Inspection and Test Plans (ITPs) and inspections to standardise and streamline the quality assurance process.
- Real-time Insights: Offers real-time insights to track and manage issues, non-conformance reports (NCR), and defect tracking, allowing for proactive quality management.
- Sign-off Workflows: Facilitates electronic sign-off workflows to streamline approval processes for quality-related activities.
- Reporting Dashboards: Presents reporting dashboards to visualise and analyse quality-related data and performance metrics.
- Project Photo Gallery: Allows for the management and organisation of project photos to document quality-related activities and issues.
- Available Offline: Provides the capability to access and use the platform offline, allowing on-site use in environments with limited connectivity.
- Secure Data Storage: Ensures secure storage of quality-related data and documentation to maintain confidentiality and integrity.
- Lightning Fast & Reliable: Emphasizes a fast and reliable platform performance to support efficient quality management operations for construction projects.
Learn more about Visibuild here.
6. FTQ360 – Good for homebuilders
FTQ360 offers construction quality management software designed to streamline quality control and assurance processes in construction projects.
They aim to provide essential QAQC software functions for construction projects, including deficiency and work-to-complete punchlist reports, daily progress reports, checklist inspections, field data collection, project-specific QAQC plans, and proactive defect prevention and risk management.
Key features:
- Deficiency and Work-to-Complete Punchlist Reports: Enables documentation and control of deficiencies, allowing easy communication to responsible parties and ensuring issues are corrected throughout the project lifecycle.
- Daily Progress Reports: Provides real-time snapshots of project activities with detailed records, including photos, videos, and activity logs, to keep stakeholders informed and protect the company.
- Checklist Inspections: Assures that completed work meets specifications through checklist inspections, ensuring quality and adherence to project requirements.
- Field Data Collection: Replaces forms and spreadsheets with a universal approach for data collection, streamlining information gathering and eliminating manual processes.
- Project-specific QAQC Plans: Offers consistent and managed QAQC processes tailored to each project, ensuring quality standards and procedures are followed throughout the project lifecycle.
- Proactive Defect Prevention and Risk Management: Focuses on preventing problems by identifying and addressing potential issues early, with a focus on achieving first-time quality.
What users say:
“User-friendly, good communication between Field and Trades, provides audit trail and identifies opportunity for improvement as well as best practices.” - Jacie J.
Head over to G2 to learn more.
Conclusion: Best construction quality management software
Whether you're a Main Contractor, Subcontractor, House Builder, or Manufacturer - Sablono's quality management software is designed to streamline quality on even the largest, most complex projects.
We work with the world's leading contractors, multinational organisations, progressive subcontractors and renewable energy leaders to help get to the root of quality issues so they can get it right first time.
Want to learn more about how Sablono can help you streamline your quality management? Get started here.