eSUB’s labor-focused software helps subcontractors keep records and communicate problems that occur. (Image courtesy of eSUB.)
The Autodesk Forge Fund has invested in eSUB, a subcontractor-based software as a service (SaaS) project management solution. The investment is meant to help eSUB develop a product integration with the Autodesk BIM 360 construction management platform, which both parties hope will create a greater connection between subcontractors and the rest of the industry.
eSUB’s customers are subcontractors—a segment of the market thus far underserved by project management solutions. “General contractors and subcontractors have totally different roles,” said eSUB CEO and President Wendy Rogers in an interview with EngCom. “General contractors act as the line between design and subcontractors. Subcontractors’ make or break process is their labor, which means they need to know what’s happening in the field on a daily basis.”
One of the problems that subcontractors face is a communication breakdown with the rest of the team, where management isn’t informed about issues with a project quickly enough, nonconstructible design forces costly reworks in the field, or scattered reporting means that contractors aren’t paid for the full amount of their work on a project. Another challenge is labor productivity—the construction industry hasn’t experienced the increase in labor productivity that has occurred in most fields over the past 50 years.
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