This interview with Falko Paul, Paul Generalplaner, appeared in Bauen aktuell 2/25.
Magazine title: “URBAN LIVING AND HISTORY COMBINED – DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF BUILDING PLANNING”
You can find the online editions of Bauen aktuell here.
From placing the order to invoicing, the paul Generalplaner team plans and implements its clients’ projects. What counts here is adherence to deadlines and costs. Falko Paul explains how this works in practice in an interview with Bauen aktuell.
Mr. Paul, please briefly introduce your company
Falko Paul: At our core, we are a classic architectural office for building planning and interior design. For most properties, we also plan the outdoor facilities in-house and we also offer fire protection planning. We don’t have the technical building services in our portfolio ourselves, but we offer them in consultation with our clients and are happy to be commissioned as general planners.
What are the advantages of general planning?
Falko Paul: In short: we are one for everything. With general planning, you have just one point of contact from the initial idea to the handover of the keys. We plan and implement projects from order placement to invoicing, and coordinate and monitor all technical and contract-related matters. We bear the responsibility and are responsible for the warranty.
Who are your clients?
Falko Paul: We work for private and public clients. Many companies have reduced the number of staff in their construction departments and can no longer take on all client tasks themselves. And property developers don’t want to be involved in planning and management. But many local authorities now also want to work with a general planner because they simply no longer have the staff. At the moment, for example, we have been commissioned as general planners for a large daycare center and for the renovation of an administration building with over 8,000 square meters.
Up to which performance phase are you active?
Falko Paul: We cover the entire range of services, including service phase 9. Many of our clients work with us again and again. We also offer to look after the building during the warranty period. That’s simply part of it. So we take care of all the construction work that needs to be carried out after the property has been handed over and accepted due to any defects that may occur later.
Construction costs are the decisive factor for every client. Which software do you use to manage this?
Falko Paul: We use NOVA AVA for the entire construction cost management process, from cost estimation and calculation to controlling and evaluations during the course of the project. And of course for tendering and awarding contracts. We prepare public tenders. These are then run via the European Gazette, for example. For private and commercial clients, we issue the restricted invitation to tender directly online from the system. We simply send out an invitation email with a link. Participants can then enter their bids directly.
How is the online platform being received by tenders?
Falko Paul: When we invite larger companies to tender online, they are happy to work with GAEB. That’s perfectly fine for us, because we can quickly import them into NOVA AVA. However, some also enter their tenders directly into the system. And there are also one or two small tradesmen who send us PDFs. But we don’t have a fax anymore!
Beyond the web-based tendering process, where do you see further advantages of the cloud platform for your work?
Falko Paul: We use the NOVA SmartPool when drawing up specifications. I think that’s a great thing. It allows you to quickly check what other users have entered for the various services. You still have to check it carefully. But the tool is used by many of us to get an initial direction for cost planning. And that’s only possible with web-based software.
Do you always work according to DIN 276?
Falko Paul: We have our own Paul cost table, it’s our bible. It specifies which trade has which number. Although DIN 276 is a good tool, it relates to cost group 300, which covers the entire building structure from the foundations to the roof covering. However, it is not trade-oriented, which is why we use our own award unit system. We have given all awarding options their own number. In NOVA AVA, this is called a catalog, which is now the Paul awarding unit catalog.
Can this catalog be integrated into your AVA software?
Falko Paul: Yes, DIN 276 has been supplemented, particularly in the area of 300 costs. The 400 costs for technical installations are almost divided up by trade, so it works quite well. We have also included items for planning costs in our own cost table. Where should the BIM coordination costs be located in the DIN? We have now defined our own fixed cost groups for this in NOVA AVA.
BIM and AVA: How do you take over the masses?
Falko Paul: We have been working with Archicad since 2018. We draw the dimensions for NOVA AVA from this system. We also model everything in 3D and BIM-compliant. But there are always projects coming in that need to be completed very quickly, where there simply isn’t enough time to set up and execute everything properly. And then you have to do it by hand again. This can also be done well in NOVA AVA.
Transparency and up-to-date construction costs are very important in the course of a project. How can this be achieved?
Falko Paul: We also use NOVA AVA as a tool for working with clients. Sometimes they want weekly updates on construction costs, cost analyses or forecasts. NOVA enables a wide range of evaluations. We can simply activate the client for this and so he always has the current performance status available. This simplifies our work enormously, especially for projects with several clients.
What other software solutions do you use?
Falko Paul: I would like to highlight Business Central. We use it to manage our projects, create employees, record working hours and write invoices. NOVA AVA and Business Central are connected via API.
Why did you switch to NOVA AVA four years ago?
Falko Paul: Integrated web-based workflows are important to us. That’s why I actively looked for a purely web-based AVA system. So that you don’t have to constantly worry about client servers and can access the projects from anywhere. This is crucial because we work at different locations and also from home. This is another reason why our team is so satisfied with the tool.
Can you give us a few examples of how and where you use NOVA AVA?
Falko Paul: In every project, from cost planning to project invoicing. We use all functions such as costing using IFC models, creating bills of quantities, preparing price comparison lists, invoicing services up to the final invoice, carrying out cost analyses based on project budgets and trade-specific invoicing data. What are you planning for the future? Falko Paul: We are very satisfied with the scope of the software. The aim would be to also be able to handle contract award negotiations with protocols as well as the contract management via NOVA AVA. | R A
Even more experience from Paul Generalplaner in the video.
Only experience? Can there be fun involved? Fun in construction cost management?
