I’m on a Mission to Solve Problems in the Construction Space

Tosin Abioye

Tosin Abioye holds a Master of science degree in Information Systems Management from California, USA.  He is experienced in both construction industry and in the technology of enterprise systems as a quantity surveyor, contract manager, operations manager and an architect. Abioye has implemented software solutions for many complex processes in operations, finance, logistics, human resources and project management. The Ekiti-born Abioye whose Isekit Limited operates in USA, Canada and Nigeria tells Duro Ikazuagbe about his software, Rapisurv, which he said would help solve problems in the construction space

What does Isekit Limited do? 

Our area of specialty is Enterprise Portfolio Project Management. So, in essence, we implement solutions for big companies. I have worked for some of the big names that I used to read about. Right now, I am still working for General Electric (GE). I have worked for GE Aviation, GE Power, Sulzer of Switzerland, amongst others. My exposure to these companies gives me the understanding of how things work in the great climes. What makes these companies different from ours in Nigeria is because of the use of data. My background is in Quantity Survey in Nigeria. So, my industry knowledge as a Quantity Surveyor coupled with my exposure to technology gives me good drive to want to solve this problem that I have identified in the construction space. I also implement for construction companies in America. 

The need for Rapisurv software

I realized that the problems that I have identified long ago is still a problem even for the construction companies in America. They don’t really have good system before they win the contract. Today, there are many softwares that manage take offs. There are some that do bill of quantity and estimating. People are forced to buy multiple softwares or if you think you can’t afford all, you buy the ones that are most relevant to your need and do the rest of the work manually. There is a gap in having integrated solution that would run through the whole process. Not just the pre-contract phase but after winning the contract. You still need to manage things on the contract. When you are doing a project, you are constructing a house for instance and run into a rock, nobody knew that it was there. Now, you are going to spend like two weeks, blasting the rock before you can proceed. That cost money. It is not covered but we call that variation. You have to ask for it. It was not part of it but is now going to change the contract price. Stuffs like these are what we try to buy in the end-solution. Our software does not do architectural designs, but once it is done, we make sure that everything about the lifespan of the project is covered. In the future, we are going to be adding management.

We have solutions to ensure the contract is done. That is what we have built in Rapisurv. We have features in the software that are not present anywhere else. Things like when you have a bill of quantity for a bungalow, Rapisurv will create and send to you all that you will need. That will eliminate time that would have been spent manually. If you have a sub-contractor like a piler, you can select a piling file on your account with us and you are good to go with him or her. That also eliminates time wasting.

I have colleagues in the industry who complain that the two weeks given for a tender is usally not enough. What they are going to do in two weeks is what Rapisurv is going to give them in two minutes by just clicking on the software. That gives the user the opportunity to review and make amends as much as he can during the period of the tender. The beautiful thing about Rapisurv is that you are sure of accuracy of the data supplied. Arithmetic errors is completely eliminated.  Once the bid is completed, you click share the bid. It will automatically link the person who shared that initially with us and submit to that person’s account. 

So, Rapisurv is a one-stop, cloud-based, fully integrated end-to-end cost and contract administration solution for the construction industry. It simplifies the work of quantity surveyors, estimators, cost engineers and contract managers on both the client and contractor’s side, making them more productive without losing the industry standard methods of measurement and best practices

Each user has a portfolio created in his account

Rapisurv is like a bucket. Each user has a portfolio created in his account and because it is iCloud-based, can be accessed from anywhere with the internet. Nobody knows who you are. So, it is only you that can have access to your file by log in using the two-way authentication. Your pricing, your rates is entirely yours. So, when you create your account, we give you our default rates. Whatever our prices are that day, it gets copied into your account. But if for instance you made a mistake in your rates and you want to make amends, we give you options: Import New Prices. If you do that, it will copy the default prices as at that day, put it in the back-end and begin to run. 

Risks on projects can be reduced

One of the options that we are giving to people is the ability to collaborate with others. One of the reasons projects fail is because of small disputes that emanate from trusting people. When people refuse to admit their errors in a project, who then takes the costs that may arise from that mistake? This is one major reason we see so many abandoned projects because nobody wants to accept error and bear the cost. But if you have a good system where everything is managed, your risks on such project is reduced. So, we give risk report in the collaboration centre on the software through work on project report. All those working on a project can be invited to the collaboration centre where they can share information. It eliminates not knowing ‘what is happening’.

The second part is internal messaging capability. There is an in-built messaging unit in Rapisurv. Originally, we wanted to integrate in messaging unit like the WhatsApp but we realized that there is no message solution in the world that is offering what we wanted to do. What we want to do is that every conversation must be linked to a project, a topic. You know in WhatsApp, there are only two ways to communicate. But in Rapisurv, what we have is project-based communications. So, conversations on specific project goes into separate files. That gives the advantage of people searching files by key words on Rapisurv.

Rapisurv will reduce building collapse in Nigeria

We can say Rapisurv will reduce to the barest minimum such risks associated with buildings collapse. Collapse can be partly issue caused or money caused. There are however issues that impact on quality. It however depends on processes and regulatory enforcements. In building, before you start, you are supposed to send cubes of your castings for lab checks. There are some for one week, 14 days and even 21 days to evaluate the quality of materials used. But I can tell you that maybe only one per cent of constructions in Nigeria does that.

When we were doing soil tests those days, it was a condition for your payment. You have to show your crushing test results because it is part of the requirements before payments. If I send out my seven-day crush for tests and I keep the results in the system and send out emails to all connected with the project, that will amount to trusting me. If we make it a condition and say Lagos State directs all to comply, we can do it in such a way to ensure that all relevant authorities have access to that result. If per adventure, the seven-day test fails test, the relevant agencies will be waiting to see what happens also to the 21-day test. If such tests are for the second floor of a building and fails test, it will flash amber for relevant authorities to see. Inspectors will be dispatched to see what is going on and report back for necessary action to be taken. But now Lagos don’t know what is happening on any site beyond approvals given for works to begin.

It is not the persons that go to the site that carries the risks but the owner of the project. The engineer can move to site and do short cut and the building collapses. He may even be lucky to escape from the ruin or die in the process but the company owner is the one answerable to government and going to lose billions of cash through litigations that may follow. For a project owner who is using Rapisurv, he will be getting risks reports and flash points on any matter and can query the engineer handling the area involved in the risk report. We can tell you based on reports if your project is going to fail.

I cannot guarantee that Rapisurv will solve the problems of building collapsing now if the right things are not done in line with global best practices. Our regulatory framework exists on paper but enforcement non-existent. Some the things that happen here can never be imagined in America. Nobody will get approval for a six-floor building and go and put 15-floor office complex there except that person wants to spend the rest of his life in jail. It cannot even happen because regulatory authorities will see it and stop it.

How to access Rapisurv 

We have the Standard Plan, the Expert Plan for Team Licence and the Enterprise Licence. The Standard Plan is just N45,000 monthly. We have listed our pricing in Naira because we had issues with nearly all the payment platforms. The yearly plan is to pay for 10 month that is N450,000 to get you round the year. Of course, there are some add on for the expert plan and above. Because of requests from some Nigerians, we are offering a one-all plan that can last for seven years. At expiration, you buy another plan to continue to enjoy your account on the software. It works just like your Netflix account.