For those of us unacquainted with the construction industry, we associate it with heavy machinery, paper blueprints, and can only imagine a complicated mass (read: mess) of processes that gave rise to our malls and condominiums.

It is no secret that traditional industrial processes are laborious. A typical workday involves a construction worker going to the work site, performing his or her required tasks, heading to the office for data entry, approvals or reports (you get the picture).

One company towering ahead with innovative tech solutions for construction firms to become more efficient and productive is Novade, which specialises in developing enterprise applications to digitise site processes and improve productivity—all at one’s fingertips.

On 27 February, Novade hosted /* Pizza, Chill & {Code} */ to share their technology and insights into the construction industry. Over 30 developers and engineering graduates took a break from their regular programming to learn how Novade is revolutionising the construction industry!

Building in the Cloud

Novade adopts a mobile-first philosophy, always keeping their end user in mind.

Joshua Furtado, Novade’s resident Application Developer, kicked off the evening by urging event attendees to put themselves in the shoes of those working in construction.

To cut down hours of back and forth processes in construction, Joshua shared how he works on Novade’s application in JavaScript, with a combination of Autodesk Forge, a platform that enables integration of Autodesk SaaS products used in architecture, construction, and engineering.

This lays the groundwork for Novade’s all-in-one solution: a cloud-based mobile application integrating various construction management modules—which includes quality, safety, logistics, maintenance, workforce, activity—with analytical capabilities and communication tools.

Committed to helping construction firms build better, the team focuses on constantly improving application integration, scalability, and ease of use for its users, which sometimes involves the engineering team making site visits for a better understanding of the user experience.

Gautier Bayzelon, Novade’s Application Development Manager, then dove deeper into Novade's backend during the second segment. He elaborated how it is a secure Azure-based backend function that enables construction firms to identify processes, gather data, and reduce incidents while working offline.

For Novade’s global clientele this means fully synchronised project data across digital platforms and data insights that help real estate developers, contractors, and engineering service providers improve site operations.

Identifying defects on drawings, ticking off checklists and toggling between project plans can now be done all in one place. Talk about groundbreaking.

As soon as the Q&A session began, one enthusiastic hand jolted up with a simple question: “Are you guys hiring?”

Join for the Mission, Stay for the Team

Friendly was the one word Michelle Sng, Product Specialist at Novade, picked to describe their team culture. “Novade’s culture stems from its good-natured, genuine people. Everyone has been very willing to help me, even people from other departments,” she shares.

Michelle also considers diversity as Novade’s greatest strength, “Having such a diverse group of people from all over the world - it is quite interesting to see the different ideas we have. It’s more collaborative than it is clashing.”

On what made her join Novade two months ago: Michelle professed her love for Novade’s product and knowing that it helps ensure site safety and the quality of buildings constructed.

“It makes me feel like I’m working on something really worthwhile and has actual value and use to people in real life.”

Her sentiments were echoed by Yu Yu, a developer at Novade who has been with the company when it was just a third of its size just last year.

“What’s really good at Novade is that although our company is rapidly growing, we always hire the right people and are able to maintain our genuine culture; we respect and bond with each other really well.”

Defying obstacles seem to be a quality deeply ingrained in the Novade team. It shines through the thrilling activities they take part in beyond work hours.

Last year, wakeboarding was part of the team’s bachelor party for a colleague who was getting hitched. This April, the Novade team plans to participate in the gruelling Spartan race together.

“These activities are not organised or enforced by a manager. We all agree to try new things and accomplish those challenges together,” Yu Yu added.

Sense of purpose? Check. Diverse culture? Check. Tight-knit family? Check. What more could you ask for in a company?

Check out highlights from the event below: