Architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting (AEC) firms often struggle with resource scheduling due to uneven workloads, disconnected systems, and constantly shifting priorities and timelines. These challenges lead to inefficiencies, delays and inconsistent resource utilization. Embedded in BST11’s Resource Management powered by Audere, Smart Suggestions automates staffing decisions using real-time data on project requirements and resource availability. This intelligent tool helps managers quickly identify qualified resources, balance workloads and adapt to changing project needs.
Common Resource Management Challenges for AEC Firms
Resource and people managers face scheduling challenges daily, whether due to an influx of projects, a shortage of qualified resources, scheduled vacations or unexpected absences. As if that weren’t enough, architecture, engineering and environmental consulting (AEC) firms deal with constant timeline disruptions, scope changes and budgetary constraints that can make staffing decisions complicated at best.
Even with more than enough resources at their disposal, project managers lose valuable time manually identifying people with the right skills and availability for every project due to:
- Uneven Workloads: Lack of visibility into the skills and availability of resources across teams and locations means some people are overextended while others are underused.
- Disconnected Systems: Storing information across disparate business systems introduces scheduling errors due to inconsistent or inaccessible resource data.
- Reactive Scheduling: Manually searching for qualified resources to accommodate changes in timelines and staff availability delays project progress and team productivity.
To help firms overcome these challenges, BST Global developed Smart Suggestions — an intelligent staffing assistant that helps managers balance project demands with available talent. Embedded within BST11’s resource management tool, Smart Suggestions generates automated staffing recommendations to help managers make scheduling decisions that drive performance and profitability.
Optimize Everyone With Smart Resource Allocation
Smart Suggestions facilitates project staffing optimization by using real-time resource data to recommend the best fit for every project. With this tool, BST11 users get:
- Firmwide Staffing Suggestions: Surface available best fit talent across the entire firm to connect people and projects with speed and precision.
- Flexible Qualifications Management: Identify resources that meet firm- and project-specific requirements like role, certifications, licenses and location.
- Dynamic Workload Control: See when someone is over-scheduled and quickly find other available resources with matching qualifications to reassign.
- Secure Access: Protect sensitive information with permission-based access controls that still enable seamless collaboration.
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Eliminate Guesswork & Manual Effort in Scheduling
With Smart Suggestions, AEC firms using Resource Management powered by Audere in BST11 can find the right resource for an assignment in three simple steps:
- Initiate: Once an assignment is planned, engaging Smart Suggestions surfaces all resources who match the parameters set for the task, such as role, certifications, team and location. This view also lets the resource manager see what those people are already scheduled to work on during the time designated for the task at hand.
- Refine: Managers can adjust the qualifications filters to fine-tune their recommendations, adding or removing location restrictions, including resources from different teams, designating other roles and more. They can also filter the list of possible matches by availability to ensure no one will be over-scheduled or underused.
- Shift: If an assigned resource is suddenly unavailable to execute planned work, Smart Suggestions can identify possible replacements. In these instances, the tool recommends people matching the original assignee’s qualifications, and the manager can adjust parameters from there to meet the project needs.
Make Staffing Decisions That Improve Profitability
Manual processes and fragmented systems often lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities and unnecessary stress. Automating these decisions with Smart Suggestions can help AEC firms improve utilization, boost productivity and maximize profitability through:
- Smarter Staffing: Save time and reduce manual effort with automated resource recommendations.
- Better Performance: Optimize resource allocation and balance work across the entire firm.
- Fewer Conflicts: Resolve scheduling roadblocks and keep projects moving as priorities and timelines shift.
Smart Suggestions for Smarter Resource Management
Resource Management powered by Audere’s Smart Suggestions function helps AEC firms achieve project staffing optimization through real‑time resource matching in a user-friendly tool. Teams using BST11 ERP can also rest assured knowing that BST Global backs each of its project intelligence™ solutions with in-house support and more than 50 years of experience working exclusively with AEC firms.
For more information about Smart Suggestions, BST11 ERP and Resource Management powered by Audere, visit: Project Intelligence™ Solutions | BST Global.
