Business-to-business collaboration thrives with Kahua, a cloud-based software service that adapts to a variety of business processes systems to share data with other entities from the design stage to facilities management.

"We’re getting good responses to using Kahua," says Steve Stankiewicz, applications development manager, Clark Construction Group in Bethesda, Maryland, a member of multiple AGC chapters. The company began using Kahua on all new projects in 2015 and has 44 projects, totaling more than $4 billion in work, being managed with the service. Kahua, which means platform in Hawaiian, is a cloud-based "platform as a service," with core functionalities, including file, document, schedule and cost management. It uses an open architecture and application programming interface for easier collaboration and integration with in-house applications. While using Kahua, many apps can be open at the same time to ease operation and improve productivity, says Brian Moore, president of Kahua in Alpharetta, Georgia.

"One of Kahua’s key differentiators is that it conforms to your business processes rather than your business conforming to the software," says Moore, explaining that construction firms and other team members also can build their own applications to solve specific needs.

It provides an ideal solution for joint ventures, where the partners may be using different enterprise software systems. The data in Kahua will integrate with each entity’s corporate  systems. At the same time, each company owns and controls its database, but partnering companies can access needed information for collaboration purposes.

Kahua enables rapid creation of custom applications that work across companies. Clark has built new apps for design review, change orders and document management, and Kahua integrates that information with other data in the company’s enterprise system. Stankiewicz notes that change orders require about half as many clicks from start to finish as on its previous software product, and submittals and requests for information require about 30 percent fewer clicks.

"That equates to a better user experience," Stankiewicz says. Additionally, third-party developers have created apps available through the kStore, Kahua’s app marketplace, which allows users to tailor Kahua to their particular needs. These include a value engineering app from Ao Solutions, a design review app from FiveBox, and safety checklist and inspection checklist apps by EZ Apps. Kahua has introduced a Lean pull planning app to assist with the last-planner system of scheduling. More apps are in development.

"The apps in Kahua’s kStore make it easy for customers to address their diverse project management requirements," Moore says.

Kahua can run on desktop PCs and on Apple and Android mobile devices. It integrates with Word, Excel and other software. It supports multiple languages and currencies.

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3820 Mansell Road, Suite 140

Alpharetta, Georgia 30022

770-641-9994