"We Design Great Things, Then Lose Our Ass in CA"—And Now We Have the Data to Prove It
"We design great things, then lose our ass in CA."
—Leading global architecture practice
Exclusive Research from Praxis3 Validates Industry-Wide Challenge—And Points to Solutions
Remember our recent analysis of the "Hidden Labor Tax" plaguing architecture firms? The administrative burden silently draining productivity from design teams across the industry?
One global practice leader recently captured the frustration perfectly: "We design great things, then lose our ass in CA."
We just received validation of this sentiment that's both sobering and inspiring. Praxis3, a leading architectural firm managing over $2 billion in active construction projects, completed a comprehensive practice survey with their 75-person team. The findings don't just confirm our Hidden Labor Tax thesis—they quantify exactly how firms are "losing their ass" with startling precision.
The numbers that stopped us in our tracks:
TLDR: Survey Highlights
The Challenge Quantified:
Average 21+ hours per week spent on construction administration per team member
Multiple platform juggling: Procore, Bluebeam, email, internal servers
65% of staff reporting significant CA time burden
Teams managing 11-15 concurrent projects worth $10-20M each
The Solution Validated:
35% efficiency gains achieved through unified CA platform
3-4 hours saved per week per team member
$1.3M-$1.7M in quantified annual value
Zero lost communications through centralized workflows
The Impact Multiplier:
Enhanced client satisfaction through faster response times
Proactive project management replacing reactive firefighting
Team-wide adoption with 90%+ satisfaction scores
Calculate Your Firm's CA Impact →
From Hidden Tax to Hard Numbers
When we first wrote about the Hidden Labor Tax, we suspected construction administration was consuming far more resources than firms realized. Praxis3's comprehensive survey transforms suspicion into certainty.
The Administrative Burden Breakdown:
Their teams were spending an average of 21+ hours per week on CA tasks—that's more than half of a standard work week dedicated to administrative overhead rather than design excellence. Across a 55-person firm, that's 1,155+ hours weekly, or 60,060+ hours annually dedicated to construction administration.
But here's where it gets interesting: this wasn't just busy work. These are complex, high-value projects requiring intensive coordination. Individual projects range from $1M to $50M in construction value, with teams simultaneously managing 11-15 active projects.
The Multi-Platform Problem:
The survey revealed the fragmented nature of modern CA workflows:
RFIs and submittals requiring duplicate entry across multiple systems
Critical documents scattered between Procore, Bluebeam, email, and internal servers
Important updates lost in email chains or missed notifications
No unified view of CA status across project portfolios
As one senior project manager noted: "Before [implementing unified CA processes], we were constantly switching between platforms, duplicating efforts, and worried about items falling through the cracks. The administrative burden was overwhelming our design teams."
The Intelligence Factor: When CA Becomes Strategic
What makes Praxis3's transformation particularly compelling isn't just the time savings—it's how they evolved from reactive to proactive project management.
Before: Reactive CA Management
Manual tracking of project status
Fragmented team communication
Risk of missed deadlines and lost items
Individual project focus without portfolio view
After: Intelligent CA Orchestration
Proactive monitoring through unified dashboards
Automated notifications and systematic tracking
Centralized team coordination across all projects
Real-time portfolio visibility enabling strategic decisions
The shift represents what we're beginning to see as Construction Administration Intelligence—the evolution from administrative burden to strategic advantage.
Quantifying the Transformation
The business impact goes far beyond time savings:
Direct Efficiency Gains:
3-4 hours saved per week per team member
35% reduction in CA administrative overhead
Eliminated duplicate data entry between platforms
Faster turnaround on RFI responses and submittal reviews
Productivity Multipliers:
165-220 hours saved weekly across the team
8,580-11,440 hours saved annually
$1.3M-$1.7M in quantified annual value (at $150/hour loaded rate)
Strategic Advantages:
Enhanced client relationships through professional efficiency
Competitive differentiation in proposal processes
Scalable foundation supporting business growth
Risk mitigation through systematic documentation
The Portfolio Perspective
Perhaps most striking was how unified CA intelligence transformed their approach to portfolio management. Instead of managing projects individually, they gained:
Unified Visibility: Real-time status tracking across $2+ billion in active projects Proactive Management: Due date monitoring and systematic oversight preventing issues Team Coordination: Shared project views eliminating information silos Client Impact: Faster response times and improved transparency
As one team member shared: "I open Roundhouse every day and look at the portfolio view. It is very helpful for organizing my tasks for the week/day."
Another project manager noted: "The dashboard tool is great. It allows us to see the status of all our CA tasks across all projects in a condensed view. For a project manager this is incredibly helpful."
What This Means for Your Practice
Praxis3's findings validate what many firm leaders suspect: construction administration has evolved beyond traditional project management into a strategic capability requiring intelligent orchestration.
The firms gaining competitive advantage aren't just working harder—they're working smarter through:
Unified platforms replacing fragmented workflows
Automated processes eliminating administrative overhead
Real-time visibility enabling proactive decision-making
Systematic coordination improving client relationships
The Path Forward
The most encouraging finding from Praxis3's survey? Team-wide enthusiasm for the transformation. When asked for testimonials, responses included:
"This program understands how architects work, what architects need, and how architects think. It's the best program of its kind that I know of, especially during Construction Phase."
"Roundhouse is a game changer when it comes to coordination."
"Roundhouse makes my life much easier, being able to see all of my CA in one place and helps me strategize workloads."
The technology exists. The business case is proven. The question isn't whether your firm should address the Hidden Labor Tax—it's how quickly you can transform it into competitive advantage.
Calculate Your Opportunity
Curious what these efficiency gains could mean for your practice? We've built a tool that helps you quantify the potential impact based on your team size and current CA workload.
The calculator uses real data from practices like Praxis3 to estimate potential time savings, cost reductions, and productivity gains specific to your firm's profile.
About This Research: This analysis is based on a comprehensive practice survey conducted by Praxis3 with their 75-person team managing over $2 billion in active construction projects. Survey methodology included detailed workflow analysis, time tracking, and satisfaction scoring across all team levels from emerging professionals to principals.
Ready to explore what Construction Administration Intelligence could mean for your practice? Start with our CA Impact Calculator or contact us to discuss your firm's specific challenges and opportunities.
