Meet the team - 5 minutes with Steve Jones
We caught up with Steve Jones, COINS Global Product Director, to find out more about what his role entails. Steve joined COINS in 1999 as a project manager, moving on to head up the Implementation Team in the UK and manage implementations of COINS OA to clients in Australia and the USA. In 2013 Steve moved into the newly created role of Global Product Director, where he works closely with the Regional Product Directors (RPDs) to evaluate enhancements and new modules, determine what and how to innovate, and approve the product roadmap.
What does your job entail?
I’m responsible, with Brian Drumm my US colleague, for guiding the success of the COINS Construction Cloud core OA* product. We work with cross-functional teams (Product Design Teams – PDT) made up of our business analysists, consultants and developers who are responsible for improving the product and adding value for our clients. This is a challenging role within a technology company like COINS as we define the product roadmap and feature definition for each version of OA.
What is a typical day like?
I don’t really have a typical day as I end up playing one of multiple roles on any given day, so at times much of my job involves filling in the knowledge gaps where other teams may be lacking and where I can assist. My primary role is to handle everything that must be done to get new projects moving through the development process.
What's a common question you get from customers?
Probably the most common question I get from customers is 'Can COINS do this'? Where the ‘this’ is a usually a particular function they would like the software to do. People tend to ask this question because they are looking for a feature or series of features to help in their day to day tasks, to free up time for them to focus on areas such as managing their part of the business or contract more efficiently. Hopefully, I can normally show them a function or part of a module within COINS Construction Cloud which is able to deliver that particular process or function to make their job easier.
What do you like most about your job?
Probably the most enjoyable part of my job is actually seeing the software being used by our clients and hearing great feedback on changes we have made to recent versions.
What do you see as the next trend/technology that will have the biggest impact on the construction sector?
I think the new technology which may have the biggest impact on construction will be Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the number of devices that can be integrated into systems. This could be used in a variety of ways such as to predict future cost overruns, highlight safety issues/concerns, or even to predict in advance the numbers of defects which could be logged for known subcontractors during the construction process.
AI could provide assistance for clients using a customer care self-service portal post construction hand over, this could be combined with monitoring asset sensors within a building to identify faults before or as they arise. This will be a huge step forward for the industry.
Steve Jones, Global Product Director, COINS
Plus, I truly hope our new construction cloud integrated project management module, which is currently under development, will deliver huge value to site-based staff from industry leading construction and engineering clients who are looking to combine various sources of data, such as data from the back office with the data gathered and used directly on site.
What’s the most recent app you’ve downloaded?
The most recent app I downloaded was the Eurosport player so I could watch the Tour de France on my mobile devices last month.
The COINS Construction Cloud integrated project management module is due for release in 2020, construction software developed specifically for construction companies, civil engineering and contracting businesses – to find out more please get in touch with a member of our team online via our contact form or call +44 01753 501000.
*COINS OA (Open architecture) is a comprehensive construction software solution, made up of a collection of powerful modules that offer value to stakeholders across the many processes that take place in the construction industry.
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