Cecilia Padilla, President of On Center Software, was named to the Women in Construction, 2016 Mavens of Technology by Constructech magazine editors. The list highlights women executives who help define the construction technology industry and create growth by demonstrating tech savvy and construction know-how.
Cecilia’s reputation in the construction industry has been under construction for over 50 years. She literally grew up in a construction family. In the early 1980s, Cecilia set out to expand her horizons and was hired by the Raymond Group as their first female junior estimator.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by Constructech magazine. But the credit started with my father’s reputation and work ethic, which opened the door for me originally. I still had to earn my place in the industry.”
Cecilia rose through the ranks of Raymond as they expanded from Orange County, California to Las Vegas, specializing in themed façade projects throughout the U.S. She became a senior project manager and area manager with several multi-million-dollar projects on her resume after 12 years. Her husband, in the oil and gas industry, was transferred to Houston. Cecilia didn’t take a break. She was soon hired by another industry giant, Marek Brothers Systems, as a senior project manager.
“The construction industry has always lagged in software adoption,” she described. “Excel was not around, I used the killer app Lotus 1-2-3,” she laughed. “Estimators did their takeoffs by hand and their estimates with a 10-key. Yet, you could give five estimators the same set of plans and specs, each one would have a different approach, but at the end of the day, all five would be within a couple of percent of each other.” There had to be a smarter way. When Cecilia joined Marek Brothers she was introduced to Quick Bid. From the start, she was able to estimate bids, put together labor and material budgets and manage change orders in half the time. This was a giant leap forward.
Then On-Screen Takeoff was launched and productivity improved again. Cecilia soon became On Center’s greatest fan, and a power user.
“Working with On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid together was amazing. I felt that I could make the software tap dance for me. But I wanted the software to do more, so I worked with Leonard Buzz (On Center’s president) on features to make the software even better,” she explained. “Leonard and I became great friends. He would ask my opinion on new features his engineers were building, and give me the opportunity to work on beta versions of the software. I was happy to help; I knew the power of software automation.”
On-Screen Takeoff was then, and remains, the state-of-the-art technology, enabling estimators to perform takeoffs on their laptop or desktops without paper plans. Most estimators are able to begin using On-Screen Takeoff in less than an hour. The next new software tied it all together, Digital Production Control (DPC). A foreman or project manager could now track, plan and forecast labor in real time.
“A contractor will use DPC to map out the next day’s work plan, the crew knows how much work they are expected to complete each day. DPC also tracks a project’s production and percentage of completion. Now you have time to make changes, add another crew member, or change the crew mix, early enough to impact the outcome of the job. Poorly managed labor costs are what eat away at your profit margins,” she said.
In 2008 Cecilia went from collaborating with On Center to joining the company as Vice President. She was selected by On Center’s founder Leonard Buzz to become his successor and the new leader of On Center Software after he retired.
Today, as president, Cecilia is regularly communicating with owners, general contractors and subcontractors as she always has, because she understands their pain points. This first-hand interaction forms the foundation for On Center Software’s customer-centric business model.
For more information, visit www.OnCenter.com or call 1-866-627-6246.
