Finding a Better Way to Manage Project Information

Transcription

1 Finding a Better Way to Manage Project Information How a leading international design practice selected the right project information management software to improve project delivery Chelsea Bridge Wharf, Battersea Any solution has to make the user s life easier, not harder. By Nick Dunn Information and Communications Director Scott Brownrigg Project images courtesy of Scott Brownrigg 1

2 In 2007, Scott Brownrigg faced a project information deluge Recently I had occasion to compile metrics on project information across our five offices. It s a lot for individuals to manage: 1,663 active and archived projects 1,232,305 s Red Kite House, Wallingford, The Environment Agency 4,273 file transfers 3,812 record copies 2,641 transmittals Our people are architects, interior designers and planners. They want to design and assist in delivering buildings. If we can find easy ways of managing information to make their jobs easier, it s a good thing. 6,024,198 files total 5,958 gigabytes of data It was to manage that tsunami of information that we sought software. But to be honest, in the beginning, we would have been happy to manage just the increasing volume of . 2

3 was becoming impossible to store, manage and retrieve was the big problem that motivated our investigations into the information management software marketplace. was becoming impossible to manage in a realistic time frame. We had used Outlook Public Folders to organize project , but it failed to provide a truly easy-to-use, searchable repository. And it failed to file the with other project documents. When s provide the context for attachments, why file the attachments in one place and the in another? As we looked at our options, we arrived at an management wish list: The Bodleian Book Storage Facility, Oxford University Outlook Public Folders do not answer the need for well-organized, accessible team . Make it available to other members of the project team. File it with other project documents. File and retrieve it without lots of steps. And finally, a requirement that deserves to stand on its own: We need to be able to conduct Google-like searches for contents. This last requirement means we need to search not just for metadata, but for any text in the . If we could get management under control, what would that leave? 3

4 Project information management is more than document management The full scope of project information challenges involves four general areas: 1. Filing and retrieving 2. Finding information on the network, whatever its form , specifications, presentations, etc. 3. Sharing files, including 3D models, with external team members 4. Supporting work processes, such as those to manage submittals, RFIs, action items, and design review Regarding this last point, we are ISO 9001 certified, so we have document management systems in place. We want to support those systems. Project information includes models, drawings, s, markups, submittals, transmittals, meeting minutes, images, contracts, specifications, change orders and other documentation created in the course of designing, planning, constructing and operating buildings and infrastructure. What were our options? We identified five: 1. Point solutions 2. Document management 3. SharePoint customization 4. Extranets 5. Project information management (PIM) software Let s take them in order. 4

5 Point solutions do one thing well Industry-specific tools exist to manage some of our primary concerns. For example, there are point solutions to manage and send large files over the internet. But we did not pursue them. Why not? Expense: Economies of scale go out the window with multiple point solutions. Licensing: It s expensive to manage all the different licensing models found in multiple point solutions. Training: Point solutions can be easy to use, but they would still need to be taught, and we ve found that the more software people have to learn, the more they forget. Point solutions do one thing well, but we need to do a lot of connected things. Integration: Our workflows are chains of connected steps. For example, we ll receive drawings, log them, mark them up, forward them for review, approve them, return them whence they came... Each of those steps flows one to the next. It s not practical to jump from one application to the next for each step of the workflow. We prefer to have one solution. It puts everything in one place. The functions work with one another. We manage one license. Users learn one interface. 5

6 Document management imposes rigour 3 Assembly Square, Cardiff Bay As noted earlier, we re ISO 9001 certified. Document management software, which enforces procedures for checking documents into and out of an electronic vault, lends itself to rigorous processes such as ours. However, we felt that implementing a pure document management system would not be sufficiently effective. Document management is about storing structured information, but the problem is to manage and share dynamically changing, ad-hoc information. Document management software duplicates what s on the server, requiring extra steps for tagging. Enforced naming conventions make the user s life harder when we re supposed to be making it easier. Document management requires that we move files into another database, and searching is only as good as the metadata applied. Document management systems provide little or no support for file sharing and collaboration. If users don t want to use it, it won t work. Their lives are difficult enough and full of information. Add another process layer on top and they ll get frustrated. Our conclusion regarding document management software was that it would not enhance our procedures; rather, it would stifle them. Plus, we would have had to tailor the system to suit our company. We wanted something to work out of the box. 6

7 SharePoint is highly customizable Had we been anxious to customize a solution, Microsoft SharePoint would have been the obvious platform. But we did not want to go into the business of developing and maintaining software. 500 Brook Drive, Green Park, Reading Also, although SharePoint makes a good intranet platform, it s not suited to the workflows listed on page 4 filing and retrieving, finding, sharing, and supporting. We kept looking. We were looking for software that would work right out of the box. 7

8 Project extranets put information in the cloud Extranet websites provide one focused environment where everyone on the project team whether in our company or a team member s can work on common documents. They re popular for construction contract administration, but they re not what we needed. We did not consider extranets because they offer no management. We could have given up to use an extranet s messaging system, but we did not want to make that sacrifice. BAE Systems, Luton We sought a management system that would allow us to find and manage all the work we do behind the firewall. We were running out of options. Then we came across project information management software. Project extranets have the appeal of putting project information in the cloud, where everyone can access it. But putting info in the cloud disconnects it from internal processes. 8

9 Project information management software has a light touch Ultimately, Scott Brownrigg found enterprise project information management (PIM) software that was developed for our industry, and designed to have a very light touch. It doesn t add more steps or workflows. We continue to use (in our case, Microsoft Office Outlook ), which is now easy to file and retrieve (our first goal). It indexes our servers to permit Google-fast searching for information (our second goal). It includes a website for accessing and sharing information (our third goal). Baker & McKenzie, London We continue to store documents on our network, with the same naming conventions. It supports existing workflows for design review, construction administration, and our ISO 9001 processes (our fourth goal). The product we bought was Newforma Project Center, from the United States-based company Newforma, which has a team in London. 9

10 What s covered by project information management? Newforma enterprise software for project information management brings lots of disparate information together in one place, organized by project, in a Windows-based folder structure. It provides functions for a host of project information management items and processes. Here are some of the tasks we can manage using Newforma PIM software: Cardiff Pointe, Cardiff One of our directors said Newforma is his big bucket of fun. He just drags files into his project folders and Newforma does the rest. I call it a Project Google : We put our information in a big pot and people can find it. File with other project documents. Find filed even if you were not on the original distribution. Search for information on the network, even if it s in an attachment to an or a ZIP file. Assign, track and resolve action items. Log and manage submittals and RFIs. Capture a registry of issued revisions. Have one place to access project files, even when they re on different servers. View drawings and graphics for many common, AEC-specific file formats, without having the underlying authoring software. Take snapshots of whatever s on your screen. Mark up, comment upon and manage drawings and documents. Identify changes in iterative sets of drawings. Compare files of different origins. Share files too large to without the set-up hassles and security shortcomings of FTP sites. Capture an audit trail of who downloaded what, when. Create and log transmittals. Provide browser access to shared information for external team members and people working off-site. Despite the wide range of functions, the interface is simple. Users understand it. 10

11 PIM began with the basics At first we used just three of the Newforma functions: management, search, and file sharing. Google, London For example, file sharing takes place through the web access component, Newforma Info Exchange (which we customized with our logo). It s simple and efficient, and it automatically records of who has and who has not downloaded which document at which time. That audit trail reduces risk and supports ISO 9001 certification. As we got under control, we went on to improve other parts of our operation. We share information every day. Project information management software has provided us with an efficient way to manage data, and have an audit trail. For example, before PIM software we would have logged issues in a spreadsheet. Now the software gives us a feature-rich way to manage those tasks, providing more information in fewer steps. 11

12 Maintenance and customization are easy and straightforward The costs to set up Newforma enterprise software are small compared to document management, which can exact high upfront costs to tailor the system to suit your enterprise. Newforma works out of the box. Other systems require lots of customization. In terms of IT administration, we find it incredibly reliable. The system just works. And support is very, very good. Upgrades are very simple. The Elmgreen School, Lambeth We ve used Newforma s APIs to integrate the PIM software with our own bespoke web application that we use to create projects. We ve used the Newforma application programming interface to automate our project creation process. We developed a CRM system that captures information about project size and costs. Another system helps us manage resources. Newforma enterprise software integrates with these existing systems so information plugged into one feeds them all. We even use Newforma software to manage office and department workflows. I ve been able to resolve contractual problems with vendors because I can find the information quickly. We have 22,000 IT-related s on file, compiled over the past five years! Newforma s search capabilities make it easy to find information residing in those s. 12

13 Project information management includes BIM integration Project information management is not limited to document management. You re managing transmittals, markups, issues information that isn t necessarily held in a Windows folder, but is important to have held. University of Reading, Malaysia campus For example, we re Revit users. I m pleased to see Newforma has developed ways to extract BIM data, manage it, and synchronize it back into the model. For example, we can use Newforma software to manage sheet sets, action items, and punch lists as they relate to the design or building models. Newforma is also partnering with M-SIX, whose technology allows you to publish models in the cloud, where anyone with permissions can view and navigate them without special software or training. And we can link PIM items such as RFIs to elements in that cloud-hosted model. As for BIM management, Newforma is spotting a problem coming over the horizon and trying to resolve it before it gets the better of us. 13

14 Project information management includes apps and mobile access, too Another area that s outside of typical Windows folder structure is mobile applications. Newforma accomodates that reality, too. Chilton Trinity School, Bridgwater For example, the Info Exchange website has been optimized for the small form factor of a smartphone screen. And its web access means anyone with a tablet and permissions can get to project information while in the field. Newforma is also developing a family of mobile apps that integrate with Newforma PIM software. The apps integrate information between the office and the field. Examples include apps for punch lists, field notes, and plans. Accessing project data away from the office is just fantastic. It opens up a whole new way of accessing data! We deploy iphones and ipads. Newforma accommodates mobile technologies in a few ways. 14

15 The purpose of PIM is a more robust business Newforma software automates workflows, which makes it possible to automatically capture a full audit trail. We don t have to spend so much time logging and filing actions because the software does it for us. Productivity and efficiency have risen. We re saving time on very administrative-intense tasks. Our people are architects, interior designers and planners. They want to design and assist in the delivery of buildings. If we can find easy ways of managing information that frees up their time, it s a good thing. University of Surrey Student Residence and Reception Building Newforma software definitely reduces risk. Among all the members of our project teams, we ve become the project information authority. One of our directors told me that contractors are asking us to find s because we can find them faster that they can. Even with that extra effort, we re coming out ahead. There s a saying in the industry that the organization with the best information wins. We prefer to think of everybody winning in the projects we engage in, and this PIM software helps make that happen. 15

16 About Newforma Newforma develops and markets project information management (PIM) software for architecture, engineering and construction firms worldwide, and the owners they serve. Newforma s is the first industry-focused and integrated solution to connect firms to each other, to their project information, to their processes, to remote team members, and to financial and resource information, all for the purpose of more successful project delivery. Companies using Newforma software are raising productivity, reducing exposure to risk, strengthening their brands, and freeing time and attention to focus on design, construction, and client service. Contact a Newforma representative to talk about the appropriate products to meet your project information management needs. Newforma s London-based sales and service team focuses on customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 85 Tottenham Court Road London W1T 4TQ UK uksales@newforma.com uk.newforma.com