general IT questions

[mskin]

is anyone doing construction administration, trying to keep all submitals electronic and finding it difficult to manage / organize etc..? or has anyone successfully managed this already?

 

we're starting to come across this more. contractors want to submit everything digitally, and to be honest, we welcome it. but we are struggling with the work flow, document management and file sizes.

 

i know there are some third party workflow management programs like sharepoint or newforma. are people using these, something like it, or have you developed a workflow of your own? They are rather expensive - considering the economy and our unwillingness to spend any amount of money. so im not really sure of the best way to handle this.

 

i have suggested - in house - the mentioned software. i have considered perhaps at least getting some on line storage space, perhaps through amazons simple storage, or maybe even building some sort of a server in our DMZ at work for use as a shared directory.

 

anyway - if anyone is dealing with this i'd love to know what your up to.

 

thanks.

 

we have been using PDF as the container for our submittals, but are learning that DWFs may be more manageable in terms of file size, readability, and ease of use... although we have not used them formally on a project yet.

 

we are wondering if it makes sense to equip our CA people with tablet computers and come up with some sort of shared directory - via internet - for contractors, architects and consultants to share. all having access to submittals and having some sort of way to track who is commenting, reviewing - or who has ownership of particular documents.

[anejo]

I've used autodesk buzzsaw for file management in the past. Maybe something for you to look into.

[jinsley]

we use newforma in the office, and besides a few hiccups here and there... we love it. It has really changed the way we manage our projects, lessened the time we spend doing CA and and increased our productivity. I wasn't sold on it until I tried it out for a project or two, and I don't think I would ever want to be without it now.

 

That's just my opinion, I don't know what the cost is, but my experience as far as using it, has been excellent.