"Intuitive Synchronization"

Prior to the migration to the shared environment and server, Golder had developed web-based tools for basic collaboration workspaces, collection of files and photographs, and management of e-mail lists. These tools, however, lacked a fundamental attribute: intuitive synchronization. This meant that the firm had to rely on each user to check out or download documents - and then remember to properly check them in again.

There were other challenges. Even the firm's intranet lacked the user-friendly coordination capabilities that were needed to boost productivity and reduce errors. "Golder actually had several company intranets, which had been independently developed on a regional basis," explains Rawson. "Building a search engine on top of multiple unique, disparate Web sites just did not make sense." Also, to serve customers across geographic boundaries and time zones, Golder employees often were accustomed to using shared files and e-mail messages to collaborate, storing project information on unlinked file servers in various Golder offices. To retrieve key files and information, the firm's team members would call or send e-mail requests to others in their offices, asking them to locate the most recent document versions, whether it was a proposal, past project file or report, safety policy, or e-mail correspondence.

Recognizing that project and document management could be streamlined firm-wide, Golder Associates evaluated various technology and partnership options. The firm released an RFP in November 2005 seeking a customized, global information platform. The selected technology suite was low in cost and had a recognizable business trade name. The main perceived benefit of the IPD choice was reduced time and expense as well as instantly globalizing and automating business processes to gain more efficient document sharing and management. The solution consists of three parts:

• a project/proposal workspace portal
• a collaboration workspace portal
• a and global search portal

Portals for Workspace, Collaboration and Search

IPD tools generally include a project/proposal workspace portal, which tracks project information to enable a search engine that will help employees find statements of qualifications, proposals, reports, project descriptions, and other consultants. A second component is a collaboration workspace portal, which can include a number of dedicated workspaces for projects, teams, market sectors, departments and the like. A group within a firm that has a particular practice or technology focus, for example, can access specific information, calendars, lists, and e-mail correspondence that pertain to their work. To create a new workspace, the IPD tool provides an administrative interface, and the requests can be handled locally or by the central IT department.

"Even if they do not need to work directly with each other today, it is still valuable to link groups of people involved in similar projects through the workspaces for future opportunities," says Rawson.

The third component of the IPD suite is the global search portal, which offers index and relevancy search features to find information in the HTML-based portions of the existing intranets and new project and collaboration workspaces. It can include a "data catalog" for sophisticated searching among an organization's many line-of-business applications and the ability to generate key performance indicators that are based on real project information.

Taken together, the three components help streamline document availability and management for its projects. "Our improved search, collaboration, and version control capabilities will make our projects more efficient because of immediate sharing and the significant reduction in duplication of information," says Rawson of his experience with Golder. Other related benefits Rawson expects include improved productivity and more successful use of mobile workers.

Mobility and Access in the Construction Sector

At least 40 percent of Golder personnel work daily on a portable computer, requiring enhanced e-mail caching and synchronization capabilities. For AEC professionals who are on the road and at the project site, IPD tools can offer connectivity to project workspaces and proposal workspaces through a familiar browser interface, rather than connecting directly to data isolated in local file servers.

Even on the road, firm employees can initiate new proposals and projects with the three main tools of IPD technology. Firms like Golder and CH2M-Hill make accessible their most up-to-date, corporate-approved marketing and business materials on the IPD systems. The access for mobile and office-bound workers is not limited by time, either: 24-hour access is a common feature of IPD. New features also show system users how to best reach out to and collaborate with mobile personnel.

Finally, next-generation IPD tools also simplify the overall IT environment - in Rawson's case, a reduction in file servers of up to 40 percent - due to decreased information storage for isolated projects. Data in project "silos" is replaced over time by saving work to project/proposal workspaces.

Changes in Response to New Market Demands

Mobility, and the related need for secure collaboration, is just one of several criticalfactors pushing today's AEC firms toward a new way of doing work. As the AIA's white paper, Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide, states, "IPD leverages early contributions of knowledge and expertise through utilization of new technologies, allowing all team members to better realize their highest potentials while expanding the value they provide throughout the project life cycle."

This comes as a result of several changes within the construction world. For example, work was historically done in large part by one office; today, work needs to be done by many people from different locations and, increasingly, different firms and organizations. This and other factors makes it all the more urgent to securely share information across teams in different locations and facilitate collaboration across these groups, with access only to appropriate files, sites and data.

Moreover, AEC firms need to make that information available as a natural part of business processes with workflows. For example, documents can be shared as needed across the entire project life cycle and document life cycle - and across all disciplines and players in the construction world, including architects, engineers, contractors, facility managers, and more. This boosts the value and scope of a firm's intellectual capital as it eases work pressures for individual practitioners.

Fortunately, companies providing IPD solutions are dedicated to working with the AEC community to better understand and address the challenges specific to the project-centric world of construction. Bringing best practices from other professions and markets, the new IPD technologies are enabling secure collaboration across a global, extended enterprise. They also help distribute business intelligence to enable firm management to have better information about such key measures as material costs and project profitability − allowing better decisions to support their efforts.