Mitigating Risk In Design & Construction

An information management approach to avoiding mistakes, reducing conflict, and improving collaboration in building and infrastructure projects

“Our business is more competitive than

ever. To make sure clients continue to give us repeat business, we’ve invested in

Newforma software to shorten response times and reduce the risk of mistakes.”

Engineering co. CEO

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Building and infrastructure projects start and end with information. From emails to handover documentation, collaboration doesn’t work unless the information is right.

And whether you design, build, or operate buildings and infrastructure, you know you have to do more than get your information right. You also need to document it.

Correct information in the first place avoids disputes. Documenting decisions wins disputes.

Newforma has been developing ways to reduce information and collaboration risk since pioneering

project information management software in 2006. This ebook summarizes what our customers are telling us.

Two sides of information risk

“Of all the benefits Newforma products

generate, we most value the risk reduction that

comes with improved project information management.”

Design Firm Engineer and Project Manager

When Newforma asked senior executives at design and construction companies, law firms, and insurance companies about risk, they told us they were fed up with the current culture of adversity.

What did they propose instead? Collaborate better. As one executive said, “In collaborative environments, the exposure increases but the actual risk decreases – because there is better control over whether a failure will occur.”

For that reason, this ebook will talk about collaboration as much as it talks about project information management, because they’re always found together.

Less adversarial relationships“Improved project

coordination has helped us avoid some potentially

ugly disputes.”

General Contracting Company President

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Engineering content management (also known as “document management”) software was designed to ensure that work-in-progress CAD and BIM files are being sensibly managed. But it’s not ideal for managing all information. With digital footprints of projects doubling every 18 months, those additional terabytes of data bloat databases, preventing them from working as needed.

Instead of bogging down their content management systems with more data, many Newforma customers are using our software in

concert with Bentley® ProjectWise®, Microsoft® SharePoint®, and IBM® FileNet® systems.

Newforma® Project Center integrates with them to safely manage all project information, wherever it’s filed.

What about content management software?

“Our conclusion regarding document

management software was that it would not enhance our procedures; rather, it

would stifle them.”

British Design Firm Information & Communications Director

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Construction delays come in many forms: wasted time and rework due to working from outdated plans, confusion over the scheduling of trades, and slow turnarounds of submittals and requests for information. Newforma offers multiple ways to mitigate these risks:

• Assurance of having up-to-date plans and specs• Lean production planning software• Software to manage submittals and RFIs

In addition to making it easier and faster to distribute documents to all recipients, Newforma

software documents the dates items are delivered and

returned, creating a searchable record for every RFI and submittal.

The many faces of risk: delays

“Newforma shortens response times and

creates a concise record that is hard to dispute,

thereby mitigating risk of exposure to delay claims.”

Large Engineering Company Senior Vice President

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ISO certification is largely a matter of documenting procedures and verifying conformance. Newforma is made for this work.

For example, a large UK design firm defines its quality assurance action items as part of its standard project setup, and makes that bespoke handbook available to all team members through their

Newforma software.

Newforma software, by capturing audit trails of all actions and transactions, provides the logs needed to prove ISO conformance.

The many faces of risk: quality assurance & ISO certification

“It’s simple and efficient.”

Large Engineering and Design Firm

IT Executive

Because design and construction projects employ so many different software applications, and every company has its own systems, the risk is high that time must be spent re-entering data into systems. With those keystrokes come the risk of mistakes. Newforma products offer multiple ways to avoid them:

• The software integrates with commonly used applications to enable seamless transitions from one application to the next.

• Direct, Newforma-to-Newforma connections eliminate manual information transfers and redundant data entry.

This last function – N2N connectivity – breaks down barriers between collaborating architectural, engineering, and construction companies.

The many faces of risk: transcription errors

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“In addition to the time savings of using a more

efficient submittals management process, both firms appreciate the reduced risk of errors that comes from using an integrated project

information management approach to the contract administration

phase of this large project.”

Architectural Firm IT Administrator and Engineering Firm Submittals

Manager Using N2N to Streamline CA

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At Newforma, we want our software to spare you from disputes. But when pressed to perform legal discovery, use Newforma software to respond efficiently and effectively.

For example, when email is liberated from individual inboxes and filed on company servers, it can be indexed by Newforma software. The software’s full-text search capabilities make it very easy to quickily retrieve email and other documents containing text. No filed document is ever again hard to find.

The many faces of risk: hard-to-find documents

“Many agreements are made

via email and are hard to track down since everyone manages their

email independently. Allowing a central, easily searchable interface

for saving project-related emails has helped the company in a myriad of

ways, especially in audits and lawsuits where we have to pull as many project records as possible.”

Construction Company MIS Director

“I was done in minutes. If I didn’t

have Newforma, I would have had to open every

email and search for those certain words. I’d probably

still be working on it.”

Engineering Firm CAD Manager

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Newforma software enables managers to set automated notifications and reminders for items such as file downloads and action items.

For example, busy project managers can create action items from emails, assign items to team members, link items to emails and other documents needed to act upon the issue, set automatic reminders, and track progress as issues move to resolution.

Easily discoverable audit trails give confidence that tasks and documents are not slipping through cracks.

The many faces of risk: missed assignments

“It saves me two to five hours a week.”

Engineering Firm Project Manager

“I was asked by my client to provide

a detailed summary of events pertaining to the project while

I was out. I had complete information what was easily accessible and searchable to accurately recreate events with minimal downtime for

the rest of the team.”

Engineering Firm Project Manager

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Complex, global projects increase the challenge before team members to manage milestones, coordinate information, and mitigate risk. These are the projects for which a comprehensive collaboration and project information management solution shines.

Team members can quickly search emails, details, specifications, requests for information, CAD drawings and more to resolve issues and avoid risk.

The many faces of risk: large projects

“Newforma software provides considerable

advantages on complex, large-scale projects and

their numerous potential risk issues.”

Global Design Company

DWGPDF

XLS

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Even when projects are designed in three-dimensional models, collaborators use 2D plans, especially at the jobsite. Newforma customers rely upon multiple features to make sure there’s a seamless flow from design software to documents used in the field. A few highlights:

• Document management features streamline the management and issuance of drawing sets, including PDFs generated from Revit.

• An app that’s integrated with the desktop software enables the viewing of plans and specs on iPads, removing the risk of consulting out-of-date documents.

• A lightbox function compares two files and color- codes objects that have been added or moved.

The software automatically logs what’s been done, sparing users from maintaining spreadsheets of their actions.

The many faces of the solution: plans

“When we send plans to a jobsite, we can be confident we have not introduced any conflicts

which could cause change orders or delays for which we might be held liable.”

Engineering Firm President

“We have eliminated confusion by assuring we always have complete and current

plans and specifications available on-site.”

Project Management Firm Project

Manager

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For years, FTP was the standard for sharing files. It’s given way to cloud-sharing sites such as Dropbox, but even these newer approaches have their risks. They fail to organize their activity by project, and fail to record activity.

By contrast, Newforma’s web-based file sharing function is much easier to set up and administer than FTP, and logs who downloaded what, when, organized by project. It reduces risk by ensuring that all members of the design team are working from common, up-to-date

drawings and models. You’ll never again hear, “We did not

receive those drawings.”

The many faces of the solution: file transfers

“Newforma software improves security, removes

set-up hassles, logs transfers, authenticates invited external team members and deletes

downloaded files. These capabilities save time, reduce risk and improve service.”

Architectural Firm IT Executive

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Everyone has experienced the frustration of searching in vain for that one email you just know contains the essential information on which a critical decision hangs. Newforma makes it drag-and-drop easy to file email with other project documents, and Google-easy to find again.

Newforma enables principals and project managers to answer questions while callers are still on the phone, even when emails originate from people no longer on the team.

When submittals, RFIs, change orders, and other project information arrive in your inbox, Newforma software enables a seamless transition from email to Newforma action item, reducing the risk of overlooked tasks.

The many faces of the solution: email

“Just found one email among 36,000

others and saved 150k in fees, @Newforma

is awesome!”

Architectural Firm Principal, via Twitter

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Late responses to submittals and RFIs expose design companies to the risk of being responsible for associated costs. And schedules are getting tighter: Three-day turnarounds for RFIs are compressing to same-day responses, and 10-day turnarounds for submittals are dropping to one week!

In addition, the volume of submittals to be processed is rising due to the demands of such factors as LEED certification and having multiple fit-out prime contractors on projects.

Newforma products provide multiple means to process submittals quickly and accurately, and to log each step in the process.

The many faces of the solution: submittals

“The contractors and consultants appreciate

that we are now able to handle the submittals in the allotted

time and know where any given submittal is at any given time –

whether it’s been received, being reviewed or been returned to the sender.”

Engineering Firm Submittals

Administrator

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Submittal and RFI processing involves multiple people and functions. Newforma software ties them all together:

• Seamlessly create RFIs and other action items directly from Outlook emails.

• Mark up files, associate markups with the RFI, and return the item without leaving Newforma software.

• The software logs all transactions for a readily accessible project record.

Everything is easy to find, not simply because of the

markup log, but also because Newforma software includes a search function that finds terms as they appear in markup notes.

The many faces of the solution: RFIs

“Newforma has been incredibly useful in

eliminating paperwork and improving turnaround time

on RFIs and submittals.”

Construction Company Project Manager

“We utilize Newforma Markup

to review electronically submitted shop drawings and respond to requests

for information.”

Engineering Firm Executive

Quality assurance is central to risk management, and field reports are central to QA. Newforma software integrates mobile apps with software used at the desk in order to fluidly transfer information back and forth between the office and the field.

For example, notes and photos captured at the jobsite automatically upload to the office, where it’s accessible to other project team members. (Contrast this integration with apps that silo information in the accounts of the individuals using the apps!)

The many faces of the solution: field reports

“We now spend less time producing field reports, and they’re more

accurate. This mitigates the risk of mistakes and delays

during construction.”

Large Engineering Firm Project Manager

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Another aspect of quality control is punch lists (“snag lists” in the UK; “defect lists” in Australia and New Zealand). This is another area where Newforma’s integrated apps streamline the process and reduce the risk of mistakes, redundant data entry, delays, and overlooked items.

In addition to making it fast and easy to compile punch list items, complete with photographs and other annotations, the app automatically transfers field information to records in the office, where people can get right to work organizing and assigning items to the responsible parties.

Contractors who use the Newforma app receive their punch list assignments automatically. From there they can review details, ask questions, check off items and provide updates as to where they stand in the resolution process.

The many faces of the solution: punch lists

“Using the app on our tablets takes

Newforma Project Center into the field to bring field data back to the office. It’s saving time and mitigating

the risk of mishandled items that may jeopardize quality.”

Architectural Firm Project Manager

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The Newforma advantage

“Newforma software provides us with the

tools we need to reduce risk, improve design, and respond

more quickly.”

Engineering Firm

At a time when a claim’s financial impact can run into millions, it pays to manage project information in a way that reduces risk. Newforma software reduces the risk of lost, misrouted or overlooked project information.

Newforma products improve project delivery whether you’re an individual working away from your desk with your smartphone or tablet, a team member collaborating via a project management website, or a senior executive improving staff utilization and overall company performance.

And success feels good. As a large company senior executive put it, Newforma is his “big bucket of fun.”

“Time savings alone generate an annual

return on investment of 4X, meaning the software earns back

its cost in the first 12 weeks of use each year. Whatever the productivity savings, we feel the most important benefit comes

in risk reduction.”

Major International Practice of Architects, Designers, Engineers & Urbanists