Keeping Organized: How Cloud Storage Can Help BIM

August 19, 2016 | Comments

You’ve been working for months on your project. Everything is perfectly lined up and you’re excited to see things come together. Construction is going well.

It’s easy to misplace essential information on a project site, but it can result in budget overages and delays.

But somewhere along the line, someone managed to misplace an email with pivotal information about the wiring requirements for the building. You spend days searching through your inbox for that missing ZIP file to get what you need and by the time you finally find it, the project has started to go over budget.

This is what happens when information is kept in silos—things get misplaced and if someone doesn’t have the latest version of a project file, things can get out of hand very quickly. It’s a common problem in the architecture, engineering and construction industries that can be solved with the likes of project information management (PIM) software.

 

Managing Project Information

Those who are familiar with building information modeling (BIM) definitely understand the importance of that central term, information. BIM projects come with vast amounts of this information and it can be tricky to keep everything organized.

What’s the trick to solving this organizational disconnect? Information needs to be brought out of its silos and kept where everyone on a team can access it.

A recent release of Newforma’s Project Center software promises to do just that. It combines on-premise and Amazon Web Services cloud storage systems to bring all of a project’s relevant information into one accessible place.

 

How Does It Work?

“We’re the neutral Switzerland,” quipped Adrian Scholes, vice president of marketing at Newforma. “Our product lets you use the products you’re already using and acts as a hub.”

Have a look at how it works:

The software has a few key functionalities to make this happen:

  • Emails can be managed using a drag-and-drop system from standard email clients, including Outlook.
  • Projects can be searched using the program’s indexing function, which will also search projects that pre-date use of the software.
  • Documents can be revised, marked up and recorded within the software without the need to print them out.
  • Files can be checked in and out of programs such as Bentley ProjectWise, FileNet and Microsoft SharePoint using electronic document management system (EDMS) integration.

 

The Importance of Being Informed

Information is a key aspect of BIM. Moreover, having vital information available to the appropriate team members at the appropriate times not only ensures a successful construction phase of a project, it also allows you to successfully manage the entire life-cycle of your building.

As Scholes explained, a project is really only successful because of a long chain of decisions. To make these decisions, collaborators need to be informed—and when they aren’t, projects start to experience issues. Projects typically go over budget when key information is lost or decisions are based on incorrect information.

For more information on keeping AEC projects organized, check out the Newforma Project Center website.

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