Building and Newforma have teamed up for the Building Best Practice series of webinars. The latest broadcast followed the theme of Decreasing Risk on Projects
Ineffective management of project information, not being able to find vital data, poor communication, drowning under emails - what systems have you got in place to manage these kinds of risks on your projects?
Such issues were addressed in the latest webinar in the Building Best Practice series from Building magazine and project information management (PIM) software supplier Newforma. With an explosion of data in circulation in today’s construction projects, the implementation of a PIM system is becoming essential to manage risk.
Paul Fletcher, director of Through Architecture, saw PIM as key in the battle to reduce wasted effort. “As much as 40% of an architect’s time on a typical project is wasted because information is either of no benefit to others or the information ends up having to be reworked,” said Fletcher.
In his thought-provoking presentation, he cast PIM as the enabling technology that will allow the industry to move towards a future where teams are part of a “holistic service-based industry as opposed to a product-based one, as we are at the moment.”
We’ve got 1.2m emails, 1,400 projects and over 4,000 document transfers
Nick Dunn, ICT director at Scott Brownrigg, shared his experiences of PIM implementation at his practice, where audited systems are essential to keep track of information flows among 150 staff in offices across Europe and Singapore. “We’ve got 1.2 million emails on our system, 1,400 projects and over 4,000 document transfers,” explained Dunn.
Scott Brownrigg needed a system that complemented existing quality management processes, was easy to use and could be adapted. “For example, BIM (Building Information Modelling) is now key for us, so it’s important to integrate PIM with BIM tools such as Revit,” said Dunn.
Iain Godwin of Godwin Consulting outlined some key questions to ask: “Do you have a plan? Do you exist in a sharing culture? Can I capture my core data and amplify that data to empower my staff? What systems can best support my people and processes?”
“Ultimately,” he concluded, “if you ask yourself these questions [you will] decrease the risk on your projects.”
The Building Best Practice webinar series
The latest webinar in the Building Best Practice series, entitled Decreasing Risk on Projects, is available to view at building.co.uk/newforma
The one-hour broadcast looked at:
- Effective communication with design and construction partners
- Improving project risk mitigation
- Reducing project overheads
- Creating fully audited workflows
- Improving response times and delivery.
Panellists included experts in their field, sharing experiences and answering audience questions:
- Paul Fletcher, co-founding director of Through Architecture, chairs the RIBA Construction Strategy Group
- Nick Dunn, ICT director at Scott Brownrigg, has held the position of ICT director for three major architectural practices for the last 20 years
- Iain Godwin, ICT consultant at Godwin Consulting, provides strategic IT input to design and engineering practices.
Make sure you view this on-demand webinar and look out for future instalments in the Building Best Practice series.
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