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mwork design so the pipe avoided the duct.

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Technology fuels team Technology proves to be a benefit as well as a challenge, that eventually brings the team closer together. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent H ow do project managers foster teamwork during a project? Do they turn to technology? Most do, but it does offer it’s chal- lenges. TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION At Process Plus (Cincinnati, OH), a 120-person architecture and engineering firm, project managers

Modifications were reflected in real time to every design team involved. Instead of the plumbing design team post- ing their changed document, and each of the 27 other teams needing to do the same to their own copies of the plumbing layouts, the collaboration network updated ev- erything automatically and simultaneously. DIGITAL DOCUMENT CONTROL. To make communication more ef- ficient among all these entities, SERA Architects and JE Dunn Construction used an all-digital documentation process. They implemented Bluebeam, a collaborative editing and file-sharing platform, to link all of the con- struction documents so changes were reflected across the board. Smartsheet, a cloud-based spreadsheet solution, also helped the teams keep track of documents, allowed multiple users simultaneous access and editing, and pre- vented version-control problems. “BIM programs are not new, as they get more sophisticated, they’re gaining more ground.” Daily document control on a project this size is no easy task. To control and coordinate CLSB plan updates, all team members used a synchronized set of project draw- ings that were electronically updated in Bluebeam and synchronized from the Dunn Dashboard – a proprietary project website and clearinghouse for all project informa- tion. The Dunn Dashboard gave non-architect users easy access to BIM files. JE Dunn estimated that it would have taken 127,000 hours to post and draw documents manually on this project. At a billable rate of $79 per hour, it would have added an astounding $10,058,017 in paper-related costs. On top of that savings, one subcontractor used Point Layout software, an Autodesk program, and Robotic To- tal Station, an automated tool by Trimble, to layout and install 55,000 hangers for the building’s mechanical, en- gineering, and plumbing systems. This saved another $1 million on the project since the company didn’t have to drill from a lift, insert the hangers, and then have them individually inspected. The all-digital design and documentation process acceler- ated coordination and construction. “It’s hard to determine just how much time would have been added to the project if these processes hadn’t been as streamlined, but it’s safe to say we saved many months,” Jacobs says. “It’s also difficult to quantify soft cost sav- ings due to inefficiencies that are eliminated or improved through technology.”

rely on technology for many things. Sharon Petko-Bunney outlines a few:

Skype has replaced many telephone conferences, because it’s often difficult to get everyone on the same page and it can also be difficult to hear during traditional phone conferences. Seeing people really helps. ASANA is a web and mobile application designed to help teams track their work. Go-To Meeting helps to implement HD video conferencing. Rebecca Sowma, also a project manager for Process Plus, says that clients seem to like the Skype meetings when the video is enabled. “We can present documents and change them in real time. We do model walk-throughs that help clients visualize their projects, and we have had positive feedback about all this,” she says. These technologies help to create an atmosphere that drives team work and collaboration. TECHNOLOGY POSES BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES Andrew Bennett, regional vice president of Pennoni Associates Inc. (Philadelphia, PA), an engineering and consulting firm with 1,145 employees, says that their managers use a variety of software and technology to enable collaboration. One of the most useful and popular is the Lync sys- tem, which allows them to communicate while sharing screens. They have also used several other management software programs that provide information sharing but have not settled on a stan- dard. “Technology is a benefit and a challenge,” Bennett says. “One sig- nificant benefit of technology is the almost real-time access to ac- counting information (this should enable our PMs to more effec- tively manage their projects), but as stated, both a benefit and a challenge. While constant software evolution provides greater and faster information sharing capabilities, the benefit comes with a cost.” How so? Bennett says that software improvements require staff time for training and adaption, especially if the company See TEAMWORK, page 8

RY 4, 2016, ISSUE 1133

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