News releases

New AEC white paper surveys paths to improved project execution

Industry initiatives aim for greater efficiencies without process overhaul

Manchester, N.H.—December 18, 2006—A new survey of leading architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) executives has found that 10 of 11 firms are pursuing software initiatives to raise process productivity without disruptive re-engineering of their work practices. The research is available in a new white paper, Improving AEC Project Execution: Lessons from 11 Industry Leaders.

Newforma, Inc., a New Hampshire-based software developer, commissioned Spar Point Research of Danvers, Mass., to interview North American AEC executives in five market segments: architecture, building engineering, civil engineering, design-build, and transportation infrastructure. While the executives agreed on the business pressures and project risks their organizations face, no consensus arose over how best to tackle key challenges such as resourcing growth, managing risk, maximizing productivity and implementing efficient project processes to raise profits. 

Spar Point Managing Partner Bruce Jenkins attributes the absence of industry-wide best practices to the relative newness of process improvement as a discipline in the AEC industry.

“The industry has built distinct silos of digital information, from CAD to email to business data,” Jenkins says. “Some of the least-well managed – email, for example – are nevertheless relied on as a ‘primary source of truth,’ as one executive put it. The industry is only now starting to think about how to get more value from the information in some of those neglected silos, and how to better connect them all for more efficient, lower-risk project execution.”

Among the problems AEC firms face, those mentioned most included scarce human resources, compressed project schedules, culture gaps between companies on the project team, incompatible work processes and fragmented software environments.

“The looming presence of building information modeling – BIM – also ranks high among factors affecting AEC work processes, if not now, then in the near future,” Jenkins says.

The scope of the problem hasn’t deterred firms from taking action.

“We detected an industry mindset that improving the way projects are executed will require heavy doses of process re-engineering,” Jenkins says. “But despite this preconception, we also discovered many firms do have some kind of software initiative either implemented or planned to help team members handle project information better – without major surgery on current work processes.

“The common thread: most are based on, or work with, software already in everyday use: Microsoft Outlook, Windows directory folders, Exchange Server, Microsoft Project, Deltek Vision,” Jenkins says. “The emphasis is on minimizing change and disruption for users.”

Firms represented in the study are BNIM Architects; Bohannan Huston; Burns & McDonnell; Dynasty Group; Ghafari Associates; HOK S+V+E; Jaros Baum & Bolles; Jordan, Jones & Goulding; Psomas; The Walsh Group; and Walter P. Moore and Associates.

The full research paper, which includes detailed quotations from interviewees on every area of discussion, is available from the Newforma website, www.newforma.com.

About Spar Point

Spar Point Research LLC (www.sparllc.com) investigates new technologies that improve the productivity, quality and safety of work process for creating, modifying and managing engineered products and constructed assets. Its publications, industry conferences and custom consulting help practitioners maximize the business impact of technology. In March 2007, the firm will host Spar 2007, the fourth annual conference on advanced dimensional control work processes and three-dimensional laser scanning technologies. Spar Point’s phone number is 978-774-1102.

About Newforma

Newforma is a software company serving architecture, engineering, construction and owner/operator (AECO) organizations worldwide. Its mission is to develop and market industry-leading software solutions which significantly improve the productivity of the building project team by streamlining work processes, reducing exposure from errors and omissions, improving coordination and communication, increasing visibility into costs and quantities, and enabling greater repeatability of project success. Newforma Project Center™, Newforma’s flagship product, creates a more productive environment for project managers and the project team by organizing project information, facilitating information exchange, and enabling efficient project process. Newforma Project Center is currently implemented on multiple projects in industry-leading AECO firms. For more information about Newforma, visit www.newforma.com or phone +1-603-625-6212.

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