Projects:
Company Overview
BDP is a major international practice of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists. As an interdisciplinary firm, BDP emphasizes the importance of integrated work processes. BDP had been disappointed in its search for integrated software to manage information for its large, multi-national, multidisciplinary projects.
Challenges
BDP had been disappointed in its search for integrated software to manage information for its large, multi-national, multidisciplinary projects. For example, the firm used a system that proved cumbersome, limiting its uptake in the firm. It also did not integrate with Microsoft Outlook email or BIM processes. Further, the software focused on individual projects in isolation, which hindered access to knowledge and best practices developed across multiple projects.
Why Newforma Project Center
Return on Investment
BDP Director of Information and Technology Alistair Kell projects the return on investment in Newforma software by estimating conservatively, then slashing those estimates further. “A user survey told us Newforma software is saving individuals 15 to 20 minutes a day over the incumbent system,” Alistair said. “So we rounded down to 30 minutes a week and chose a low average billing rate of £30 per hour. “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,” Alistair said. “I have confidence in this figure because of our conservative assumptions. “Whatever the productivity savings, we feel the most important benefit comes in risk reduction.”
Risk Mitigation
“It’s all about risk management,” Alistair said. “To find detailed information that resolves or diffuses a situation, sometimes when callers are still on the phone, is invaluable."
“People were managing projects from their individual email inboxes. Newforma software allows them to keep using email, but provides ways to file it with other project documents or associate it with an action item, RFI, issued drawing revision, or BIM model, and find it again.”
“I have been in meetings when I’ve been challenged to demonstrate that we have done something on time,” Alistair said. “I used Newforma to pull up emails, drawings and transmittals that showed the contractor had downloaded key materials on such-and-such a date. It is difficult to quantify the financial benefit of that.”
Ancillary Payoffs
“We’ve saved money in related areas,” Alistair said.
“For example, the elimination of FTP sites saves £20,000 a year in hardware, software and management costs, plus eliminating FTP set-up and administration hassles.” Newforma Contract Management, a module BDP licenses to track activity during the construction phase of projects, has helped garner incremental revenue. “We’ve secured additional fees because the software provides easy-to-use ways to manage requests that go beyond the scope of the original contract.”
Ease of Adoption
“We had struggled mightily over the years to get traction with our previous system,” Alistair said. “By contrast, the adoption of Newforma was almost immediate. “To put it simply, Newforma software just works.”