Schmidt Associates Improves Project Efficiency with Newforma Project Center

Schmidt Associates is a full-service Architecture and Engineering firm specializing in Architecture, Engineering, Energy, Interior Design Site, and Construction Administration. The Indianapolis Consolidated Civil and Criminal Courthouse project is part of a larger Marion County Community justice campus. This multi-year design-build project includes a large team comprised of criteria developers, design-builders, the design team (Schmidt Associates) with subcontractors, prime contractors with design-assist, and coordinated campus project teams.

With complex projects like the Indianapolis Consolidated Civil and Criminal Courthouse, varying contractual relationships and owner requirements often dictate which construction administration software companies must use. As a result, teams adopt more software to solve one issue but introduce other challenges by adding more applications and data sources.

Schmidt Associates struggled with a number of challenges, including:

• How to collaborate and efficiently share information with sub-consultants, the prime contractor, and campus project teams using Autodesk BIM 360, Procore, and Newforma Project Center.
• Adhere to digital data requirements with a centralized view of the project record.
• Locating project information across a host of applications and storage locations.
• The administrative burden of moving project files between systems.

Using Newforma Project Center, and the latest Autodesk® BIM 360 and Procore® Connectors, Schmidt Associates created a centralized source for project information to eliminate complex information management challenges and reduce time spent on administrative work.

By implementing the Newforma Project Center Connector for Autodesk BIM 360, Schmidt Associates reduced time spent, approximately one hour per day, copying models from Autodesk BIM 360 in order to share with external team members who did not have access to Autodesk BIM 360. The Newforma Project Center Info Exchange sync function enables Schmidt Associates to share and synchronize a model folder on a preset schedule (twice a day, daily, etc.) with design partners.

Schmidt Associates was also able to meet digital data requirements by providing key stakeholders with a complete project record. It also enabled team members to use the platform they were already familiar with to find and access project information.

“The comprehensive view of the project record is so important. Because there are different products focused on maximizing collaboration in different ways, it’s nice to have a ‘platform-agnostic’ way to see all these components together, including files from BIM 360, SharePoint Online, and your different network folders. Using Newforma Project Center, our firm leadership and technical staff have the benefit of quick access to all information in a familiar environment.”
Greg Hempstead AIA LEED AP®, CSI CDT, Project Delivery Systems Manager/Associate

Newforma’s Project Center Connectors for Autodesk BIM 360 and Procore enabled Schmidt Associates to automate workflows for sharing files and transferring submittal and RFIs. This eliminated double entry of data and reduced administrative time.

“Before the Newforma + BIM 360 Connector, we had a full-time staff member transferring and uploading files from BIM 360 into Newforma Project Center. Now, he saves five to eight hours a week in administrative tasks. We’re also sending RFIs/Submittals through Newforma Project Center using the Procore Workflow Connector, which eliminates double logging.”