Workflow and
Execution
November 2003
Web-based workflow and document management have become among the
top technology priorities for many construction firms trying to get
a handle on their paper-based processes and become more automated.
Two software vendors specializing in document workflow technology
launched new offerings to help construction companies tackle this
challenging issue head-on.
ProjectVillage, http://www.projectvillage.com/, Maumee, Ohio,
released what it calls a Web-based plan room product. The solution
is designed to reduce the cost of printing and shipping bid
documents while reducing the cost of communicating addendums and
late-breaking changes before bid day.
One of the main points of focus for ProjectVillage with this new
product is to integrate with project management. The plan room is
available to all project participants, and hosts can run a plan
holders' report for a list of bidders that have accessed documents.
When addendums are releases, plan holders can be notified via email
or fax, reducing the administrative costs associated with tracking
and communicating with bidders.
"The biggest downside for plan room-only applications is that
they are departmental, niche solutions," says Mark Bostleman,
president of ProjectVillage. To reduce double entry, training costs,
administration, and fragmentation of information, organizations are
seeking integration, not separation, between applications from
department to department. With our plan room, documents, bid lists,
and bid invitations flow seamlessly from pre-construction to
construction."
Like the ProjectVillage offering, a new partnership between
Océ-USA Inc. Wide Format Printing Systems, http://www.oceusa.com/, Chicago, Ill., and
Autodesk, http://www.autodesk.com/, San Rafael, Calif., also
emphasizes simplifying and accelerating the exchange of complex
design information throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Specifically, the alliance is expected to enable Autodesk users to
print Autodesk Design Web Format files without the difficulties and
surprises often associated with production printing.
"Océ and Autodesk share many customers and the interoperability
between their design creation tools and our large format devices has
always been vital, but not always simple. Together with Autodesk, we
are streamlining the process, enhancing our customers' productivity
and giving them a new competitive edge," says Joyce Virnich, vice
president of marketing for the Océ Wide Format Printing Systems
business unit.
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