Document Management in Construction Industry
An Extranet-Based DMS Would be Ideal for the Industry
We looked at the construction industry and the kinds of documents generated in the industry on a separate page. We now look at document management.
Construction projects tend to be long-term projects and hence it would be a good practice to accumulate all data for a project under a unique project ID in the DMS. The project details could be maintained under an Extranet accessible through a VPN connection to field employees, suppliers, customers and other authorized persons.
Under such a system, information from project sites, suppliers, customers and others could be entered into the system from locations far from the headquarters. Such information becomes immediately available for review and processing. The system would also facilitate collaborative working even when the workers are separated by thousands of miles.
With projects spread over distant sites, suppliers probably from all over the world and demanding customers who want access to project progress status, an Extranet and VPN connectivity are ideal solutions for the construction industry.
We will now look at key functions in the construction industry and how a DMS like the above could help.
Construction Project Planning
At the project owner's level, planning involves clarifying the objectives of the project, studying the environmental and legal implications and looking at the funding and other requirements. As we saw in an earlier page, the planning stage gives rise to many kinds of documents, such as project description, study reports, designs and drawings, bill of quantities and so on.
In a modern DMS, all the different documents would be stored in a digital format on servers. Even paper documents such as reference materials could be scanned and stored in that format.
Most of the planning documents would require collaborative working with inputs from several specialists. An Extranet environment would make such collaborative working practical and easy. Each person could sit at his or her own computer, review the current status of the document, contact any team member for any clarification or other input, and then add his or her own contribution to completing the work. This is possible even if the team members are located in distant places (or countries).
At the project contractor's level, planning would involve cost estimating for making bids, work scheduling once the work is awarded, procurement planning, manpower planning and so on. With an Extranet-based system, it would be possible for the contractor to take the help of outside experts in developing the plans. The experts would be given access to needed information through a secure VPN connection.
Project Execution
Executing the construction project involves materials procurement, hiring of personnel, doing the construction works, monitoring progress, recording transactions and work progress details, and so on.
An Extranet-based system could facilitate many of the tasks involved in project execution. For example, greater coordination with suppliers would be possible to synchronize supplies with work schedules. Timely online progress reporting would be possible from dispersed project sites. Project owners could be given access to information on the system that enables them to monitor work progress.
One feature of construction industry document management is the dispersal of the document originating points. Work might be going at many sites, and many of the documents would be generated at these places. It would be necessary to exercise proper control over the creation, accounting, storage, access rights, preservation and final transfer to headquarters of the documents.
Conclusion
An Extranet-based Document Management System would be ideal for the construction industry with operations at geographically distant work sites. Collaboration, prompt reporting, accounting and communications could all benefit from such a system.