Manage AEC projects online: stay on schedule with these Internet-based options

CADalyst, Dec, 2004 by H. Edward Goldberg

EFFECTIVE COST CONTROL AND TIMELY completion of projects are vital in the construction industry. Today's construction market is highly competitive, driving profit margins down as risks increase. In this climate, one failed project can wipe out an entire year's profit. A project-based industry that depends on the accuracy of daily decisions needs solutions that provide competitive advantages in the field and in the office. To this end, the building industry leans on project management software to control costs, minimize mistakes, and facilitate timely completion of construction. Project management software allows tighter control over bidding, scheduling, and field changes. These products help contain lifecycle costs in the facilities management phase by making data that was stored during earlier stages more readily available.

The lack of accurate and timely information exchange between parties is at the heart of historical inefficiencies such as cost overruns and interparty disputes. Web-based project management appears to be a promising solution to the industry's communication and coordination problems. It retains all standard construction project management capabilities while allowing widely dispersed parties involved in the design and construction process to access centralized project information via the Web. Project management collaboration software brings the architect and engineer together in the design process and imposes more efficiency from conception to construction to facility management.

Project management collaboration solutions originated in both the design and construction industries. Buzzsaw and ProjectWise, initially classified as collaboration sites and available from Autodesk and Bentley, respectively, started in the CAD industry. Both solutions initially addressed the need for collaboration between architects and engineers. Although they're evolving to include additional facets of project management, their main focus remains design and design collaboration, which we'll cover in a future column. Software such as Constructware, Primavera Expedition Professional, Meridian Systems' Prolog and Proliance, and TRIRIGA are examples of solutions that originated in the construction management or design/build industries. Most solutions available from the design and construction sectors integrate data from the design process through facility management in various degrees. They can be purchased as modules so they can be customized to meet specific needs.

Technology Platforms

Four basic technology platforms are used to deploy project management collaboration software:

* PC/client-server applications. In a client-server environment, IT loads the software application on a server and users download it from the network. Essentially, everyone has a copy of the software on his or her desktop PC.

* Web-enabled client-server. This is client-server computing, but with another layer of software and hardware added so users can access the application over the Internet. The technology emerged in the mid 1990s and uses Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Server solutions. This is the client-server answer to the ASP (application service provider) challenge--bringing the client-server application to the Web. The software runs on a company server, but users work via the Internet.

* Thin-client ASP. With true thin-client ASP computing, users go directly to the application through their Web browser. The process is similar to running a program on a mainframe computer, but with access through the Internet. Because the application and the data are stored at the hosted site, problems with hardware and software incompatibilities are eliminated.

* Self-hosted, Web-based solutions. A new category, this is the second generation of client-server applications. They combine the ease of use of the PC/client-server application with all the benefits of an ASP.

Products

Following are descriptions of some popular project collaboration applications:

Constructware

www.constructware.com

Constructware, a company founded in 1994, develops technology for the U.S. construction industry. Its clients include owners, program managers, engineers, architects, constructionmanagers, contractors, and subcontractors in all major vertical market segments of the construction industry.

The Constructware application is a scalable, secure, Internet-based thin-client ASP communication and collaboration solution. Constructware helps clients centralize and formalize communication among the parties on a project or program. The application accommodates the many business processes in the design and construction industry and facilitates ease of use by hiding the functionality not required by individual users.

Design firms both large and small have used Constructware over the last several years to improve project deliveries for their clients. Of particular interest to architects and engineers, Constructware has one of the most sophisticated, field-proven online drawing and document management capabilities in the industry.