Arizona School Facilities Board Selects ProjectTalk for $1.1 Billion Project

Business Wire, May 9, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FOLSOM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001

Meridian Project Systems' ProjectTalk.com will serve as the

management tool for 600 construction professionals

led by Heery International for Arizona's

1,000+ school building renovation project

Meridian Project Systems' ProjectTalk.com has been chosen as the project management and collaboration tool for the Arizona School Facilities Board's $1.1 billion, three-year renovation project. Meridian Project Systems (MPS) is a leading e-business and software solutions provider for the construction industry. Last year, MPS launched ProjectTalk, an application service provider that enables construction teams to manage data and collaborate online.

The Arizona School Facilities Board (ASFB) selected nine construction management firms to implement this massive project. Heery International is coordinating the technology aspect and was instrumental in advocating ProjectTalk as the tool of choice to manage all project data. After extensive evaluation of various products on cost and technical bases, Heery recommended ProjectTalk because it met all technical requirements, accommodated the extensive coding required for the ASFB cost tracking and budget reporting, and provided local resources for implementation and training. "ProjectTalk offers application modules for the varying aspects anticipated for the ASFB program," said Don Sowell, project executive for Heery. "ProjectTalk's powerful capabilities provide ASFB the ability to handle an expansive, multi-site program that needs to be accessed by a wide variety of users within a centrally administered, cost-effective enterprise solution."

Heery has the immense task of coordinating the nine project management firms throughout this multi-project endeavor. As internal coordinator, Heery will assist the ASFB staff by consolidating the projects into work packages; providing master planning, scheduling, cost control and cost accounting; administering a web-based project management system; and developing general consistency in reports and document controls. Heery is relying on ProjectTalk to administer and manage all project data and to track and report each site's status to facilitate communication channels to the state legislature, the governor, the public and school districts throughout the state.

The Arizona School Facilities Board's renovation program is called Students FIRST (Fair and Immediate Resources for Students Today), the nation's leading state-directed capital finance reform program for schools. Under this program, tax dollars will fund the much-needed corrections and renovations of approximately 1,210 schools. "I have every confidence in our project management firms and Meridian Project Systems' ProjectTalk to effectively plan, execute and complete this enormous assignment," said Dr. Philip E. Geiger, ASFB's executive director.

The Arizona School Facilities Board's decision to subscribe 600 workers to ProjectTalk means a great deal for Meridian Project Systems. Al Marshall, vice president of sales and marketing at MPS said, "This type of validation from a nationally recognized, government-funded program rewards and continues to fuel our efforts to provide customers thorough and powerful project management solutions."

About the Arizona School Facilities Board:

Under the Students FIRST law adopted in 1998, the Arizona School Facilities Board funds new school construction, deficiency corrections, and building renewal for all of Arizona's public schools. The state of Arizona took a leadership role in addressing the US Department of Education's estimate of $127 billion in school construction needs nationwide. The estimated cost to bring all of Arizona's 1210 schools to state approved minimum adequacy guidelines by 2003, in accordance with the Students FIRST law, is $1.078 billion. The nine project management firms selected to complete the deficiency corrections projects are: Abacus Project Management, DMJM, GV Enterprises, Gilbane, Heery International, Jacobs/Chanen, Kitchell, Pinnacle One, and Vanir.

About Heery International:

Founded in 1952, Heery International is an 1100-person design, engineering and construction management firm with annual revenues of more than $200 million. Heery is the industry leader in managing construction programs for public school systems, having delivered more than 45,000 classrooms in more than 150 school districts worldwide, as well as managing three large state-funded and statewide school construction programs. Heery has received national recognition for its student model-building contests and award-winning community involvement processes, and is annually ranked among the nation's top construction management firms by industry publications such as Engineering News-Record, World Architecture and Building Design & Construction.

About Meridian Project Systems:

Meridian Project Systems, recently ranked the 56th fastest growing company in the nation by Inc. magazine, is a pre-IPO software and application service provider for the architectural, engineering and construction industry. MPS' online solution, ProjectTalk.com, is the industry's most comprehensive collaboration and management tool. MPS has served the commercial building industry since 1993 and has more than 30,000 users, including some Fortune 500 companies. Its products are used by more than half of the top contractors in the United States, as ranked by ENR magazine. MPS is a privately held company headquartered in Folsom, Calif., with a Research and Development Center in Vancouver, BC. Visit www.mps.com for more information.