Joined-up thinking

Not a month goes by without a new project management system being launched. Where it used to be a straight choice between two or three, there are now at least a dozen comprehensive tools that construction managers can buy. The choice is bewildering. That's why the project management arm of Drivers Jonas, which is better known as one of the UK's top surveyors, is running trials for no fewer than three systems in a head-to-head competition.

According to Andy Todman, project manager for Drivers Jonas' £30m-plus Cambridge Business Park development, the early leader in the competition is i-scraper. This product is based on a web site - a bit like Buzzsaw Project Point, which was reviewed in the May 2000 issue of Construction Manager.

Simply, i-scraper is a web site that stores all the files for a project at a central server (like a storage depot for computer files) in the US. In fact there are two servers, just in case one crashes. Alex Menzies of i-scraper says that the only reason the servers are based in the States is because service is faster there at the moment. He believes that by the end of the year i-scraper will use servers in the UK. "We are just waiting for UK server farms to catch up," he says.

One web site is created for each project and passwords are formed so that entry is limited to the project team members. After all, you wouldn't like the competition sniffing around your files.

Within teams, passwords can be set so that some members of the team can change drawings while others can't. This stops, for example, subcontractors changing drawings to "as built" without the architect's or main contractor's consent. These hierarchies are physically set by i-scraper. On one hand, this provides excellent security but, on the other, it can be infuriating if you want to grant permission for someone to amend drawings and you can't get hold of the system supervisor.

In practice, a project member can access the web site via modem at any time of day or night and see the most up-to-date versions of drawings and other documents.

And the project member can see who has seen the drawings (or other documents) and what amendments have been made.

Up to 4% of project costs can be saved using the system, claims i-scraper. These savings come from reduced paperwork - stationery costs are slashed. Transport costs are also reduced as contractors don't have to make as many emergency dashes down the motorway to get on site when they can look at the latest drawing from a laptop at a service station, argues the software developer.

So does it really work? The initial reaction from the Cambridge Business Park, where i-scraper is being used on two B1 offices, is "yes".

Mark Bell, project architect with Hamilton Associates, likes the fact that he doesn't have to make as many site visits to ensure that the latest drawings are in use. "I can do approvals from my desk in London," says Bell.

Drivers Jonas' Todman is keen on the system. He explained that i-scraper was chosen for the Cambridge Business Park because the landowner, Crown Estates, wanted an Egan demonstration project and that using i-scraper is an innovation that would help them satisfy the requirement.

Todman has been impressed with the service. "We've only had it for two months and there have already been two updates," he says appreciatively. Menzies says that a new version of the viewer programme (which allows users to look at drawings and annotate them without having the full drawing package) is due now.

Mike Roberson, design manager of main contractor Norwest Holst's building division, is more reserved. He says that the system is limited by how many phone lines you can run to the site. For the current on-site development - a 4000m2 B1 office - Norwest Holst has just two phone lines. This means that there isn't always a line around when you want it, he adds.

But Roberson can see a glittering future. "One day we will be walking around the site with our laptops and palmtops showing the boys on site the latest drawings. We're some way off that at the moment though," says Roberson. He adds that the only obstacle to this happening is the current generation of foremen. "Once we get a new generation of foremen coming through, there will be acceptance on site," he says.

All the members of the Cambridge Business Park team are keen to see i-scraper develop a tendering tool to run on the web site. A tool is in the pipeline, but it is still at feasibility stage, says Menzies.

While the users have been won over, resistance is more likely from head office. One of the team said that he had struggled to convince his IT department to take on the new system. "They are suspicious of something that they can't control," he says. "But you can run i-scraper on a project without head office ever knowing." The system is a victim of its own success. "Because it is so easy to access the drawings, everyone wants a say. There are about five architects on this job now," jokes Roberson. While this was seen as a problem, the team also saw easy access as a boon to creativity. The only other complaint was the lack of real-time interactivity. Roberson says: "Whatever the benefits, you can't replace a discussion over the table." That's why i-scraper is developing a videoconferencing program that will be offered with the system by the end of the year, adds Menzies.