Players unite! Let tech connect
those extended project teams

by DAN CONERY, VP of business development, Newforma | Sep 14, 2015

Our industry is a funny one. Where else will hundreds of people who don’t know each other come together to work intensely on a project, and, once it’s complete, then go their separate ways?

In construction, instant teaming is a requirement. A contractor you’ve never worked with before is suddenly integral to your success. And all of their subcontractors, too? Yes, they’re also integral. And all of these relationships may also end at the conclusion of the project.

Morphing into a fully functioning team on day one is no easy task, especially when you need to coordinate and communicate with (literally) trillions of designers, engineers, subcontractors and specialists. (I never exaggerate.) And when working from a drawing that’s 12-hours out-of-date can result in costly re-dos that threaten the project schedule.

We’ve spent a fair amount of time in the field and we’re repeatedly asked: Can technology replicate a co-located office? Can it unite the extended project team?

We thought long and hard about those questions, and the best ways to answer them. We knew that a co-located-like experience alone wouldn’t make for a well-functioning team. Team performance is based on trust (but verify), confidence, and information that’s freely accessed and shared by the appropriate team members.

To us, the questions became: Can technology promote trust and confidence by making it easy for all project team members to access the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it? And how can technology ensure that all information that’s shared, whether it’s plan documents, submittals, RFIs on so on, is always up-to-date?

Our new white paper, “Using Technology to Unite the Extended Project Team,” takes a deep dive into the issues that trouble teams most, and offers a technology solution to solve them. Those issues include:

Information overload;
Siloed project data;
Disconnects between team members;
No single team record;
Inefficient process for sharing.

Download the paper now – and rest assured that relief is on the way!

Based in New England, the author is a self-described technology evangelist focused on customer relationships and corporate strategy. He joined Newforma in 2005 after more than a decade with Primavera Systems Inc. Dan visited BuiltWorlds in July for our Mobile Apps + Construction event. Contact him here.