Progress in project development

26 March 2008

Joe Croser of Bentley Systems describes the development of project collaboration in the engineering sector.

If knowledge is power, why are we so quick to give away our power advantage in the name of collaboration? The answer to this question is: to improve the quality of every delivered project, and to deliver every project faster and cheaper.

So why then are we not more highly motivated to deepen our collective knowledge in order to increase our collective share of the power? All too often it seems – when it comes to knowledge sharing for global infrastructure projects – we spend more time discussing how we might structure the information created, in preference to discussing the most effective route for sharing the same information. In effect, we become penny wise and pound foolish.

Doesn’t that seem a little odd? That we can be so cavalier in our approach to collaboration, while being so finicky about the structure of the information we intend to collaborate on. To prove the point we have only to look at how information has been shared in the past and what steps project teams have taken to improve on the old processes. And we don’t have to look too long or too hard to see a pattern emerge.

Project teams were always reluctant in the past to change their well-proven processes for fear of introducing new risk and jeopardising already vulnerable project schedules and costs. But, as project schedules compressed and project teams sought to reduce the amount of work done – to deliver on time and on budget – it was also clear that sharing and distributing digital content using removable media via ‘snail’ mail or courier was no longer acceptable. First, individuals had to copy the digital content to the latest storage media, had to package it up, and finally they waited, and waited, for it to arrive at the destination. By the time it did arrive, the source information was out of date, and unreliable for design decision-making. They needed a faster way to make information available for collaboration.

So with the advancement of ‘electronic’ mail, times changed and technology improved. Using email to distribute copies of drawings and models, all teams immediately enjoyed a faster, more cost effective method for delivery. But sadly this new way was far from perfect. All too often limits imposed on email attachment size, meant that the files bounced right back.

Teams hesitantly turned to FTP sites as a way to distribute and share large project files. And at first the results were satisfactory. But the good times didn’t last. As teams became more demanding this all too ‘open’ distribution channel lost favour as it provided poor access control and no visibility into who did what, and when – two critical factors for successful and dependable collaboration.

Some clever souls had a bright idea: put a fancy ‘dress’ on the naked FTP site and call it a ‘project collaboration portal’.

Alas, information warehouses of this kind really only solve issues associated with ‘old school’ design and construction projects, where design development is sequential, and milestone deliverables rule the workflow. But in an ever-accelerating world, where project schedules are being compressed, and true real-time collaboration is faster, better, and cheaper, ‘old school’ no longer makes the grade.

Indeed, milestone deliverables form only one part of the project information team’s need to manage and share on a daily basis. To improve project quality, reduce rework, and meet project deadlines, teams need to collaborate at an even earlier stage in the project, using live information in real-time.

So today, having taken a series of baby steps toward improvements, and to support their collaborative mission, engineering project teams choose collaboration tools such as ProjectWise to connect their people and information, regardless of location. Project teams can control access to their own information – to make sure their project team members are working with the right versions – and can easily see who consumed what and when.

Joe Croser is global marketing director for platform products and subscriptions at Bentley Systems.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Prime magazine.

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