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May 2002

Symonds Group Chooses Business Collaborator for Web-based Project Collaboration

UK-based project management and design consultancy Symonds has selected Business Collaborator, a leading Knowledge Collaboration and Project Extranet tool within the AEC sector, as its default extranet platform for data transfer. Offering an out-the-box solution, Business Collaborator has been effective from day one, with only minimal customisation to reflect Symonds corporate identity and provide a Project Reporting solution which compliments their existing processes.

Installed in September 2001, the software is being used by Symonds personnel working on projects within the construction and engineering sector. Offering secure and rapid transfer of information and drawings, Business Collaborator is a simple and easy-to-use business tool, a single half day's training being sufficient for project teams to be up and running.

Symonds is a project based business providing consultancy, management and design services. Independently owned and operated, the company has over 850 employees around the world working on landmark construction and engineering projects, as well as highly prestigious consultancy and management contracts.

Running up to 1,200 projects globally, Symonds took the decision to move to full electronic delivery of information in the mid-1990s. Initially, the company opted for a point to point transfer system in preference to a specific application platform. However, it became apparent that a web-based system of data transfer would be much more effective.

Commenting on the choice, Anders Naess of Capita Symonds said:

“We considered a number of software solutions, including iManage and Microsoft SharePoint, but staff at Business Collaborator understood the specific needs of the construction industry and could offer software specifically tailored to project management within this sector. We could literally use it out of the box with no need for costly and time consuming customisation. Being easy to use, very little IT training was required and it has been possible to concentrate our efforts on the cultural changes associated with this new way of working. ”

Within the Symonds Group, Business Collaborator forms the basis of a Project Extranet accessible to all parties within each project team. In addition, it can be used as an Information Management tool, taking information from individual sites to a central platform. This has significantly speeded up the mechanics of data transfer, allowing project team members to concentrate on core issues.

Anders Naess acknowledges:

“This has real advantages for clients. On an average project, the time spent transferring drawings and reports to site has been reduced by two days. Contractors on site get the information they need faster, and the whole project is managed more effectively. ”

Due to the large number of technical drawings to be transferred, Symonds chose to integrate the CAD viewer software, allowing users to view, redline and print drawings and documents online. This provides Symonds with all the advantages of CAD software without individual users and clients installing the related software or having to download large CAD files.