Megafirm WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff works on big projects with big aspirations: One World Trade Center in New York City; Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York; The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C.

These are the types of demanding, high-profile projects that engineers live for. These projects are challenging – therefore fun – to engineer, full of advanced technologies and interesting problems to solve.

And the payoff is more business, more career advancement, and more growth.

But big stakes mean big pressure to perform. How does WSP do it? The firm has many strengths, but the one we’re talking about today is a strategic expertise in project information management (PIM).

Why PIM?
“Project information” refers to the universe of models, drawings, emails, mark-ups, submittals, transmittals, meeting minutes, images, contracts, specifications, change orders and other documentation created in the course of designing, building and operating large facilities.

“Project information management” addresses the basic needs of organizing, finding, tracking, sharing, monitoring and reusing technical project information and communications in a way that is completely aligned with the people and processes that depend on that information.

With good PIM software, engineers can get away from administration and get back to what they love: engineering.

How improved PIM benefits WSP.
Risk mitigation: Newforma Project Center lets WSP search for keywords in every project document, draft, and email, then sort and filter the results to find just what’s sought. It’s a key factor in resolving disputes.

Schedule preservation: Team members are demanding faster and faster responses to submittals and requests for information. WSP uses Newforma’s electronic contract administration functions to cut 30% from response times

Responsive service: People equate fast replies with great service. The powerful Newforma search tool helps WSP answer client questions while still on the phone – not hours later.

Productive people: Newforma’s mobile apps integrate with the software used at the desk, meaning plans and specs are available on iPads, on-site quality issues can be captured, logged and assigned to responsible parties from smartphones, and punch lists can be compiled and managed in a fraction of the time and effort of paper-based processes.

Quality control: Confidence in records improves the review of critical materials requiring fabrication, such as reinforcing and structural steel. And better punch list and field reporting, as enabled by integrated apps on mobile devices, enables stronger quality control on site.

How all this generates business.
Successful projects make people happy. When those happy people are clients, they come back with more projects. When those happy people are other team members, they refer business to you.

There’s PIM. And there’s BIM.
Better project information management can help with other technology initiatives, too, such as the implementation of building information modeling.

Take a moment and check out this article, Delivering on the Promise of BIM. You’ll learn about how existing document control processes are being swamped with data, and how we can fix it.

With the right knowledge, the right tools, and the right team, your business grows, and work is more rewarding. And that’s big. 

About the Author: Allen Preger is a co-founder and vice president of global strategy at Newforma, a project information management software company transforming building and infrastructure project delivery. Newforma software is being used on more than 1.8 million projects worldwide.