Edmonton-based PCL Constructors Inc. has been playing a key role in Canada’s construction industry for close toa 100 years. Today, the company raises structures throughout North America and is a leading general constructor in Canada and the U.S. Since PCL’s large workforce is highly mobile and the company often hires local crews to assist in construction projects, the company sought to improve its collaboration and process management technology tools. With the goal of improving team work facilitation and document sharing PCL decided to implement the Microsoft® Office System software.
With nearly a century of high quality construction work under its belt, Edmonton-based PCL Constructors is one of Canada’s oldest general contractors. With over 1,600 salaried employees, close to 4,000 hourly employees and 22 district offices across Canada and the U.S., PCL is Canada’s largest general constructor, and among the largest in the United States.
PCL’s highly mobile work force designs and constructs commercial, institutional, industrial, civil as well as residential buildings and facilities across North America. In addition, the company is highly active in renovations, additions and repairs, breathing new life into existing buildings all over the continent.
PCL’s process for construction is centered on collaboration and teamwork. Whether it’s a job site worker interacting with a district colleague or company experts sharing knowledge across North America, PCL employees need to work together. Information sharing be it intellectual, electronic or paper based, is at the heart of PCL’s success.
As a progressive user of technology, PCL is an industry front runner in the use of collaborative systems and services. For PCL, it is equally important to collaborate internally as it is to communicate externally with owners, architects, subcontractors and partners. The opportunity to enhance their work processes and improve their collaborative capabilities were key drivers for PCL in evaluating the latest offerings found in Microsoft Office System.
“Collaboration tools are of critical importance to the successful completion of our projects,” says Shane Crawford, PCL IT Infrastructure Manager. “Not only do we need to relay the architect’s vision to the team on the ground, but during the construction process all project team members need to be available to answer questions or make modifications. Up to now, our biggest challenge has been making sure that important communication happens easily and rapidly.”
As this multi-billion dollar company grows, it continues to create and collect information at a remarkable rate. Managing access to this data and ensuring that the correct information is available wherever and whenever needed is an ongoing part of their work processes. For PCL, the interest in improved communication tools and collaborative products is in their potential to provide simple solutions and expedite the collection, organization and access to these large quantities of electronic information.
“The nature of our business makes it commonplace for crews raising a bridge in Florida to need access to up to date documentation created elsewhere in North America. It’s also not unnatural for the document author to be away from the office because of work commitments on another project hundreds or thousands of miles away. This kind of disconnect could mean a delay in a multi-million dollar construction project, so the cost of not being able to find information is high for us,” Crawford says.
PCL prides itself on being a leader not only in the construction industry, but also in its use of technology. Recognizing that newer IT solutions may improve its teamwork, PCL decided to introduce Microsoft Office System to its organization.
Process Improvement
PCL turned to Compugen Inc. and Microsoft Consulting Services, a key technology provider, in June 2003 to find an effective teaming and process improvement solution. Compugen and Microsoft Consulting recommended the Microsoft Office System which gives users collaboration and process management tools through an integrated, comprehensive solution set. It more easily connects people, information and business processes to enhance individual, team and organizational productivity.
Working with the Technology Partners
Compugen worked closely with Microsoft Consulting Services to understand PCL’s business needs and collaboration opportunities. Compugen then implemented a customized solution including components of the Microsoft Office System. The Microsoft Office System is composed of industry-leading productivity programs, servers and services. It includes the 2003 versions of Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint® presentation graphics program, Access, Outlook® messaging and collaboration client, Visio® drawing and diagramming software, FrontPage® web site creation and management tool and Publisher. PCL was impressed by the capabilities of Microsoft Office System Professional Edition, which can be extended through the document management and collaboration features of Windows® SharePointTM Team Services powered by Windows ServerTM 2003 operating system. PCL agreed with the recommendation to introduce the solution to its organization.
Creating a Team Environment
First to adopt the Microsoft Office System at PCL was the communications core team, a group within PCL responsible for promoting, designing and implementing internal business system solutions that focus on collaboration. Because this team creates many dynamic documents while assessing appropriateness of new technologies for PCL, they were well suited to a solution which would provide improved document control in a shared environment.
“The communications core team has been involved in improving our team work since its inception. Its team members intimately understand the collaboration challenges of our organization and were the best group to assess the appropriateness of the Microsoft Office System-based solution for PCL,” says Brian Ranger, PCL General Manager of Systems and Technologies. “The team was impressed with the capabilities of the Microsoft solution.”
Windows SharePoint Services helps make document version control an easy task. The solution tracks document changes and automatically gives files different version numbers for auditing and rollback. Users also have the option of reserving a document for updates, allowing for control of changes made to the contained information. The Windows SharePoint Services work site also sends out an email alert to team members whenever a change has been made to a relevant document.
Team projects are expedited with the powerful collaboration features in Windows SharePoint Services. The solution allows users to post Microsoft Office 2003 documents to dedicated Web-based workspaces, allowing team members to work on them together in real time. Collaboration is further strengthened by Windows SharePoint Services presence integration through Outlook 2003 applications, which allow users to determine the online status of site members quickly by sending e-mail or an instant message, adding the member to a contact list, and viewing current free/busy status.
The Windows SharePoint Services solution will also be able to grow with PCL, since it easily scales from a single-computer deployment to a server farm deployment with multiple front-end and back-end computers. New computers can be easily added to a server farm or removed for upgrades.
Almost immediately after deployment, the PCL communications core team saw it was able to cut down on the time that its members search for information and each other. In addition to realizing these time savings, the team has also been able to improve productivity and accuracy, as well as improving control over documentation.
Enabling Teamwork
The communications core team has been able to increase productivity and reduce information fatigue among users of Microsoft Office System through the help of Windows SharePoint Services integration with Outlook 2003. Team members are now able to cut down the time they spend trying to connect with each other by scheduling meetings with the help of integration features in Outlook 2003 such as shared calendaring and Windows Sharepoint Services.
“The communications group sets company protocols, initiates brainstorms and facilitates information flow throughout the organization,” says Crawford. “However, we found teleconferencing, videoconferencing and email technologies tend to be disconnected, point to point solutions. The Microsoft Office System builds upon familiar tools and interfaces and provides new features that enable team members to work together more effectively, make better decisions and capture ideas. It also integrates seamlessly into our existing business processes and applications.”
Being able to connect through a centralized, Web-based work space allows the communications core team to focus more easily on projects like content management and e-learning. The team has also been able to save information centrally through a site using Windows SharePoint Services, helping to make it easy for team members to access information, regardless of where in PCL they happen to be working.
Making Processes Manageable
Document version control measures in the Microsoft Office System solution, store links to only the most up to date documentation on PCL’s sites using Windows SharePoint Services. This capability has already allowed the team to realize significant productivity gains and improve accuracy.
“With the Microsoft Office System-based solution we are able to feel secure that our employees are working on an up to date document and have the correct information at their fingertips,” Ranger says. “This is critical in any organization, but when you consider that minor changes in a construction drawing can lead to significant costs in rework and schedule delays it is especially important.”
Moving Forward Together
With Windows SharePoint Services, PCL employees will be able to share documents, update each other on project development and exchange ideas in virtual work spaces, or Web sites, as PCL deploys Microsoft Office System company-wide. The solution will allow remotely-based teams to create and edit documents, participate in discussions, surveys and other projects—online and in real time. This is anticipated to translate into significant time and financial savings for the company, since work crews will now have improved access to all information they need when they need it, enabling them to complete construction projects faster.
The organization is also looking forward to the role Microsoft Office System will play in furthering its philosophy of mentoring and knowledge sharing.
“We are very proud of, and continually focus on, knowledge sharing among our employees,” Ranger says. “The Microsoft Office System promotes communities of interest, connected employees and knowledge sharing. Having a virtual space where teams can develop processes that improve the way they work is very attractive to our business. We are excited about the potential that the tools from Microsoft Office System bring to our team-oriented collaborative work processes.”
Microsoft Office is the business world’s chosen environment for information work that provides the software, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.
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