As briefly mentioned yesterday, McLaren Software has launched a new service, offering outsourced document control for capital projects.
The vendor provides a privately hosted cloud-based implementation (OnAir – post) of its enterprise EDMS, McLaren Enterprise, supported by experienced and trained McLaren document controllers “for a flexible, all-inclusive fee structure”. According to the news release:
…the service is designed to help owner operators or EPCs bring a document control system online quickly to support a capital project without having to procure, configure or maintain hardware or software or hire, train and retain document controllers.
The service is a response to customers finding high levels of turnover (up to 50%) among document controllers employed on capital projects, particularly where document control skills are in short supply, often in remote locations. Paul Muir, CEO of McLaren Software, says the first customer is “a major Alberta Oil Sands Operator”; the service is already available in north America and Australia with further geographic coverage and an asset operations service planned for later in 2013.
This is not unprecedented. SaaS collaboration vendor Aconex provided document control staff as part of its Panama Canal project success in 2010, and had others available for customers wanting experienced document controllers immediately. And Think Project! subsidiary PlanConnect also provides document control services (post).
