Category: People issues

Jan 09 2008

Paperless (or, at least, less paper): catch ’em young

By Paul Wilkinson in Future, People issues, Sustainability
9 January 2008

Since construction collaboration technologies first grabbed some peoples’ attention in the late 1990s, there has been a lot of debate about the extent to which such IT tools can save paper, particularly given some professionals’ preference for paper and their resistance to on-screen marking-up and commenting on drawings, etc (see my Moaning Architects post, 3 November 2005). I have argued …

collaboration, commenting, Construction, Guardian, intranet, mark-up, paper savings, school
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/paperless-or-at/

Jan 09 2008

IT paying ‘lip service’ to sustainability

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Future, Internet, Marketing, People issues, Sustainability
9 January 2008

An article on Computer Business Review says UK companies are failing to use IT to reduce or improve their environmental sustainability, even though they believe that technology is key to tackling the problem. The article, UK companies paying lip service to green issues, is based on a Datamonitor survey, commissioned by BT Global Services UK, in …

BERR, BT, Building magazine, building services automation, Computer Business Review, Construction, consultation document on sustainable construction, Datamonitor, David Santillo, energy use, flexible working, Greenpeace Research Labs, IT, Phil Clark, supply chain processes, sustainability, transport, Utilities

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2008/01/it-paying-lip-s/

Dec 23 2007

CTSpace put to the Sword

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Business/Financial, Collaboration, Extranet/CDE, Marketing, People issues, SaaS, Vendors
23 December 2007

Just 53 weeks after its last major ownership change, SaaS construction collabaration technology vendor CTSpace (the result of a merger between UK-based BuildOnline and US-based Citadon) has been acquired by the international Sword group of IT companies (as far as I can tell, no value for the transaction has been given). The news came in a …

4Projects, BIW, BuildOnline, Carillion, Cimage, Citadon, construction collabaration technology, CTSpace, ECM, Heath Davies, Howard Koenig, Jacques Mottard, MASS Systems, PIMS, Royal Opera House, SaaS, Schal, Sword group, Tarmac Professional Services, TPS
7 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/ctspace-put-to/

Dec 17 2007

Web conferencing and sustainability

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Books, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, People issues, Sustainability
17 December 2007

Two-and-a-half years ago, when I was putting the finishing touches to the final chapter of my book manuscript, I sketched out ideas of how web-based conferencing solutions might be used to replace some face-to-face meetings in construction projects. At the time, I focused on the convenience aspect of such ‘net meetings’ and their value alongside …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/web-conferencin/

Dec 13 2007

Collaboration: standards, viewing, plus industry education

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, Legal, People issues, SaaS
13 December 2007

Lachmi Khemlani, founder and editor of AECbytes, recently attended an AIA conference in the US, and her latest AECbytes newsletter describes some interesting sessions, including ones on business processes, automated code checking, digital project workflows and cooperative design. To give you a flavour, I’ve picked out a couple of items. Business processes The business process …

AECbytes, AIA, ASP, Cannon Design, Constructware, Crate & Barrel, eBuilder, Integrated Project Delivery, interoperability, Lachmi Khemlani, Meridian, NCCTP, Primavera, SaaS
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/collaboration-s/

Dec 12 2007

Collaborative processes help US industry respond to growth pressures

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Collaboration, Functionality, Future, People issues, ROI/benefits
12 December 2007

FMI and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) have released their Eighth Annual Survey of Owners. Based on over 200 responses from a variety of owner types and industries, the survey has both good news and bad news for construction IT. Building information modelling (BIM) technologies are increasingly used, but there is also …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/collaborative-p/

Dec 06 2007

EADOC

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Collaboration, Extranet/CDE, People issues, SaaS, Vendors
6 December 2007

My 30 July 2007 post on e-Builder has prompted a comment regarding a relative newcomer to the US construction collaboration market: Oakland, California-based EADOC. The website is a bit sparse on detail about the company and its founders (a press release – in fact, the only press release – says entrepreneurs Eric Law and Arnout van …

Autodesk, Baan, construction collaboration, Cordys, e-Builder, EADOC, Prolog, US
1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/eadoc/

Dec 05 2007

Drowning in information…

By Paul Wilkinson in Collaboration, Functionality, Future, Internet, People issues, Sustainability
5 December 2007

Writing my paper on ICT and sustainable construction last week, I would have liked a quotation I found in Monday’s Guardian newspaper, where the Media section was edited by guest editor Vint Cerf, ‘architect of the internet’. Cerf asked several influential internet gurus to “Tell me the future” and Peter Norvig, director of research at …

Google, Guardian, information, knowledge, Peter Norvig, Rutherford Rogers, tuna, Vint Cerf

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/12/drowning-in-inf/

Nov 29 2007

Vote for Sustrans Connect2

By Paul Wilkinson in Future, People issues, Sustainability
29 November 2007

Across the UK, numerous small projects are planned to improve parts of the national cycle network. Whether these proceed depends on the outcome of votes cast on The People’s £50 Million Website. Four projects are in the running and the winner will get National Lottery cash to fund the project. As a one-time racing cyclist, now a …

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2007/11/vote-for-sustra/

Nov 23 2007

Take-up of BIM growing

By Paul Wilkinson in AEC, Functionality, Future, Internet, People issues
23 November 2007

An article in US journal Building Design & Construction reports that US adoption of building information modelling (BIM) applications is accelerating (thanks to Mel at the Elemental blog for the link). More than a third of roughly 200 owners (collectively representing c.$115 billion in annual construction spending) responding to the 8th Annual Construction Management Association …