CannonDesign has been counter-logging Submittals and RFI's for almost 20 years, to the tune of over 50,000 documents a year, into a single corporate-wide system.
How else would a company know what documents are in its court? With people working in multiple projects simultaneously, myriad consultants, and multiple offices engaged, one cannot rely on the contractor's system. Furthermore, doing so is very dangerous: we've been denied access to the records, seen records altered after the fact, etc., without even starting to speak about the grief we get at the jobsite meetings when we don't control the record.
The single cloud-based system provides instantaneous feedback of who has what, and when it is expected. It also allows performance measurements and the corresponding efficiency improvements.
The only way to avoid double logging is if a) one system becomes so dominant that everybody uses it, or b) if all the systems developers agree on a common interoperable language, so documents can be sent from one system to the other without losing accuracy. This would be analogous to what happens with e-mail.
We need an "Esperanto" for Document Control.
Gustavo Lima
Director of Construction Administration at CannonDesign (Retired)
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Gustavo Lima AIA, MRAIC, DBIA, CCCA, LEED AP
President
Gustavo A. Lima Architecture, PC
Buffalo, NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-22-2020 13:25
From: James Vandezande
Subject: "Counter-logging" policy
Does anyone else maintain a company policy to maintain a "counter log" for RFIs and Submittals received from the Contractor? We define a "counter log" as our version of the truth. We have experienced too many instances where the Contractor either manipulates their logs or perhaps won't close RFIs if they don't like the answers we provide then start litigation over the excessive delays in responding!!
With the cloud-based technology available today, it's a shame we still have to continue doing double entry of data when we have downward pressure on professional service fees.
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James Vandezande AIA
HOK, Inc.
New York, NY
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