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The Practice Management Knowledge Community (PMKC) identifies and develops information on the business of architecture for use by the profession to maintain and improve the quality of the professional and business environment.  The PMKC initiates programs, provides content and serves as a resource to other knowledge communities, and acts as experts on AIA Institute programs and policies that pertain to a wide variety of business practices and trends.

    

  • 1.  Paperless Information Management

    Posted 08-01-2017 02:16 PM
    ​​I would like to invite comments on current digital tools for maintaining a paperless office used in our profession. Our Practice Management Knowledge Group took-on this topic in 2010 and again in 2013 when our discussions ranged from do-it-yourself tools to $100m+ project tools. But, in the digital realm, that discussion is now ancient and many of the digital tools have been substantially improved.
    In particular, I'm curious to learn of tools that today and tomorrow would be affordable and appropriate for mid-sized offices with a staff of 25-30, engaged in 30-40 projects at any one time, in the ranges of $5m to $100m. All comments welcome.

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    Richard Wagner, FAIA
    Baylis Architects
    Bellevue, WA
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  • 2.  RE: Paperless Information Management

    Posted 08-03-2017 08:52 AM

    McKinsey & Co. looks at how new tech could affect job sites, back offices and digital collaboration. 

    http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/the-new-age-of-engineering-and-construction-technology

    Joseph Scarpa, CSI, CCCA, CCS, CPSD, CPSM, GGP, LEED AP O+M, SCIP
    Project Manager
    Conspectus, Inc.
    www.linkedin.com/in/ConstructionSpecifications

    See you at Design-Build Conference & Expo | 8-10 Nov 2017 | Philadelphia PA | Pennsylvania Convention Center

     




  • 3.  RE: Paperless Information Management

    Posted 08-03-2017 10:56 AM
    We are a firm that fits in the size you are talking about.  We use a couple of excellent tools to help us be paperless, or close to paperless.  We pretty much only keep paper copies of contract items that require multiple signatures.  If our clients were ready for digitally signing documents we would probably even do that paperless.  There are some who are reluctant to go paperless, and I suspect we will continue using trash paper for sketching for quite some time, but we are certainly minimizing the amount of printed documents we use.

    One tool we use is a web based program called Submittal Exchange.  We use this tool during construction to track and store RFI's, PR's, ASI's,  submittals, etc.  This drastically decreases the amount of paper we print and send out.  It is a very user friendly tool, and can be somewhat customized to track and store the information you want.

    In conjunction with that, we use Bluebeam Revu to process documents as PDF's.  Bluebeam is designed to be used by our industry so it has plenty of built in tools.  We often use it for internal redlines instead of printing sets to mark up.  Some of us are not quite to that comfort level yet for paperless, but we are getting there.  We also use Bluebeam to digitally sign documents, and it can even be used to quickly add color to a plan to dress it up for a presentation.  Great tool for AE firms.

    One thing I am personally exploring is a tablet that has a really good app and stylus for doing sketches and hand written notes.  I am curious if anyone has found such a device that works really well.

    Regards,
    Brad A McKenzie, AIA
    Project Architect
    Assistant Director Business Operations
    SAPP DESIGN ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS
    3750 S. Fremont Springfield, MO 65804
    P417-877-9600 (ext. 228)  F417-877-9696  E: mckenzie@sdaarchitects.com
    www.sdaarchitects.com | Facebook Twitter | CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE





  • 4.  RE: Paperless Information Management

    Posted 08-04-2017 07:29 PM

    I have found Autodesk Design Review a helpful tool for viewing and noting up pdfs of drawings, then sharing with colleagues. 

    As for sketching, the Samsung Note is one such example of a wonderful tool in hand. There are plenty of android apps , just go to Google play store and ask for what ever you need a tool for. "Paper Artist" is one such drawing app.


    R e g a r d s ,     N a n c y 
    N a n c y  H a r p e r , A I A
    P h o e n i x  ,  A Z   
    4 8 0 - 9 4 5 - 0 1 6 2   c e l l u l a r
     

     
     
     
     












  • 5.  RE: Paperless Information Management

    Posted 08-03-2017 01:44 PM
    Hi Richard,
    We are a small progressive firm that uses an entirely paperless design process. The only time we print is when the deliverable requires it and we are unsuccessful in negotiating a purely electronic delivery form. We have found that using iPad Pros (equipped with Apple pencils) with a great app called Concepts (https://concepts.tophatch.com) streamlines both the early sketching phase and markup process for our firm. For us, that was the most difficult hurdle to overcome.

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    Molly Jones AIA
    President
    Jones Design Studio, PLLC
    Tulsa OK
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