For many site supervisors, EDM (Electronic Document Management) is a necessary evil. It’s a useful tool, but one that adds new tasks to an already busy schedule. With traditional EDM tools, the site supervisor has to manually process the verification of documents, send them through the validation circuits, and manage the forecast progress at the end of the day or the end of the week, after having finished what he is paid for: managing his site.

A single data source

EDM is used to manage electronic documents. But these documents will be associated with a lot of additional information: delivery dates, status, type, phase, issuer, validation stages and deadlines, etc.

In EDMs seen as file trees, this rich information is usually stored separately, in one or more Excel files. Every site supervisor knows the time wasted and the risk of error in keeping two different data sources up to date in parallel.

An effective EDM will associate forms with the files containing all the information needed to monitor the project. As a result, this will make it easier to search for information. It can be done on the basis of all the associated information rather than simply on the title. It will also contain information relating to the validation circuit and the different versions of the document.

A concrete example of time saving is the management of provisional lists. If the information is integrated into the forms, there is no need for a parallel Excel file. The provisional list of documents for each subcontractor and the delivery dates are directly accessible in the EDM.

Codify documents

All construction projects adopt a nomenclature for their documents. The number of actors and the mass of information to be shared make it necessary to codify each document. Therefore, it can be uniquely identified on the project.

Traditional EDMs rely on file names to manage documentation, which is both inefficient and error-prone.

In contrast, an effective EDM will draw its coding and revision management from the information associated with the files. Combining this with the integration of the provisional list directly into the EDM eliminates any risk of error in the nomenclature of the project documents. This ensures that everyone is working with the latest version.

Automate exchanges

The life cycle of a document on a construction project has many stages. It is punctuated by the back and forth between the issuer and the stakeholders in charge of visas. Each of these stages may have specific distributions, tasks, statuses and rights.

In a traditional EDM, every change of status, every modification of rights, every assignment of tasks will be carried out manually.

On the contrary, an efficient EDM will automate as much as possible the exchanges on the project:

  • The status of the document will automatically progress through its life cycle (In progress, in approval, approved, etc.)
  • The validation tasks will be assigned by the EDM to each stakeholder involved, according to the different stages of the validation circuits
  • Visibility rights will automatically vary according to the stakeholders in the document life cycle

Therefore, you save time on repetitive and low value-added actions on a daily basis, while improving the overall quality of the project.

Preparing a site work file

Finally, the requirements of the project owners regarding the content and structure of the site work file are increasing. Indeed, the data collected at the end of the worksite will follow the structure throughout its operation.

Handing over the tree of unstructured folders and files from a traditional EDM to the client is of little value to the operation. Taking back this data at the end of the project can have a significant financial cost. Moreover, it can also mobilise resources that would be better used elsewhere.

With an efficient EDM, you can commit to an intelligent site work file. For instance, by incorporating a wealth of information on which the client can rely for its future needs. This represents significant added value in the overall service. As the site work file is gradually prepared in the EDM, there is no need to mobilise additional resources.

To conclude, as you can imagine, Mezzoteam perfectly meets the expectations of site supervisors. Indeed, Mezzoteam is an efficient, effective and intelligent EDM that saves them time every day and improves the overall quality of studies and works by rationalising and automating the management of project documents.


About Mezzoteam

Mezzoteam is a Common Data Environment (CDE) that enables thousands of construction stakeholders throughout the world to manage their models, documents and processes in complete safety. Used from the design phase through to the operation phase, the BIM collaborative platform is available in Cloud or On-Premises modes according to the needs of the project.

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