4 WAYS MODERN DOCUMENT CONTROL OVERCOMES CONSTRUCTION COMPLEXITY
KEEP APPROVALS AND INFORMATION FLOWS ON TRACK
The average project delay is 200 days.[17] It’s discouraging but unsurprising, especially when many layers of review are involved between multiple stakeholders. Complex review and approval processes lead to ongoing project adjustments, rescheduling, and extra costs. While it can’t be blamed specifically on a document control system, the California High-Speed Rail project provides an object lesson in timely project progress. Delayed approvals have driven the estimate from $33 billion to more than $100 billion[18]—and the project is still incomplete.
Even in less extreme examples, efficiency suffers when document reviews and approvals involve many parties and span multiple organizations. Teams must manually route
documents through multiple approvals. Planners stress as these complex steps eat into their schedules, and field teams waste time waiting for updates and revised schedules. Even small changes in a document can mean starting the whole approval process again, wasting time and squashing productivity.
Document managers know all too well that delays in approvals, reviews, and changes have obvious effects on project progress, timelines, and cost. Other complications, even though slightly removed from the build process, are common and no less worrisome. Inadequate document control systems give rise to:
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS
When projects span multiple teams, which happens with increasing frequency, it’s common for teams to fall into intractable misunderstandings. Far-reaching consequences to project efficiency, profitability, and even completion often trace back to problems related to document control.
LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE
Issues Failure to properly manage complex approval processes can also lead to legal issues. Consider the Atlantic Coast Pipeline[19] (ACP) and Cape Wind[20] projects. The ACP was canceled after years of delays and an extra $4 billion in costs. Cape Wind, an offshore wind energy project spanning multiple groups and agencies, also faced regulatory delays and permitting challenges that drove up costs and left it dead in the water.
LOSS OF CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST
Complicated review and approval processes across organizations also damage trust. For example, if document-driven communication between engineers and contractors is garbled or approvals are slow, the stakeholders might start doubting each other. This lack of trust and increased skepticism makes sharing information hard and complicates decision-making.
Modernizing for the Digital Age: Graham Construction’s High-Speed Connection
For more than 20 years, Graham Construction[21] relied on an internal “Toolbox” system to track documents, bids, estimates, and more. But in the cloud era, with IoT connectivity and real-time data access, the solution was holding the company back. Data was siloed. New hires had difficulty learning the system, and estimators constantly recreated estimates from scratch. It was time to modernize and find a construction technology partner to bring leadership’s vision of a single source of truth to life.
Enter InEight Document. Graham brought on the platform in a controlled way to demonstrate its value to long-time employees without overwhelming them. The system is now central to how teams work, managing more than 80 projects. Estimates are more accurate and easier to create. Stakeholders across organizations can access real-time data in the field and the office. Teams deliver more accurate work faster. And overall efficiency rose. With InEight Document transforming document control and connectivity, Graham Construction handed teams the keys to unlock productivity and steer business performance into the future.