INEIGHT CASE STUDY:
WESTCONNEX
ADVANCING MOTORWAYS THROUGH PROVEN TECHNOLOGY
Australia has often embraced the use of technology to make advancements in infrastructure and everyday life; the WestConnex project is no exception. As an industry leader in technology for Smart Motorways, Transurban quickly implemented the InEight solution for construction document management on the WestConnex project.
When asked to reflect on system implementation following a swift project initiation and configuration, Jong describes, “We were immediately able to provide access to all stakeholders with their own accounts; the system was intuitive for new users to start working right away. We had training as well to enable team members to become as proficient as possible. Additionally, there wasn’t any delay in responding to notices or correspondence which speaks loudly to the user experience.”
As a senior document controller and superuser of the system, Jong was asked what she liked best about InEight Document compared to other systems. “It’s just easier to navigate the system and find what you want. All of your documents are organized in one section. You just click on a button and go to your documents, transmittals, mail, RFIs and so forth,” says Jong. “For more detailed inquiries, the system provides comprehensive document search and filter tools that help me instantly locate the items I need.”
“It’s just easier to navigate the system and find what you want. All of your documents are organized in one section. You just click on a button and go to your documents, transmittals, mail, RFIs and so forth.”
-Jenny Jong, Senior Document Controller, WestConnex
Although it may seem like ease of navigation and file searching should be considered table stakes for a document management system, industry data suggests that many organizations are not currently taking advantage of available technology. One recent study indicates the average construction professional spends 5 1/2 hours a week just searching for documents.1 By conservatively cutting that time in half, and multiplying it across eight years for a project such as WestConnex, Jong and her team are realizing massive efficiency gains just by accessing information more quickly.
In addition to the ability to onboard project team members and get them up to speed quickly, a top priority for Transurban was system security. Not only does a cloud-based document repository provide confidence in Transurban’s ability to securely manage confidential project items, but the use of security groups helps project stakeholders rest easy knowing teams are only allowed access to certain items with proper permissions.
When asked what makes document security so important for a project like WestConnex Jong responds, “I remember before InEight Document I was shocked at the openness of other systems. Certain systems would allow any project team member to just go in and change a document or delete a document; this shouldn’t be possible. We needed a system that promoted consistency and accountability across the project and the InEight Document audit log helps us do that.”
The need for accountability Jong references is especially paramount when thinking about the large number of contributors involved in major infrastructure projects that have access to project systems. Systems that utilize a full audit log for all users can preserve information integrity and track issues that may arise when dealing with multiyear projects and resource turnover. As employees come and go, or reach periods of unavailability, the data in the system needs to be able to tell the full story of a project item without relying on the knowledge of a certain individual.
1 FMI Corporation, Construction Disconnected – Rethinking the management of project data and mobile collaboration to reduce costs and improve schedules, 2018.
Construction professionals average 5 1/2 hours a week searching for documents.1