LONDON and MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - May 2, 2012) - Newforma®, a project information management (PIM) software company connecting architecture, engineering and construction firms worldwide, today announced that the award-winning, international architectural practice Foster + Partners is implementing Newforma software to improve project workflows, better manage project information, and do away with legacy systems for electronic document management.
Senior Partner and Head of Information & Design Systems Graham Young said Newforma's enterprise software promises improvements over prior methods of managing project information. "We've implemented Newforma software to improve project workflows and remove legacy systems," Young said. "We've been using Microsoft Outlook Public Folders and an electronic document management system, which did not add value to the project team. Our goal is to liberate hours that our project teams can devote to clients and design."
Young cited three examples of Newforma project information management functions that would contribute to Foster + Partners project workflows. "The ability to file project email from a mobile device is a clear benefit," Young said. "Also, because we have total responsibility for projects, from top to bottom, we desire to improve our contract administration. Newforma software can help in both those areas, and others."
Young also cited the benefit of having clear email decision trails and paths to other forms of project information in determining what data to store and what to delete. "Being a creative organisation, we design a large number of options for every project," Young said. "Newforma software promises to be a catalyst to improve project information lifecycle management, automatically capturing project documents for archive, plus aiding our understanding of data that can be optionally removed from our servers at an appropriate time, should we wish."
Newforma Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa Operations Tim Bates said, "Because Foster + Partners has such a comprehensive practice, managing project delivery as well as design, the firm's leadership recognized the need for an enterprise-wide solution they can use to manage project information, administer contracts, and access information from smartphones."
Newforma Chief Executive Officer Ian Howell observes that the Newforma PIM solution is ideally suited to the way Foster + Partners works today. "Foster + Partners has been practicing the principles of integrated project delivery even before IPD became a popular trend," Howell said. "For example, they consider environmental and structural engineering needs at the outset of the design process. As more and more of the collaborative conversations take place via email between different offices in different time zones, Newforma software will capture all of those decision trails as part of the project record. The firm will have a full audit trail of all shared project information, reducing confusion and preventing costly communication delays."
About Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners, led by Founder and Chairman Lord Norman Foster, is based in London with project offices worldwide. The practice has pioneered a sustainable approach to architecture through a wide range of work, from urban master plans to product design. Projects include the world's largest airport terminal at Beijing, Swiss Re's London headquarters, Millau Viaduct in France, the German Parliament in the Reichstag, Berlin, The Great Court at London's British Museum, and headquarters for HSBC in Hong Kong and London. The practice has received over 600 awards for excellence and won over 100 national and international competitions since its inception in 1967. The firm's web address is www.fosterandpartners.com/.
About Newforma
Newforma develops and markets project information management (PIM) software for architecture, engineering and construction firms worldwide, and the owners they serve. Firms in the Newforma Project Network are using Newforma software to manage information on more than 770,000 projects, raising productivity, reducing exposure to risk, strengthening their brands, and freeing time and attention to focus on design, construction, and client service. The Newforma PIM solution (comprising the Newforma Design Suite, Newforma Construction Suite, and Newforma Owner Suite) is the first AEC/O industry-focused, fully integrated solution to connect firms to each other, to manage project information, and to streamline work processes, all for the purpose of more successful project delivery. For more information, visit www.newforma.com, or phone +1 603-625-6212.
© 2012 Newforma, Inc. Newforma is a registered trademark of Newforma, Inc., in the United States and in other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.
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