PCMG Project Management
Background
PCMG is one of Romania's leading project and development management firms and has offices in Bucharest, Constanta, Cluj Napoca and London.
The Romanian construction sector is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and PCMG is playing a leading role in a number of highly ambitious and progressive developments.
Current projects include Oasis Residences in Constanta, a ten-building development that will include 409 apartments on a lakeside plot and 8,000 square meters of green spaces for leisure, a tennis court, decks and boathouses. The project also includes a restaurant, spa center and two swimming pools. PCMG is also working on the Dacia development at Mamaia beach, which comprises 70 apartments in a courtyard complex.
Challenges
With staff based in Romania and the UK, and clients and project partners based across Europe, communication was a challenge and internal resources were stretched. Andrei Popovici, the Director of PCMG, said, “Three to four years ago, everyone working on a project was based in the same town. Now it’s more complex. We work with companies across Europe and our employees are in several locations.”
Managing the flow of information between dispersed teams using paper documents was difficult, in part due to the inefficiencies of the national postal system. PCMG also found that each company they dealt with had its own procedures for managing information, increasing the risk of errors.
“The Romanian construction market is still quite old fashioned and relies heavily on paper. Even when sending files within Romania, it would take 2-3 days for people to receive a file that was sent to them,” said Popovici. “We found that a lot of documents went missing and we couldn’t track whether people had received the files we had sent.”
Establishing protocols for managing and controlling documents across the project team was also a challenge. Popovici added, “Each company has its own information protocols. In many cases, these are very basic and not suitable for projects of our scale and complexity.”
Solution
PCMG selected to use the Aconex online document management and collaboration service. They initially used the system on the Oasis and Dacia projects and now use Aconex pre-construction on all their projects.
The system allows PCMG and its project partners to view, distribute and track their documents and project mails using a central, web-based platform. Through its offices in London and Bucharest, Aconex was able to provide comprehensive training and support to all internal and external project participants.
Results
On its six projects using Aconex, PCMG and its project partners have used the system to manage and exchange more than 20,000 documents and correspondence items.
All project participants, regardless of where they are located, are able to quickly search for and retrieve their documents using criteria such as date ranges, sender and recipient details, document types, status and keywords. Files can then be distributed instantly over the system to other participants. This has streamlined communication with clients and consultants and reduced the time and cost associated with sending paper document between parties.
“We required a solution for efficiently collaborating between dispersed parties,” said Popovici. “Through using Aconex, we are able to efficiently store and distribute our information electronically – reducing the time and money spent sending files within Romania and between the UK and Romania. Projects are obviously time sensitive and with this system we know people will receive our documents on time.”
Using a central, web-based platform to collaborate has enabled PCMG to pool its collective resources to service larger projects.
Popovici said, “PCMG has 40 staff members based across four offices. By using Aconex as the communication platform, we can now use people in all our offices to solve the problem of not having enough staff in one place.”
A key feature of Aconex is its audit trail, which keeps a record of all document revisions and ‘who did what and when’. A secure archive is maintained of every document version and transaction since the beginning of the project and nothing can be deleted from the system. When documents have been issued electronically, participants are able to track the status of files on the system.
“When relying on paper documents, a lot of files would go missing but Aconex helps to control this. We can also make sure what needs to be seen and read has been, and has been done on time,” said Popovici.
He added, “Another factor is that in Romania you require 4-5 stamped versions of every drawing so, with Aconex, we have an electronic back up for everything.”
When implementing Aconex, PCMG was able to configure the system to match its own information management protocols. They created a set of standardised processes for the creation, approval and sharing of files that reduces the risk of errors and disputes by ensuring that everyone is working in the same way.
“Information is much better managed and structured,” said Popovici, “You cannot lose documents and people are working using unified procedures. Aconex is the unifying factor in standardising and implementing protocols.
“It is a central focal point and imposes the sophistication required. The system is far more sophisticated than what we used in the past, which was based on paper files, email and storing documents in boxes.”
Popovici added, “Aconex is a valuable tool for our projects. The whole project is on Aconex, which improves our communication with clients, consultants and builders.”
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