Victoria Square (Multi Development) 

• $660 million mixed use development
• Email was inadequate for requirements
• Used Aconex to manage 600,000 documents and correspondence items
• Improved efficiency and reduced risk

Improved efficiency helps Belfast’s new heart beat on time

Client

Multi Development UK Ltd is one of Europe’s leaders in the fields of developing, owning and operating quality shopping centres, offices and mixed-use projects. 

Project

Victoria Square provides 75,000m² of retail and leisure opportunities, creating a new heart for Belfast city. The US$660 million development is one of Europe's largest urban regeneration projects and a milestone in the revitalisation of the city centre.

The development includes three floors of retail space, restaurants, bars, cafes and cinemas, as well as over 100 apartments. New public space and gardens are topped by a 36m diameter, 45m high glass dome. 

Challenges

Construction of Victoria Square involves a multitude of design consultants, 70 contractors and subcontractors, and 2,000 onsite staff, with input from 50 major tenants. 

With such a large, dispersed team, being able to communicate efficiently across the project and find and retrieve information was crucial. Initially, email was used to correspond and distribute documents; however it quickly became apparent that, as well as being difficult to track, this system was highly inflexible and could not cope with the large files that were being shared. Many of the email systems had a 10 megabyte limit on accounts meaning files would have to be split when sending several drawings.

Solution

Multi Development UK selected to use the Aconex online collaboration platform to manage all project documentation and correspondence.

Results

Project participants used the system to store, share and manage more than 175,000 documents and 435,000 pieces of correspondence, which were securely archived and could be accessed at any time.

Jon Munce, Multi Development UK’s Senior Project Manager, was responsible for construction delivery. Munce said: “Before implementing Aconex, we manually scanned paper documents then stored them electronically. We also emptied our day’s emails into a central storage facility,” said Munce. “Because Aconex automates these processes and manages all our documents and correspondence, organisations involved in the project easily save hours each week.”

“Using Aconex to control our information is of enormous benefit to the project.”

Jon Munce, Senior Project Manager at Multi Development UK

Fast information retrieval and distribution

Munce said, “Aconex has contributed substantially to the efficiency of information flow. The system makes it easy to retrieve and distribute information and locate our files, which saves time on the project.”

Tracking ‘who did what and when’

“The audit trail is invaluable. It reduces our risk of working from outdated drawings and reduces the potential for human error,” said Munce. “We have experienced the time and cost of losing information in the past as, even when using email, important information can be deleted. Using Aconex to control our information is of enormous benefit to the project.”