19.02.10
Keeping track of document management
There are many reasons why companies should consider reformatting their documents from paper to digital, reports Richard Mackillican
The history of the rail industry is littered with paper documents, some dating back decades and in need of reorganisation. The arguments for doing so include the security of these documents and the fact they are a major fire hazard. There is also the cost of storage for these mountains of documents along with the issue of convenience when trying to access them in an emergency.
There are three main categories according to Doug Miles, market intelligence director at AIIM, the enterprise content management association. “In the first instance, there are a lot of historical records of plant installations, many of which will be a mixture of wide format drawings (A1s, A0s), along with all of the documentation which goes along with them. They may also exist on microfilm on aperture cards, which is more accessible than paper, but because of the scale of the backlog of documents in this format, it would still be better if they were stored digitally.
“The second instance is around collaborative projects where there are a number of contractors working on a rail infrastructure project, all of whom need to easily exchange documents, such as contracts and plans. Increasingly in construction of any kind, this is done electronically. The software which is used to do this also has the facilities to make changes and sign off changes in these documents.”
An example of this kind of software is Business Collaborator, which the Scott Wilson Group, the global design and engineering consultancy, has implemented as its core software on the firm's Crossrail 'On Network' design project.
This system has also been used by Network Rail on the design of the 'On Network' sections of its Crossrail project.
“Business Collaborator is central to the long term success of our business,” says Mark Bew, director of business information systems at Scott Wilson. “For Crossrail, for example, we were able to quickly set up a project environment using BC's technology and provide access to all companies involved in the supply chain such as BDP, Bennetts, EC Harris and Network Rail itself. We have 1,000 active users and have written processes and procedures which take account of the BS1192 code of practice.”
However, despite the enthusiasm that exists in the engineering world towards this kind of technology, Doug Miles admits that even in these times of digital supremacy, some people still find it hard to let go of the old ways.
“I heard someone comment only last week that they still found it necessary to print the drawing out on a piece of paper so that they could ‘get a full view of it. I know what he meant. It can be hard to get your head around an A0 drawing on a computer screen, but the technology is there.
“Thirdly, rail companies, along with construction companies and network operators, are all large organisations with large numbers of staff and many suppliers. Cost savings can be achieved through invoice automation and the scanning of any kind of HR documentation.”
One argument against the digitalisation of documents is the cost of the equipment and the time taken to do so. However, this may not stack up against the long term savings of dealing with your documentation electronically.
“There is a storage cost involved in storing documents electronically, but it is also expensive to store documents in paper format as they can take up a huge amount of space,” says Doug. “If you actually calculate the cost of storing documents in a filing cabinet, even in some of the nether regions of London, then it would be expensive.
“There are some strategic scenarios that you need to work out before implementing an all electronic document scenario in a new project or recently kicked off project. However, this would be fairly straightforward in terms of time and investment upfront. You decide how to run the project, what your collaboration routes are and your document exchange areas.
“There are still some procedural requirements such as transmittal notices which set construction and therefore rail construction apart from some other areas, but if it is a third party contract and the as-built documents need to be delivered at the end of the project, then the use of electronic documentation is by far the most efficient and effective way of carrying that out.”
Adrian Burgess, project technology manager at Scott Wilson, says of the software being used by the Crossrail project: “A key requirement is that information only occurs in the system once to avoid duplication. We therefore created procedures in the BC system which manage the transfer of information and data ownership.
“For the production and distribution of drawings, BS1192 numbering conventions are followed before being uploaded to the BC system for information, review or sign off. To enable the collaborative process, each separate project team uploads to the BC system when design information is ready to be coordinated with the wider design team.
"We aim to take Scott Wilson from a 2D computer-aided world to an environment where all team members can work off the same virtual, information-rich building model throughout the project lifecycle. Instead of linear communications and separate islands of information, the deployment of Business Collaborator and adherence to BS1192 procedures will ensure that we can take a mature, standardised and responsible approach to the control, co-ordination and exchange of design information.”
It will take many years for the rail industry to adopt the idea of electronic documentation in any kind of wholesale fashion. The very scale of such a project is absolutely mind boggling and so what is far more likely to happen is the gradual uptake of this kind of software with the need to find operational efficiencies being a key driver in the switch over to digital documentation.
There will be a place for paper drawings for the foreseeable future but the next page of rail documentation history will be digital.
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