Federal Express is reputed to make over $500mil. a year couriering construction documents around the world. This is just one firm among thousands ferrying millions of documents and pieces of data around the planet -just think of the total costs involved. Accurate up-to-date information has to be shared between the clients, contractors and consultants at every stage of the building project - there is no way around it. But wouldn't it be better if, rather than sending physical documents to each party, a central databank of project information could be established, accessible from anywhere in the world in seconds?

That is exactly what is being offered by internet-based central repository systems - but cost savings are not the only claimed advantage.

"There are hard cost savings to be made on printing and postage," says Colin Smith, CEO of BIW Technologies, a major player in collaborative working systems, "but there are greater savings to be made from moving away from an adversarial technique and adopting a collaborative approach."

Such systems are gaining popularity in the USA, Australia, France, Germany and the UK. Even contractors (who have largely bullied into adopting the policy by insistent clients) are realising the potential savings. BIW claims that when its system is used, an average saving of 1.75% can be achieved on a project. If these cost reductions are equally divided throughout the supply chain then contractors - who often have profits margins of 1 to 5% - could significantly raise their profit levels.

The difficulty that central repository systems have encountered is that lots of different computer hardware is operated by the various team members which, in turn, uses different types of software applications. It's very hard to make them communicate with one another. The internet is the answer. "Our aim is to ship to the user the information that's been published and enable them to view it (no matter which programme its been created in), whatever hardware they are using."

System benefits

One benefit of using systems such as BIW's is that the user does not need to invest in new software or hardware. All that is needed is a PC or Mac with an internet connection. For a fixed monthly charge, any number of users can have 24-hour access to project data which grows as the building, road, bridge, etc, develops. Feasibility studies, budgets, sketches, drawings, approvals, schedules, minutes, photographs, specifications, standards, procedures, virtual reality models - all can be viewed, with team members adding comments or requests along the way.

Users receive tailored information relevant to their job role. Where they have authorisation they can make amendments or issue new documents - and these will be annotated as being revisions. Thus security and transparency are assured. Likewise, one tendering contractor could not gain access to anther tenderer's bid. Accessors don't actually gain access to the central repository -rather a mirage is created for the user.

But perhaps the biggest advantage such systems have is that they result in improved communication between team members - creating transparency. "In a transparent environment everyone knows who did what and when. It's easy to see who's responsible for a delay or problem - and this encourages team members to work harder to achieve targets and settle disputes before they become causes for litigation."

Better information flow means that design changes have less impact, decision making is quicker, resulting in less delay, fewer attendant costs and more chance of an on-time, on-budget completed project. On one project Japanese contractor Kajima reported savings of $16,000 on printing and $1,500 on postage. Where 10 days was the norm for revising/reviewing/reissuing drawings it was reduced using collaborative working to just two (saving $45,000 in design fees). Using the system, the project architect also reported an 8% increase in efficiency.

"These systems create the opportunity for teams and companies to work together - not in competition - but as an alliance," says Andrew Campbell, head of development at the UK's Manchester Airport.

International projects get maximum benefit from this technology. BIW currently has an American client with a site in France being managed by a German contractor. The multi-lingual facility means that users can operate the system using their own language.

Moving from the traditional adversarial method of working is not going to happen overnight but the prospect of a better project at lower cost, for everyone, is tempting. "The solution is half about technology," comments Colin, "and half about business processes. Collaborative working is now a widely recognized concept in construction. I think that contractors have to invest time in learning more about it - if not for the benefits it offers to them then because their clients will increasingly be demanding that they use it."