TEAM Baumanagement GmbH controls its construction projects with Thinkproject
Public tenders were the reason for TEAM Baumanagement GmbH to purchase CONCLUDE CDE from Thinkproject as a data hub. But it was only when it was used in a large-scale project in the private sector that the solution showed what time and cost savings are possible. Today, the project managers and their external partners are clear: CONCLUDE CDE is a must if you want to communicate securely and successfully complete projects of all sizes.
About TEAM Baumanagement
TEAM Baumanagement GmbH was established since 1999 with 28 employees at the Cologne and Dortmund locations who develop, control and manage construction projects for the public and private sectors. The portfolio includes office, commercial, hotel, medical, nursery and school buildings, as well as residential buildings, museums and sports facilities.
Quality and quality management are very important at TEAM, especially with large projects. It was proving complex that many work processes could not be reliably documented. Important data was sent by e-mail or other internet tools and all employees were responsible for ensuring that everyone involved was provided with the correct information at the right time. These factors meant a lot of effort, time and money was expended just to provide accurate information for internal and external stakeholders.
A public tender a few years ago drew the attention of those responsible to the possibilities of the Common Data Environment (CDE). These platforms enable documented data exchange for internal and external participants. They allow workflows to be automated and ensure that the current versions of plans and other documents are always in circulation.
TEAM Baumanagement GmbH opted for CONCLUDE CDE after a project partner had already had positive experiences with this solution. The CONCLUDE CDE platform includes a BIM viewer and supports BIM (Building Information Modelling), which enables the open exchange of building models for the entire project team. In the planning phase, approval processes can be mapped transparently for everyone involved. Workflows can be defined to suit each project. In addition, CONCLUDE CDE can be expanded in the long term for real cost controlling.
After extensive training of its own employees, CONCLUDE CDE was initially used in public sector projects. “However, we quickly became aware of the possibilities that the CDE also offers in all construction projects,” says Lukas Schmid, project manager. “We therefore wanted to quickly expand the area of application of CONCLUDE CDE.”
PVS holding GmbH, a leading billing service provider in the healthcare sector, was planning a replacement building for the head office in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The five-storey new administration building combines with the existing buildings to form a campus situation. The special shape of the floor plan results from the mix of floor plan economy, resource-saving building services, visual relationships to the existing building, cardinal points and the reaction to the specifications of the development plan.
In this construction project, the specialist planning and specialist contractors are commissioned to carry out the work on an individual basis. Almost 15 companies are involved in the project during the approval planning. Up to 25 more companies will be added during execution. Here the use of CONCLUDE CDE provided a great support. Ansgar Wiesemann, Managing Director, explains: “The project teams of these almost 40 companies form something like their own company for the duration of the project. Our CDE is the internal IT system here.”
Thinkproject carried out another training course, in which the external companies took part. This included a lot of material in a short time, a lot of new things, and above all there was the requirement to give up familiar work processes and to rethink some processes. “Real change management was required, and it wasn’t always easy. In practice, the advantages became apparent very quickly, and then everyone was fully involved,” sums up Lukas Schmid.
CONCLUDE CDE helps to store all data in a uniform, structured and transparent manner and prevents redundant information through the common data room. Everything is stored centrally, and the current version is available to those involved. This saves time, both when exchanging data and when storing it. In addition, errors caused by working with the wrong index in the planning can be avoided.
By automating the processes, specialist planners do not have to be reminded of upcoming tasks. This increases the efficiency of the project process and saves time because no reminder e-mails must be sent and there are no discussions as to whether someone has sent or received information. In project meetings one can concentrate on the project and does not have to coordinate procedural issues.
CONCLUDE CDE enables a wealth of automation. TEAM currently primarily uses automated invoice verification. It’s not just about determining whether an invoice is correct, which alone saves 15 to 20 percent of the time previously spent. The approved invoices are also forwarded on time for payment. “This way we can use discount periods,” says Lukas Schmid. “We save a lot of money with invoice amounts of several million euros.”
The PVS project has been running very successfully for over a year. Further advantages of the platform are to be used in the execution phase. Of course, TEAM also uses the CONCLUDE CDE platform in other projects. Both the employees and the external project participants like to use the platform. Some got used to it very quickly, while others needed more time. Today enthusiasm prevails, because everyone recognises the advantages.
For TEAM it is clear that CONCLUDE CDE is a must for project development and control. It is important that the client supports and supports the use of the CDE – this strengthens the motivation of everyone involved. From the point of view of those responsible at TEAM, a CDE should be mandatory from a certain project size.
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