Improve Project Visibility with Searchable Construction Documents

Reduce Lost Time and Errors with Faster, More Accurate Document Search Across Capital Projects

Support Every Project Stakeholder with Multiple Document Search Styles

Capital projects generate large volumes of documentation across engineering, procurement, construction, and operations. Fast, accurate access to that documentation is essential for maintaining momentum and avoiding downstream rework.

One way to improve document accessibility is to support multiple search styles, including:

• Google-like keyword search
• Attribute-based search
• Folder-based navigation
• Relationship-based search

Each search method serves a different purpose and user preference. By allowing teams to retrieve documents in the way that best fits their workflow, users are more likely to find the right information quickly.

Supporting preferred workflows by facilitating multiple search options for construction document retrieval increases productivity and minimizes project risk.

When teams can easily navigate a document control system, they spend less time searching and more time executing work. Instead of compensating for lost time, they can focus on the activities the documentation was intended to support.

When a document control system supports multiple construction document retrieval methods, team members can find the information they need quickly.

Enable Real-Time Document Access with Dynamic Folders and Filtering

As capital project documentation associated grows, document retrieval times increase. Construction professionals typically spend 5.5 hours per week on document searches.

Dynamic filtering and real-time sorting help teams surface the right information the first time a search is conducted. These capabilities quickly display everything associated with selected tags, reducing the effort teams need to spend navigating large document sets.

Dynamic folders automatically create and populate folders based on document attributes such as status, discipline, or file type. This allows teams to avoid the time-consuming process of manually building and maintaining folder structures.

All documents are easily accessible and visible regardless of when they were added to the folder. Instant access to all documentation ensures searches return the correct documentation needed. These structures reduce the risk of viewing outdated or incorrect files.

Dynamic folders and filtering speed up accurate retrieval of all relevant information and enable real-time document workflows.

Strengthen Document Search Accuracy with Consistent Attribute Tagging

Rigid file structures and limited tagging options lead to confusion and mistakes during uploads, slowing the document retrieval process. Manual version control is a recipe for delays.  Insisting on naming conventions and consistent attribute tagging, however, makes search easier and faster.

Accurate, consistent, and detailed document tagging increases speed and precision when locating information. When tagging procedures are consistently followed, each team member can find documentation more easily. As new teams are brought onto a project, they can adapt quickly and minimize challenges associated with turnover.

With rich metadata, document search is simpler and more intuitive. When metadata is entered manually, however, errors will inevitably occur, increasing search time. Reliable filtering options help minimize these mistakes.

Document control tools that automate metadata processing enable team members to quickly find the document they’re searching for.  By using metadata-driven document management, teams can feel confident they are working with the most up-to-date information.

Consistent attribute tagging empowers a metadata-driven document management process to quickly deliver the information needed.

Use Relationship-Based Search to Reveal Critical Project Context

Easily accessible information improves capital project document workflows, but a single document rarely tells the full story. To fully understand a situation and avoid time-consuming errors, teams need visibility into related documents.

Linking interconnected documents in a logical way within a single source of truth increases visibility and reduces time spent searching for supporting information. Teams should not have to hunt for supporting documentation.

“The problem is how do you connect that data?” asks David Wagner, Vice President of Industry Solutions, about the need to link documents in a single source of truth. “How do you establish the relationships that exist between that data? How do you know which email came in that helped start the RFI, that was connected to a specific plan, that’s connected to the four photos that were taken at the time the RFI was created?”

Relationship-based search ensures teams recognize that additional context exists and that it is already available within the system. Searchable, linked construction documents create visibility, which helps teams spot impacts and dependencies earlier. A clearer picture of a situation empowers people to make better decisions, saving time and reducing rework.

Connected construction documents provide context beyond a single file. Teams can more quickly and thoroughly understand a situation, enabling them to make better decisions.

Reduce Project Rework with Version-Controlled Construction Documents

Documents are often updated and edited throughout a capital project. Multiple versions create a challenge related to construction document retrieval, increasing the risk that teams work from outdated information.

Working from outdated documents often leads to rework, and rework upends schedules and budgets.

Fast access to the latest version of a document prevents team members from relying on outdated files. When search-related errors are eliminated, builds are completed more accurately as work is based on the most up-to-date information.

“That ability to standardize our processes around document controls… gives us one place we can go to see the latest and greatest with any spot that that document might be within a given workflow,” says Chris Perrin. Vice President of Project Service for Orion Group Holdings regarding the value of  seeing the most timely documents.

By eliminating version confusion, teams reduce rework, schedule slips, and risk. They also feel more confident, enabling them to do their best work.

The ability to quickly locate up-to-date documents encourages better coordination across all roles. It also encourages collaboration, as teams know others can readily access the documents they upload, ensuring information is available when it’s needed.

Construction document version control ensures teams work with the most up-to-date documents, reducing rework and encouraging collaboration.

Advanced Search Capabilities Strengthen Overall Capital Project Visibility

Capital project teams are under pressure to deliver the projects on time and on budget. Time lost is avoidable with the right document control software.

When teams can easily locate the information they need, and confident they have all related documentation, overall project visibility improves. This enables teams to perform their tasks more effectively and make fewer mistakes, despite increased pressure.

Because capital projects are high-cost and long-term, owners have high expectations. When questions arise, teams are expected to respond quickly and accurately. Searchability determines how easily teams can locate critical information, reduce lost time, and maintain coordination across the project.

A comprehensive document control solution is essential. It results in faster, more accurate searches, so teams can spend more time on productive work. Effective construction document retrieval improves project coordination and supports process success.

Effective, customizable construction document retrieval is critical on complex capital projects, as easily searchable construction documents enhance project visibility and drive better results.