and communication between
project stakeholders can re-
sult in significant reduction
in the number of RFI’s and ul-
timately deliver better quality
projects – faster.
To visually review project
plans in a group environment
will allow for faster under-
standing, and thereby reduce
the number of RFI submis-
sions. “The research conduct-
ed by Stanford shows there
is a significant reduction in
RFI’s as a result of improved
collaboration,” says Kenne-
dy. “It’s not just the time to
do the work but the time to
respond, because when you
submit an RFI you’re not get-
ting an immediate response,
but when you visually look at
content and have everyone on
the same page it can signifi-
cantly reduce the time.”
The solution for AEC proj-
ect teams has applications
at every stage of the project
from a simple sketch in the
early project stage or ‘fat pen’
stage, to the ability to work-
ing directly in industry lead-
ing AEC applications ranging
from Autodesk Navisworks,
Revit, AutoCAD to Tekla BIM-
sight during the design phase
and construction phases.
“We have achieved a signifi-
cant return on investment
from the implementation of
SMART Board interactive
whiteboards and SMART
Bridgit conferencing soft-
ware,” says Ken Cartier, Part-
ner and Lead Architect of
GEC Architecture. “SMART
collaboration solutions en-
able staff and clients to easily
view highly-detailed architec-
tural drawings and experience
greater collaboration which
has resulted in meetings that
are quicker and more produc-
42
business elite canada
H
JANUARY 2014
