ARC Document Solutions Launches SKYSITE 2.0 for Construction Communication

Evan Casey, National Director of Business Development at ARC Document Solutions, document solutions provider for the construction industry. spoke this week with AECCafe Voice about SKYSITE 2.0, the next generation of its cloud-based application for construction communication. The latest version of SKYSITE adds new features such as Request-for-Information (RFI) administration, photo management and punch lists to its capabilities in managing and distributing construction documents and information.

Document Content Lifecycle

AECCafe Voice: These days a lot of construction data is combined with or comes from BIMs. Does SKYSITE 2.0 integrate with BIM information?

Evan Casey: BIM is heavily used during the initial Built phase. For next two phases- Bid and Build, AEC professional work from cloud based construction documents technology solutions.

SKYSITE is focused on the construction phase. It enables construction project members and users (General Contractors, Sub-Contractors and other supplier collaborate) to view, manage, distribute, and collaborate on construction documents in real time with secure access available on any mobile or desktop device.

AECCafe Voice: When you say, “With SKYSITE, construction communication occurs in a fraction of the time it takes with paper but avoids the cumbersome, complicated and unreliable methods of using multiple technology tools to accomplish the same tasks.” – Don’t most contractors use these multiple technology tools anyway? How will you get them to move over to using one new product?

Evan Casey: Yes, AEC professionals at the moment work from multiple technology tools. And it is one of their biggest challenges- to work from and manage multiple technology tools.

ARC Document Solutions had partnered with a third party research firm Newlio earlier this year to quantify the affect document management has on the productivity, efficiency and costs of construction project management.

AEC professionals identified the following challenges

• Nearly one in four AEC professionals (22.3%) said the use of multiple technology tools without streamlined integration negatively impacted project efficiency
• Nearly a third of AEC professionals (30.1%) said using multiple software tools during a construction or design project caused duplication of data
• Nearly a third of AEC professionals (29.1%) said multiple software programs caused redundancy and wasted staff time
• Using technology that isn’t designed for the AEC market – 29.1%

With these challenges in mind SKYSITE is in a unique place to cater to AEC industry. SKYSITE is an integrated technology solution using a single sign-on for all construction document and information management. With new functionalities like Request-for-Information (RFI), Photo Management and Punch List capabilities, SKYSITE 2.0 provides unprecedented option and values to construction professionals.

AECCafe Voice: How much cloud storage does SKYSITE take up on the mobile device?

Evan Casey: SKYSITE offers unlimited cloud storage to all users. Since all the documents are on the cloud, it doesn’t use mobile device storage.

However, SKYSITE offers an option to users working through mobile devices not connected or in offline mode to download only those drawings they are planning to use on site. Rather than download entire project drawing whereby optimizing the mobile storage.

A user can do mark-up, annotate, make changes on the documents, photos and punch list. Once the mobile device is connected, it seamlessly updates these changes and send it to all designated project users.

AECCafe Voice: When photos and voice memos are uploaded, can the photos be annotated in any way? How do people make comments on them?

Evan Casey:  Yes, a user can annotate their photos and drawing when voice memos are uploaded using the same annotation tools provided through the application.

AECCafe Voice: Are there markup capabilities with SKYSITE, and if so, can you describe them?

Evan Casey: Yes, SKYSITE offers real time and offline mark-up capabilities.

SKYSITE can enable a user to capture make changes in real time. A user can do markup and collaborate in real time basis from anywhere using any device.

From Company Materials:

Request for Information (RFI):

Speeding up responses to RFIs makes projects run smoother and close faster.

• SKYSITE teams are able to view and review RFIs through web and mobile-enabled devices and can add custom attributes for further sorting, filtering and searching.
• Team members receive information as it is issued and can make fast decisions to mitigate risk to project delivery timelines and project budgets.
• SKYSITE users get real-time RFI changes and status updates.
• Specs, plans and other documents can be linked to any RFI.
• One click generates the RFI cover and compiles all attachment into a single PDF file.

Photo Management:

SKYSITE enhances the role digital photos play in managing and measuring progress on today’s project sites.

• SKYSITE construction teams can take and tag photos and aggregate them in a single, common project directory accessible from any mobile device.
• Photos can be managed, indexed and searched quickly and efficiently.
• SKYSITE project users can collaborate and communicate on any mobile device using photos as the medium in the same workspace where drawings and specifications are kept.

 Punch List:

SKYSITE puts punch list capabilities where team members can work with them and prevents information silos and data redundancy that separate applications can generate during the QA/QC process.

• SKYSITE users can track lists of project issues and tasks in a single common directory.
• Issues are captured in real time, as punch lists are available from any SKYSITE-enabled mobile device.
• SKYSITE teams can monitor punch list due dates directly from the application, assign responsibility to appropriate team members and track an issue’s current status.
• Photos and voice memos can be uploaded or linked when creating or responding to a punch-list.

Tags: 3D, AEC, architects, Autodesk, BIM, building, building design, building information modeling, CAD, collaboration, construction, engineering, infrastructure

Categories: 2D, AEC, AECCafe, BIM, collaboration, construction

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