Taylor Woodrow Construction is using hardware and
software from Google to ensure the company intranet delivers the
most up-to-date information to staff.
"It is essential for staff to be confident they are accessing
the latest version of legislation affecting the construction
industry to ensure compliance and minimise risk," said Sean
McAndrew, business systems analyst at
Taylor Woodrow.
As part of a project to upgrade the company's
content management system, Taylor Woodrow's business system
team evaluated the main enterprise search technology available in
the market.
The existing search facility was unable to locate information
outside the construction company's content management system and
often did not deliver the most appropriate results, increasing the
risk of staff using information that was outdated.
"The
Google Search Appliance and software was the only offering that
met all our requirements within the budget of the project," said
McAndrew. "It was affordable, easy to implement, and delivered
reliable search results."
McAndrew said the Google Search Appliance was easily integrated
with the intranet and rolled out with a revamped version of Taylor
Woodrow's .net-based content management system.
Choosing Google also meant Taylor Woodrow did not have to spend
money on intensive staff training because the interface was already
familiar to most of the 1,800 users of the company's intranet in
the UK, Benelux countries, and Ghana in Africa.
The Google Search appliance can search the 25,000 documents held
in the content management system as well as the 1,800 entries in
the company's internal phone directory. The system also enables
staff to subscribe to construction-related information
services.
McAndrew said the clearest indication of a return on investment
has been the 25% reduction in calls to the support department from
users who were unable to find the information they needed.