Building contractor Lakesmere is saving £200,000 a year
in paper document processing costs after switching to a
web-basedinformation sharing
system.
This was prompted by a refurbishment of the company's Winchester
headquarters, which resulted in the reallocation of over half the
space previously used for archiving paper documents.
Lakesmere, which has to retain some construction documents for
up to 12 years to comply with industry legislation, was forced to
reassess its document handling processes, which involved generating
1.5 million paper records a year.
"We realised that there was an enormous cost associated with
handling and processing paper documents, much of which could be
eliminated if we held them electronically," said Geoff Dennis,
finance director at Lakesmere. These costs included photocopying,
paper, and labour.
The company discounted
document management systems because they offered little more
than the capability of storing paperwork electronically, opting
instead to invest £175,000 in a web-based information sharing
portal.
"The additional benefits and opportunities of Workspace from
construction software company, Union Square, were clear. It made
all project information, documentation, and company data available
online, saving time and improving efficiency," said Dennis.
The system has been rolled out across Lakesmere's offices in
Winchester, Warrington, Glasgow and Birmingham as well as up to 20
live construction sites to manage the flow of information.
"Workspace is used for as many of our everyday activities as we
can think of," said Dennis. The system is used to track staff and
equipment on building sites, record training needs and results for
employees and sub-contractors, process quality assurance reports,
and manage the delivery of goods to construction sites.
Dennis said the company was involved in beta testing a drawing
management for Union Square as the first of many further
developments Lakesmere has already planned for Workspace.