Vertical Corner: Building Skyscrapers in the Cloud

Getting work done at a construction site can be tough. Between shifting work sites, spotty internet connectivity and the continual need to access a myriad of documents - from blueprints to job orders - the productivity challenges can be pretty daunting. And being chained to a desk and sharing thousands of physical paper drawing sheets isn't really an option.  To remain competitive, top construction companies  are looking to technology to solve these tough issues and make their teams more effective.

The paperless work site

Instead of having to haul around 60,000-sheet drawing sets or walk to a jobsite office to access these documents, construction teams can now view essential files on mobile devices. Balfour Beatty was faced with this problem during a six-phased project for renovating two terminals of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. To save money, cut down on paper and increase efficiency, Balfour Beatty decided to implement Egnyte and mobilize its teams on iPads.

"Over the life of the project, we would have printed drawing sets weighing 9,000 lbs and stacked 20 feet high if we had not established the cloud based paperless document management system," said Ben Bringardner, assistant manager, integrated projects for Balfour Beatty.

Jeff Pistor, project manager for Balfour Beatty, added: "Egnyte was a key piece of our paperless document management process. Their technology provided us the speed, security and access we needed on this $800 million renovation.”

Internet connectivity blues

Beyond excessive paper weighing down projects, internet connectivity can be extremely spotty when renovating an airport or building a new subdivision.

Fulton Homes understands internet connectivity issues very well while working across 12 subdivision development sites. When evaluating technology that could work for their team, "the cloud provided easy file sharing and access but only when there was a strong Internet connection. For our needs, the cloud was not enough. The combination of local + cloud gave us the anytime access to our large files," said Patrick Hindall, CIO of Fulton Homes.

Not all documents can or should be stored in the cloud so taking a hybrid approach allows companies, such as Fulton Homes, to access files locally and share them through the cloud when it makes sense for business needs.

Who’s who for file access

Another major concern for construction firms is ensuring that their teams can view and share files when they need them.

BL Systems (BLS) specifically needs granular file permission options, which allow full two-way sync for employee access and the use of read-only for contractor and partner access. They share plans and other business-critical files and can set permissions to allow each person and/or team to view and share files that are relevant and appropriate for them.

When the BLS teams are traveling around the world setting up manufacturing facilities in developing countries, they can focus on their economical housing solutions rather than worrying about the technology they use.

Enterprise-grade technology is key

Construction companies know all about needing the right tools to get the job done. These construction companies - and Egnyte’s other 30,000 customers - know our enterprise-grade solution is an essential tool in their company “toolbox.” Learn more about Egnyte, and read other Egnyte case studies.