What a difference a Decade Makes

When I first became interested in the Internet in 1995, a bit over 10 years ago, most of my colleagues and friends thought I was being seduced by the latest geeky toy.  What serious business advantage, they reasoned, could come from being able to stick your literature on somebody else’s computer screen!

I could talk about the transformation of the business process, the re-shuffling of traditional supply chain relationships or the new ways of offering customer service; and watch the look of blank indifference spread like a fire blanket over my enthusiasm. The biggest gap is between what the technology can do, and what businesses are prepared to risk. Until it is all actually happening – most businesses prefer to stay in the comfort zone of ‘business as usual’.

The last excuse for business has always been that supplier/customers won’t be able to cope with working via the Internet. So it’s nice to read in a recent survey that the average English person now spends more time on the Internet than he/she does watching television.

Let me give you a business example of how we have used all these changes to create something new.

Whenever a building is renovated or a new building is handed over, one of the final steps is to hand over the Operations and Maintenance Manual.  This has traditionally been a giant set of documents that contains all the information that future facilities managers will need – everything from the recommended cleaning fluids for the carpets, to the CAD drawings for the wiring ducts; from spare part lists for the lifts to recommended maintenance procedures for the security system.
 
In most cases the manual is actually hundreds of pages of documents, all painstakingly indexed and copied and filed in one massive set of folders that everybody hopes will be kept safe for the times when they are needed.
  
At the end of 2003 we were approached by Overbury plc and asked to come up with an alternative that would bring this element of the building industry up to date.

The new method:

• Each subcontractor submits their information via a web interface. They use Word template documents downloaded from the site to ensure that all the required information is supplied.
• Manufacturers’ literature is mostly available direct from the manufacturers’ website – this includes user instructions, health and safety files and general product literature.
• All record drawings and certificates are uploaded and some of the larger Architectural practices make the files automatically available via a web interface.
• The project managers are all able to track the progress of the O&M development via the website
• The end product is one simple CD which is fully indexed and consistently structured. It has facilities that are not possible in the old paper version, and which can be deployed across a computer network so that all the data is available to anybody when they need it and where they need it

 When we started we were concerned that:

• Some of the sub-contractors would not be able to manage – after all your average painter and decorator is not expected to be a computer programmer. No problem.
• That we would have to scan large quantities of data.  Didn’t happen, because most of the information is already available in a digital form.

In fact the biggest difficulty has been with some of the ‘professional teams’ who are stuck in the old ways and don’t feel comfortable reviewing documents on screen. But even they come round if you hold their hands nicely and demonstrate the genuine benefit to their clients.

Please visit Denaploy Manuals for more information.

S. Milton BSc ARCS MBA

©2006 Denaploy Ltd