Earlier this year, Sarcophagus were pleased to be awarded a High Commendation for Small to Medium sized Business of the Year, following our nomination in the Wakefield Business Awards 2011.

The company has expanded and recruited two new members of staff, who are able to support the existing team and improve our support levels to our Clients.  This has meant we have been able to take bigger office space, enabling us to be more efficient.

There are currently a number of things in development with regards to our products, so watch out for the January 2012 Newsletter for further information.

In the meantime Sarcophagus would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

On Monday 18th October 2010 Sarcophagus successfully rolled out the 2010 version of the-project, a major upgrade of the award winning online project collaboration solution.

The migration to the new UK version took less the half an hour and was done at 17:30 GMT when almost all users were logged off.  Feedback has been very positive and no one has reported any negative issues relating to the new rollout.

The-project collaboration platform will permit faster implementation of many new technologies and features.  The first release featured new home and search pages, cross browser support, mobile phone support and enhancements to navigation and the graphical interface. 

It has taken Sarcophagus over 16 months to redevelop and prepare for the new system which has included upgrading all server hardware to state of the art virtualised servers and upgrading to a primary data centre facility to provide a platform for growth and real time drive storage expansion.

Sarcophagus hopes that the upgrade will allow for an improved user experience across the system, and make the-project.co.uk even more appealing to current and potential clients.

If you would like further information relating to the-project 2010 , or to arrange a free demonstration, then please do not hesitate to email us via the contact page.

UCB is currently planning for development of a 4 acre site, near to the present campus, which secures their longer term future.

The proposed first phase for the development is a large building of world-class design, with provision primarily for postgraduate studies; with lecture theatres and seminar rooms, a large flexible auditorium, a 24-hour collaborative learning hub, conferencing facilities and improved internal and external social space for students.

The Buildings will be some of the most energy efficient and eco-friendly in the country, featuring natural air conditioning, grey water recycling, green roofs, etc.

UCB are mindful that the development is in a Conservation Area, being on the edge of the Jewellery Quarter, and are being sympathetic to this in developing the proposals in conjunction with the Birmingham City Council’s Planning Department, who are very enthusiastic about the potential for the development to add to the amenities and use of this historic part of the city. As a very broad timeline, UCB hope to achieve full design and planning by October 2011, with works commencing on the new site by November 2011 for completion by March 2013.

During what will no doubt be very tough financial times in higher and further education in coming years, this project is truly exciting stage in UCBs development , The UCB Corporation’s determination to progress it during such a downturn in the economy and the construction industry demonstrates great confidence in the future.

Sarcophagus and the-project have been chosen as their collaboration service during this development.

Local property owners have renewed calls for the governments tax on empty commercial properties to be lifted weeks ahead of the political party conferences.

Graham Howarth, partner in GJ&J Properties, based in Westgate, Wakefield told Sky News that the tax was damaging the local economy and halting new investment in regenerating the area.

A major redevelopment of the TEVA UK Eastbourne pharmaceutical packaging site will use the-project.co.uk document control system to manage the build. The redevelopment includes several phases of work over a three year period including the construction and fit out of a new three storey packaging hall and laboratory building; construction of a new two storey building to provide restaurant and office facilities. In addition the existing laboratory and packaging facilities will be improved and modernised.

The-project.co.uk collaboration service is being used by the University of Bedfordshire on phase 1b of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the university buildings which will include the building of a new Campus Centre, right in the heart of the Luton campus. This central building will act as a base for a whole range of student services, which will be easily accessible to all of our students. This huge £70 million modernisation will take place over a number of years, and phase one is expected to be completed in the Academic Year 2010-11.

Sarcophagus is supplying the “Central Project Information Hub” for Tesco’s Project Surge. The aim of the project, valued at around £7 million, is to reduce energy consumption by 10% across all store types. The system will be used to provide a flow of accurate information will allow the team to match actual energy usage against the energy profile for the site. Elite will then carry out adjustments, remotely or by visiting site to rectify the excess energy use or wastage.

Sarcophagus Ltd where selected to supply their extranet service the-project.co.uk for the construction of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM). The £54 million project will provide a world class centre for research into medical therapies for diseases of the blood, bone, brain and liver. This includes research into motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and liver cirrhosis. This will be the signature building of the Edinburgh BioQuarter.

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus would like to welcome our latest new client HGP Architects to the-project.
HGP Architects, founded in 1968, has a proven track record for innovative design coupled with a fast and considered response to their clients' needs, in the pursuit of value-added buildings.

“By using the-project.co.uk we are able to collaborate effectively and efficiently with all members of our team. It will allow us to speed up the design process, reduce wastage and ensure we have strong management control throughout the lifecycle of the project.” - says Gary Bryan, QA & IT Manager of HGP Architects.

Source: NCCTP

In late 2005, the NCCTP commissioned an independent survey of users of its members’ collaboration systems – or ‘project extranets’. The research was undertaken by Benchmark Research, a market research agency with extensive experience in both IT and construction-related markets in the UK.

During April and May 2006, Benchmark conducted 272 telephone interviews with individual users of UK solutions from 4Projects, Aconex, Asite, BIW Technologies, Business Collaborator, Cadweb, Causeway Technologies and Sarcophagus. Interviewees were drawn from 195 different companies and comprised roughly one quarter each of designers (architects, civil engineers, etc), main contractors and sub-contractors, with the remaining quarter made up of client representatives and quantity surveyors. Over 60 per cent of interviewees had used collaboration technologies on multiple projects.

High levels of commitment

Benchmark asked users how likely they would be to recommend the technologies, how likely they would be to use them again, how they rated the systems’ overall performance, and asked for their attitudes to the technologies. Analysis of the responses on these questions helped Benchmark establish the sample’s overall commitment or loyalty to the technology.

More than half of the respondents were loyal or strongly loyal, while less than 5% were unconvinced or disillusioned. Benchmark divided the sample into five groups:

Loyal advocates (committed evangelisers) – 16%
Loyal (strongly committed to using the technology in future) – 36%
Satisfied but uncommitted – 44%
Unconvinced – 3%
Disillusioned – 1%

Of the first two groups, 62% were QSs, 59% were clients and 58% were main contractors. Just over half (51%) of designers featured in these groups, and 39% of sub-contractors.

`Bearing in mind that this is a relatively new technology, the level of commitment across the board is tremendously encouraging` said Mactear.

Key benefits

Despite the variations in loyalty among the sample, there was widespread acceptance of the practical benefits of construction collaboration technologies.

1. Better communications, faster drawing approvals

Sixty-one per cent of the sample rated better communications between project team members as a substantial benefit. When asked to compare how long it took to approve drawings exchanged via a collaboration solution as against those exchanged by email or other means, survey respondents said average drawing approval times were reduced by 26%, from average of 9.3 days to 6.9 days.

2. Improved accountability

Creating a single, secure repository for the exchange of drawings and other documents improved project team accountability, the survey said. The following were all rated as substantial benefits (ie: rated 4 out of 5 or above):

Audit trail (rated a substantial benefit by 81%)
Traceability and visibility of documents (79%)
Better accountability (73%)
Less confusion over which version is correct (69%)
Everybody works from the same version (68%)

3. Better project management


The survey found users experienced significant benefits relating to project management, communications and team working:

Information available centrally (rated a substantial benefit by 85%)
Less money spent on couriers or post (83%)
Dispersed teams work better together (68%)

4. Improved document control

Similarly, respondents said they benefited from improved document management, storage and retrieval processes

Less chance of losing important documents (rated a substantial benefit by 82%)
Information is more secure (75%)
Distribution and production costs are less (74%)
Archived information can be found faster (72%)
Needs less storage space (70%)
Easier to find/retrieve right document (66%)

5. Benefits to owner/operators

Benefits experienced relating to hand-over, commissioning and operation and maintenance included:

Documents can be accessed 24/7 (rated a substantial benefit by 86%)
Archive of health and safety information (66%)
Archive of FM information (64%)
Costs less to maintain documents (61%)
Documents amended faster and more easily (60%)

6. Competitive differentiation

Construction industry clients within the sample were asked for their opinions regarding collaboration technologies. Almost three-quarters (74%) said they were more likely to award contracts to firms experienced in using collaboration technologies, and over two-thirds (68%) said they would insist on using such systems on all future projects.

Such client attitudes are clearly familiar to many professionals within project teams. Four out of five non-clients (81%) agreed that an increasing number of larger clients insisted on using the technologies, two-thirds felt expertise in their use gave them a competitive edge in winning contracts, and 54% said they would not be able to compete for certain jobs without using the systems.

Both clients and project team members agreed that collaboration technologies gave them greater control over their projects (clients 82%, non-clients 69%).


High levels of user satisfaction
Users tended to be highly satisfied with the reliability of the systems. 73% rated reliability at 4 or 5 out of 5; only 9% rated reliability at 1 or 2 out of 5. Vendors’ support services were highly rated by 62% of the sample, while ease of use, learning curve and functionality also tended to be rated highly, by 58%, 58% and 55% respectively. Speed of upload/download of information was criticised by some; 23% gave this 1 or 2 out of 5, though - as Benchmark point out – the apparent speed of the system will be dependent to a significant degree on the IT infrastructure of the end-user.

Source: Sarcophagus

I read with interest the article on e-tendering and the apparent slow uptake (Why is the pen still mightier? QS News, 30 June). I agree whole heartedly that email or CD is not the way to go when considering e-tendering and this may be why so few people have tried it. However, as providers of eTenderer.com, an online procurement package, we are experiencing good take up of the system and have developed our system to comply with the RICS guidelines.

In response to the barriers to take up you mention cost, lack of knowledge and perceived security – we believe we have addressed all these issues.

From our experience, the costs saved outweigh the costs involved. An online system can provide tangible benefits such as reduced paper and postage costs as well as reduced administration time. I would agree with the statement regarding QS/PMs needing to embrace this aspect of project procurement to improve their bottom line. We have had positive client feedback outlining cost savings of 20% gained through reduced administration and quicker tender turnarounds.

Regarding lack of computer knowledge, this is an issue of educating users that systems such as eTenderer are easy to use. It is important to make the transition for clients and users from paper to electronic tendering as smooth as possible. That is why our system follows the traditional closed tendering process online.

The other concern was security. This is a case of reassuring the user the system is secure and can prove more secure than traditional methods. Our system is highly secure with banking level 128 bit encryption security. Each user also has their own unique login to each tender and detailed audit trails are available.

Overall, we are encouraged to see a growing awareness of e-tendering in construction and in particular that so many people are showing an interest. Once users experience the benefits first hand we are confident they will be reluctant to return to their old methods of tendering.

James Hook, marketing executive, Sarcophagus

Source: Sarcophagus

eTenderer the successful online procurement solution from Sarcophagus Ltd. has been updated to be the first product of its type to comply with the RICS e-tendering guidelines. Version 2.0 will be launched on the 10th May to a discreet audience of selected clients and will be publicly launched at the ITCF (IT Construction Forum) event on the 24th May.

eTenderer allows each stage of the tendering process, from pre-qualification to tender award to be automated and secure The solution is offered as a stand alone service or as part of the company’s online construction collaboration system the-project.co.uk.

Established clients such as design professionals, contractors and end users have commissioned eTenderer to consolidate the tendering timeframe and reduce tender sums and costs. This together with improved management control, banking level security and audit trails provides a solution which ensures fair practice and minimises administrative burden.

This new version has been carefully designed and rigorously tested, following consultations with the RICS, and existing blue chip clients.

ASDA Wal-Mart stated:
"E-tenderer.com supplied by Sarcophagus Ltd. is easy to use, secure, reliable and efficient. In terms of costs, it pays for itself with average savings of 20% on tender returns"
David Olivant, Procurement Manager, ASDA Wal-Mart

The functionality mirrors the secure steps involved in the traditional closed tender process, which is ideally suited to tendering on complex construction projects.

Overview of Sarcophagus Ltd


Sarcophagus Ltd is a UK company providing established on line construction collaboration technologies since 1998. Their solutions include www.the-project.co.uk and www.eTenderer.com , which are designed to reduce cost time and risk from the construction process by effectively managing capital project information.

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus Ltd, the Online Construction Collaboration provider launched their Key Performance Indicator module for www.the-project.co.uk at the London IT in Construction event on the 18th May.

The module which was developed in conjunction with ASDA is integrated into their project collaboration portal called www.the-project.co.uk. It is designed to provide project performance feedback via selected members of the project team across a series of construction projects. The system collates the answers to provide clients with real time project progress reports to highlight project shortfalls and team strengths and weaknesses.

The KPI module provides the following benefits:

Highlights inefficiencies early in the project lifecycle and enables a more proactive approach to managing a project.
Allows the project manager and client real time access to control and monitor the project team against defined Key Performance Indicators.
Reduces administrative burden as the team do not need to complete paper or email based forms. All information can be reported at the touch of a button.
Provides the team players with feedback to improve the decision making process.

The module is designed to be highly user friendly and users should be able to reply quickly with minimal effort proving time and cost efficient to both the users and the project manager.

Quote:
Catherine Sanderson, Supplier Performance Manager ASDA Stores Limited:
"We are delighted to be supporting the KPI module. It really helps us to manage the performance and progress of a project on a day to day basis. It is certainly a valuable decision making tool when we are developing and building our quality stores."

Source: Computer Active (issue 182)

Despite the obvious importance of doing so, backing up emails is actually a rather tricky thing to do. Most programs keep emails hidden away in obscure folders and, even if you are able to locate these folders, it is notoriously difficult to retrieve individual messages.

MsgSave has the ability to save individual messages or groups of messages to the hard disk, allowing you to archive them to CD. Each message is saved as a .msg file that can be opened in Outlook, but not Outlook Express, with just a double-click.

After a quick and easy installation, a MsgSave icon is left in the Outlook toolbar. Each message's file name can be constructed from whatever information you want, including the sender and subject line.

However, if the subject line is too long the file name will be cut down because of the character limit set by Windows. <...>

If you use your email account for important correspondence that you want to keep on hand then this is an essential tool and well worth the cost. However, it cannot be used with Outlook Express, which makes it useless to many home PC owners.

Source: WindowsXP Made Easy

Why run the risk of losing all of your saved messages when disaster strikes? Why don’t you take few minutes to make a back-up of your email for added security?
For many PC users, the Internet has become an invaluable tool in the home office. Indeed, the facility to link a PC up with an incalculably huge network of computers that spans the entire globe has travelled beyond the realms of hyperbole and into the remit of day-to-day necessity.

The plain fact is that Web-based communications, such as email and Instant Messaging, are fast becoming the most relied-upon methods of sharing information and staying in touch with others. But while email usage is increasing, it's a sad fact that Internet safety is becoming an ever more important consideration for PC users. Virus attacks can quickly render unsuspecting computers useless, and can mean that all of your important emails become corrupted and lost forever. But thankfully, with the help of a few trusty programs, backing up your message box is a straightforward affair.

In the following workshop, we'll introduce you to two programs that make light work of backing up messages for two of the most popular email clients around: Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. MsgSave is an extremely easy-to-use program for Outlook while OE Back-up Genie works just as easily when using Outlook Express or Eudora.

Using MsgSave to save Microsoft Outlook emails

After installing the MsgSave program from the disc onto your PC, the MsgSave icon should appear on the menu bar. Select an email and simply click on the icon to start the saving process.
The next step you need to take is to create a folder where you would like to store all your back-up emails. Click ‘Change’ on the ‘Save To’ menu and either locate or create a folder on your hard drive.

You then have an option of saving the singular email or all of them or saving attachments only. Once complete all your emails can be re-opened by clicking on them in the designated folder.

Source: Sarcophagus

Construction represents a tenth of UK GDP. This year 20% of all UK construction projects and up to 40% of those over £10m are predicted to use project collaboration tools. In response to this, the UK construction industry's leading technology providers have formed the ncctp (Network for Construction Collaboration Technology Providers). Tim Broyd, CIRIA's Chief Executive will be launching this new CIRIA managed network at Project Extranets IV on 3rd December 2003.
This new network will help to promote the effective use of online technology to support collaborative working on projects and capital developments in UK construction. It aims to increase interoperability between systems — engendering easy transfer of data through definition and adoption of standards. The network will promote the benefits of using collaborative technology and demonstrate the value of collaborative working. Importantly, it provides a single independent body with whom clients can communicate regarding the future development of collaboration technology.

The founder members of the ncctp are 4 Projects, BIW Technologies, BuildOnline, Cadweb, Causeway Technologies and Sarcophagus. Together these organisations are currently helping the industry to manage UK construction projects worth around £35 billion.

Graham Howarth of Sarcophagus, ncctp's Chairman said "The UK construction industry needs a standard way of working to enable best practice and drive more waste out of the construction process. I believe the ncctp will be the driving force to achieve this aim whilst representing the interests of both users and providers of construction collaboration software. I am delighted to represent our industry and look forward to a challenging year ahead."

Tim Broyd of CIRIA added, "From a standing start of just three or four years ago, methods of online project collaboration are starting to revolutionise the way in which construction projects are managed. I am delighted that the founding members of the ncctp have chosen CIRIA to manage this exciting new network."

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus continues to develop its collaboration solution, the-project.co.uk with the release of version 3.6. Sarcophagus continues with it policy of releasing new enhancements to all existing customers at no additional cost.
With this release, clients can link a "standards" channel to each "live" project. Clients can have many "standards" channels to facilitate linking different groups of projects.

Sarcophagus have also developed an offline bulk publishing facility which allows large numbers of documents to be processed and automatically published at a later date.

Source: The Architects Journal

Sarcophagus has launched MsgSave V3.1.1, the email archival tool for Microsoft Outlook. Email overburden can now be managed by saving email to defined folders on your network, PC or removable disk.
The resulting files can contain attachments and have customisable filenames based on date, sender, recipient and subject etc.

Source: Sarcophagus

We are pleased to announce the formation of a strategic alliance with Job Management Systems Ltd.
Both companies have agreed to integrate their respective technologies to offer clients a single office solution, we call this concept the ONE OFFICE. We believe this solution is the only solution.

Most businesses have in the past invested in many different types of software to automate the Front Office: i.e. word processing, document management, e-mail, imaging, file management, docketing, etc. Deciding on additional software for the Back Office functions of time capturing, invoicing, forecasting and job management is also fraught with transfer and compatibility issues.

Needless to say, most firms today have automated some part of the Front Office and some part of the Back Office. However, the separation between Back Office and Front Office continues and the cost of maintaining separate systems, lost productivity and risk for error quickly becomes apparent.

Our combined solution will provide a cost effective ONE OFFICE solution as it will be capable of securely handling real time information and resource management from anywhere in the world.

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus continues to develop its construction collaboration solution, the-project.com. The latest version of the system was release to all their users on 16th April 2003 as Sarcophagus continues with its policy of releasing new enhancements to all existing customers at no additional cost.
With this release, Sarcophagus has streamlined its document uploading and publishing facilities, making it even quicker and more intuitive.

Sarcophagus announced the launch of eTenderer, a revolutionary online procurement system technology yesterday (March 17).
eTenderer integrates online collaborative technologies with procurement automation, to enable purchasing teams to compile detailed tender documents and simultaneously invite tender submissions online by a specified opening date.

For the first time in the construction industry, suppliers’ tenders are then published as sealed bids into an online safe deposit box. They can only be opened by specified purchasing representatives on the pre-determined tender opening date.

The user friendly system ensures even suppliers with no knowledge of online tendering systems can respond easily.

Timo Partanen, of SDA, project manager on several Audi/VW projects said:
"The system should prevent insider dealings and fraudulent submissions, plus significantly reduce construction tender programmes in the long term, through efficient supply chain procurement."

eTenderer will be launched to a selected group of Sarcophagus clients including Audi/VW and ASDA Wal-Mart following months of development and consultations to ensure the system delivers against clients requirements.

Sarcophagus Ltd is a UK company providing established online construction collaboration technologies which have been used by blue chip clients like ASDA Wal-mart since 1998. Their solutions include the-project.co.uk a collaborative project extranet environment providing centralised sharing, management and global dissemination of project information in real time. They are the first profitable company in this sector in the UK.

Graham Howarth chief executive officer of Sarcophagus said:
"eTenderer will reduce tender periods to days rather than weeks, providing significant improvements to current construction working practices. It will revolutionise construction procurement and is likely to pave the way toward a change in contractual legislation, saving project time, risk and costs."

Source: Sarcophagus

For the first time in the construction industry, suppliers' tenders are published as sealed bids into an online safe deposit box. They can only be opened by specified purchasing representatives on the pre-determined tender opening date.
The user friendly system ensures even suppliers with no knowledge of on-line tendering systems can respond easily.

eTenderer will be launched to a selected group of Sarcophagus clients including Audi/VW and ASDA Wal-Mart following months of development and consultations to ensure the system delivers against clients requirement. The system will then be made available to all users.

Source: Sarcophagus

With the launch of MsgSave version 3.0 this Outlook add-in now lets you specify:
the delimiter to use for file names
the date format to use in file names
to save messages without the attachments
to automatically save attachments to disk
MsgSave would benefit anybody who wants to save Microsoft Outlook messages. The message can be stored safely anywhere on your PC or network and returned to Microsoft Outlook simply by dragging and dropping them into a folder.

Source: Construction News Magazine

After the bloodletting of the dot.com crash, the gloves are off in the fight to establish the players who will shape the future of project collaboration. Just who are the contestants? Emma Crates investigates.
Does your sector have a theme tune? If Tony Blair swept to power with Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream, perhaps e-construction should adopt Gloria Gaynor's disco classic, I Will Survive, as it's anthem.

Whatever their tune, providers of the systems for exchanging project information online can be sure of another bracing year in 2003. UK business investment in IT dropped 10 per cent in 2002 on the previous year. Those that have survived so far have done well, but more IT casualties are forecast before Christmas.

So who will stay and who will go? Who will merge and who will be eaten? As the TV show Big Brother puts it: You decide.

Until recently, many contractors have flirted with project collaboration tools but have been reluctant to back one until a clear market leader emerged. This could be the year that those sitting on the fence are forced to start making decisions. In 2002, 10 per cent of new projects used project collaboration tools. Analyst Barbour forecasts that this will double in 2003.

Savvy contractors and consultants know that choosing a preferred tool now could save them money in the long run. If they can seize the initiative they could avoid being bulldozed into using different systems by joint-venture partner or clients. This would add to the burden of staff training and create problems for data retrieval.

So the fate of many IT ventures rests on being able to prove that they have the business sense and financial stability to stay around for the long term.

If your company has not developed a strategy for project collaboration, prepare to be baffled this year. In a recent Construction Industry Computing Association survey, major contractors didn't see many technological barriers to integrating IT into their businesses but said it was difficult to sift through the vast quantity of options.

Even if they read everything they are sent, directors probably receive a distorted picture of the market. While some vendors have aggressive PR operations, other successful companies operate in media silence.

BuildOnline recently used the Barbour Compendium User Questionnaire of 2002 to claim the crown of "clear marker share leader in the UK". The survey said the company had a 20% market share, while BIW Technologies, Cadweb and Hummingbird - used predominantly by Bovis - each had a 10 per cent market share. Asite, known more for its procurement services, trailed at 3 per cent, and "other systems" accounted for a massive 47 per cent.

Colin Smith, BIW chief executive, questioned these figures. "We have 20,000 users, double that of our nearest competitor," he said. "I doubt that any of our competitors' chief executives would disagree that BIW has by far the largest market share in the UK."

BIW also supplies the majority of Asite's project collaboration tools and boasts high-profile users such as Sainsbury's, Crest Nicholson, Marks and Spencer, BAA, Asda, Kajima and Stanhope.

But BuildOnline - which claims to be the largest of its kind in Europe - also has a weighty list of customers, including Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Bovis, Skansa, the Highways Agency and Defence Estates. The company has just been selected by Metronet to collaborate on London Underground upgrades.

UK managing director Mark Oliver said contractors were stealing the march on clients and beginning to specify project collaboration tools for projects.

BuildOnline put out a lot of publicity when it reached profitability last November but have you heard of a small project collaboration firm called Sarcophagus? It has been in profit for 14 months. Meanwhile, 4Projects, the extranet tool originally developed in-house by Taylor Woodrow, (clients now include Pearce, Mott MacDonald and Six Continents House), went into the black last March.

Sanjeev Shah, group director of Group Business Collaborator, another firm omitted by the Barbour survey, also has reason to be disgruntled. "We've been making profit since we started in 1994," he said.

Mr Shah, who admitted that he does not court the press, is relying on "viral" spreading of Business Collaborator. He claims to have secured the affections of six of the top 12 consultants. Both Atkins and Halcrow have standardised on the system for project collaboration; Costain is using it where possible. Other coups include taking major clients Natwest and Shell. The latter is using BC for the refurbishments of all its forecourts across Europe.

Other contenders include BidCom and Causeway Collaboration. Arup sold its in-house system, Integration, to Causeway, and is rolling it out across the company. There is also Primavera, whose project management systems were developed under the influence of construction giant Bechtel. The system is Glaxo SmithKline's preferred tool, along with Ntel, Johnson & Johnson and Disney.

The multinationals are likely to have a large influence on the way systems are spread. But much also depends on the sales and strategy of the vendors. Vendors usually offer two options: renting the software per project, or charging a yearly or one-off licence fee.

BIW - whose growth strategy is to target PFI or large-scale collaborative projects - earns most of its revenue from renting out its software. The company's tools are more expensive than many competitors, something that Mr Smith is quick to defend.

He said: "Some of our competitors have suicidal pricing policies. Consolidation in the market will come from market failure."

Although BIW is not yet in profit, Mr Smith expects the company will reach this goal "very soon". Even if the company does not take on any new clients, it has an order backlog of £6 million, and has already achieved 75 per cent of its income for 2003.

But one large contractor criticised pricing structures. He said: "We would like to go with project collaboration tools but the companies have to get their commercial pricing right. Group-wide, it would cost us several hundreds of thousands a year to use the system."

Contractors now have to ask themselves whether they would prefer to rent software for a relatively low rate on a monthly or annual basis or take the plunge and buy a company-wide licence to roll out one system. This could work out cheaper in the long run but would mean giving more commitment to one project collaboration tool.
But for the visionaries, the argument about project extranets is eclipsed by a much more ambitious goal: system integration and knowledge management.

The ability to retrieve and analyse reliable data across a company group is the ultimate goal for those who want to stay ahead of the competition. While many contractors are still project-focused, consultants such as Costain are overhauling their business systems with this grail in mind.

IT analyst The Butler Group recently said knowledge management was the only growth area in IT investment.

Vendors whose products span from intranet systems to enterprise software are in a strong position. Balfour Beatty, for example, is trialling Business Collaborator and BuildOnline for project collaboration but it has just signed a licence for knowledge management tools with Business Collaborator.

William Yandell, founder of Union Square, which specialises in off-the-shelf knowledge management systems, said: "A lot more suppliers both from our sector and beyond, will be repositioning themselves as knowledge management specialists."

So, the long-term survival of extranets seems to depend on how easily they can be integrated into other operations. BIW has already formed an alliance with back-office giant Ramesys. Expect more strategic alliances this year.

But for those who are worried about the stability of the project collaboration market, hope is now at hand.

Eight UK players: BuildOnline, Causeway, Cadweb, Sarcophagus, BIW, 4Projects, Business Collaborator and Bidcom are forming an industry group, as yet unnamed. The group will promote the use of online project collaboration tools and aims to develop industry standards so that customers will be able to transfer data more easily between systems.

Mr Smith is also hoping that the group will act as a safety net for users, taking collective responsibility for customers should any of the companies fail financially, something in which his firm already has experience.

He said: "BIW picked up Iscraper's users when it failed. It cost us money to do it but we felt it important to support the market in such an early stage."

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus Limited, a Wakefield based company are providers of the leading extranet service the-project.co.uk strengthen its senior management team with the appointment of Jeremy Sainter as Operations Director.
the-project.co.uk is a web based project collaboration and information management system used by a wide range of clients from small developers to blue chips such as ASDA and AUDI/VW. The concept of the extranet is to store project information in a centralised and safe, web based repository, which can be administered by project managers and accessed by the whole project team from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Jeremy (41) joined the company in April 2002 to strengthen the management team and provide the interface between clients and the extranet developers. The chief executive, Graham Howarth, believes that closer liaison with existing clients will provide the platform for effective software development and will provide the users with functionality they require.

Jeremy Sainter stated: "I joined Sarcophagus because their extranet service, the-project.co.uk, is one of the fastest and most effective project extranets in the UK. It has enormous potential and unlike many of the other dot com providers, Sarcophagus has financial stability and continues to make profits. I believe Sarcophagus is and will continue to be a leading player in the Construction Extranet market."

Prior to joining Sarcophagus, Jeremy, a trained Civil Engineer, ran a successful business consultancy for 10 years specialising in reducing business running costs via the use of IT implementations; during which time he worked in a diverse range of industries covering all aspects of systems and database development.

Source: Sarcophagus

This clever add-in for Microsoft Outlook lets you filter your emails in any Outlook folder and save them to your PC or Network. Messages are saved with a unique file name which can include the date, time, sender, recipient and message title.

The messages can also be automatically deleted from Outlook when they are saved. This saves each user many hours per week and ensures email can be archived and shared with other members of their company. In addition, it minimises the size of outlook folders; maintaining performance and keeping network administrators happy.

Project extranets could hold the secret to achieving the efficiency gains demanded by Sir John Egan. We report on this useful new tool for project managers.

When project management was still in its infancy, a project manager had to rely on little more than a basic schedule of works and his own management and communication skills to ensure that a building scheme was completed on time and to budget.

But with the advent of increasingly sophisticated computer software, he has been provided with a whole range of tools that make his life easier.

One of the most recent and significant developments has been the developments has been the project extranet, a kind of computerised pool of information about a building scheme that can be easily shared between the different members of the construction team.

Graham Howarth, management director of extranet expert Sarcophagus, believes that project extranets have a key role to play in the design and construction stages of a building project.

He reckons that they could even help the industry meet the efficiency improvements that Sir John Egan called for in his landmark rethinking construction report.

`Extranets enable earlier identification of errors and faster dissemination of information, allowing a wider group to contribute to the design and supply process.`

There is nothing particularly clever in project extranets. In many cases, they are simply computerised records of the paper documents that are produced and filed for any building project: technical drawings, tender, bills of quantities... and so on.

Being on computer however, the documents are easier to access. For example, a project manager on site can remotely log on to the extranet from his laptop and print out a document, rather than having to phone head office and get them to fax him a copy.

Moreover, if you want to search for a particular document, you don`t have to sift through hundreds of paper files - often a time consuming process - but simply input your search criteria into the computer and, viola, the desired document pops up on screen.

According to Eagan, only 30 per cent of the time that workers are on site is spent productively. `The rest of the time they are stood around waiting,` he says. By having quicker access to documents, project managers, at least, should not have to do so much waiting.

But there is more to project extranets than simply rapid dissemination of information. As all the details are held in a centralised resource accessible by every member of the team, potential problems and areas where improvements are possible can be pinpointed sooner.

For example, a cladding specialist who has access to the architectural drawings might spot a problem in the way the contractor has proposed to connect the cladding to the frame. The service engineer- on the other hand - might know of a more efficient method of laying out the ventilation system.

If it wasn`t for the extranet, these companies might never have seen all the documents and not therefore have had an opportunity to air their ideas for making the building more build able.

But it is not just during the design and construction process that project extranets show their worth. It is often assumed that the project management role ends once a building has been completed.

But Howarth does not believe that this should be the case. He argues that a building should be project managed throughout its lifespan, from the moment it is conceived by the client to the day that it is demolished.

`The idea that a building project is complete at the end of defects period is unrealistic,` he says. `In fact, most change occurs during throughout a building`s useful life.`

He urges that project managers should also put in place a project extranet that lasts the lifetime of a building. And the rest is history.

Source: Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus Limited, authors of the-project.co.uk the project extranet solution for the construction industry have launched a new project document archive service called Project Explorer that will revolutionise how information is managed and retrieved for the life of a building.Project Explorer 2 was unveiled for the first time to a discrete target audience on 16th April 2002 at the IT Showcase event at The Royal Armouries, Leeds.

To complement the-project.co.uk, the company can convert paper based documents into live extranets using sophisticated scanning and document mapping techniques. The extranets are then converted into a Project Explorer CD with as built information or Health and Safety Manuals retaining audit trails, comments and all document revision history. This enables the building owners to automatically disseminate information with little management intervention.

The revolutionary Project Explorer software is contained on the CD along with all the projects drawings, specifications, test results, minutes, manufacturer's literature etc in PDF format to enable anyone to find and print information without installing any software other than Adobe Acrobat Reader.