Network Engineering | Construction Industry

Construction Company Partners with RSA Corp to Restructure Communication Processes

This company is a Houston-based commercial construction company founded in 2000. It provides a full scope of construction services, including preliminary budgets, estimates, drawing reviews and other pre-construction services. Contracts range from negotiated-fee to lump-sum to design-build.

Challenge

Communication among contractors is essential in the construction industry, and this company suffered from a poorly integrated peer-to-peer communications network. To improve its ability for timely communication between job sites and business groups, the company needed alternatives and improvements.

Other problem areas included:

• Poor network performance

• Lack of central file repository and back-up process

• Absence of real-time collaboration

• Need for a more robust computing platform to allow all employees access to network resources

Solution

This construction company partnered with RSA Corp to address the communication problems. We reviewed and analyzed the business processes and recommended a comprehensive infrastructure realignment.

The project featured:

• True client-server communication with central file storage and routine backups

• Live collaboration via email and Microsoft® messaging

• Implementation of networking enhancements to increase the rate of information flow

We also worked closely with the company’s vendors to improve service levels and support. In one such joint effort, the entire DOS-based accounting system was successfully replaced with a Timberline system, which offered a more robust platform appropriate for the company’s needs.

Result

The project resulted in a highly stable and scalable infrastructure that allows employees to make the most efficient use of their time. Business risks are diminished in terms of the information technology used to support business processes. We also assisted in implementing a high-volume electronic faxing system to facilitate the bid-solicitation processes. As a result, the employee time required on every invitation to bid was reduced from several hours to less than 15 minutes, allowing employees to focus on other functions.