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Schmidt Associates streamline workflows for New Indianapolis Courthouse

Feb. 8, 2022
4 min read

Complex Partnerships and Contractual Relationships Create Complicated Workflows

The new Indianapolis Consolidated Civil and Criminal Courthouse is a large, multi-year design-build project which includes 27 courtrooms and 34 hearing rooms as part of the justice campus.  Schmidt Associates is serving as the project manager, architect, and engineer of record for this highly complex design build project. 

With large projects like the Consolidated Indianapolis Consolidated Civil and Criminal Courthouse, the exchange of information between project team members can be problematic. Especially considering the varying contractual relationships, digital data requirements, and government and owner requirements.

Schmidt Associates faced a number of challenges related to the efficient exchange of information with the contractor, subconsultants, and the owner team. Additionally, meeting digital data requirements with a complete and centralized record of the project was problematic given that data was spread across multiple systems and applications. 


Breaking Down Silos to Share Information

When multiple parties are involved in the construction process, multiple software applications and platforms are at play. Schmidt Associates navigated between multiple applications including Microsoft TEAMS, Procore, and Autodesk BIM 360, to share information with the project team. 

Schmidt Associates utilizes Newforma Project Center as their Project Information Management platform. Project Managers, firm leadership, and technical staff needed an easy way to view Autodesk BIM 360 data. In addition, BIM 360 files needed to be shared between Schmidt Associates and subconsultants. Because not all users had full access to Autodesk BIM 360, sharing files was a major challenge. Administrative staff were required to copy and paste files to network folders in order to share. 

By implementing the Newforma Connector for Autodesk BIM 360, Schmidt Associates saved approximately one hour per day by eliminating the manual administrative tasks previously required to share with external team members who did not have access to BIM 360. The Project Center Info Exchange sync function enabled Schmidt Associates to share and synchronize a model folder on a preset schedule (twice a day, daily, etc.) with design partners. Automating the update of model information, ensured that external team members were working with the most current information. 


Streamlining Construction Administration Workflows 

In addition to working with Autodesk BIM 360, Schmidt Associates was also required to process submittals and RFIs through the contractor’s system, Procore. The Newforma Project Center Connector for Procore enabled Schmidt Associates to automate workflows for sharing files and transferring submittals and RFIs. This eliminated double entry of data and reduced errors and administrative time.

Greg Hempstead, Project Delivery Systems Manager/Associate for Schmidt Associates explains, “Before the Newforma + BIM 360 Connector, we had a full-time staff member transferring and uploading files from BIM 360 into Newforma Project Center. Now, he saves five to eight hours a week in administrative tasks. We’re also sending RFIs/Submittals through Newforma Project Center using the Procore Workflow Connector, which eliminates double logging.” 


Meeting and Exceeding Digital Data Requirements 

Schmidt Associates was also able to meet digital data requirements by providing key stakeholders with a complete project record. Since BIM 360 files can be accessed directly from Newforma Project Center, these files are included in the record copy and archive.

By centralizing project data, Schmidt Associates could also use the Newforma Search function to find information across all project files and emails. They could also relate BIM 360 files to other project files including submittals and RFIs. Unifying BIM 360 documents with all project information helps teams to make more informed decisions by providing a complete picture of the project.

“The comprehensive view of the project record is so important. Because there are different products focused on maximizing collaboration in different ways, it’s nice to have a ‘platform agnostic’ way to see all these components together, including files from BIM 360, SharePoint Online, and your different network folders. Using Newforma, our firm leadership and technical staff have the benefit of quick access to all information in a familiar environment.”  - Greg Hempstead

By integrating project information through Newforma Project Center and Newforma Connectors, team members could efficiently find and share the information they need to deliver the project. 

 

Company Information
Company Name: Newforma, Inc. 
Address: 1750 Elm Street, 9th Floor, Manchester, NH 03104, USA
Phone number: +1 (877) 875-8252
Website: www.newforma.com

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