Efficient Processes with Project Documentation Software
How Swiss engineering consultancy AFC Air Flow Consulting AG efficiently supports over 100 projects with PlanRadar
AFC Air Flow Consulting is an independent engineering consultancy with over 20 years of industry experience, around 60 employees and 3 locations in Switzerland. It supports clients, architects and planners with complex construction projects. The company’s main business is in integrated solutions related to safety and energy efficiency.
With its sound scientific background and use of suitable technologies, AFC stands for guaranteed reliability in terms of planning, costs and acceptance. A typical day at the consultancy includes developing well thought-out and straightforward suggestions and working on economic objectives, aesthetic requirements and strict official conditions that need to be met. The company also sees itself as an innovative solution finder. Each concept is tailored and perfectly matched to the client’s requirements and wishes. With PlanRadar’s project documentation software, AFC ensures efficient processes for its projects.
The problem: analogue project coordination and project documentation is very time-consuming
As a project manager, Felix Brand comes into contact with many employees, clients and subcontractors daily. In his project supervision work, he is responsible for overall coordination, clarifying issues with authorities, inspections and concept creation. Felix Brand designs and implements solutions for large projects such as shopping centres, trade and logistics properties and whole airport sites.
His work starts with planning and covers everything from the construction phase to regular inspections and certifications as part of repair work in completed buildings. Each project has different requirements, starting situations and clients and it is rare that the specific work processes of one project are found in another one. So, how are all the steps brought together in projects the size of an airport or shopping centre? What is the most efficient way to communicate with the relevant workers?
The solution: PlanRadar’s project documentation software provides an overview of every project phase
Since AFC Air Flow Consulting was founded, the engineers have always kept up to date to ensure their own cost-efficiency but also to be able to offer clients appropriate and sustainable solutions. In 2016, they started looking for a tool to optimally supplement their existing resources – one that was quick to implement and, above all, that met fire safety requirements.
The consultancy compared different project documentation software packages and the favourite was unanimous: PlanRadar. Felix brand explained their choice: “What was key for the decision was that PlanRadar does not only cover a specific phase but also supports the whole life cycle of a property”. The project documentation software now supports processes from the planning stage to maintenance and repair after developments are complete. Not only were the management team involved in the search process but also the various project managers who will use the application on site.
PlanRadar has been used across the company for new projects since 2017, on a total of over 100 properties. It was the individual approach of the software that ultimately convinced Felix Brand. After it was introduced by the PlanRadar sales team, the support team helped the consultancy to make tailored adjustments to the respective projects in the software in next to no time. The specific phases in which the software is employed depend on the project, but AFC generally starts working with PlanRadar from the design phase onwards and then ramps up its use for regular defect recording and quality control.
By meticulously recording conditions without any delay, reports and logs required for further processing or to be sent to clients can be produced within minutes. This represents huge time savings for the project manager. Using PlanRadar has freed up hours of work that he previously spent on inspections, meaning he can now devote around a third of his time to the next project. Before PlanRadar, project managers often used their own systems to create reports after an inspection, employing everything from the classic option, Microsoft Word, to Excel tables and OneNote. There was no standardised system or corresponding filing. “Since PlanRadar was introduced, all reports are created using the same template,” said Felix Brand. What’s more, reliably recording defects with PlanRadar has already served the company well in the course of warranty claims from clients.
The result: time savings of 1/3 thanks to report creation in minutes
In addition to benefiting from complete documentation of all events in the form of audio and image recordings and saved text, the AFC project teams also enjoy substantial time savings. Time-consuming follow-up is no longer necessary. All the people involved are informed of issues without any delay so it is easier than ever before to react quickly. PlanRadar has also proven to be the perfect tool for internal communication and sharing experiences or sample projects.
