Streamline the Document Review and Approval Process

We know that architects, engineers and construction (AEC) companies deal with a lot of information.  Whether it is contracts, drawings, specifications, change orders or submittals, AEC businesses are managing an expansive amount of paperwork all in an effort to ensure they deliver a quality project to their clients.

But how are businesses keeping track of where in the process each document stands? It’s likely an intensively manual process.

How familiar does this example scenario sound? You have a spreadsheet for each project listing its change orders, RFIs and submittals. Alongside each entry, you have noted the date received, the sender, the recipient, the response due date, the status and additional notes. As a document moves through the formal review, comment and approval process, someone on your team is recording the status on that spreadsheet. Who is responsible for that next step ... and when? If that deadline is looming or is past due, are you manually informing the associated parties?

Now think about the documents themselves. How are those versions being traced along the journey? How confident are you that the comments and changes are communicated to the right parties and the final version accurately incorporates all of those revisions? How do you guarantee that the contractor is sent that latest, accurate document?

These manual processes are driven by people, which leaves open the potential for human error. Not to mention the massive amount of administrative time involved in escorting each document from creation through completion. There is a better way with Deltek PIM’s contract management module and processes.

What is Contract Management?

With Deltek PIM Contract Management, you can easily create and automate the document workflow process for items such as submittals, RFIs, change orders and architectural submittal instructions – all through a single interface.

Create Documents

Using corporate templates and forms uploaded into Deltek PIM, teams can quickly create project documents that automatically populate key pieces of information (i.e., date, project number, project name, creator’s name). This helps minimize the administrative time it takes to create a document all while ensuring the company’s brand integrity stays intact.

Automate Workflows

Teams can create standard workflows for each type of document available to ensure that a critical step is not overlooked. Once the initial reviewer signs off on a document, for example, that same file is then forwarded to the next person in the workflow process for action. This helps streamline the review and approval process and ensures teams are held accountable.

Collaborate with External Parties

Individuals outside of your company (and outside of your Deltek PIM account) are able to interact with these documents, allowing all information to be processed through one system from beginning to end. External parties are able to view a landing page that details their specific outstanding tasks and respond accordingly. This keeps the broader project team connected to streamline communications.

Generate Audit Trails ... Automatically

The beauty of Deltek PIM is that it automatically records an audit trail of every document in the system. Deltek PIM automatically keeps track of who read what and when, along with where in the review and approval process each document sits. This reduces the administrative time previously required to manually record the status of each document in spreadsheets and the like.