At the Autodesk Connected blog Alex Willingham talks about using the US-based Constructware construction collaboration system via a Blackberry wireless device.
The tools clearly focus on document collaboration rather than drawings, which is hardly surprising. I regularly hear seasoned AEC professionals moaning about how it is more difficult to view and mark-up drawings on-screen than using paper – and this is by people using desktop machines or laptops! I am not sure anyone would want to view a drawing on a PDA or similar hand-held device.
Still, the Constructware Blackberry development must be a sign that there is some AEC industry demand for applications on wireless mobile devices.
2 comments
Paul, we found there has been a demand for wireless connectivity, to some degree, with the central project intranet or project management system. We released a solution last year based on enhancement requests from e-Builder clients and users. This Blackberry add-on is primarily focused on workflow. Interestingly, I have had conversations with AEC professionals who mention that wireless connectivity is a double-edge sword in that it presents a new way to be connected 24 hours a day, which depending on where you are standing is good or bad. I guess the ability to respond to an RFI while sipping some wine is not necessarily good. Thanks for your comments.
I have friends who have become slaves to their Blackberries, constantly checking them just in case someone has sent something needing their attention – urgent or not. Rather than keeping in touch 24/7, I am more interested in how wireless handheld devices might improve communications out on-site – for example, by enabling people to report defects or problems as they find them so that rectification processes can begin quickly rather than waiting until the person returns to the site office and uploads the information (or – worse – resorts to non-extranet commmunications (fax, telephone, email) and starts bypassing the system).