The company behind a secure document management and workflow system for the construction industry believes the service has clear applications in the facilities management sector.

Cephren, Inc. officially introduced ProjectNet to the UK market this week, to be followed by launches in Germany and Scandinavia later this year. The project collaboration and management service needs no special software and is accessible from a standard Web browser over the Internet.

ProjectNet users can easily access and track relevant project information, access files and post updates through a simple interface which has the look and feel of Microsoft Outlook, minimising the need for training. Cephren says customers can set up a project-specific online workplace within a few hours.

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Stressing the timesavings and process efficiencies gained from online project management, Cephren will target FM contractors and others working beyond the construction phase. By sharing designs and documents online, project teams can communicate together quickly and accurately, irrespective of the physical location of their clients, suppliers and partners, significantly reducing project cycle times. Importantly, for FM firms, Cephren points to the advantage of access to original plans and data, which can be vital and sometimes difficult to trace, after initial contractors have completed the construction phase.

ProjectNet can read over 250 file formats allowing users to view and edit virtually all online documents and files, including CAD drawings, spreadsheets and contracts. As a result, project co-ordinators can co-ordinate plan updates, send and receive requests for information (RFIs) and track daily progress from any location worldwide with Internet access.

"At Cephren, we understand how to reduce the pain of miscommunications and project delays in the UK construction and FM industry," said Bracknell-based Richard Proksa, Cephren vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "By offering local customer support and expertise combined with secure local data hosting from Exodus (based in London), we can provide UK users with the confidence to transfer their documents and workflow to our online workplace.

"Cephren has already established a track record in the UK," explained Proksa, "with work carried out for Amec, Laing, Vodafone and Bechtel, we have underlined our global credentials. We are now targetting FM providers who require data, especially on multi-site and large corporate estates."

With the Bovis, Laing, Amec e-commerce joint venture due to launch later this year and Chesterton's e-team gearing up, the market for online construction and FM services is getting serious.

• Cephren is also launching an online bidding service for materials and services, scheduled to go live in the UK during the fourth quarter of this year with other European markets scheduled for early next year.

MarketNet will enable communities of general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers with established working relationships to transfer those relationships online. "Contractors can get quicker responses on bid requests, while suppliers can tender for more projects in less time, potentially adding to their revenues and expanding their market reach," said Richard Proksa.

Since January, a select group of charter customers has been using MarketNet’s bidding service in the US and has provided feedback to enhance the product’s features and functionality. MarketNet’s current e-commerce customers represent more than $1.5 billion in purchases annually and include Mass Electric Construction Company, E-J Electric Co., J. A. Penney Co., Liberty-Wesco, Fischbach & Moore Electric LLC, DualStar Technologies, Forest Electric (EMCOR), Midwest Mechanical of New Jersey, and Watsco.

"The main trialing has been conducted in the States, however, we will be working with a selection of our key UK clients in the run-up to the launch later this year," explained Proksa.
MarketNet automates and streamlines the current offline practice of sending out Invitations to Tender to subcontractors and vendors and receiving responses via fax. Multiple ITTs can be sent out together, electronically, rather than one-by-one over the fax machine, to a target list of vendors or subcontractors.

For general contractors who want to send out Invitations to Tender, MarketNet automatically provides a list of pre-qualified subcontractors who can bid. For each bid package, subcontractors can view project plans and specifications and submit their bids online through the MarketNet web site. Once bids are received, general contractors can access a comparison sheet of all bids. For material RFQs, MarketNet automatically sorts through a subcontractor or contractor’s bill of materials and provides a list of pre-qualified, credit-worthy vendors that can fulfill the order.

Richard Byatt

For more information go to www.cephren.com