McGinley Hart & Associates LLP is an 15–person architectural and preservation planning firm specializing in historic building preservation and renovation. One of the firm's major undertakings is tracking the effects of the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project on Boston's historic building

Business Challenge

"The Central Artery Project, the largest public works project ever undertaken in the U.S., runs through downtown Boston. Our responsibility is to ensure the preservation of more than 500 buildings that are impacted by construction," explained David Hart, principal and co–founder of McGinley Hart. "In order to undertake this task, we needed a cost–effective, yet sophisticated database solution that could track each site, including administrative data such as correspondence and billing."

Successful Solution

Working with Allison Glass, principal, PowerFiles, an independent database developer specializing in the customizaion of FileMaker Pro databases, McGinley & Hart has the right database tool to run its office while keeping track of the nation's largest highway project.

FileMaker Pro Grows With Us
"Previously, we kept track of information by filling out forms and then inputting the data into a Microsoft Works database," recalled Hart. "We quickly realized that the database didn't have the capabilities we needed to keep very detailed information on the several hundred structures we surveyed for the Central Artery Project. We needed a database that was flexible enough to grow with our expanding list of tasks."

Since FileMaker Pro is so automatic, we've significantly cut down on our administrative support needs.

— David Hart, Principal and Co–Founder, McGinley Hart & Associates LLP

"Once we were up and running with FileMaker Pro, customized by Allison Glass, we found that FileMaker Pro was so easy to use that for most tasks we could develop new applications, manipulate existing layouts and troubleshoot without having to call on outside technical support. Now, all of our employees use FileMaker Pro."

Simplifies Complex Tasks and Saves Money
"FileMaker Pro makes the complex tasks of tracking all of our business information much more manageable," explained Hart. "Our system consists of five major databases: Records of potentially impacted historic buildings; incoming/outgoing correspondence; timekeeping; project information tracking; and templates for various correspondence forms. FileMaker Pro helps us to organize each of these areas."

"Since FileMaker Pro is so automatic, we've significantly cut down on our administrative support needs," added Hart. "Without FileMaker Pro, I would probably need three or four more people to manage what we're doing now. With fewer staff members and lower overhead, we're saving up to $280,000 per year."