Customer stories


AR7 HooverDesmondArchitects

Colorado architectural firm anticipates upgrades for its powerful project management database with FileMaker Pro 8

With over 25 years of design experience, the award-winning Denver architectural firm of AR7 HooverDesmondArchitects specializes in the creation of building designs with a focus on people – schools, colleges, and similar public buildings that require a combination of attractive appearance and thoughtful ergonomics. The company's internal document-tracking system is just as carefully designed, on a solid FileMaker Pro foundation.


Business Challenge

Architectural design has historically been a paper-intensive enterprise – and that's not just the plans issuing from the drawing table. "On any given project," says Job Captain Matthew Edmonds, "we fill stacks of 3-ring binders with correspondence documents, photographs, consultant drawings, construction specifications, and so forth, and we have to painstakingly copy, sort, and file everything in the right place in case anyone has to retrieve the information. We’re required to store most of this information for at least 7 years after completion of a building."

The creation of a system to locate and retrieve these mountains of documents required a powerful database – and a database system that was easy to develop and easy to live with in a daily office environment. "None of our architects have backgrounds in programming or computer science," Matthew points out. "We couldn't even consider trying to develop our own database using Access, SQL, or anything else. While our IT director is conversant in several of those environments, we felt it was more important to choose a system that could be designed, developed, and modified by our design staff. FileMaker Pro 8 makes that easier than ever."


Successful Solution

FileMaker Pro forms the basis for a custom-built database-driven knowledge management system at AR7 HooverDesmondArchitects, bringing a full range of essential information together in a single relational database. The system organizes contact information, schedule documents, site photographs, relevant project correspondence, and provides an efficient easily-accessible structure for locating drawings, photos, renderings and sketches on any given project. The database also provides a fully digital environment for tracking and linking construction issues, contractor requests for information, and other necessary data, all of which is available at any time for immediate reporting.

The database is accessed by three workgroups within the company, and with the implementation of FileMaker Pro 8, plans call for the entire office staff of 20 people to be brought online with the system.


"FileMaker Pro saves us the hassle and expense of printing and filing thousands of pages of project related documents. It has increased our document location and retrieval speed by an immeasurable amount – it only takes five or ten seconds to perform a find function in FileMaker Pro and return a PDF of the original. FileMaker Pro 8's new PDF Maker feature fits perfectly into our solution."

Matthew Edmonds, Job Captain, AR7 HooverDesmondArchitects


Customer Benefits

Moving the database from its native FileMaker Pro 7 environment into the new FileMaker Pro 8 was a seamless process – and the company is already looking at ways to fully implement the new version's enhanced features and capabilities. "FileMaker Pro saves us the hassle and expense of printing and filing thousands of pages of project related documents," Matthew declares. "It has increased our document location and retrieval speed by an immeasurable amount – it only takes five or ten seconds to perform a find function in FileMaker Pro and return a PDF of the original. FileMaker Pro 8's new PDF Maker feature fits perfectly into our solution."

The enhanced ease of development in FileMaker Pro 8 will lead to further refinements in what already stands as an impressive workplace tool, Matthew anticipates. "The alignment tools are easier to use," he notes. "There's easier access to menu items previously buried inside other menu headings. We plan to develop our own complete office-management system based on FileMaker Pro 8."



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:

Matthew Edmonds
Job Captain
AR7 HooverDesmondArchitects
303-837-8811
medmonds@ar7.com


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Award-winning architectural and design firm specializing in the design of higher education facilities
  • Based in Denver, CO
  • Approximately 20 employees
Industry
  • Architecture/Real Estate
Solutions
  • FileMaker Pro 8 project management database connects essential correspondence, contracts, photos, drawings and construction specifications in an efficient, easy-to-access relational structure
Benefits
  • Project information is easily located through a few mouse clicks
  • Construction-stage project status is tracked in a totally digital environment, eliminating cumbersome paper shuffling
  • With PDF files a company standard for correspondence, PDF Maker tool allows direct export of files from database to email.