AREP (Aménagement, Recherche, Pôle d’Echanges) is an engineering design office and architectural agency with close links to the SNCF (French Rail Board). In addition to railway design and construction projects in France, AREP also manages several large-scale projects in China. The company chose the Autodesk® Buzzsaw™ online collaboration service to improve communication among team members and optimize the work performed by its design and production teams. By choosing Autodesk Buzzsaw, AREP resolved complex exchange and collaboration issues and gained a significant strategic advantage.
A Collaboration Tool for Strategic Advantage
Founded in 1998, AREP is obliged to generate 80 percent of its turnover with the SNCF, by conducting, among other tasks, all the studies and projects involved in the design and construction of railway stations. The company is at liberty to generate the remaining 20% as it sees fit, particularly through projects conducted abroad. Thus in 2001, after taking part in an international call for bids, AREP was entrusted with the management of several projects in China, including the design of the Beijing Museum and the South Shanghai Railway Station. In compliance with the rules in force in China, AREP works with Chinese counterparts on each of these projects, raising complex exchange and collaboration issues. To meet this challenge, AREP turned to Autodesk Buzzsaw, a powerful communications platform for designers, engineers, and team managers. It improves collaboration between project team members by centralizing all relevant documents and ensuring that information can be exchanged rapidly and securely. “Before we started using Buzzsaw,we had second thoughts about the potential contracts with our Chinese clients,” says Frédéric Lamu, the IT Director for China projects. “This tool is a real strategic advantage.”
An Essential Collaboration Platform
In today’s complicated international context, a platform capable of facilitating the sharing of information is indispensable if teams are to meet project objectives within the agreed-upon timelines. With the experience it has gained in the past, AREP recognizes that optimized communications between team members in France and China can ensure that requirements are met. “Communications between the Chinese and French teams used to pose a real problem:we needed three days to send our e-mails and documents. These malfunctions were due to the poor performance of the Chinese Internet Service Provider. In addition, the privacy of our exchanges was nonexistent,” says Lamu. “We had to find a rapid and effective solution to meet our client’s expectations and avoid losing the contract.” At the time, the communications problem seemed virtually insurmountable. But, after an in-depth evaluation of possible solutions, Autodesk Buzzsaw emerged as the most suitable tool because it enables rapid deploy- ment of an exchange platform. Furthermore, it allows project teams to work together more effectively, thanks to the instantaneous sharing of plans and designs worldwide. Autodesk Buzzsaw optimizes document sharing, and information access is easy to control.
A Communications Tool for Enhanced Performance
The Autodesk Buzzsaw service also simplifies the sending of messages. The transfer of large files is faster because Buzzsaw manages file compression and thereby optimizes data flow. In addition, document privacy is guaranteed. Because each user is assigned a password, it is easy to guarantee secure access to information. Such access control also reassures project managers, who have total visibility of the tasks performed by their employees. “In the context of our projects in China, with involvement by two competing Chinese design offices, the installation of a secure system was an absolute must. To do this, we needed Buzzsaw,” states Jean-Jacques Couette, IT Director and colleague of Lamu. “In the face of real transmission problems and the danger of losing confidential information, Buzzsaw enabled us to set up an instantaneous system of exchange and effective control.” The productivity gained with such a tool is easy to measure: “Project constraints are no longer measured in days but may be planned to the nearest hour, taking account of the time difference,” says Couette. Autodesk Buzzsaw runs continuously and provides for easy, secure communications worldwide, 24 hours a day. AREP was thus able to organize its global activities by project and free itself from time-related pressure. “We are currently using Buzzsaw as an exchange service, but not yet as a project management tool. To do that, we have to envisage more long-term, online training for our team members,” says Lamu. “Communication is a necessary part of any project, but high-performance communication is essential. Thanks to Buzzsaw we can successfully direct our projects and face the future with more confidence. The professional qualities of this service have also prompted us to use it for European projects.”