Sara Simpson, Process Engineer and Engineering Manager at AECOM, was our guest industry expert during part one of our webinar series, Interface Management for Owners, Contractors, and the Project Management Team.
Sara Simpson, PE, MBA
Process Engineer and Engineering Manager at AECOM (formerly URS)
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Kelly Maloney
Senior Product Manager, Coreworx Interface Management
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Together, Sara and Kelly discussed a contractor’s interface management responsibilities, followed by a demonstration that focused on Coreworx Interface Management features developed specifically to help contractors with:
- Timely Responses
- Training
- Reporting
Many great questions were posed during the session. The questions are below along with answers from both Sara and Kelly. Also be sure to check out the recorded webinar and download the presentation slides.
Webinar Q&A
1. “My experience is that the owner must drive the adoption of Interface software. Can the contractors drive the use of Coreworx Interface Software?”
Typically an owner would want to implement a tool like Coreworx for the entire project but it doesn’t have to work that way. On a few recent proposals, when the proposal states that Interface Management will use Excel, we provide information that we recommend using a more robust software tool and can even host the tool on behalf of the entire project. This can make it more manageable for an owner who is thinking about vetting new software through their IT support channels.
- 2. “Are the forms and drop-down menus customisable?”
- Yes, almost all clients make some type of change to the forms. The most common type of change is adding extra attributes. For example, out of the box, the forms use the following three attributes; Area, System, and Discipline. Some clients choose to add a fourth. The values are configurable based on the project. The client has the ability to manage their own pick-list values using a simple admin tool.
- 3. “Can my subcontractors access this? Will they see everything I see?”
- Yes, if the project chooses to do so, subcontractors can become part of the interface matrix and participate in managing interfaces at that level. Coreworx supports a very robust security model which includes a confidentiality matrix that can be used to restrict who has the ability to create interfaces with the subcontractor and who the subcontractor can create interfaces with. In addition, the Need-to-Know security model ensures that all interfacing parties only have visibility to the interfaces to which they are a party.
- 4. “Can I integrate my owner’s schedule into this?”
- Absolutely. Schedule integration is a unique feature within the Coreworx Interface Management solution. Projects have the ability to closely monitor high-risk interfaces, ensuring the tasks and activities related to these interfaces remain aligned to the project schedule and the planned completion date of related milestones.
- 5. “How quickly can you implement the solution? Is it out of the box?”
- The solution demonstrated here today was the out-of-the-box solution. This system can be implemented within a 4-6 week time frame.