AS POWERFUL AS EMAIL HAS BEEN in the digital revolution, email as a technology has also been a double-edged sword for AEC professionals. As such, Boston-based and veteran project information management (PIM) software developer Newforma has long been helping address this challenge.
“Email has always been a cornerstone of Newforma,” says Brian Guidotti, Product Manager. It’s one of the main reasons customers find us so useful before discovering the wealth of additional benefits and features we offer.”
Newforma Konekt
Newforma’s PIM, well known in the AEC market, is an on-premise solution called Newforma Project Center. However, many of their customers wanted all cloud-access SaaS versions and last year, Newforma delivered with the introduction of Newforma Konekt.
MORE: Newforma Announces ‘Newforma Konekt’—Cloud-based Future
“We will still have Newforma Project Center and we will continue to maintain that,” added Guidotti, “Even though our new flagship product is in the cloud as Newforma Konekt.” Guidotti also notes that not all clients can use a cloud-based solution due to government projects or other security reasons, including data residency compliance. “From our perspective, there will always be a need for an on-premise PIM.”
But Newforma Konekt isn’t just a cloud version of the same software solution in Project Center. It features BIM issue tracking and management based on the integration of BIMTrack®, which the company acquired in June 2023.
Newforma Konekt features BIM issue tracking and full standards-based BCF compatibility workflows. (see the image further down for the same BIM issue inside the Newforma component inside Autodesk Revit).
“We wanted to bring the PIM world and the BIM together and merge both worlds into a unified solution,” says Guidotti, who noted that with the acquisition, Newforma doubled the size of its software development staff and gained a new office in Quebec, Canada.
Before we jump into the benefits of BIMTrack inside Newforma Konekt, it might be helpful to review all the benefits of Newforma Konekt to the Architosh reader.
Newforma Konekt—Solving Email
One of the biggest challenges for AEC professionals is combating data siloing. In other words, preventing the data from being locked into silos that don’t provide pathways to that data for every member of the team. Another challenge is that decisions happen inside of email, and tracking those decisions is very hard. A third challenge in AEC email is managing the many attachments that fly around between AEC parties as part of the building delivery process. Those attachments contain invaluable information and fall into various categories like RFIs (requests for information) and Submittals. Logging RFIs and Submittals is a critical process in the AEC workflow stream.
This screenshot from my demo with the Newforma team shows Microsoft Outlook with the Newforma Konekt integration (see the side panel on the right). Notice the project tagging under the cursor position. (click on images for larger view, typical)
Newforma Konekt addresses these challenges at a very high level of sophistication and efficiency. “We want to make email a resource that works for you by creating a unified historical record for the project but for email,” says Guidotti. “The truth is our industry makes decisions inside of email—’Yeah, that looks good!’ While that should be an RFI, it just doesn’t happen all the time,” adds Guidotti. “So we want to be able to capture all of that.”
We want to make email a resource that works for you by creating a unified historical record for the project but for email. The truth is our industry makes decisions inside of email…
Once Newforma Konekt’s email plugin is added to a firm’s Microsoft Outlook email client, AEC users can manually file emails to the project directory, including their attachments. “Our plugin technology works for Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook for Web, and it also works on mobile versions of Outlook so users can work in the field with their smartphones,” says Guidotti. An architect can use their phone as an RFI generator from inside Outlook, for example.
The Newforma Konekt add-in for Outlook means the user can file a specific email as an RFI or Submittal to a specific project. Once that is done, every user with access to that project can perform global searches and find project information that may have only been communicated via certain teammates. The system essentially unifies project information for the whole team regardless of who was a part of the original email communications. Newforma Konekt’s search technology makes finding and quickly accessing emails that much quicker. The platform’s deep search and filtering ability empower users to dive deep into their project inboxes, allowing them to search by file type and for information inside attachments, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, ZIP, DWG, DGN, DWG, TXG, MSG, and EML.
What the Submittals high-level overview looks like in Konekt.
While filing emails is a manual process, users can automate it by including a project email address in the communications. “We have a lot of customers who put the project email address into the CC field for everything they do,” adds Guidotti. And a really cool feature is that Newforma Konekt can automatically file a bunch of older emails in a thread after the newest one in that thread is chosen to be filed.”
Konekt—Files, RFIs and Submittals
When it comes to centralizing data and the subject of files, Guidotti said Newforma manages it a few different ways. “Companies store files based on their needs,” he adds. “If you are a Microsoft shop and use Teams, then you automatically use SharePoint for where your files live.” “What we do is link to SharePoint; we don’t make copies of your SharePoint data.”
Our plugin technology works for Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook for Web, and it also works on mobile versions of Outlook so users can work in the field with their smartphones.
With bi-directional linking, Newforma Konekt enables users to work with and manage their files from either inside the platform, while they are managing project information, or directly inside their SharePoint directories. Since it is bi-directional, whatever happens in one happens in the other.
Newforma Konekt authenticates users from their Microsoft Single Sign On (SSO) account, so if you don’t have access to something in SharePoint, you won’t see it in Newforma Konekt. And one of the best parts of the platform is that it logs everything. “One of Newforma Konekt’s best abilities is to show you a log of everyone you have shared a file with, including the exact time of day (not just the date) and who downloaded the file.
Newforma Konekt and the RFI management section of the application.
Newforma Konket’s File Manager is very robust and can access files from Microsoft SharePoint and Autodesk Docs.
For CA functions like RFIs and Submittals, Newforma Konekt allows users to manage and process workflows for both fully. Email notifications let other project stakeholders stay in the loop, including reminders for assigned items. Fields for both RFIs and Submittals auto-populate, streamlining the workflow in many cases.
Additionally, with the Newforma Konekt Microsoft Outlook add-in (plugin) users can forward and respond to both RFIs and Submittals from inside Outlook. New API integration between Newforma Konekt and Procore means both RFIs and Submittals can be initiated in Procore, processed and responded to in Newforma Konekt, and then automatically updated in Procore.
Newforma Konekt has an integrated 3D model viewer with full BCF workflow integration capabilities. This means architects and AEC pros can manage BIM issues via a BCF workflow process directly inside Konekt with direct linkage to Revit BIM models. (see below).
An issue in the AEC industry is that contractors use different cloud tools made for them versus those made for AE professionals. “We live in a world today where an issue can be created in Newforma Konekt,” adds Guidotti, “The contractor can take that issue, create an RFI inside of Procore, assign it to a Newforma Konekt user—let’s say it is you—it already comes in as a pending new RFI. I then forward it to my sub-consultant and they will eventually reply to me in email, where I can see the email reply and also log it as a response inside of Newforma Konekt. Once I’ve reviewed it and submitted my official response, it goes back to Procore automatically.”
BIMTrack in Konekt
Newforma Konekt works with IFC files and is integrated with Autodesk Revit. Users can schedule automatic updates that push the state of the Revit BIM model to Newforma Konekt. So, on Fridays’ for example, the latest BIM model can be pushed into Newforma’s cloud-based platform, where a client or stakeholder can review it with the new 2D/3D Viewer.
We actually have a relationship with Bluebeam where we have quarterly business reviews. When they are ready, we will be ready…and we want to have Bluebeam in Konekt once they have their Bluebeam Cloud APIs available to us.
“This is really great because now not everyone needs a Revit license to look at the model as it progresses,” says Guidotti. “Many of our customers tell us that their owner clients want to go in and see the model, and now they can.”
Thanks to the integration of BIMTracker, which Newforma acquired in 2023, users can view their project BIM model directly inside Newforma Konekt, creates issues in the BCF format and assign or distribute those issues to users who can see and resolve them back in the model. “We are also working on a mobile viewer so you can work off your iPhone,” adds Guidotti. This would presumably work in tandem or inside the current Newforma Konekt Mobile app for iOS and Android.
Here is a view of Autodesk Revit with Newforma Konekt integration on the side panel at right.
Guidotti noted that the mobile version is really cool and with the viewer on the mobile app, users could even use the app for punch lists (issues of a specific type) or RFI creation.
Openness and Connections
The beauty of cloud-based solutions like Newforma Konekt is API connections to other tools like BIM authoring solutions, including Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks. You can also import a IFC or PDF file directly. From Navisworks you can convert clash items into Action Items within Newforma Konekt.
Other API connections to Newforma Konekt include Oracle’s Aconex, Procore, ProjectWise, and Bluebeam. Guidotti said that as for Bluebeam—where Newforma Project Center has a connector to Bluebeam Studio—”We actually have a relationship with Bluebeam where we have quarterly business reviews. When they are ready, we will be ready…and we want to have Bluebeam in Konekt once they have their Bluebeam Cloud APIs available to us.”
Other BIM connections include Graphisoft’s Archicad, Nemetschek’s Solibri, Tekla Structures, and AutoCAD. “We want our customers to be able to use their favorite tools,” says Guidotti, who emphasizes that both BIM Track (which they acquired) and Newforma share the same openness philosophy. Guidotti emphasizes that Newforma wants its customers to have not just the most information but the best organized and managed information.