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There’s no doubt about it: filing, storing, managing and protecting millions of documents and data files – created and shared by thousands of people – is no easy task. Unmanaged files, such as emails and Teams chats, can quickly become a chaotic, obtrusive and risky burden on your organisation.
Single Source of Truth, and the Golden Thread
The
Single Source of Truth (SSOT) is a concept based around everyone in an organisation accessing all the information they need before making any business decisions. For AEC professionals, the term ‘Golden Thread of Information’ may ring a bell. Dame Judith Hackitt called for a golden thread in the industry in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, by means of a digital record of securely created, updated and accessible information covering the entirety of a building’s lifecycle.
When Dame Judith appeared on the
‘Changing Construction’ podcast, hosted by Mail Manager, she commented, “If you had a car manufacturer saying we’ve used a faulty part in our cars, but we don’t know which cars we’ve used it in and we don’t know which models we’ve sold to who, there would be public outrage because people would know they’d been put at risk because of that lack of traceability. Why is it any different in building houses for people to live in?”
Managing information and having a SSOT is critical for project teams, particularly in the AEC where all eyes are understandably on us. When information management is done right, it allows project teams to use their time, resources and knowledge to make the right decisions at the right time, to fulfil their roles effectively. But something we’ve found is that there is usually one critical piece of the information management puzzle missing… email.
Unfortunately, unless companies have proper processes in place, everyone in an organisation manages their emails differently. So, without a holistic information management process in place, covering all project communication, achieving a SSOT is impossible.
Ask yourself, do you have the right tools and systems in place to carry out a proper audit trail tomorrow? This, unfortunately, is unlikely for many AEC companies. Poor information management should no longer be an excuse, and can save you thousands. In fact, for every £1 invested in information management, companies can secure up to £6 of labour savings, and construction projects can save between 1.6 – 18% in project costs!
When information management is prioritised in companies, everyone wins. Mail Manager have put together their new interactive guide “Unifying your business information – The need for a Single Source of Truth”, where you can see what it takes to create a SSOT in your organisations, benefits and more. You can
access the guide here!
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.