RCS: Document Version Control for Better Collaboration & QA
RCS Group is a multi-disciplinary team of civil engineers, registered surveyors, town planners, and project managers. With extensive experience in the private and public sector of land acquisition and development, the company manages the full development process from start to finish. Including initial land surveys through to civil design of buildings & sub-divisions and the development application with local councils. Based in Lismore NSW, they service North Coast & Northern Rivers regions of NSW and South-East QLD.
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As a regional business that provides full servicing for development projects, RCS Group manage a variety of project types. Each project type can have different checklists that need to be completed and therefore various tasks and documents associated with them. Having tried several project management solutions, none were the right fit for the company. RCS Group needed a system that would provide better QA controls, work health & Safety compliance while also maintaining seamless workflows. Changes and correct documentation issued needed to be tracked for each client.
There’s always a huge number of forms which need to be ticked and completed for every project. Before 12d Synergy it was very much a manual process and a nightmare to maintain. Keeping up with various stages of projects was a tedious task.
12d Synergy has provided the business with a comprehensive business management system. The workflows created have offered an ease of mind for the team, as all projects are now standardised. Processes and roles for each job type are defined. As a new project is created, a standardised folder structure and task list is created based on the job type. Once tasks are completed, automated emails are sent eliminating the manual administration responsibilities. 12d Synergy has also provided a secure and central location for all the RCS Group’s files, documentation, and emails.
The challenges RCS Group faced:
- Maintaining complete version control for all documents and files
- Providing accurate and full tracking of files issued to clients
- Delivering seamless workflows and processes to provide improved QA
- Enabling simple Work Health & Safety management for the company
Full Audit Trail and QA Controls
The RCS Group have many different projects at various stages in their lifecycle. A system was needed to provide QA controls and track all changes and updates made to eliminate lost files.
12d Synergy provided a full audit history for all files and documentation for RCS. The Check-In and Check-Out feature allows a file to be locked to one person so other team members can’t make a change to it while it’s being worked upon. Any changes made are recorded with the user responsible for that change. Also, if a previous version of a file is needed, it can easily be rolled back as all versions are saved to the system. Eliminating risks associated with corrupt or missing files.
Chris Bull from RCS shares:
“Version Control has been brilliant for us. Sometimes clients require a rollback, which could take days to do manually. But with 12d Synergy, it’s instant!”
Tracked Issued Files
As previously mentioned, the RCS Group have many projects, all at different stages in their project lifecycle. This means many documents are issued to clients depending on the stage the project is at. A system was needed to ensure complete traceability of the files.
12d Synergy delivers full tracking of documentation sent to clients. The Issued Files function tracks all communication with the client and files sent, including plans, emails, and invoices at the end of a job. This has eliminated the manual administration process needed to be done by the team.
Chris Bull explains:
“If we ever need to check what has been sent, we simply go to the Issued Files area in 12d Synergy, and it lists everything. It also files all the emails so you can easily track the conversations you’ve had with the client.”
Automated Workflows
Before 12d Synergy it was difficult to coordinate and organise who needed to do what on which project. It was a time-consuming manual process to keep up to date and track all the different processes for each job. The RCS Group needed a comprehensive business management system that could provide smooth workflows to automate all the tasks.
12d Synergy created different workflows and folder tree structures for the company. The team can now customise and automate around 40 different templates needed to define the specific requirements for different projects. All jobs are now standardised, freeing up valuable resources. Tasks are also automatically allocated to different teams members based on the project type. Progress is tracked throughout the entire lifecycle and when a task is completed and closed, an email is automatically generated to pass the job onto the next person. A clear workflow has helped RCS Group greatly with work-sharing and collaboration.
Effortless Work Health & Safety Management
As with all businesses, it is paramount to effectively manage work health & safety. The RCS Group needed a management system that could easily integrate with all their processes.
12d Synergy provided the perfect structure to house all of RCS Group’s work health & safety documentation. It integrated easily with all the other workflows and processes 12d Synergy has provided. Ultimately supplying an organised location for compliance.
12d Synergy was the perfect solution for RCS Group. The CDE offers a full range of features which have been utilised by the company to maximise their project output. Efficient workflows have resulted in better collaboration amongst team members and improved QA practices.
Interested in finding out how 12d Synergy can do the same for your business?
Find out more about how 12d Synergy improved project management and communication tracking for RCS.
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