Many architecture firms struggled after the economic downturn hit the design and construction industry hard in 2008. However, Foreman Seeley Fountain Architecture, a small Atlanta firm with 14 employees, managed to survive the Great Recession and is now positioning itself to thrive in the economy’s recovery.
What helped FSF become resilient and get through these tough times was a solution that helped them plug some leaks in their cash flow. By minimizing these leaks, they were able to increase revenue very quickly.
Hemorrhaging Money
FSF’s Vice President Jeff Seeley describes his firm as being pretty typical. “We were just like a lot of firms—just spreadsheeting it. We’d file an expense report, then months later, realize we’d forgotten to bill the client for our mileage. It was too late and too embarrassing to go back and ask for it later.” Multiply this by several similar instances and it’s easy to see how FSF’s existing billing system was costing them money.
Looking back, Seeley realizes there were all kinds of miscellaneous hours for which FSF wasn’t billing, such as additional services, mileage to job sites, and blueprinting. All this billable time was adding up, just not in their bank account.
Plugging the Leaks
According to Seeley, “All those little things we weren’t billing for? Those added up to thousands of dollars a month. That’s what we started saving when we started using ArchiOffice.” FSF started using ArchiOffice in 2007.
That made all the difference in helping them keep their doors open during hard times. “We have watched other architectural firms require severe staff reductions to survive. We’re still afloat, and I truly believe that’s because we did a better job of identifying those lost reimbursables and learning to time manage our projects better.”
Improving Project Management
Because Seeley and his coworkers could see the percentage complete of various project stages with ArchiOffice, they realized how many hours were being spent on certain project phases and started to budget their time better.
“Here’s an example: we were doing a school renovation. We had six weeks. The way we used to do it, I’d just look at it as ‘I’ve got six weeks to do it’ and suddenly, half my fees were eaten up by schematic design,” Seeley laughs. “Now, I pay attention to how many hours have been allotted to complete a task, not what day it is due. Once those hours are up, I start asking where the drawings are, and people don’t spend all their time on one phase.”
FSF’s staff also started doing a better job paying consultants now that ArchiOffice was helping them to plan before the job began, making financial planning clear and easy. They knew where they stood with the budget. “We have a clearer vision of where we’re going to be financially two or three months out, so we do a much better job of allocating our resources. If we know there’s going to be a rise or dip, we can plan accordingly, based on how much work we have ahead of us,” says Seeley.
Adapting for the Future
Recently, the firm implemented ArchiOffice’s document management and remote access capabilities. So now, their staff can access project data and documents from anywhere they have internet access–virtually expanding their office’s reach. “We were on a job site recently and someone asked for the specs. No one knew where they were. The contractor didn’t have them—they were probably stuck holding a door open somewhere. So someone pulled out a laptop, accessed ArchiOffice remotely and opened up the specs document for us right away. The amount of time ArchiOffice saves us is invaluable.”
Related Stories
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 21, 2015
Laser scanning and in-shop prefabrication a boon for the WellStar Paulding Hospital
Contractor Brasfield & Gorrie’s use of BIM and prefabrication on the Hiram, Ga., hospital shows how digital tools can lead to savings, safety, and better construction.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Dec 17, 2015
How is the Value of VDC for Design Management Translating Outside the US?
Sascha Vesterlund, a VDC Specialist, Design Processer with MT Højgaard, and Nathan Wood, Innovation at DPR Construction, shared their perspectives on VDC
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 3, 2015
New app visualizes cellular and Wi-Fi signals in an area
Using data collected from millions of cell towers and Wi-Fi routers, the app makes the invisible visible.
BIM and Information Technology | Nov 30, 2015
Light-based wireless technology is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi
Li-Fi, which reaches speeds of 224 gigabits per second, is being tested in Estonia.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Nov 25, 2015
Contractor leverages dynamic site logistic plan as BIM deliverable
I recently sat down with two Architects-Turned-VDC-Process-Managers to discuss the ways in which they are leveraging technology to bring the value of BIM downstream
BIM and Information Technology | Nov 24, 2015
Solving the data conundrum with better tools to capture, share, and analyze information
At a recent Thornton Tomasetti symposium, experts showed how designs and projects can be improved by granular information that’s accessible to more users.
Modular Building | Nov 19, 2015
AECOM and Project Frog form partnership for building modular data centers
The Rapid Deployment Team will provide solutions for data centers both small (1 MW) and large (50+ MW).
BIM and Information Technology | Nov 18, 2015
AIA: Energy modeling key to reaching carbon neutrality in buildings
Energy modeling allows architects to be more ambitious with energy-saving in their design projects.
Green | Nov 17, 2015
DOE launches new data collaborative to help cities and states boost building efficiency
The SEED Standard will help manage, standardize, share performance data.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Nov 12, 2015
Is the PDF revolution advancing BIM workflows?
Many project teams who struggle to get everyone up to speed with BIM, find PDFs a useful tool to bridge the gap between the BIM world and the paper world