Howard Ward Associates Lay Foundations For Growth With Workspace

Nov. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- Nottingham based Consulting Engineers Howard Ward Associates are implementing Workspace, from specialist construction software provider Union Square Software, to their 10 employees.  They have purchased the core Workspace system along with project accounting and integration to Sage 50.

Developed by Union Square Software, Workspace is the leading knowledge management application for the UK Construction Industry.  Workspace integrates all the information sources within a business and enables them to be accessed through a single interface.  The core system includes document and email management, company intranet and project and contact management to deliver a complete practice portal.

Howard Ward Associates conducted a strategic review of their business to identify where efficiencies could be introduced, and improvements to existing working practices made.  To support their ambitions for future growth, the opportunity to re-align their IT strategy and review their legacy systems was taken.  These systems were limited in functionality and constraining with regards to the benefits delivered.  Alongside improvements to their project accounting process, the business also identified issues surrounding document and data storage in the context of their practice and project working.  They recognised that their existing processes for storing data on network shares, and having no defined protocol for email management was compromising their ability to collaborate internally, and exposing them to longer term risks of lost information.

Partners James and Giles Ward led the search for a new system.  Their primary objective was to identify a solution to replace their legacy timesheet system, which offered extended functionality for project financial management and control.  Another important deliverable was integration to their existing Sage accounts system.  They investigated a few systems including PROJECTminder and Causeway, but ultimately selected Workspace due to the depth of functionality, and the strength of reference amongst Union Square’s client base.  James Ward comments: “Stephen George and Partners recommended Union Square and the Workspace solution to us, and when we researched the product we found it to be a very comprehensive solution that could address all of our business needs.  The integration that was possible with Sage was something not possible in other solutions and would enable us to fully integrate all the information sources in the business.  We were also impressed with the considered approach of the Workspace implementation team and felt confident that they would deliver the project within the forecasted time scale. This was supported by the references from existing Union Square clients.”

Workspace will provide Howard Ward Associates with a robust framework to support their quality management procedures, and industry standard functions to support their client management, work winning and project delivery activities.  The speed and quality of information retrieval that is possible within Workspace, and the benefits accrued from operating as a ‘joined up business’ will ensure Howard Ward Associates retain focus on fee earning rather than time consuming administrative duties.  From a compliance perspective  the business  hopes to gain ISO 9001 accreditation following the implementation.

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Based in Nottingham, UK, Union Square Software is the author of Workspace. Workspace has been developed to provide organisations from across the construction supply chain with real competitive advantage through the pragmatic introduction of portal technology which enables effective Knowledge Management. Workspace provides a range of solutions for project centric organisations including: corporate database, enquiry management, document control and project collaboration.