M-files Information management for Fulton Hogan.
Fulton Hogan builds and maintains the infrastructure that improves the quality of life across New Zealand and Australia.
To serve the rapidly-changing needs of a diverse customer base, Fulton Hogan needs data management software that provides ready access to accurate, up-to-date information across hundreds of locations. The company also needs document control technology to protect sensitive data while it manages large infrastructure construction and maintenance operations. They handle diverse information such as correspondence, contracts, invoices, forms, checklists, procedures, construction drawings, lab results, images, video and contact details – all mapped to complex metadata like individual asset IDs from its financial system.
“From the first time I saw M-Files, I was blown away. It provides so much functionality and flexibility it was obvious that the platform would be suitable to achieve our content and records management goals as well as help automate our major construction project-management processes.” – Jade Brown National Records & Systems Manager, Construction, Fulton Hogan New Zealand.
PROBLEM: INFORMATION SPRAWL
Fulton Hogan had information sprawl, meaning key corporate and operational information was siloed across multiple businesses in a patchwork of technology systems. Inadequate integration among those repositories had led to duplication and double-handling of records. This was far from ideal for an enterprise with thousands of off-site personnel at infrastructure and maintenance works many miles long.
Construction customers approve up-front the solutions that will handle the task on given projects. When Fulton Hogan wins work, it must deploy given information management tools in specific parts of its business – and then is effectively locked into those systems for several years.
HANDLING TOUGH STUFF UPFRONT
After hearing proposals from big-name vendors of file management systems from Europe, North America and Asia, an eight-person panel for each of Fulton Hogan’s businesses unanimously chose M-Files.
“It’s very hard to find a product that fits major construction projects but also works in a manufacturing or extractive industry as well as the corporate context. We now have 30 major projects running on M-Files, and many more to come,” Gibson said.
HARMONIZING ACROSS PLATFORMS
With minimal disturbance to existing systems or data, M-Files’ intelligent information management gave Fulton Hogan control over its records. That was partly by replacing folder systems with metadata, which makes documents easy to find no matter what repositories they are in. M-Files integrates easily with applications like SharePoint and Salesforce, giving Fulton Hogan a single source of truth and eliminating issues with version control. Its workflow automation stands up easily to new processes, providing opportunities to improve access and data governance throughout the business.
“When you’re delivering large construction projects for government clients, it is essential to have robust systems and controls over records, correspondence and process management. Add to that manufacturing the materials to strict client specifications. If you make a change to a procedure, you need to be certain everyone is looking at the most recent version everywhere at the same time.” Marcus Gibson Group IMS Manager, Fulton Hogan
NEXT UP: WORKING SMARTER BY REMOVING COMPLEXITY
Making M-Files accessible to mobile workers will be a key focus going forward. Fulton Hogan’s site engineers, who solve complex construction problems in the field, work more efficiently because they can copy key data they will need before they head to a work site. With the information securely in a cloud document management solution, the engineers can easily resolve issues between clients, subcontractors and suppliers.
M-Files also helps simplify information management by reducing the number of business tools that Fulton Hogan must run simultaneously. “When any other system comes to the end of life, we’ve got the option to say, ‘Let’s expand our use of M-Files to fill that gap as well.’”
SO WHY M-FILES?
M-Files’ AI-powered intelligent information management solution connects all documents and information, across every platform and repository, and then analyses them to place them in context. This makes it possible to serve up the right information to the right people right when they need it—and automate information-driven business processes—while maintaining complete control and compliance.
