West Lothian Council selects BuildOnline to underpin school revamp initiative

West Lothian Council is using BuildOnline's On-Demand document management collaboration technology to share plans between internal and external teams involved in overhauling the facilities of two Scottish secondary schools.

This is the third education PPP / PFI project that West Lothian Council has undertaken. The project with an initial capital investment level of £50 million, partially funded by the Scottish Executive, will seek to provide two new build replacement secondary schools for the communities of Armadale and Livingston. The two new build secondary schools at Armadale Academy and Deans Community High School will replace the existing facilities and are presently scheduled for works commencement in the summer of 2007 and completion by August 2009.

BuildOnline's On-Demand technology was chosen over other solutions on the market for its ease of use and rapid return on investment. Easy to roll out, it was implemented within weeks. It is currently being used to manage all bid communications including drawings and architect plans at the design development stage.

"Working with my own council team on the design and planning stage, as well as with a number of bidders and external advisers, it's vital that everyone is kept up-to-date with the latest plans and drawings," said Graeme Struthers, PPP project manager at West Lothian. "We needed a system that provided all the benefits of collaboration technology, as well as easy access, while maintaining tight version control. Especially during the recent holiday season, I needed a system that allowed my team to log on from anywhere, at any time, to see the latest designs."

"The technology has already helped us save time by ensuring we have visibility of all new documents, designs and drawings. With access to all documentation via the Internet, my team members are able to access all the information they need at any time from anywhere to stay productive, ensuring everyone is kept informed and abreast of all project progress."

"BuildOnline will help reduce errors and subsequent potential delays, through better version control, and help us stay within our budget and track any issues before they become a problem" Graeme Struthers concluded.

"Completely rebuilding two schools is a very worthwhile, but complex and large project," said Mark Suster, CEO of BuildOnline. "West Lothian is being forward-thinking in using technology to ensure they have visibility across all drawings and designs, which will guarantee the project runs smoothly from day one."