An Engineering Document Management System (EDMS) is an information system which helps organizations to effectively and efficiently manage the engineering phase of any engineering procurement construction (EPC) project. The success of this stage in any EPC project relies heavily on clear organization, easy access to documents and logical workflows, which can all handled through the right engineering document management system (EDMS).
One major benefit of an engineering document management system (EDMS) is that all of the native and PDF files, along with their corresponding meta data, will be stored based on the work breakdown structure (WBS) of the project. This higher level of organization offered by the engineering document management system (EDMS) means quick and easy access to important information.
Fully utilizing a comprehensive engineering document management system (EDMS) will also allow the engineering department to effectively manage workflows throughout the life of the project. At Liquware, we provide four basic built-in workflows:
- Revision Startup Workflow
- Incoming Transmittal Workflow
- Interdisciplinary Check Workflow
- External Transmittal Workflow
Each of these workflows is designed to help the engineering department better manage and understand their business. For a more detailed look at the different types or workflows available within the engineering document management system (EDMS) and their advantages, keep reading …
Revision Startup Workflow
In this engineering document management system (EDMS) workflow scenario, an engineering document is created inside a discipline. According to the planned start date of the document, an alert will be sent to the discipline manager to start this workflow. The discipline manager will then fill out the necessary form and assign the document to an engineer to create. Once the engineer has completed their work, the document is filed and the task is sent to the checker for final approval.
Incoming Transmittal Workflow
In some situations, a design contractor will create an engineering document for your organization, which puts you in the role of the client. This scenario is best handled with an incoming transmittal workflow that begins with the design contractor submitting the appropriate documents. These incoming transmittals are quickly entered into the engineering document management system (EDMS). Next, a task goes to the responsible discipline to evaluate the document and complete an inter discipline check (IDC). After gathering comments from all contributing disciplines, the responsible discipline can then decide whether to approve the document. If it isn’t approved, the document, along will all relevant comments, can be sent back to the design contractor for further revisions.
Interdisciplinary Check Workflow
Based on the IDC Matrix of documents, each document goes into the IDC process to be evaluated by other disciplines and earn the approval of the entire organization. An engineer in the appropriate discipline prepares the matrix based on the category of the document and then begins the workflow in the engineering document management system (EDMS). A task then goes out to each participating discipline asking them to evaluate the document and express their comments. The workflow can be executed so that it runs parallel in different disciplines, as a serial set of tasks or both. After the document has the approval of all participating disciplines, it is ready to send to external parties as an external transmittal.
External Transmittal Workflow
After the document has the approval of the organization, the DCC will be automatically notified through the engineering document management system (EDMS) to send the external transmittal. Based on the distribution matrix, all parties will be notified and the external transmittal form will be generated. After sending the document to the client via external transmittal, a task will be assigned to the DCC to submit the client’s comments to the rest of the team. The client has the option to mark the document as approved, approved as noted, commented or rejected, which then triggers a corresponding action in the system.
Features
Our engineering document management system (EDMS) comes packed with innovative features that make the most of the latest technology. With the help of Liquware, you can implement and automate workflows, improve communication and better manage large projects that rely on the cooperation of multiple disciplines. Here are just a few of the features you will enjoy when you take advantage of Liquware’s engineering document management system (EDMS):
- Web Based System: A fully web-based engineering document management system (EDMS) means that all participating parties and project stakeholders can access the system via any standard browser.
- Task Based System for Better Management Tools: The engineering document management system (EDMS) can assign standard tasks to users automatically or manually. Each task can then be viewed in the task web portal or Microsoft Outlook. Once a task is completed, the appropriate workflow process will be triggered.
- Simplified Document Revisions: Both internal and external contributors are able to access and revise documents as needed within the engineering document management system (EDMS).
- Work Progress Report (WPR): Based on the stage the documents are in and how important they are to the entire project, the engineering document management system (EDMS) will automatically generate the Work Progress Report. All parties can have instant updates and track progress as necessary.
- Streamlined Transmittal Management: Easily manage all external, internal and Incoming transmittals from one location.
- Automatic Document Number Generation: Define your own document numbering pattern and transmittal numbering pattern based on the meta data of important documents. Use the engineering document management system (EDMS) to customize each pattern according to the project.
- Online Synchronization with Microsoft Project: Easily integrate existing tools with a new engineering document management system (EDMS) for a more powerful and comprehensive approach to projects.
- Detailed Document History: Easily view the date of issue, who the task was issued by, relevant comments and revisions.
- Multi Project Management Capabilities: You can manage all of your engineering projects and organizational tasks with a single engineering document management system (EDMS).