It wasn’t that long ago that The Forum in Los Angeles was the place to go to see a big-name concert or a professional basketball game. But times changed and a new arena, the Staples Center, went up in 1999, taking the headliners and hoopsters with it.
Enter the Madison Square Garden Co., which is giving the landmark building a multimillion-dollar makeover with the Clark Construction Group leading the charge on the extensive project. The Forum has been stripped down to the original concrete with walls and ceilings demolished to make way for an abundance of upgrades, such as electrical and plumbing. New cushy red velvet seats will be added as well.
While a lot of excitement is being generated in the community over the rebirth of this venerable venue, there’s also a lot of excitement at Clark about how much time and resources are being saved on the jobsite. It’s all due to a new process implemented by ARC and the construction firm.
The two companies joined forces to find a quicker method of accessing plans and other documents online that would help cut down on trips from the jobsite to the office as well as on printing. Their solution was hyperlinking all those documents to the table of contents for more efficient referencing.
Keen on Being Green
“We’re all about being lean and green,” said George Lioio, Clark’s Office Engineer and LEED Green Associate. “And hyperlinking allows us to really go the extra mile.”
On any given job, there are an abundance of RFIs. In the past, Clark would have to print and post them onto the back pages of all the hard copies of plans. Sometimes there can be as many as 15 sets, which would necessitate double-posting — not to mention a lot of printing.
“Now that we’re able to, we post all our RFIs online, download them whenever we want, and incorporate them into the hyperlink set,” explained Lioio. “It’s great for both the environment and our bottom line.”
Saving Time — Big-Time
In addition, hyperlinking is a major timesaver.
“Instead of having to go back to the office and search through various sets of plans, I’ve got everything on my iPad, right at my fingertips,” said Lioio. “I can just click whatever drawing is needed and get right to the details.”
Lately the whole team, including the nearly 300 sub-contractors, is getting into the hyperlink act.
“We’ve got a computer and big screen at the plan table that all of the subcontractors can log into and use our hyperlinked plans,” added Lioio. “We’ve also given the architect and the building’s owner access and they love it.”
What the building’s owner also loves is how hyperlinking is making the job more efficient.
“There’s a trickle-down effect because our subcontractors also reap the benefits,” said Lioio. “They can save time and money too, which adds even more value for the client.”
