The EDM, or Electronic Document Management, is an environment consisting of a tool or several tools allowing the organization and management of data for distribution or exchange between different stakeholders of a project. Today, this type of solution has become widely embedded right across the corporate landscape. But the merits of EDM go far beyond the mere filing and archiving of papers. Thanks to the optimal roll-out of a tool tailored to a company or project needs, a company can achieve high levels of performance and generate meaningful added value for its business. 

What is Electronic Document Management (EDM)? 

EDM is a shared electronic management IT system. It is an intelligent tool capable of grouping together, classifying and storing all the documents that pass through a project, and of controlling the document flow. It is a platform that centralizes documents and associated data in precisely organized folders, thereby simplifying their distribution, access, sharing and searching.   

EDM is used to optimize the management and exploitation of document flows from different stakeholders. 

It displays, in fact, some essential functionalities:  

  • Deposit, consultation, annotation and downloading of documents;  
  •  Management of access rights according to user profiles  
  •  Automation of document classification according to predefined rules;  
  •  Advanced and organized search of content;  
  •  Real-time internal sharing of information;  
  •  Collaborative exchange of documents  
  •  Validation of documents by stakeholders  
  •  Traceability of the different versions and history of modifications of a document, etc. 
EDM Kairnial advantages and objectives

The advantages and objectives of EDM 

EDM has a primarily operational purpose. A company that implements it in-house can: 

  • Work more efficiently: all stakeholders can file, consult, annotate and download the latest versions of documents (plans, instructions, etc.). The changes made are synchronized in real time.  
  • Improve communication between teams: the level of information is adapted to the role/function of the users on a project.   
  • Facilitate real-time work: it is possible to access the EDM at any time of the day to consult or share information and documents related to a project.  
  • Be more productive: the documentary organization being rigorous and precise, the access to information is thus largely simplified. Moreover, by collaborating directly on documents, exchanges between project participants are more fluid and rapid. They get the right instructions more quickly and are kept informed of the latest changes that may occur.  
  • Guarantee the traceability of information: all changes concerning documents are centralized and stored in the EDM, which optimizes the management of versions and associated data.  

 

Rolling out EDM for construction projects  

The EDM allows you to distribute, store, classify, search and dematerialize all types of documents related to a construction project. 

For it to work optimally, it is necessary to start by creating an environment specific to the project or the company.   

The organization of the EDM must be adapted to the specificities of the project:   

  1. choice of users and their access rights. Setting up and customizing access rights according to the teams involved in the project is essential to improve collaboration.  
  2. Definition of the file nomenclature (coding, charter). The nomenclature allows to codify and qualify the documents in order to facilitate the research. 
  3. Setting up approval workflows. Providing for validation workflows makes it possible to centralize the validation of documents and to monitor their status.
  4. creation of the tree structure : hierarchy and structure of the files. The tree structure allows users to store documents in a relevant way according to the project. 

Once the EDM environment is set up and online, all types of documents can be filed and stored on the EDM throughout the project.    

Thus, the various written and graphic documents related to the construction of the work are compiled. Once the construction is completed, the EDM lists all the latest versions of deliverables required to create the final handover file, which is useful for the operation of the project.   

How can you ensure the best EDM system is deployed for a project?  

It is very important to choose an EDM software (link to The 5 criteria for choosing EDM software) that perfectly matches the needs of the project. The more complex and large-scale the projects are, the higher the number of participants and the more documents are exchanged. It is therefore necessary to deploy a reliable EDM, whose functionalities are rich and adapted.   

It is also essential to choose a DMS that is easy to use for all users. The application must be accessible and user-friendly so that employees can use the tool easily and quickly find the information they are looking for.     

Last but not least, don’t leave the tool’s configuration to chance. If in doubt, the best thing is to seek guidance from experts, such as Kairnial or Kalidoc, who perfectly master the specific processes of the construction industry in order to deploy your EDM project space. Only a correctly configured EDM can bring you gains and better productivity from design to delivery.   

Discover here a short demo of the Kairnial GED module:

What is EDM: everything you need to know 

What is EDM? 

The EDM is a flexible, configurable and powerful document solution that allows stakeholders in construction projects to collect, store, organize and exchange documents in a digital and secure way.    

What are the advantages of using EDM? 

By rolling out EDM for your construction projects, it allows to : 

  • centralize project documentation and related information   
  • facilitate the distribution and sharing of information 
  •  Save time and productivity; 
  • improve collaboration
  • Reduce costs related to the purchase of paper, ink, etc.; related to reprography   
  • enhance data reliability, 
  • to manage the project based on reliable indicators extracted from the EDM