28 Jun
The construction industry thrives on seamless collaboration and information flow. Yet, fragmented workflows and disconnected data plague AEC projects, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and missed deadlines.
Several studies reveal a concerning trend in the construction industry. For instance, PlanGrid’s Construction Disconnected report indicates that 52% of construction projects experience rework due to miscommunication and information gaps. The same study also showed that when teams consider construction technology, a key priority is an integration with other technologies to establish an integrated toolchain.
To provide this improved service, firms must build an integrated tool chain where information is reliable and project status is always visible. Data entered in one system needs to be automatically shared with other critical systems. In addition to providing greater efficiency within the team, there is less opportunity for error and long-term data loss.
These statistics paint a clear picture – a lack of integration between document management systems, project information management tools, design software, and other critical applications significantly hinders project success.
That is why integrated platforms like zipBoard help AEC teams streamline their workflows by integrating the platform with their current systems. zipBoard is a document management and collaboration platform that offers a centralized hub for construction document reviews, tasks, communication, and real-time updates – all within a user-friendly interface.
This whitepaper explores the critical role of zipBoard integrations in overcoming information silos and boosting productivity in AEC workflows.
The Integration Landscape: Breaking Down Information Silos
Over the years, the AEC industry has significantly shifted towards a more integrated approach to managing construction documents and projects. According to a report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), “digital transformation is a priority for 72% of construction firms worldwide”. Hence, traditional methods, reliant on disparate software and manual data transfer, are giving way to a connected ecosystem.
This transformation is fueled by the growing adoption of integration platforms (and digital transformation tools), which act as bridges between various applications, allowing them to exchange data and automate workflows seamlessly.
By eliminating information silos and enabling seamless data flow, integration platforms significantly enhance business efficiency for firms.
The Impact of Integrations on Document Management and Collaboration
By integrating systems and workflows, AEC teams are assured of:
- Reduced Manual Work: Manual document upload and download between construction document review platforms like zipBoard and cloud storage or ERPs become obsolete. This is because integrations automate file transfer, save time, and minimize the risk of version control issues.
- Improved Accuracy: Automatic document synchronization ensures everyone works with the latest versions during reviews – and this reduces confusion and costly errors.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Integrations streamline document sharing and feedback loops. Thereby, enabling team members to access and update project documents in real-time. This fosters smoother collaboration and communication.
Despite these changes and benefits, the AEC industry still faces challenges in achieving true integration. The continuous use of legacy document management systems, proprietary formats, and a lack of standardization can create obstacles.
This is where the standard zipBoard integrations and custom ones via APIs come into play to provide a secure and flexible solution to overcome these hurdles. By connecting zipBoard with your preferred cloud storage and document management systems, you can improve efficiency.
Introducing zipBoard Integrations and APIs
Beyond standard zipBoard integrations with popular collaboration and communication tools like:
1. Slack (for notifications)
2. Microsoft Teams (for document management, reviews, and task management)
3. Outlook (for email management)
zipBoard also gives you access to APIs to develop custom workflows and streamline your workflows.
zipBoard’s API integrations provide a flexible and secure way to connect your systems and workflows and ensure streamlined document management and collaboration. This allows for:
- Enhanced Automation Capabilities: Automate repetitive tasks like data entry, document upload, and task creation. This frees up valuable time for teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
- Streamlined Data Exchange: Eliminate the need for manual data transfer between applications. Integrations ensure consistent and up-to-date information across all platforms.
- Improved Collaboration Across Platforms: Break down information silos and foster seamless collaboration between teams and disciplines. Integrate with communication tools and project management software used across your organization.
- Reduced Manual Work and Errors: Minimize manual data entry and document handling, leading to fewer errors and inconsistencies in project information.
Here’s a typical example of how the zipBoard integrations can help automate your workflows:
Core Features of the zipBoard API
The zipBoard API provides a comprehensive suite of functionalities, allowing you to connect zipBoard with your existing tools to build an integrated system that streamlines your workflows. Our goal is not to replace your tools and processes but to complement and enhance them, respectively. Here’s a glimpse into what you can achieve by integrating zipBoard into your systems:
- Project Management: Create, update, and manage your projects.
- Digital Asset Management: Upload, download, and manage PDF documents, zip files, URLs, videos, etc – associated with your projects.
- Task Management: Create, update, assign, and track tasks.
- Feedback Management: Submit, collect, and manage feedback from users.
- User Management: Manage users and their permissions in your projects.
How Does zipBoard’s API for Custom Integrations Work?
For developers
The key use cases for zipBoard’s API integrations include projects, files (URL), review links, tasks, and feedback. These API bits come together to give you and your team an enhanced document review experience, tailored to your needs.
Here’s how this can work with your existing tools for construction document reviews like submittals:
1. Get an API Key
- Obtain your API Key in your zipBoard account settings once you sign up
- Store your API key safely in a `.env` file in your project. Do not expose it in a client-side app (browser).
- Use your API key to interact with zipBoard through your server.
- Start by fetching all your projects using a simple request.
- If you don’t have existing projects, you can create new ones using the API.
3. Show Your Projects
- Once you have your project’s data, use it in your backend or display it in your user interface (UI) with custom styling.
- Upload files to zipBoard using the files API by providing URLs or hosted PDF links.
- For other file types, use zipBoard’s user interface to upload them.
5. View Your Files
- The API allows you to view all your uploaded files regardless of their type.
6. Start a Review
- To initiate a review, make a POST request to create a review link using your project ID and file ID.
- zipBoard will respond with a link to the review page.
7. Review Your Files
- Click the provided link to open the file in review mode with all of zipBoard’s review tools.
- PDFs and ZIP files can be reviewed by default.
- To review other file types, use the zipBoard web app directly.
8. Manage Tasks
- View tasks related to your projects or files.
- Add a new task to a project by specifying the title and project ID.
- Modify task details if you are an Owner, Manager, or Reviewer.
- Remove a task if you are an Owner, Manager, or task creator.
- Add feedback related to your projects or files.
- Modify existing feedback.
- Remove feedback from a user.
All API documentations are linked in the Appendix
zipBoard Integration Case Study
The Engineering Office (EO) provides architectural, engineering, and design services for large commercial projects in Dubai. EO manages approximately 60 construction projects of varying sizes simultaneously. As part of their core capability, EO’s in-house team and external consultants (if required) review construction-related technical submittals to ensure the design standards. On a yearly average, they handle 11,000 documents.
However, their existing document-handling process posed several challenges, including:
- Circulation of physical copies.
- Lengthy communication cycles, hampering document review.
- Human-intensive processes with no real-time reporting.
- Difficulty in tracking revisions and change logs.
- Potential delays in reviewing documents within fixed SLAs.
So what did EO do?
They embraced innovation and digital collaboration – by integrating zipBoard into their DMS and SAP ERP system.
What did this mean for the Engineering Office?
- Integrated markup with their existing versioning and task management, making it easy to stay on track for project deliveries.
- Ability to review and mark up construction documents in zipBoard – hosted on Azure – helped EO save time without compromising on security.
- EO could manage their entire document and versioning process integrated with SAP and zipBoard without having to physically transfer documents.
EO is able to manage its entire document and versioning process integrated with SAP and zipBoard without having to physically transfer documents. The construction review process in zipBoard cut EO’s time for planning and reviews in half.
This integration improved their document management and collaboration, resulting in remarkable improvements:
- EO’s efficiency in managing technical submittals skyrocketed, witnessing an impressive 80% increase.
- Their compliance rates soared from 60% pre-integration to an impressive 95%, reducing the risk of project delays and penalties.
- They achieved substantial cost savings and contributed to environmental sustainability by reducing paper usage by 80%.
- EO experienced real-time tracking and automated reporting.
- They streamlined their processes and workflows
Security Considerations for zipBoard Integrations
zipBoard uses Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) for hosting our platform and data. zipBoard’s personnel have no physical access to the data centers and we rely completely on AWS’s services to manage the deployment and operation of our software.
It’s worth noting that the AWS infrastructure has been architected to be one of the most flexible and secure cloud computing environments available today. It is designed to provide an extremely scalable, highly reliable platform that enables customers to deploy applications and data quickly and securely. This infrastructure is built and managed not only according to security best practices and standards but also with the unique needs of the cloud in mind.
Furthermore, despite the robust security measures we put in place to secure your data when you use the zipBoard integrations, we give you the flexibility to host your data on a server location of your choice. For instance, Engineering Office hosted their files on Azure to ensure the security of the documents and information.
Conclusion
The construction industry thrives on seamless collaboration and information flow. Yet, fragmented workflows and disconnected data continue to plague projects, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and missed deadlines.
zipBoard’s integrations provide AEC professionals with a robust document management and collaboration platform that seamlessly integrates with existing tools and workflows – contributing to streamlined workflows, improved project efficiency, and enhanced collaboration.
Appendix
- APIs for Custom Integration – zipBoard Help
- zipBoard API Documentation
- API Documentation – zipBoard Help
- How Secure is zipBoard?
- What Can I do with the Slack Integration?
- Manage your zipBoard Projects in Microsoft Teams, Import Issues in CSV, and Improved reporting
- Contact support for more information about zipBoard integrations via [email protected] or sales at [email protected]
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Book DemoStart Free TrialAuthor’s bio:
Dorcas Kpabitey is a Content Marketing Specialist at zipBoard. She began her content marketing journey alongside her BA in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Ghana. If she is not tapping away at her keyboard or spending time on Twitter and LinkedIn, she spends her day reading articles, newsletters and books.
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