Atlas Engineering Case Study

Field2Base Expedites Resolution of Construction Issues

Real Time Communication Keeps Projects on Track
Senior and Professional Engineer, Kelli Wilcox, of Raleigh, NC based Atlas Engineering (http://www.atlasnc.com), has an extensive background in a wide variety of projects including building and property condition assessments, code compliance evaluation, repair, facility asset management evaluations and construction administration. One afternoon while inspecting North Carolina State University's College of Engineering II building, the largest building ever constructed by NC State University and a $60 million construction project, she noticed a beam that needed modification. Knowing the beam needed to be fixed immediately; Wilcox grabbed her Field2Base tablet and snapped digital photos of the beam and area. She then highlighted the position that the beam needed to be moved to and made annotations directly on the photos using her digital pen in order to give the structural engineer an overview of the problem. Using Field2Base's one-touch fire and forget wireless technology, Wilcox sent the annotated photos to the structural engineer. In her digital envelope, Wilcox asked the structural engineer to come up with a solution for the beam and within a short period of time, the structural engineer was able to send a solution to Wilcox. The modification was able to take place so quickly and be approved without an on-site visit by the structural engineer because the structural engineer had already received the necessary information regarding the situation from Wilcox and was prepared to resolve the issue.

"Field2Base has shaved hours off of the time it used to take us to resolve structural issues," says Wilcox. "This helps ensure that our clients' projects remain on time and within budget, while resolving issues and saving time for contractors."

Pre-Field2Base, had Wilcox encountered the problem she did with the beam, she would have called in the structural engineer, who was located an hour away, and waited for him to arrive. Once he arrived, Wilcox would have spent another lengthy period of time explaining the situation in detail. The structural engineer would then have had to derive a solution, which could take a lot of time. Only then could the situation be dealt with. During all this time, work crews would have sat idle or would have had to be assigned to another part of the project or relocated to another site - a sometimes costly and time consuming undertaking. Owners, contractors and engineers all won in this situation by saving time and money in an efficient manner.

In addition to using their Field2Base tablet to resolve structural issues, Atlas Engineering employees use it to achieve a variety of tasks including condition surveys, structural upgrades and site investigations following damage events (e.g. water, fire). They also regularly use its notebook capability on-site and during meetings at the office, which ensures their notes are never lost.