Engineering Firms Adopt Newforma Software to Counter Economic Pressures

MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - April 15, 2009) - Newforma®, Inc., a software company addressing the project information management (PIM) needs of the design and building industry, today announced that leading engineering firms are choosing to adopt Newforma's solution to help offset the pressures of a challenging economy. Firms include BergerABAM, Lumos & Associates and PCS Structural Solutions, who have recently made a strategic investment in Newforma® Project Center to raise responsiveness to clients and project team members, improve the efficiency of project execution, and mitigate risks that would otherwise be caused by missing or incomplete project information.

Improving service to clients and team members

PCS Structural Solutions is a 60-person, two-office firm headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. President Craig Stauffer, S.E., says clients equate fast response with good service. "When I can answer a question while the client is still on the phone, that's great," Stauffer says. "When I can answer that question on the phone by accessing information that did not originate with me, that's even better. Newforma gives my colleagues and me that capability not just with email, but with all forms of project information. At a time when lots of competitors are vying for our clients, I like the idea of providing the best service in the industry."

Mitigating risks

BergerABAM is a 180-person, six-office firm based in Federal Way, Washington. President and Chief Executive Officer Arnfinn (Arnie) Rusten, P.E., S.E., chose Newforma software to mitigate risks caused by lost, incomplete or incorrect project information. "Often we can resolve a dispute simply by showing an email that documents our instructions," Rusten said. "Newforma Project Center makes it easy to find information in just minutes that's been known to take hours or perhaps days to find otherwise, even if that email was generated by someone who's no longer with the firm. The software also helps avoid problems before they arise, such as in the case of drawing revisions, when we use the Newforma viewer to show what's new or changed between two sets of plans. That way, when we send plans to a jobsite, we can be confident they're correct, and that we have not introduced any conflicts which could cause change orders or delays for which we might be held liable."

Making project execution more efficient

Lumos & Associates is an 85-person, five-office firm based in Carson City, Nevada. Chief Executive Officer Charles "Chas" Macquarie, P.E., estimates that his colleagues are spending at least five hours per week, and often much more, doing such routine project information management tasks as filing email, searching for information and tracking action items. "These tasks need to be done," Macquarie says, "but if we can spend less time doing them, and do a better job in the bargain, we'll free up hours for our real business, which is taking care of clients. That's why we bought Newforma Project Center -- to cut the hours spent on administrative tasks at a time when there's no room in the budget for wasted effort."

Newforma Chief Executive Officer Ian Howell said, "The boom-and-bust nature of the AEC industry means project information needs to be managed in a way that makes it easy to transfer responsibility, preserve decision trails and keep the firm running efficiently, while supporting our customers' abilities to provide great client service. By adopting Newforma Project Center to that end, our AEC customers are not only safeguarding their businesses during an especially tough business cycle, but are positioning themselves to come out of it stronger than ever."

About Newforma

Newforma is a software company serving architecture, engineering, construction and owner/operator (AECO) organizations worldwide. Its mission is to develop and market software solutions which significantly improve the productivity of the building project team by streamlining work processes, reducing exposure from errors and omissions, improving coordination and communication, and enabling greater repeatability of project success. Newforma® Project Center, Newforma's flagship product, creates a more productive environment for project managers and the project team by organizing project information, facilitating information sharing, and enabling more effective project process. Newforma Project Center is currently implemented on over 150,000 projects in industry-leading AECO firms. For more information about Newforma, visit www.newforma.com or phone +1 603-625-6212.

© 2009 Newforma Inc. Newforma is a registered trademark of Newforma Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.

Contact Information: Contact: Kelly Murray 978-597-3377