Newforma Announces Mobile Punch List App for Tablets

MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2011) - Newforma®, a project information management (PIM) software company connecting architecture, engineering and construction firms worldwide, today announced the upcoming release of Newforma® Punch List, a tablet app that improves the efficiency of the process that architects, engineers, general contractors and construction managers follow to capture, assign, manage and verify punch lists in the field. Initially available as an Android™ app, Newforma Punch List integrates with Newforma® Project Center enterprise software, and is included as part of Newforma® Contract Management, an optional module of Newforma Project Center. Currently in limited release at selected customer sites, Newforma Punch List for Android tablets will be commercially available at the end of October. An Apple® iPad® version will follow.

Newforma Punch List has already undergone an initial field test at the University of South Florida (USF) Interdisciplinary Sciences building in Tampa, Florida, by members of the HOK project management team responsible for the new facility. HOK Senior Vice President Bob Gillcrist, LEED® AP, is tracking the performance of the new technology.

"The punch list process can involve dozens of people and thousands of items," Gillcrist said. "At HOK, we have long understood the value of capturing punch list items electronically via our in-house developed Palm-based solution. Now, Newforma's solution appears to further reduce the capture time and removes the necessity of carrying documentation and drawings into the field with us. The efficiencies offered by the Newforma solution can contribute to faster project closeout."

Alex Rodriguez, LEED AP, is a member of the HOK construction phase services team on the USF project. "We ran a side-by-side test of Newforma Punch List on an Android tablet next to our Palm-based method of capturing punch list items," Rodriguez said. "We soon quit using the Palm method because it could not keep up."

Newforma Punch List provides the means to manage the punch list process regardless of the availability of internet access on the jobsite, such as when inspecting basements. When a connection is available, the app syncs wirelessly with Newforma Project Center to ensure access to the latest drawings, room datasheets and other related project information.

Additionally, licensed users of Newforma® Add-In for Autodesk® Revit® can synchronize spaces from the BIM model using the Newforma Spatial Index activity center to provide a consistent, unambiguous list of rooms to locate each punch list item in the field.

Newforma selected the first version of Newforma Punch List to run on Android tablets because of customer requests and the Android's higher resolution camera, which is better able to capture punch list details. The app permits users to append pictures, videos and audio files to punch list items, and to mark up images. Newforma Punch List also includes a discussion log that allows users to review audit trails and the status of individual items.

Newforma Chief Executive Officer Ian Howell said Newforma Punch List is indicative of the company's growing emphasis on mobile applications and the integration of field work processes with those at the office. "While other applications exist to merely capture data from the field, we have focused on integrating field data with the BIM model and with other design documents, and doing so in a manner that can be shared with the entire project team, retained as a record copy and made fully searchable. This round-trip integration is key to more efficient project delivery."

About Newforma
Newforma develops and markets project information management (PIM) software for architecture, engineering and construction firms worldwide, and the owners they serve. Newforma's is the first industry-focused and integrated solution to connect firms to each other, to their project information, to their processes, and to remote team members, all for the purpose of more successful project delivery. Using Newforma software to manage information on more than 650,000 projects, Newforma customers are raising productivity, reducing exposure to risk, strengthening their brands, and freeing time and attention to focus on design and client service. For more information about Newforma, visit www.newforma.com, or phone +1 603-625-6212.

(C) 2011 Newforma, Inc. Newforma is a registered trademark of Newforma, Inc., in the United States and in other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.