Calgary Municipal Land Corporation Chooses Aconex for Calgary Library Project

CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - Dec 3, 2014) - Aconex, provider of a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry, has been chosen by Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and its project manager, MHPM Project Managers Inc., to manage the C$245-million, two-phase design and construction of the new Central Library for the City of Calgary. On completion, the new library will consist of approximately 240,000 square feet of space on a site that spans a section of the city's light rail transit system. MHPM uses Aconex to securely manage project information and processes -- including drawings, documents, communications, and workflows -- for the complex, four-year project.

Yamin Shihab, senior project manager at MHPM, commented: "Of the solutions presented to us, Aconex showed the strongest ability to deliver on the contract administration side and had the most depth in terms of managing construction processes. Aconex provides superior traceability of data so it's easy to determine who got what and when. Project team members can quickly search and locate a specific document or communication. They can also check an audit trail for a permanent record of approvals and other processes."

Robust, Secure Data Management for High-Profile Public Project
The location of the City of Calgary's new Central Library contains a light rail line that bisects the site, creating design and construction challenges. The first phase of the project involves building a tunnel to encapsulate the light rail tracks. This phase is now in construction and due to be completed in 2015. The project's second phase will involve construction of the library on top of the new transit line tunnel, with completion expected in 2018. Aconex is currently supporting the design and contract administration process for this phase. 

The complexity of the overall project -- in addition to its high-profile, public visibility with a number of stakeholders -- drove CMLC to identify and implement a robust system of project communications and document management beyond traditional email and spreadsheets. The project team needed a project-wide collaboration solution that would provide a clear audit trail for processes, approvals and agreements between MHPM, the City of Calgary and CMLC, as well as a common data repository for the different organizations engaged over the course of the four-year development. After reviewing competitive proposals, CMLC chose the Aconex platform for its construction industry-specific functionality and proven track record in supporting complex, cross-organizational projects.

Flexibility and Training to Support Evolving Project Team 
According to Mr. Shihab, Aconex currently supports nearly 100 users from more than 20 separate organizations, including CMLC; MHPM; the architectural joint venture of DIALOG and Snøhetta; the construction manager, Stuart Olson; and other stakeholder groups. The size of the project team is expected to rise significantly as construction of the tunnel progresses and to increase further with the building of the actual library above the tunnel. MHPM can easily create new accounts to bring additional contractors and consultants on board the system. Aconex also provides unlimited basic training for all users on the project team as well as special sessions for more advanced users.

"We're pleased with the opportunity to help CMLC deliver this complex, high-visibility project," said Frank Kopas, general manager of the Americas at Aconex. "With our platform, CMLC, MHPM and the diverse project team are able to maintain best practices in corporate governance and public compliance throughout all phases of the project. The result will be a beautiful, state-of-the-art library for the City of Calgary."

For more information on the City of Calgary Central Library project, please see http://www.calgarymlc.ca/explore-projects/new-central-library. 

About Aconex
Aconex provides a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry. This platform gives owners and contractors in the construction, infrastructure, and energy and resources sectors project-wide visibility and control between the many different organizations collaborating across their projects. With more than 50,000 user organizations and over A$800 billion of project value delivered in more than 70 countries, Aconex is the industry's most widely adopted and trusted platform. Founded in 2000, Aconex has 41 offices in 22 countries around the world, including headquarters in Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco, California.

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