Advanced technology continues to yield access to a tremendous amount of information. This information, often stored in documents or correspondence, is the lifeblood of projects and client work - but only if it's well-organised, accessible, and secure.
There's no doubt about it: filing, storing, managing, and protecting millions of documents and data files - created and shared by thousands of people - is no easy task. Unmanaged files, such as emails and Teams chats, can quickly become a chaotic, obtrusive and risky burden on your organisation.
The solution?
The key to turning scattered information into one unified source of truth while protecting your most sensitive information is implementing robust information management processes, such as automated filing and a Document Management platform...
The Single Source of Truth is a concept based around ensuring everyone in an organisation has access to all information they need before making any business decisions. The term 'Golden Thread of Information' was coined in the Construction industry in the wake of the Grenfell Tragedy by Dame Judith Hackitt.
Dame Judith called for a 'golden thread' in the AEC industry, or a digital record of securely created, updated and accessible information covering the entirety of a building's lifecycle, including design, construction and management from day one.
The Golden Thread provides better ways of working and encourages more transparent communication, helping organisations drive change more quickly and ensuring that all project and client members have access to one single version of the truth.
This is ideal for tracking amendments to the architectural process, product updates and scope changes in the construction industry, and ensuring all revisions are documented, stored, and instantly accessible by everyone on the project team.
More importantly, the 'Golden Thread' and Single Source of Truth approach removes the responsibility of storing and managing data away from a single person or department. The system takes responsibility for keeping documentation updated, maintaining the single source of truth and flagging any potential gaps in correspondence. For a construction project, this means that site managers always have live information of any incidents, and data prompts them to make site adjustments as and when they are needed.
Dame Judith was a guest on our ‘Changing Construction podcast, and when discussing the need for a ‘golden thread’, an example she gave particularly resonated:
"If you had a car manufacturer saying we’ve used a faulty part in our cars, but we don’t know which cars we’ve used it in and we don’t know which models we’ve sold to who, there would be public outrage because people would know they’d been put at risk because of that lack of traceability. Why is it any different in building houses for people to live in?"
Although it's a concept coined in the Construction industry, a single source of truth or golden thread affects more than just the AEC and is relevant to all project and client-based industries.
Firms are obligated to maintain accurate and complete records for a set number of years in several sectors, and it's not uncommon for global businesses to get caught out. Recently, Microsoft was ordered to pay $25 million in a court settlement in 2017 when they could not produce specific email evidence on the case.
Managing information and having a Single Source of Truth is critical for project and client teams. When done right, it allows teams to use their time, resources and knowledge to make the right decisions at the right time, to fulfil their roles effectively. But something we’ve found is that there is usually one critical piece of the information management puzzle missing... email.
Unfortunately, unless companies have proper processes in place, everyone in an organisation manages their emails differently. Whilst some project and client teams are diligent in filing their business-critical correspondence, others don’t file at all. This means, without a holistic information management process in place covering all project and client communication, you can’t achieve a Single Source of Truth.
Regulatory requirements are fast becoming more stringent, and there is a growing need for companies to mitigate risks by quickly finding sensitive information. Poor information management should no longer be an excuse.
Ask yourself, do you have the right tools in place to carry out a proper audit trail to pass the latest regulatory requirements? When good information management practices are adopted, you can keep your business compliant, reduce risks of mediation, and future-proof your project delivery, even if your entire project team have moved on to new roles.
In fact, a new report published by the Centre for Digital Built Britain found that for every £1 invested in information management, firms can potentially secure up to £6 of labour time savings.
For the AEC industries, particularly construction, information management could provide cost savings between 1.6 - 18% on a project. When information management is prioritised in companies regardless of industries, everyone wins.