ENR, December 11, 1995, p.30.
Construction forums online spark ideas in real time
A newly created architecture section is the most active
area in one of the forums, with about 500 postings per
week. Hot topics currently being debated are global
practice issues, licensure versus certification and
professionalism.
Architects, engineers and constructors who have a computer,
modem and membership to one of the online services are
brainstorming new ideas for their work with complete
strangers in real time on line.
CompuServe and America Online have forums where
professionals most often post messages to each other and
access files that other members upload into designated
libraries. Members also can chat online in real time.
Prodigy has no construction interest groups but is planning
to launch one.
Members like the forums because they provide "great
feedback," says Jack Livingood, president of Big D
Construction Corp., Ogden, Utah. "When you meet with peers
locally, the issues tend to be local. On the Net, you get
a global perspective on all kinds of issues from all kinds
of people," adds Daniel J. Jansenson, an architect with his
own practice in Santa Monica, Calif.
Sharing. Since its inception in March, CompuServe's Project
& Cost Management Forum (Go: TCMFORUM) has attracted more
than 17,000 members, says John Hollmann, the "sysop" for
the forum. He is senior project controls engineer for
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. About 20% of the forum
specifically addresses the construction industry, he says.
The forum (TCM stands for total cost management) has three
functions. Along with the message and library areas,
members have an opportunity for live chat. "Because we're
an international forum, real-time conferences [in an online
conference room] exclude people, so we hold conferences on
a come-as-you-can basis," says Hollmann. Real-time,
one-on-one chats also can occur between two members who are
in the forum at the same time.
By far the most popular thing for members to do is post
messages. "We average over 100 messages a day," says
Hollmann. Topics span a wide spectrum: Total Quality
Management, concrete, shareware, process management and
project costing, to name a few. For example, 109 messages
have been posted on 24 topics in the "Project Management"
area in the past three weeks.
The newly created architecture section is the most active
area in the forum, with about 500 postings per week,
accordlng to Jerry Laiserin, an assistant "sysop" for the
architecture group. He has his own practice on Woodbury,
N.Y. Hot topics currently being debated in the architecture
section are global practice issues, licensure versus
certification and professionalism. For example, James
Brogan, an architect and CAD manager for Hardy Holzman
Pfeiffer Associates, New York City architects, recently
received "incredibly helpful" responses to a query on legal
and compensatory issues regardlng sending drawings on disks
to subcontractors. "I got a completely different point of
view," he says.
Machismo. PLACES (Keyword: PLACES) has been on America
Online since 1989. The letters stand for Planning,
Landscape, Architecture, Construction, Engineering and
Specifications. It is structured much like its CompuServe
equivalent. About 200 messages per week are posted in
PLACES, on topics ranging from "ultimate acts of machismo"
to cost estimating. "It's like a large brainstorming
group," says Michael A. Farley, principal of Pacific
Program Management, Sacramento.
PLACES is expanding and soon will have a direct connection
to related sites on the World Wide Web, a chat room, and
related forums, says PLACES forum leader and architect
David L. Stovall.
[Graphic] Logo greets forum members on CompuServe.
By Judy Schriener (schrj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and William J.
Angelo (Capitoline@aol. com)
Construction forums online spark ideas in real time
A newly created architecture section is the most active
area in one of the forums, with about 500 postings per
week. Hot topics currently being debated are global
practice issues, licensure versus certification and
professionalism.
Architects, engineers and constructors who have a computer,
modem and membership to one of the online services are
brainstorming new ideas for their work with complete
strangers in real time on line.
CompuServe and America Online have forums where
professionals most often post messages to each other and
access files that other members upload into designated
libraries. Members also can chat online in real time.
Prodigy has no construction interest groups but is planning
to launch one.
Members like the forums because they provide "great
feedback," says Jack Livingood, president of Big D
Construction Corp., Ogden, Utah. "When you meet with peers
locally, the issues tend to be local. On the Net, you get
a global perspective on all kinds of issues from all kinds
of people," adds Daniel J. Jansenson, an architect with his
own practice in Santa Monica, Calif.
Sharing. Since its inception in March, CompuServe's Project
& Cost Management Forum (Go: TCMFORUM) has attracted more
than 17,000 members, says John Hollmann, the "sysop" for
the forum. He is senior project controls engineer for
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. About 20% of the forum
specifically addresses the construction industry, he says.
The forum (TCM stands for total cost management) has three
functions. Along with the message and library areas,
members have an opportunity for live chat. "Because we're
an international forum, real-time conferences [in an online
conference room] exclude people, so we hold conferences on
a come-as-you-can basis," says Hollmann. Real-time,
one-on-one chats also can occur between two members who are
in the forum at the same time.
By far the most popular thing for members to do is post
messages. "We average over 100 messages a day," says
Hollmann. Topics span a wide spectrum: Total Quality
Management, concrete, shareware, process management and
project costing, to name a few. For example, 109 messages
have been posted on 24 topics in the "Project Management"
area in the past three weeks.
The newly created architecture section is the most active
area in the forum, with about 500 postings per week,
accordlng to Jerry Laiserin, an assistant "sysop" for the
architecture group. He has his own practice on Woodbury,
N.Y. Hot topics currently being debated in the architecture
section are global practice issues, licensure versus
certification and professionalism. For example, James
Brogan, an architect and CAD manager for Hardy Holzman
Pfeiffer Associates, New York City architects, recently
received "incredibly helpful" responses to a query on legal
and compensatory issues regardlng sending drawings on disks
to subcontractors. "I got a completely different point of
view," he says.
Machismo. PLACES (Keyword: PLACES) has been on America
Online since 1989. The letters stand for Planning,
Landscape, Architecture, Construction, Engineering and
Specifications. It is structured much like its CompuServe
equivalent. About 200 messages per week are posted in
PLACES, on topics ranging from "ultimate acts of machismo"
to cost estimating. "It's like a large brainstorming
group," says Michael A. Farley, principal of Pacific
Program Management, Sacramento.
PLACES is expanding and soon will have a direct connection
to related sites on the World Wide Web, a chat room, and
related forums, says PLACES forum leader and architect
David L. Stovall.
[Graphic] Logo greets forum members on CompuServe.
By Judy Schriener (schrj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) and William J.
Angelo (Capitoline@aol. com)