Getting the most from digitisation projects

You've done it! You've splurged on the best software products for your company, invested time and cash into training everyone, and even your bosses know what's coming. You're making big strides in your corporate digital strategy. Time to kick back and watch the profits roll in, right? Not so fast!

This is just half the story, folks. Sure, everyone knows how to use the fancy new software, but that's just about creating data. The real magic happens when you start reusing it. There's a whole world of efficiency waiting to be unlocked if you think about the entire lifecycle of your data, not just how it's born but how it matures.

Get to know your business inside and out. Dive into the nitty-gritty of what happens downstream. Figure out how you can twist and turn that data to streamline processes, boost efficiency, and save some serious cash. Could stuff from one part of a project help your supply chain avoid double work? Maybe your data could revolutionize how you handle spare parts, switching to a just-in-time approach that frees up warehouse space and keeps things moving?

So, you've wrapped up your new facility design. You're swimming in blueprints, structural plans, MEP details, equipment lists, purchase orders, and vendor docs - the works! Sure, it ticks all the boxes for this stage of the contract, but are you're thinking ahead? You want to make running this place a breeze for years to come.

Now, you understand the EIR (that's Employer's Information Requirements for the newbies) didn't get too detailed for the project. All this digital paperwork was mainly about building the joint, not running it for the next 30 or 40 years. But hey, the EIR did give us some consistency to work with. Let's get creative:

1. Whip up a little routine to skim through all your docs and drawings. It'll snag every piece of equipment mentioned, using the EIR naming rules as a guide. Dump all this info into a spreadsheet or cloud database. Now, compare this against your official equipment list. Bam! You've got a super-powered search tool that shows you every document linked to each piece of kit, plus a list of anything that slipped through the cracks. This'll be a lifesaver when you need to find info fast in your chemical plant, pharma lab, data centre or factory.
2. Cook up another program to grab GPS coordinates from every drawing - buildings, substations, the works. Use the project's coordinate system to filter the good stuff. Then, for a bit of fun, convert these coordinates to "What Three Words". Now, when you send out maintenance crews or inspectors, just slap those three words on their job sheet. No more wasted time hunting down locations!
3. Here's a trickier one: mine those vendor docs for spare parts info. The EIR might not cover how vendors dish out this info, but each vendor probably has their own consistent style. Extract lists of must-have spares and regular maintenance bits. Then, put on your thinking cap. Maybe you don't need 50 of the same spare part sitting around. With some smart planning, you might only need 5 every six months. Boom - you've just saved a ton on storage or off-site costs.

These are just a few ways to squeeze more juice out of your data. If you really get what's happening downstream, you can dream up all sorts of clever tricks to reuse what you've already got. It's all about working smarter, not harder!

So, what's the big picture here? It's all about weighing up the cost of rolling out fancy new tech against the cash you'll save by going digital. The more ways you can squeeze, twist, and repurpose your data, the fatter your bottom line gets.

And here's the kicker - the more you do this, the better you'll get at it. You'll start to see patterns, find new shortcuts, and dream up even cooler ways to make your data work overtime. Before you know it, you'll be tweaking your standards and EIR docs to set yourself up for even bigger wins on your next project.

So don't just settle for using your data once and forgetting about it. Keep asking yourself, "How else can we use this?" Trust me, your future self (and your company's bank account) will thank you for it.