NPV: Data are too important to be left to chance

Checking data accessibility is a key aspect of risk management at the international development company NPV, which is based in Charlottenlund, Denmark. With a project portfolio worth billions of kroner, NPV therefore collects all relevant data in its own project web solution from Byggeprojekt.dk.

As the construction sector is becoming increasingly digitalised, the processing and storage of data are coming to play a key role in risk management. In many construction projects, the different players share a project web that they use to exchange information, plans and drawings. But where is ownership best deployed, and what happens when the project is concluded?

The development company NPV, which works on property projects in the form of joint ventures, came to the conclusion that it was essential to consolidate all the project data in the company’s own project web solution at Byggeprojekt.dk.

“There were actually three reasons behind our decision,” explains Michael Mottlau, Technical Director at NPV.

“The first is basically that, on account of our role as property administrator, we have to make sure that we have access to data from the development and construction phases even after the building has been finished. This is crucial with regard to aspects such as maintenance and total economy. If all the data are stored on the contractor’s project web, for example, there’s a risk that they will disappear if the licence is discontinued – and that is not an option for us,” he says.

Anyone can go bankrupt

The next reason is the risk that a partner might suddenly go bankrupt, resulting in the data becoming lost or difficult to restore.

“To put it bluntly, if E. Pihl & Søn can file for bankruptcy, then anyone can go bankrupt. In my view, it’s simply a matter of timely care for us to guard against this eventuality by storing the data in our own solution,” relates Michael Mottlau.

Showing consideration for partners

The third reason is that NPV itself wants the final say on which partners are granted different levels of entitlement and access to all the information in the project.

“This consideration is in sharp focus because we cover several different roles and have a responsibility to all our partners to ensure that no-one is granted access to confidential information that is intended exclusively for specific stakeholders,” adds Michael Mottlau.

“It’s quite a delicate issue, where we’re most comfortable taking the responsibility ourselves rather than outsourcing it to a contractor or an architect we work with, for example. Keeping this role in-house means that we can run things precisely how we want to, and it helps prevent conflicts that may arise on account of errors or accidents,” he continues.

Chose Byggeprojekt.dk

NPV has therefore chosen to run a consolidated solution from Byggeprojekt.dk, supplier of professional project web systems for all purposes in the construction sector.

“It’s a cost-efficient system that neatly matches our needs. It features a fine balance of simplicity and functionality, which gives us precisely what we’re looking for. We can create our own templates and systematise our cases, and there’s an archive and log function to ensure we always have a full overview of the history,” says Michael Mottlau.

Has experienced losing data

The “doomsday scenario” of lost data is founded in actual experience. As recently as January this year, NPV had the misfortune to discover that data that had been stored on a contractor’s project web were suddenly no longer available because the contractor had discontinued the project web licence once the project itself was concluded.

“Fortunately, we were able to restore our data, but it was a timely reminder of the wisdom of transferring all our data to our own project web at Byggeprojekt.dk,” concludes Michael Mottlau.