Photo courtesy NoliWhite

NoliWhite Group field staff carry drawings, change orders and other �paperwork� into the field on an iPad and access files remotely.

NoliWhite Group has found a convenient and inexpensive method of bringing information technology into the field.

The Brentwood, Tenn., company has added a WiFi system to the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital jobsite in Thomasville, Ga., and provided staff with iPads to access project information and specific drawings kept on a website maintained by Lellyett & Rodgers PDM document storage system.

“The ability to see all the design information and have it with you on such a small device has made it easy to use it in the field,” says Mike Noli, president of NoliWhite Group. He says the company is working off more than 1,000 sheets of drawings on the Archbold project and estimates that using the iPad has saved $179,000 on printing costs.

Lellyett & Rodgers PDM system uploads the data at proper size and scale for easy viewing and notifies everyone involved in the project and using the system that a new document is available, says Jim Inzio, vice president of architecture, engineering and construction for Lellyett & Rodgers.

Noli says the iPad handles pictures well, and it not only provides access to the drawings but also change orders, requests for information and all other pieces of project information. NoliWhite scans paper documents to enter them in the system as PDF files.

“It’s preventing conflicts,” Noli adds.