The Millennium Bridge across the RiverThames, London

In the world of architecture, planning and design, Foster and Partners(www.fosterandpartners.com) needs no introduction. The London-based, 300-architect, 600 strong practice has an international reputation for designexcellence and has received more than 260 awards, including the Queen'sAward for Export. The practice has been responsible for the design of world-class landmark buildings including the new German Parliament in theReichstag, Berlin; The Great Court within the British Museum; Hong Kong's newairport; the Metro Bilbao; Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich; and theResearch Centre Stanford University, California.

THE CHALLENGE

Business growth always brings newchallenges. This was certainly the casefor Foster and Partners when strongdemand for their expertise and servicesresulted in the expansion of the 100-strong team of architects alone to 300,within a space of just five years. As thepractice grew, it became increasinglydifficult to manage the work ofindividuals and teams, particularly inrelation to current and upcomingprojects. With up to 70 live projectsbeing handled at any one time, thechallenge for the practice was tomanage its internal resources in orderto plan more effectively, optimiseresource utilisation levels and, at theend of the day, maximise fee-earningpotential.

Neil MacLeod, planning managercommented: "Before Asta, our resourcemanagement was handled usingmanual paper-based systems. This wasan effective process when we were asmall team. But as we expanded from100 to 300 architects, it became moredifficult to keep track of what everyonewas doing. It was also difficult toidentify which individuals were fullyutilised on project work, and to plan ourfuture resource requirementsaccordingly. We knew that we needed aproject and resource managementsolution that would consolidate allproject-related data across thebusiness."

THE SOLUTION

Having used Asta Powerproject in aprevious role, Neil MacLeod was keento introduce the software to theplanning department within Foster andPartners when he started as planningmanager, almost seven years ago.

Neil MacLeod said: "I have been usingAsta Powerproject since it was firstlaunched. Back in 1988 it was themost innovative, user-friendly softwaretool for our market and, in my opinion,it has just got better and better."

He added: "For a company where thecentral concern is design excellence,presentation is key. This is anotherreason why we chose AstaPowerproject. The softwaredemonstrates resource implications instriking graphical representations suchas resource graphs and schedules. Thismeans that we can use these images inour presentations to clients, rather thanhaving to create new ones."

With such a large number of clients andcontractors also using AstaPowerproject, it seemed sensible to usethe same system in order to easilyshare information.

"With a single capacity plan inplace, I now have visibilityacross all current and futureprojects."

In just five years the team ofarchitects has grown from100 to 300, making itincreasingly difficult tomanage the work ofindividuals and team.

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CUSTOMISATION ANDINTEGRATION

Asta Development worked closely withFoster and Partners to develop abespoke solution to meet its particularproject and resource managementrequirements. The company integratedFoster and Partners' proprietarytimesheet accounts system to enable itto extract resource data into MicrosoftExcel and then into Asta Powerprojectwhere this information is converted intobar charts. Through these charts, thesoftware identifies graphically theresources used in the project as well ashighlights future resource requirements.

Neil MacLeod said: "With a singlecapacity plan in place, I now havevisibility across all current and futureprojects. I can quickly and effectivelyallocate resources and forecast forfuture requirements thus ensuring ourresources are optimised and ourbusiness is running at maximumefficiency."

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ISCRITICAL

Neil MacLeod concluded: "At Foster andPartners, we recognise that the designand architect professionals we employare the key to our success and underpinour world-class reputation. So managingtheir workload, and creating realistic yetchallenging schedules is a criticalbusiness process for us. With AstaPowerproject, we have a professionaltool that helps us manage ourresources, increase fee-earning incomeand provides us with the visibility weneed to make our planning decisionswith confidence."

Swiss Re, London

"With Asta Powerproject, we have a professional tool that helps usmanage our resources, increase fee-earning income and providesus with the visibility we need"

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"For a company wherethe central concern isdesign excellence,presentation is key.This is another reasonwhy we chose AstaPowerproject."

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asta

ABOUT ASTA DEVELOPMENT PLC

Established in 1986, Asta Development has become a leading Europeanprovider of project and resource management software applications andservices. Headquartered in the UK, the company's mission is to helpcustomers optimise their business performance through the effectivemanagement of projects, processes, people and resources. Over the lastfifteen years, Asta has helped organisations deliver projects worth hundreds ofmillions of pounds in industries such as construction, engineering, IT, financialservices, pharmaceuticals, professional services and utilities. Today, Asta hasover 33,000 users worldwide including Balfour Beatty, Ballast, Berkeley Homes,Bovis Lend Lease, Costain, Lockheed Martin, Sherston Software, South WestWater and Stork. For more information about Asta Development, visitwww.astadev.com.

Asta Development plcKingston HouseGoodsons MewsWellington StreetThameOxfordshireOX9 3BXUnited Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1844 261700Fax: +44 (0)1844 [email protected]

QUICK FACTS

Customer:

Foster and Partners, London

Industry:

Architecture

Project management software:

Asta Powerproject versions 5 and 7

Number of architects in the practice: 300

Number of projects handled at any one time:

up to 70

Projects utilising Asta Powerproject include:

The Great Court (within the British Museum); the Millennium Bridge;Swiss Re, the new German Parliament in the Reichstag, Berlin.

Services from Asta Development:

Customisation, integration with timesheet system, training and support

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asta powerproject case study: foster and partners

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