StratusVue
Enabling Great Things Through Project Collaboration

The fast-paced nature of today’s construction projects has created a sense of urgency for solutions that enable more efficient processes both on and off the jobsite. Because traditional communication methods are a primary source of inefficiency, building owners, design firms, and construction contractors have started to implement software that enhances communication and collaboration. This is where StratusVue steps in by providing one of the most comprehensive collaboration software platforms for the commercial construction market. “At StratusVue we understand the challenges our clients face every day, and we provide practical solutions that simplify and streamline existing processes so they can focus on what really matters: building great buildings,” says John Goecke, StratusVue’s President and COO.

As a provider of cloud-based collaborative project and document management tools, StratusVue is on the forefront of enabling teams of users spanning all project roles to interact with each other digitally. “By combining critical point solutions into a single web-based platform, we have opened the doors to true collaboration. Multiple people work in the same logs and with the same documents, creating a full audit trail of activities” reveals Goecke. With its three integrated modules, the StratusVue System covers the entire project lifecycle from project bidding all the way into building operations. The BidVue module improves management of the project bidding process prior to construction, Plans and Specs provides straightforward workflows that improve productivity and transparency during construction, and BIMfx facilitates the turnover of closeout data and documentation to owners.

An excellent example of the benefits that the StratusVue System can bring to all the diverse members of a project is the Aqua at Lakeshore East in Chicago. An award-winning skyscraper, the Aqua is a complex 2 million square foot multi-use project that required two general contractors, a global design team, and over 300 project team members who needed to access information. Based on experience from previous projects, the team selected StratusVue because it offered a role-based environment, multiple levels of review and approval, and experienced support services to ensure the technology would be properly utilized.

“We had tried several systems on the web for project management and document control, but we found they didn’t get used by the full team,” said Kris Schwengel, SVP of Construction at Magellan. “StratusVue brought us together into one location, which proved invaluable as the project progressed.” Despite demanding requirements, the Aqua was completed a year ahead of schedule and significant costs were avoided from the printing and shipping that would normally have been required.

StratusVue is also breaking new ground to deliver added value for their customers by developing new solutions to longstanding challenges.

By combining critical point solutions into a single web-based platform, we have opened the door for true collaboration

This past year’s release of the BIMfx module is an illustration of these efforts. BIMfx was developed at the behest of an owner who wanted to improve the turnover of information from construction to the Facilities Management function. StratusVue, in partnership with three other software providers, created a new tool that improves data collection during construction and provides a transfer method to get this information to owners sooner and in a format they can actually use to run their buildings.

Going forward, StratusVue aims to further streamline the customer experience by integrating their system with other complementary software solutions, and by adding new innovations to the existing platform. “We want to make online collaboration the norm, for the construction industry. The best way to achieve that is to make the user experience as seamless as possible, so that is where our efforts are focused,” concludes Goecke.