TSI Corporations is a Washington DC-area builder specializing in envelope glass systems, ornamental metals, and aluminum metal panels. TSI is #14 on ENR’s list of top firms in glazing and curtain walls and has completed more than 600 projects in the greater DC and Baltimore areas. Senior Project Manager Russell Frazier (pictured below) uses Fieldwire to track progress, document defects, and log noncompliance issues in real-time.
Current project
Designed by Antunovich Associates, 1900 Half Street is a redevelopment of an office building into a 480,000-plus square-feet mixed-use space in the Southwest DC's Buzzard Point neighborhood. Due for completion in 2020, the former office building will have more than 15,600 square-feet of retail space, 419 luxury apartments, two elevated courtyards, a green penthouse roof, and a rooftop infinity pool and deck.
And TSI is wrapping the whole thing up in glass.
Why they chose Fieldwire
“Before Fieldwire, we were pretty analog,” Russell says. “In 2015, we were looking for a basic means of using electronic documents for reference in the field. We did a trial run of Fieldwire on a previous project, and the users were just the super, general foremen, and me. We uploaded just a few drawings.
“For me, a big driver for moving forward with Fieldwire was its project management solution — Fieldwire has a niche. It’s easy to use and has a good amenity list, even under the free license. It also has an edge over PlanGrid in terms of functionality and pricing."
“I purchased additional Fieldwire licenses for the 1900 Half Street project. On the first day, we did the site walkthrough with Fieldwire — we were doing a punch window installation. After I went back to the office and documented everything in tasks, I realized that I’d saved hours of work already. Because an hour of someone’s time covered the cost of a one-month subscription, I’d found savings immediately.
“We’re also a materials fabricator, so I envision using Fieldwire to further communicate in the future between field and the plant and between the office and the plant, and continue the communication between the field and the office. Project management is necessary for all of that. Fieldwire allows us to streamline this process to get materials to the site in a timely fashion."
How they use Fieldwire
“Right now we use it for a combination of tracking task progress in the field, documenting material defects with suppliers, and, more notably, for logging real-time noncompliance issues," Russell says. "In addition to manufacturing our own materials, we work with suppliers. Our suppliers don’t use Fieldwire but I can still generate and send reports to them.
“What’s great about Fieldwire is the task stuff, the markup tools, and synchronization with Box and OneDrive. As a general plan reader it works well — that alone gives it an edge over PlanGrid.”
Interested in learning how Fieldwire can help you? Contact us today!