SDSM&T Dorm Renovation, image courtesy of Upper Deck Architects, Inc.

Rapid City, SD - The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T), a state-supported university located in Rapid City, South Dakota, began construction in May 2009 on the Connolly and Palmerton Hall Dorm Renovation project. The 3-phase project, valued at $6 million, will provide a new home for a portion of SDSM&T's 2,000+ student population. The project includes two existing dormitory renovations (Connolly and Palmerton) as well as a newly constructed single story addition. Estimated to be complete in May 2010, the 69,000 sq. ft. project is currently using the Submittal Exchange™ system for submitting, reviewing, and tracking shop drawings and construction submittals electronically.

Many of the project team members on the SDSM&T dorm renovation are using an electronic process for managing construction administration for the first time. "Submittal Exchange has saved us time and money. We've eliminated the travel time accumulated in the past to drop off submittals as well as the costs associated with printing hard copies," stated Jerry Eisenbraun, Project Manager with Upper Deck Architects, Inc., who is using Submittal Exchange for the first time. Located in Rapid City, South Dakota, Upper Deck Architects is the design firm on the project and has been serving the educational, religious, and commerical markets since 2007.

"Everything on the project is in one location and can be accessed at any time.  We recently had an owner ask us about using Submittal Exchange on their next project, I said absolutely."
Jerry Eisenbraun, Project Manager, Upper Deck Architects, Inc.

Robert C. Scull Construction, Inc. (RCS Construction), the general contractor on the project, who was also recently introduced to Submittal Exchange, found the speed of transferring submittals through the project team to be the biggest advantage. When asked to compare the online system to the traditional paper process, Bob Conway, Project Manager with RCS Construction responded, "Definitely the speed of sending and receiving submittals to and from the design team. If project team members are in different geographic regions, Submittal Exchange provides one central location for information to be accessed." RCS Construction, also located in Rapid City, South Dakota, is an experienced general contracting company who was worked on projects up to $18+ million in value and specializes in numerous markets, including educational, public, and commercial facilities.

Now more than six months into the project, with the first phase completed, we asked the project team what feature they appreciated the most. Conway, who has more than 15 years of experience in the construction industry stated, "Submittal Exchange allows the entire project team, including subcontractors, to access items in one central location. I like having the ability to login and immediately view the status on a particular submittal." Eisenbraun added, "I'm very detail oriented. When I look at the log(s), I'm immediately able to view which items are oustanding and what has yet to be submitted. With all of my specifications uploaded to Submittal Exchange, the system has also provided a great back-check to confirm and verify any item."

"If the project team members are in different geographic regions, Submittal Exchange provides one central location for information
to be accessed."
Bob Conway, Project Manager, RCS Construction, Inc.

When asked about transitioning to an electronic system for handling 375+ submittals on the project, Eisenbraun expressed his admiration for the Submittal Exchange support team. "Being unfamiliar with Submittal Exchange at the beginning of the project we had questions. The support team has been superb. They have been extremely helpful walking us through the process and assisting us, in a timely manner, with any questions."

When asked if their first time use of Submittal Exhcange would lead to recommending the solution to fellow construction professionals, Conway replied, "Yes, the ability to immediately transfer information to the design team and providing access for subcontractors if they want to view other submittals is a great feature." Eisenbraun agreed and added, "Submittal Exchange saves projects time. Everything on the project is in one location and can be accessed at any time. We recently had an owner ask us about using Submittal Exchange on their next project, and I said absolutely."