When TonicDM was launched nine years ago as a solution for PIM (Project Information Management) in AEC, the field of PIM was relatively new with only one player, Newforma Project Center (NPC). Fast forward to now and the field of PIM is still very sparse, with Newforma focused on rolling out a new cloud-based solution in addition to its flagship offering, which is a traditional client-server application. TonicDM was cloud-based to begin with, so it did not have to pivot. It could concentrate, instead, on continuing to develop its technology to better serve its customers, which now include several leading architecture and engineering firms, many of which have switched over to TonicDM from Newforma (Figure 1).
In keeping with its foundational ethos of “less is more,” TonicDM maintains a relatively low profile, so only a handful of its customers are featured on its website in the form of case studies. I did, however, get a chance to chat with Dan Stine of Lake|Flato Architects, which is one of the firms that has switched to TonicDM from Newforma. In addition to many valuable insights on TonicDM that he shared with me for this review, Dan also talks about his firm’s implementation of TonicDM, among other applications, in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQkjDrVLyN0. (The section on TonicDM starts at 8.22.)
TonicDM is a cloud-based solution for managing project information that is specifically geared towards architectural and engineering firms, designed to streamline their workflows as well as capture the entire history of a project from their perspective. In construction projects typically, the GC (general contractor) uses applications such Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Oracle Aconex, etc., for construction administration (CA), but this is done, naturally, from the GC’s perspective. It is important for architects and engineers to maintain their own records independent of the GC, not only for their own internal analytics but also to capture an accurate audit trail of the project workflow — preserving their version of it — that cannot be disputed in case of any litigation or other problems.
As mentioned earlier, the focus of the application is on simplicity, which is manifested in several ways including the look of the application, how it works, and how it is priced. The interface is clean and uncluttered (Figure 2), making it very intuitive and easy to use. The minimalism is taken even further by turning off some of the features of the application if the customer is not using them. The flexibility of the modules allows companies to choose the right tools for their firm.
Since the application is cloud-based, it is accessible through any web browser, and setting it up for a firm can be done in about an hour by the TonicDM team, saving the firm from requiring dedicated IT personnel and infrastructure to deploy it. Another great time-saver is the deep integration that TonicDM has with several ERP applications such as Deltek as well as with Microsoft. In addition to the single sign-on capability that this enables, it allows projects to be automatically created in TonicDM once they have been created in the accounting module of the ERP system. The Microsoft integration also automatically pushes out the TonicDM functionality in Microsoft Outlook for email management, allows the TonicDM project data to be viewed in Microsoft Teams (Figure 3), and enables advanced analytics of the project data to be done in Microsoft PowerBI.
The “under the hood” integration with Microsoft Office 365, in particular, means that if a new staff member arrives, they already have the TonicDM add-in as it is built into their Outlook account, and they can hit the ground running. It is part of their Office 365 installation and is not something that they need to install separately.
In terms of pricing as well, TonicDM has kept it simple by only having two options: either with the CA (Construction Administration) functionality, or without. Apart from the number of users per month based on which the cost is calculated, there is no limit to the number of projects that can be created or the amount of content in the system. Additionally, for the CA option, customers only pay for the number of people in their firm who are actually doing CA tasks instead of all the people in the firm that need to use the application for email, files, and other PIM tasks.
Since TonicDM is embedded into Microsoft Outlook because of its Office 365 integration, its email management functionality works almost as if it is native to Outlook. There are three ways in which an email can be filed into a project: opening the TonicDM sidebar, selecting a project, and using the “File Selected Email” button; moving the email into a project folder whose name starts with the project number; or including a project-specific email address in the CC field of the email. All of these three filing methods are shown in Figure 4.
Any of these filing methods will create a copy of the email in the TonicDM repository of that project, and it can now be deleted from the individual user’s inbox if desired. Once one email is filed in TonicDM, it is indicated by a “Filed in TonicDM” tag, also showing the project name and number that it has been filed in. Other internal recipients of this email can see this tag, so they know they don’t need to file it again. Even if they do, TonicDM detects that it has already been filed and does not duplicate it.
Entire conversations are also automatically filed. So, every time a new email arrives in a user’s Inbox, TonicDM checks to see if it has already been filed. Once an email is filed, any other follow-up emails or conversations are automatically detected and filed.
Another thing to note is that while emails are filed with their attachments, if any, the attachments themselves are also stored separately. Thus, attachments can be directly accessed when needed.
When composing new emails to send, the TonicDM sidebar can be opened to see options specific to the Compose task (Figure 5), including choosing the project in which to file it, selecting the team members the email should be sent it, including files to attach if they are too large to send by email, and specifying, if required, that recipients be logged in to download the attachments.
All the emails that are filed for a project in Outlook by individual users can be seen in the TonicDM web application (Figure 6), where there are expanded capabilities for searching the emails across a single project or across multiple projects, including the ability to apply different kinds of search filters, add key words, and restrict the search to internal emails or emails with attachments. This expanded search capability is extremely helpful as a project can have thousands of emails in its archive. Users with administrative privileges also have the ability to move or delete emails through the web interface, if required.
In addition to the Email module shown in Figure 6, TonicDM includes four additional modules for the different tasks it handles. The Files module, as shown in Figure 7, is where users can manage all the file transfers for the project. This includes uploading and sending files to others, as well as requesting files from others. All items are automatically added to the log, as shown, and tracked. The logs can be exported to Excel if needed.
In keeping with the “unlimited” feature that TonicDM offers for projects and content, there are no limits to the number of files that can be sent at a time or the sizes of the individual files. While sending files, you can specify an expiration date for the downloads as well as require that recipients be logged in to be able to download the files. All downloads are tracked, showing the date and time stamp for when the files were accessed for each individual recipient.
Construction administration (CA) tasks like responding to RFIs and submittals are handled in the CA module of TonicDM, using similar workflows. When the architect or engineer receives an RFI or submittal from the contractor, they can respond to it right away or forward it to a consultant and go back and forth with them until they have enough information to provide the information requested in the RFI or approve the submittal.
The integration TonicDM has with Procore, which is the leading application used by contactors for their own CA workflows, allows the RFIs and submittals from the contractor on the project to be automatically pulled into TonicDM, as shown in Figure 8.
RFIs or submittals that are coming in via the Procore integration or through email can be quickly logged in TonicDM, with most of the data already populated in the different fields, as shown in Figure 8. Once those items are in the log, TonicDM creates a Details page for the item, where you can add additional details or internal notes, search and pin any related emails to it, forward it to a consultant, or create a response. All the actions are recorded in the summary logs for RFIs and submittals, where closed items are hidden by default, providing an “at-an-glance” overview of the items that are open and on which action needs to be taken (Figure 9).
In addition to RFIs and submittals, the CA module of TonicDM also includes the ability to create and manage potential change orders, a feature that is currently in beta.
In addition to the Email, Files, and CA modules, there is a dedicated People module in TonicDM for managing project teams, which is streamlined by automatically capturing the contacts of the people in a project from the emails that they file, so they don’t need to be manually added to the database. Within this, there is also a Directory feature for tracking and managing consultants as well as the ability to create distribution groups to use in construction administration.
The final module, Tasks, works as an internal task management tool, allowing tasks to be created with due dates and assigned to specific people (Figure 10). It includes the ability to add notes, upload files, and pin related emails, similar to the interface for creating and managing RFIs. Tasks can be assigned with different tags to indicate their status.
In addition to the ability to automatically create projects once they are created in the firm’s ERP system — TonicDM integrates with about ten such systems, including Deltek — projects can also be created manually in the web interface, as shown earlier in Figure 2. Each project has some very basic settings that can be tweaked, if required, to improve their user experience. Construction administration settings for RFIs and submittals, related to stamps and due dates, can be specified based on the firm’s workflows. Firms can connect with other TonicDM customers, as shown in Figure 11, and all of the consultants and GCs working on a project are provided free access to TonicDM to be able to work with them on projects.
And finally, TonicDM offers a complimentary sync service for its customers from its S3 server to their cloud environment, which allows for daily or monthly synchronization of data. This helps to allay any concerns firms might have with data spread as they move into the cloud, and it ensures that customers own their own data and have full control over it.
Project information management (PIM) may not be the most visible, glamorous, or fun task for a design professional, but it is something that absolutely needs to be done in order to manage projects more efficiently. As with any other task in life, organization is key to successful execution with less headaches, wasted time, and reduced effort. Without it, things can quickly snowball out of control.
With its cloud-based speedy deployment, minimalist interface that makes it easy to learn and use, straightforward pricing with no hidden charges, unlimited storage, and deep integrations with Microsoft Office, Procore, and ERP systems like Deltek that enable many workflows to be automated, TonicDM allows architectural and engineering firms to organize and manage the vast volumes of information in their projects with minimal effort on their part. While being organized does not, of course, guarantee success for an AEC firm, it is hard to imagine a firm being successful without being organized.
Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.
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