After months of dedication and hard work in preparation for their RFI data exchange demonstration at AGC's 95th Annual Convention on March 4, panelists introduced a little levity by snapping a selfie during their presentation on how RFI data can (and will) be exchanged in the soon-to-be agcXML world.

Christian Burger, founder of Burger Consulting Group, which is assisting AGC with agcXML project implementation, moderated the session. As he noted, construction is unique from many other industry sectors. The supply chain is different on each project and each participant has their own software solution at work. For functions like RFI processing, either everyone works on one company's collaborative platform, leaving most everyone without the data in their own system, or, everyone remains on their own system and re-keys the data as questions and answers are exchanged via e-mail, increasing the risk of error and consuming time.

But, as demonstrated at the RFI data exchange, interoperability will streamline processes and reduce overhead costs for contractors. Each panelist assumed the role of a key construction player on a project (e.g., owner, general contractor, project manager, etc.) and together they demonstrated an RFI's laborious and lengthy process as it would occur today. Next, they processed the same RFI from beginning to end without rekeying any data, highlighting the efficiency of exchanging data using the agcXML schema and reducing the RFI's lifecycle from several days to a few hours.

What's next for the RFI schema? A public review period, followed by some final touches and, hopefully, a roll out to the public later this year. What's critical is that software vendors incorporate the schema into their products. AGC members are encouraged to ask their vendors if upcoming upgrades in their product lines will include agcXML standards.

AGC is very grateful to the following software vendors who are supporting it on this journey with monthly sponsorship contributions.



The following vendors are gold sponsors of this initiative: