RLPS Architects

Based in Lancaster PA, RLPS Architects provide master planning, architecture, and interior design services for clients throughout the United States. The firm specialize in planning and design of CCRCs/Life Plan Communities, senior care and inpatient hospice centers, public and private schools, universities and local commercial buildings including offices, libraries and hospitality venues.

After a chance meeting on a return flight, RLPS Architects Director of Technology, Brian Crosby, was put in touch with TonicDM. RLPS had been actively looking to replace their existing Project Information Management system with a cloud-based solution. They needed the solution to cover four main workflows, email filing, file transfer and the RFI and Submittal process.

The firm's previous PIM solution was not, in Crosby's opinion, “efficient” for the firm's needs, especially for remote staff who were experiencing delays and connection issues via VPN or virtual desktop. “The fact that TonicDM is cloud based is a huge benefit - instant access for our users and no processing is being done on our local machines”.

One year after transitioning to TonicDM, RLPS Architects remain happy with the solution. “The switch was easy, from an end user and IT standpoint and as a firm we are saving time and our end users are much happier with TonicDM as our project information management system.”

TonicDM’s automated email filing functions - “conversation filing” and “file for one, file for all”, increased in the number of emails being filed and decreased the amount of time spent filing by RLPS staff. Crosby mentions “Instead of 20 people filing 20 copies of the same email, it’s one person filing and TonicDM grabbing the rest and marking the emails as filed directly in Outlook for the other 19, we’re saving a lot of time.”

Crosby says “The switch was very easy for us, TonicDM covered the four main components, the staff onboarding and training was great and the IT set up, which I thought I was going to have to put in a bunch of hours on, took me an hour and TonicDM handled the rest. We transferred over 3 million emails into TonicDM via their NFTT system.”

CA workflow improvement with the TonicDM API connection to Procore the process for RFI and Submittal logging at RLPS was cut in half saving time and improving end user experience.