General Questions About Our Software

1. What is Risk Manager all about?

• A unique and innovative quality assurance and risk management software program for the design and construction industry.
  
• Designed specifically for the Australian and New Zealand market but can be easily customised for other countries' work practices.
  
• Designed to not only protect architects, building designers and their businesses from litigation, but also to efficiently manage them.
  
• Designed to increase the quality of your designs and documentation.
  
• Intended to change the way we as architects and building designers approach our work. It's a fresh, new way of thinking in line with the aims and objectives of the AS/NZ 4360 Risk Management standard.

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2. What does Risk Manager do?

• It takes a project through the design and approval process (Aust & NZ versions) plus tendering and contract administration (NZ version).
  
• Uses a series of formalised procedures, checklists and pro forma documents to assist staff in carrying out various tasks for each project
  
• Assists in increasing the quality of design work and associated documentation
  
• Maximises the efficiency and productivity of staffing resources
  
• The status of a project is easily assessed at any point
  
• Reduces the risk of litigation
  
• Manages time spent on projects
  
• It gives more ownership of various tasks to staff
  
• More accountability for staff and their actions / inactions
  
• Provides more time to principals to review design options by minimising unproductive time spent on checking drawings
  
• An individual staff member's performance can be more readily reviewed and tracked
  
• Delegation of tasks results in more efficient time management for all staff
  
• Locates and codes all documentation simply into one central location
  
• Email management system reduces risk of losing those important emails
  
• Provides live links to sourced materials for each project

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3. What is the thinking behind the program?

• We incorporated one of the main objectives of AS/NZS 4360 Risk Management into the program which essentially states that; "..in order for risk management to become effective, it should be embedded into the office's culture which requires all staff to participate".
  
• We have achieved this by using the staffing resources within a practice in a more holistic manner. That is, we require all staff that are active on a project (including administration staff) to be involved in the process.
  
• However, it is not our intention to force architects and designers to use the "cross or tick every box" routine. It's their thinking we wish to influence.
  
• We also wanted to encourage staff to take more ownership of their tasks within each project whilst at the same time increasing their accountability and responsibility for the work they perform
  
• This leads to a more educated staff member and therefore, more valued within the organisation.
  
• We also took the view that both risk and practice management should be viewed as a positive inclusion into the office culture. This will manifest itself in the form of:
  
  • increased quality in design and documentation
    
  • a more professional and committed staff
    
  • a higher profit for the organisation

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4. How easy is Risk Manager to use and what about support?

• Very simple to use as it has a logical, intuitive and methodical approach. That is to say, the program works in a similar way to the way architects and building designers think.
  
• Ongoing support is available in many forms, including:
  
  • Access to a high quality interactive user tutorial which is available within the program
    
  • Email support with a quick response time
    
  • Newsletters which keep users up to date with legislative and industry changes, case studies and excellent articles by industry experts.
    
  • Frequently Asked Questions on the website
    
  • We can assist you to setup your office regardless of whether you are a single operator or have a larger staff numbers through our implementation and/or consultation services.
    
  • Presentations at various key Seminars and Conferences

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5. How does Risk Manager work?

• By simplifying & consolidating all facets of the design, approval, tendering and contract administration process into individual tasks and procedures for a particular project
  
• All active staff members (including admin) are then allocated specific tasks. These tasks have time constraints which are set by a senior staff member.
  
• By automatically delegating these tasks to various staff members, this enable them to have clear and concise instructions and objectives to meet without having to constantly ask senior staff.
  
• Each project is constantly monitored and reviewed through our WIP feature

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6. What are the costs of licences and renewals?

Risk Manager Architecture

Annual Licence Fee:

The fee structure works on an annual licencing scheme and varies for the various products available. Unless you are a BDA member and have PI Insurance with BIS, the licences varies between $170.00 + GST to $290.00 + GST per licence (per staff member within an organisation).


NZIA Practice Manager
(Information on changes to this program including costs will be available soon)

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7. Do my staff need to have access to all the features of the program?

• No, not necessarily. The principal and/or the office administrator has the ability to limit control over what information or what portion of the program any staff member may have access. However, it is generally accepted that in smaller office situations (say 2-3 staff), nearly all staff would have access to all the features.

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8. What are some of the benefits?

Risk Manager Architecture takes an individual project through the design and approval process by using a series of formalised procedures and check lists, featuring benefits such as:

• Premium discounts for your Professional Indemnity Insurance for using Risk Manager (by selected insurers).
  
• Errors and omissions in your documentation will be minimised
  
• Reduced exposure for your staff and practice to litigation
  
• Increased quality in design work & documentation
  
• More efficient time management
  
• More available time to explore design options by senior staff
  
• Staff become more educated and therefore more valuable
  
• Greater ownership of tasks by staff and therefore increased accountability
  
• On site disputes between client, builder and designer are reduced
  
• Better monitoring of staff efficiency
  
• Excellent education tool for staff
  
• Minimal downtime when new staff members commence
  
• Ability to market your business to your clients as a "Registered Risk Manager User"
  
• Principals have more control and therefore peace of mind
  
• Competitive edge in the market place
  
• Designed by designers for designers and therefore very intuitive to use
  
• Improved work flow leads to reduced timeframes for projects
  
• Increased profits
  
• Increased business opportunities
  
• Growth in your business

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9. Will I recoup my costs?

• The cost for a licence works out to be as little as $3/week for a single staff member. With that in mind, consider this statement from Lance Patison of Building Industry Solutions:
  
  "Properly used, this program will save many Architects and Building Designers 100's of hours of business and system development, provide an opportunity to fast track their business growth by saving $1,000's of dollars and lots of time on staff training."
  
  
• Furthermore, some of the costs of purchasing program could be offset with PI Insurance premiums and/or other benefits provided by some insurance companies
  
  
• The real rewards in implementing the program will be seen as a result of better project management, staff management and greater profits. However, even more importantly, is the quality time you will spend with your family instead of preparing for a stressful court case.
  
  
• The question really should read "Can I afford not to have Risk Manager in my office ?"

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10. There's only me, will Risk Manager suit?

• Yes, the program generally suits practices from between 1-15 staff members. It is advisable that those with larger staff numbers should consider some form of customisation which we are able to provide.
   
• Regardless of whether;
  • this is your first year in business or
     
  • if you are the principal, senior architect / building designer or
     
  • whether you are a single person operator, the question needs to be asked:
    
    Who currently checks your designs and / or drawings?

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                                                    Red Gravel Publications
                                         Protecting Business. Improving Performance.