Bienvenido a Aconex. Quizá se pregunte: "¿qué es Aconex y cómo puede ayudarme?"

Los proyectos de construcción e ingeniería son fuente de mucha información y datos. 
Documentos; planos; correspondencia; procesos.

La tarea de mantener todos los datos organizados, seguros y accesibles en varios equipos, organizaciones y ubicaciones es enorme.

Sin mencionar lo difícil de obtener información útil si se encuentra dispersa. Es ahí cuando Aconex le puede ayudar.

Aconex integra su proyecto y almacena la información de forma segura en línea, todo en un solo lugar. Logra un equilibrio entre la necesidad de seguridad de los datos y la colaboración.

Además, todas las herramientas necesarias están integradas. Encuentre lo que necesita con rapidez, gestione los procesos y los costos, colabore con todos los participantes en su proyecto, obtenga valiosos indicadores de sus datos y vea el panorama completo, esté donde esté. Si es necesario, puede integrarse con otros sistemas.

Cuando Aconex se configura correctamente y todo el mundo conoce los aspectos básicos, los trabajos se ejecutan de forma más rápida, sencilla y dentro del presupuesto.

¿Así que como funciona?

La clave del éxito en Aconex es capturar toda la información relevante, tanto al principio como a lo largo del proyecto. Lo hacemos con los tipos de correo y de documento.

El correo es para correspondencia, preguntas, respuestas, consejos y otros procesos. Y los documentos se utilizan para los planos y otros archivos que necesitan pasar por una serie de revisiones. 

Los tipos de correo y de documento le ayudan a configurar la información correcta. La elección del tipo configura los formularios para que recojan los datos adecuados en el momento oportuno.

Este sencillo esfuerzo ahorra tiempo a lo largo del camino, y activa el poder de la búsqueda, los flujos de trabajo, la presentación de informes y casi todos los demás procesos, desde el inicio hasta el final del proyecto.

En Aconex, su información se almacena de forma segura y se comparte de forma selectiva.
Accesible en cualquier dispositivo y en cualquier lugar, su información es solo suya. Para empezar, las organizaciones sólo pueden acceder a los datos que han creado o recibido. Y luego cada organización decide lo que comparte con los demás. Nadie tiene acceso automáticamente a todo lo que hay en el proyecto.

Además, Aconex mantiene un registro de todo, para que siempre pueda ver quién ha hecho qué, sin importar el tamaño del proyecto o las organizaciones involucradas.
Esta igualdad de condiciones crea confianza y responsabilidad compartida, lo que anima a todos a colaborar y estar en sintonía.

Y eso es sólo el principio. Una vez que conozca los aspectos básicos, Aconex será su ventanilla única para las revisiones y anotaciones de los documentos, las inspecciones de la obra, la gestión de incidentes y costos, los modelos BIM y mucho más.

En su camino con Aconex, la Central de Asistencia será su guía, cubriendo cada faceta de Aconex en detalle, con una mezcla de artículos con instrucciones y videos como éste.
Bienvenido a Aconex, es un placer colaborar con usted. 

So, what is a Project Admin and what do they do?

A Project Administrator, or Project Admin, works for the Aconex project-owning organization. They manage project-wide settings that affect everyone working on a project.

Project Admins ensure each organization on the project has all they need to keep the project running smoothly. This includes setting up the way users work with Mail and Documents throughout the project.

They also manage access to the project by deciding how users can be invited. When required, they can remove users and archive organizations that are no longer participating in the project.

While Project Admins have access to project settings, they don't have any extra access to project data. Each organization decides who can see its data, so no one sees more than they need.

Now you know what a Project Admin is and what they do.

Hemos iniciado sesión en Aconex y nos han invitado a un proyecto.

Lo primero que vemos es la página de Tareas. Es como su página de inicio en Aconex.

Aquí encontraremos las acciones pendientes, veremos en qué proyectos estamos y además tenemos accesos directos a tareas comunes.

Desde el panel de la izquierda, podemos acceder a información sobre otros proyectos a los que hemos sido invitados.

Para obtener una vista consolidada de las tareas de todos nuestros proyectos, podemos hacer clic aquí.

O podemos pasar rápidamente de uno a otro utilizando el menú desplegable de aquí, disponible en cualquier parte de Aconex.

Tenemos algunas tareas que requieren acción en el proyecto Five Star.

Antes de pasar a ellas, echemos un vistazo rápido a cómo movernos en Aconex.

Aquí arriba está el menú principal. Siempre está visible, lo que facilita desplazarnos. 
Cada menú ofrece accesos directos a las acciones más útiles, como buscar un plano o enviar una solicitud de información.

Cada uno de nosotros puede ver algo ligeramente diferente, dependiendo de la configuración del proyecto y de los permisos que tengamos asignados.

Si no disponemos de los permisos adecuados, podemos ponernos en contacto con un Org Admin. Los podemos encontrar aquí. 

Estos son los contactos principales para Aconex en nuestra organización, y gestionan nuestros permisos de usuario.

Si tenemos problemas, la ayuda en la aplicación siempre está a la mano.

Haga clic aquí para ver artículos, videos y guías, siempre relacionados con la pantalla en la que se encuentra.

Ahora que hemos echado un vistazo, volvamos a esas tareas que no se ejecutarán por arte de magia.

Primero está la bandeja de entrada del Correo.

Cualquier elemento de correo no leído, pendiente o vencido se muestra aquí. Tenemos algunos correos atrasados. Simplemente hacemos clic en el correo para ver más detalles.
De forma predeterminada, las diez tareas más antiguas se muestran en esta lista, pero podemos hacer clic en Ver todo y eso nos mostrará todas.

Volvamos a la página de tareas.

A continuación, están las transmisiones recibidas. Una transmisión es la forma de enviar documentos entre organizaciones.

Parece que nos han asignado algunos planos de taller para revisar.

Al igual que con el Correo, podemos hacer clic en el enlace para ver más detalles.
Y si miramos hacia abajo en la pantalla, también encontraremos elementos de acción para otras funcionalidades de Aconex, como Paquetes o Documentación de proveedores. Bien, ya hemos visto todo lo que hay que ver en la página de Tareas. Ya está todo listo.

¿Por qué no va y echa un vistazo usted mismo?

Today we'll look at the details of our project. This is the first thing we see in project settings.

At the top, we can set our project's logo. It appears in any mail sent on the project, and on the tasks page. Let's upload a logo by clicking the edit button and dropping in our image.

Next is the project name and code. We should never need to change these. 

The short name is used in places like the project list on the Task page and the project selector at the top of the screen. All users can see this, so if we need to change it, we'll let our users know in advance. 

We'll skip down to Access Level.

We can set the default access level for new users to normal or read only, we'll leave it as normal.
And here we can change the access level for a whole organization. As well as normal and read-only, we can choose archive.
Archive is handy when we have organizations no longer working on a project. They can still view their existing data, but they can't receive mail or update documents. They are hidden in the project directory, and can't be re-invited to the project, unless we change their access level back to Normal.

Finally, we'll check the Contacts section. This information is shown in the directory, so it’s a good idea to make sure the address and contact numbers are correct and up-to-date. 

Remember we should always communicate any project setting changes to the team –before we make them. This keeps our team informed to prevent any disruption or confusion.

Today we'll learn how to configure Project Roles. 

These help us set the types of information each organization on the project can create, such as Mail and Document types.

Because it's project-level, a subcontractor, for example, can have different roles for each project they're on, depending on what they need.

Assigned roles don’t restrict the type of information someone can view; just what they can create. 

From Setup, we click Project Settings. Then, select Mail and Documents Role Settings.

All organizations working on this project are listed here. And, here are the roles they've been assigned. 

Each project starts with an initial set of roles. However, as needs change, we can update the project roles and even add new ones. Let's add a new one now.

We click here to create a new role. First, give the role a meaningful name.

Let's create this one for the consulting organizations on this project.

The set as default option is something we’ll come back to in a moment.

The four tabs we need to configure are for Mail Types, Doc Types, Doc Statuses, and Review Status Sets – which relate to Workflows.

On the left we see the list of available mail types and on the right are the types selected for this role. Let’s select a couple of types.

'Notice to Proceed' and 'Instruction' are needed by consulting organizations. Just click and use the arrows to move them or double-click a type.

We need a 'Change Order', but it's not on the list. We click the Show All checkbox and filter to find it. Then we double-click to add it.

Now, let's do the same for Doc Types, <pause>, and then Doc Statuses. 

We should keep the available types as few as possible to help the consultants find the right ones quickly with few mistakes.

We won't configure Review Status Sets today but the process is the same. 

As a Project Admin, it's important to make sure organizations newly invited to our project are assigned to the correct role.

If we forget this, they may end up with access to the wrong Mail and Document types.

Let's set this one as default. 

Once we're done, click OK to save the role. 

We can see the newly added role here, and it's clearly marked as the default role.

Finally, we need to assign the role to the appropriate organizations on this project.

To assign the role, we tick the box for the organization under the relevant role. If we tick more than one role, they will get access to all the types from both roles.

That's how we add new roles, but how do we edit an existing one? It's easy. On this screen, we just click the role name.

We remove the Doc Status 'For Information', as it's no longer needed for this project, and click OK.

Congratulations, now you know how to create and edit Project roles. You won't need to do this often, so we suggest bookmarking this page to come back to, when you need a refresher.

Today we’ll learn how to configure Document Fields.

Document Fields help us capture information about our documents on the project. This helps us, and others easily find them later on.

The fields are set up when a project is first created, but we can make some changes as the project evolves.

From Setup, Project Settings, we click Documents and then Document Fields.

If we scroll down we see lots of fields and options. 

Let's look at these in more detail.

Starting on the left is the Label.

It's best to keep these easy to understand, so users know what to enter in each field.

To avoid confusion, we don't recommend changing a field label on an active project. But if we need to, we'd contact Oracle support.

Tick 'use field' to make a field available. Some fields such as the Document Number must be used on all projects.

If we need to, we can make a field Mandatory here.

Next, we see the Type and max length of each field. These can't be changed.

We used this information during the initial project setup, to choose which fields were needed on the project.

We have text fields, select lists, and more. 

The Discipline field is a single select list.

Select lists contain values that users choose from a dropdown list. 

Each value can be up to 50 characters in length.

Let's edit the list of disciplines. 

We'll add 'Structural', 

And give it a code, which is used for autonumbering.

Save the changes.

Now all users on the project can choose 'Structural' when they upload their documents.

Let's return to the fields list.

Editable Inline allows us to make changes to fields directly from the upload screen, so we don't have to go into setup each time to add more values.

We'll scan over the list and make any other changes needed, then click Save.

It's best practice to only add the document fields we know we'll use. This helps keep the list short and ensures we only capture the information we need.

Now you've got the basics of document fields, why not log in and check your project is set up for success?

Today we'll look at our project preferences in Aconex.

We’ll head over to the Setup menu, Preferences, and click the project tab. 

If a setting has a recommended default, checking the box in this column will use that.

The default setting should work for most projects, but if we want to make changes, we need to uncheck it.

Then, switch things on and off in the Settings column as needed.

Changes in this top section will apply to all users in our organization who are working on the project.

We’re from the organization that owns the project, so we can see project-wide settings. These apply to all users on the project, not just the project-owning organization.

Another Project Administrator may change settings here that can override ours, so it’s important we communicate any changes.

Let’s focus on the areas that are most relevant for a new Project Admin.

Under Security settings there are a few options:

Project-wide password strength lets us set the password requirements for all users on the project.

Project-wide password access rule controls expiry options for users on this project.

And, project-wide session time duration sets how long users’ web browsers can be idle before they’re automatically logged out of Aconex.

Further down, the project invitation method controls how users can be invited to our project.

The default and recommended setting is Open. This means that anyone on the project can invite anyone else to collaborate. Note that data ownership rules still apply, and each organization only sees information that was created by or shared with them.

Restricted automatically sets newly invited users as shadow users. A shadow user is hidden from the project directory and can only be made visible by a project admin. 

Explicit means that only Project Administrators from the projects owning organization can invite new users to the project. This comes with a bit of extra admin so is really only useful for sensitive projects, such as defense.

Under Documents, Project-wide auto numbering allows the project’s documents to be automatically assigned unique document numbers. 

Here, we can set the default columns that appear in search results.

If there's a commonly used upload profile on your project, this can help speed up uploads

And here we can set the arrangement of search filters for Documents <pause> and Drawings. 

Here in Mail, we can set values for the “Reason for issue” field. This is used when sending transmittals.

We can also choose how mail is numbered to ensure a consistent sequence across the project.

We should always keep the project roles locked. This ensures the mail and document types we've configured for each organization cannot be overridden. 

That's it. We can save our changes and our project preferences are all set.

Today we’ll learn how to manage access to our project.

Let’s start with how to add, or invite, users.

Go to Setup and select project settings.

Under project, select project participants.

Here's the list of users currently invited to this project.

To invite someone, click invite user and start typing their name.

Find the correct person from the correct organization, and select them from the drop-down.

We check the box to make sure they get an email invitation. This helps them know what to do next.

If we can't find the user we can try the advanced search. This gives us a few more search options.

We can search by organization name, first name, and more.

Once we've found who we're looking for, we have two user types to choose from. We can either add them as a full user or a shadow user.

Both user types have access to the project, but the shadow user cannot be seen by others in the project directory. This is useful for people who just need to view information without being involved in project processes.

Let’s add as Full User, and click OK.

As the Project Admin we can see some users are shadowed on our project. Click their eye icon to make them visible in the project directory. This helps others find them to collaborate.

Sometimes a user or organization will leave the project. We can select users and remove them here. At least one user needs to remain in each organization - we cannot remove them all, as they are entitled to view their historic data. 

If we want to remove an entire organization, we'll need to change it's access level. 

Under project, click project details, and scroll down to access levels.

Click Edit and select the organization we want to remove.

Set access level, to archive. 

This organization is no longer participating on the project. They can still view their existing data, but they can't receive mail or update documents. They are hidden in the project directory, and can't be re-invited to the project, unless we change their access level back to Normal.

Congratulations. Now you know how to manage access to your project.