The Construction PDF Coalition is ramping up efforts to spread the word about adopting the file format as a standard for construction projects.

The grassroots group, whose aim is to leverage digital information among design teams, constructors and every touchpoint group along the construction chain, is out with a new website to spread the word: CPCoalition.com.

"Though PDFs are the de facto format for digital construction documentation, national design standards haven’t yet been defined," the site explains. "This coalition aims to define standards to be implemented at project onset by the project team. Without standardization, professionals experience major inefficiencies as inconsistent construction plans require revisions, workarounds and recreation."

The group says the purpose of the Construction PDF Coalition is to establish guidelines that architects, engineers, constructors and wwners (AECO) can use to supplement a project team’s Project Execution Plan (PxP).

Nathan Wood of DPR Construction, a member of the coalition, says the group is encouraging construction professionals to take a look at the site, including a survey of existing guidelines that can provide feedback, which will be compiled and reviewed as the group gets to work on the next version of the guidelines. During a presentation at the recent BIMForum conference in Dallas, Wood noted that on many projects, BIM tools are often oversold. One main sticking point on BIM adoption and model coordination during the construction phase is that the coordination model has to be reliable, especially for field managers. That's one driver behind this effort to agree on PDF formats that help teams align with the relevant information about layout and construction.

Details on the guidelines can be viewed here.

Design coalition members include:

Allen Angle, BRG
Buddy Gessel, BN Design Studio
Adam Azofeifa, Holmes Culley
Dave Leptich, NBBJ
Dean Hendry, Devenney Group Architects
Kevin Reed, GGLO, Inc.
Nathan Woods, Taylor Design
Daniel Swaab, Mithun, Inc.


GC COALITION MEMBERS:
Eric Cleveland, Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
Nima Darabi, Hoffman Construction Company
Chad Dorgan, McCarthy Building Companies
Kyle Hughes, Skanska
Kris Lengieza, Stiles Construction
Andrew Marsters, BNBuilders
Terriann Nohilly, Turner Construction
Nick Pfenning, Mortenson
Kevin Sund, Hoffman Construction Company
Nathan Wood, DPR Construction