A Construction Database.

• Author: POHL, JOHN
• Position: F.W. Dodge - Brief Article

F.W. Dodge Opens Anchorage Plans Room

The right information at the right time is critical for the success of any business venture, and construction is no exception. F.W. Dodge is a company determined to meet this need by offering the most complete and accurate construction information services available to the Alaska construction market.

Until recently, its data was exclusively available to Associated General Contractors/Alaska members. Their data is now available to any contractor desiring the member-only service.

The company provides electronic architectural plans and specifications on projects that are out for bids (the Web site is www.fwdodge.com). Full plan rooms are also available, with access to project details for Alaska construction projects on hard copy or microfilm with dodge/scan. The Anchorage office, at 300 West 36th Ave., also offers customers the convenience of a full service of timeframe reprographics capable of making standard and large format copies on site.

F. W. Dodge is part of the McGraw-Hill Companies Construction Information Group. First established in Boston in the late 1800s as a publisher and construction lead service, Dodge has grown tremendously. Today it seeks to monitor and report the status of all construction activity--from early design to the start of construction--in the 50 United States, Southeast Asia and Canada.

"We are an information consulting company," says Cliff Brewis, senior director of editorial operations. "We are not just a lead service. Our business has evolved as a function of the new (information) technology, which is impacting the publishing business tremendously. It has essentially changed us from a publication to a database."

In response to a customer's question, Dodge...