What is ProjectWise?

Per Bentley Systems website; "ProjectWise is the only project collaboration and AECO information management software developed explicitly for the design and construction of architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO) of infrastructure projects." ProjectWise is utilized by 25 of the 50 State Department of Transportations.

ProjectWise (PW) is designed to house and organize all project related documents, including but not limited to MicroStation design files, Geopak files, all Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDFs, text files, images, etc. Users can store any document type within ProjectWise and configure ProjectWise to launch a specific application for each document type.

SCDOT is currently using ProjectWise to manage electronic submission and retrieval of proposals, templates and project documents from Engineering Firms. SCDOT's future goal is to fully utilize ProjectWise to store and backup project documents, share data across project teams to include primary consultants no matter where they are located, and provide SCDOT project managers with additional tools to manage their engineering projects.

How is ProjectWise Beneficial to Users?

ProjectWise is collaboration software, therefore users have access to working project documents based on their security privileges, even if they are off-site. Users will no longer have to extensively search for documents or be concerned with the document being the most current version. ProjectWise has a robust search engine which allows users to search by document attributes or key words within a file using the full-text search capability.

Users will no longer have to be concerned with unauthorized access to their documents. ProjectWise is configured to only allow individuals who have the appropriate security privileges to access documents.

Also, ProjectWise has an in-depth audit trail that tracks all activity within the system; to include logging in/out of the system, checking document in/out, exporting/importing documents, viewing documents, copying/deleting/modifying documents, and allows for customized audit reports.

SCDOT looks forward to using the ProjectWise system to connect SCDOT employees, engineering firms and transportation project information. ProjectWise technology will improve the quality of work, save all parties time, help ensure project deadlines are met, and will reduce project cost.

Setup a SCDOT ProjectWise Account for Electronic Document Submission

In order to access and upload documents into the SCDOT ProjectWise system, an account is needed. A ProjectWise account is how individuals are identified in ProjectWise in order to track document submissions.

To request access to the SCDOT ProjectWise system, the Engineering Firm must fill out the ProjectWise Account Request Form for each individual requesting access to the system.

By obtaining a ProjectWise account an individual is able to submit documents to SCDOT on his or her firm's behalf. Engineering Firms should consider carefully who they select for creating an individual account to gain access into the SCDOT ProjectWise system. Firms are required to notify SCDOT using the ProjectWise Account Request Form to remove individual's accounts from the ProjectWise system when they leave their company. The individual's account will then be disabled and removed from the firm's work group. For installation instructions, uploading and retrieval procedures, please refer to the Electronic Submission and Retrieval Guide.

Electronic Proposal Submission Account Requirements

  1. All new accounts requested must be received 72 business hours prior to the proposal deadline indicated in the solicitation.
  2. ProjectWise can be used via a web client. For installation instructions and uploading procedures, please refer to the Electronic Submission and Retrieval Guide.
    1. ProjectWise Web client is an internet based client that requires the use of Internet Explorer 7 or 8. It also requires the installation of an Active X control for file transfers, and setting SCDOT's ProjectWise website as a trusted site. This Active X control will likely require computer administrator privileges.
  3. Engineering Firms are encouraged to upload a document into their company folder under the project called "Test" the first time they access the SCDOT ProjectWise system to ensure the system is working properly on their computer.
  4. Engineering Firms are strongly encouraged to upload proposals at least 48 business hours before the proposal deadline indicated in the solicitation.