Messer Widens Business Activity and Scope With Simple Access and Security Features From ShareFile

"We’re embracing the digital movement, and ShareFile is a good conduit for that."

Brant Fischer

Project Solutions Manager

Business Challenges

• Billion-dollar firm faced many possible outside FTP breaches of confidential data.
• Lack of versioning control of BIM files caused complications and communication issues.
• Making revisions to documents inside and outside the company took too much time.

Business Results

• Granular control from ShareFile lets Messer manage access over multiple files.
• ShareFile Sync gives changes in real time that speed up work in the field and office.
• Ease of implementing ShareFile allows for quick adaptation by new employees.

Since Messer Construction Co. implemented ShareFile in 2012, its revenues and service area have bloomed. It ranks 68th on ENR’s top contractors for 2014 and looks to improve in 2015. “We just eclipsed $1 billion last year,” says Brant Fischer, project solutions manager for Messer.

Averaging 30 ongoing projects in development, Messer needed security and consistency for its large files. Fischer says ShareFile thoroughly met Messer’s requirements, aiding the company’s growth with the deep granular control it allows users to access folders. “That’s what really sold us,” Fischer says.

Another advantage is instant collaboration. According to Fischer, 80 percent of Messer’s projects involve BIM, mostly for the mechanical coordination process. Each subcontractor redesigns buildings at the fabrication level, and conflicts among clashing elements must be resolved. ShareFile lets all participants easily communicate and understand what is being changed simultaneously.

ShareFile’s syncing enhances job site communication. “We have field kiosks, which contain a computer and flatscreen TV mounted in a safe enclosure, and with Sync, we can make changes in our office, get them on ShareFile and they’re downloaded on the kiosk in the field,” says Fischer. “This keeps everyone up-to-date with the latest information and statuses of projects, no matter their location.”

ShareFile lets employees download large files overnight to go live for presentations the following morning at any location — an efficient process for the booming company.

Messer also likes how easy it is to train new employees on how to use ShareFile. “It’s intuitive — you can use it in two minutes,” Fischer says. As Messer uses ShareFile in pre-construction, sales training and most other divisions, the convenience of learning it quickly further contributes to the company’s success.

See how ShareFile helps construction firms manage large blueprint and CAD files.