Data Select's Construction Inspection Software Pilot Successful.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--

Electronic Inspection Module cuts reporting time

by more than 50 percent

Data Select Systems Inc. announced today the successful completion of the pilot period for its Electronic Inspection Module (EIM), a Windows-based solution for on-site construction project inspections. The pilot was conducted by C.E. Williams & Associates, a Santa Barbara-based construction management and disbursement control company that monitors construction projects totaling more than $250 million, primarily in California and Nevada.

Data Select, located in Westlake Village, Calif., is the nation's leading construction lending software provider. EIM complements Data Select's construction loan automation solution, CLCS III.

Saving Time in the Field

EIM automates the construction site inspection process, enabling field inspectors to report the status of a large number of budget line items by project using their notebook PCs. Inspection status can be accompanied with digital photos for automated transmission to the CLCS III database at the lender's construction loan administration department.

"The Electronic Inspection Module is a productivity tool that automates the inspection engineer's reporting process and eliminates the need for duplicate data entry," said Phil Freeman, president and chief executive officer of Data Select.

The system significantly reduces reporting time, helping builders receive loan disbursements much more rapidly than the old manual system, which involved faxing forms and manual data entry, noted Carl Williams, founder and chief executive officer of C.E. Williams & Associates.

"We can instantly download to the lender and complete a report within a couple of hours if necessary," Williams said. "Before we used EIM, it would take us two to three days to get a full report to the bank. We've reduced our reporting time by well over 50 percent. EIM also saves us money that we'd normally spend for our home-office staff to produce the inspection report."

How EIM Works

Before the inspector goes into the field, CLCS III generates a list of sites scheduled for inspection and the corresponding line items that must be completed during each visit. This loan file information is downloaded to the inspector's notebook. At the site, the inspector uses the notebook EIM to compile all of the necessary site information, such as the percent completed as well as any comments related to the project. Once all of the information has been entered into EIM, the inspector then e-mails via the Internet or dials into the CLCS III system and the site inspection information is automatically uploaded to the database. In addition, on-line inspection histories can be generated from the EIM on the inspector's notebook or the CLCS III system at the lender's office.

"All parties benefit from the EIM," Freeman said. "The builder is paid faster, the engineer can inspect more projects, and the lender can more closely monitor the collateral."

Williams has been using EIM for a year on eight construction projects, including a shopping center, a hotel and a group of 31 single-family dwellings.

"EIM could individually track all 171 rooms of the hotel I'm monitoring if I wanted it to," Williams said. "Its capacity is tremendous. I haven't seen another system like it."

Williams estimates that his company has seen a 20 percent increase in the volume of inspections it can handle during the pilot phase. He believes that eventually the company will be able to double its inspection load.

"Our inspectors are awed by the system and appreciate the time savings," Williams noted. "This puts us head and shoulders above our competitors. When I walk on the job site with my notebook and my printer, the inspection can be completed and in everyone's hands, from the architect to the lender, before I leave the job site."

EIM requires a Pentium notebook and runs in a Windows '95(r) or Windows NT(r) environment. Users must have Microsoft Access(r) and a communications software package on the notebook. The module can connect to the CLCS III database located on a PC/LAN or mainframe.

About Data Select Systems Inc.

Founded in 1982 by Philip C. Freeman, Data Select Systems Inc. provides the only totally integrated solution for commercial real estate loan operations within the global banking industry. The company's flagship product, CLCS III, offers construction and mortgage servicing modules, with interfaces to commercial loan accounting, general ledger, ACH, DDA, CIF, loan origination and wire transfer systems. Data Select licenses its system to commercial banks, thrifts, mortgage banking companies, credit corporations, pension fund administrators and government agencies.

The company has 230 installations, including 27 of the top 100 U.S. banks, 19 of the top 100 U.S. thrifts and 12 of the top 100 banks in the world. The CLCS system services an estimated $170 billion in U.S. construction loans, representing about 20 percent of the U.S. industry's total. Data Select has strategic partnerships with IBM Global Services, The International Union for Housing Finance, and ORDEN S.A., for global expansion.

About C.E. Williams & Associates

C.E. Williams & Associates is a licensed and bonded Santa Barbara-based construction management and disbursement control company founded in 1991 by Carl E. Williams. The company monitors construction projects in California, Nevada, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. C.E. Williams & Associates offers a wide range of services, including review of construction plans and specifications, project cost estimations, property/site inspections, management and tracking of non-performing projects, disbursement/fund control for lenders and developers, appraisal review and valuation, property inspections for loan purchases and sales, and construction loan portfolio management reporting. For more information on C.E. Williams & Associates, call Carl Williams at 805-682-9470.