Depending on the GCs licensing contract with Constructware, there could be a cost involved - as far as getting a user license. If you only want to send information to consultants to keep them informed, they can be added in to the system as a "Contact".
There is a difference in Constructware between "Users" and "Contacts":
-Users are those individuals that are granted access into the site to look at information, send messages, etc.
-Contacts are people that are entered into the system that do not have accounts. Even without a User account, those contacts can still get the information. Constructware will send emails to those individuals, rather than the message that tells them to log in to the system.
Here's an example of what we do here (we're an Architect firm that provides this as a service for the Owner, Construction Managers and Contractors on our projects).
- At the beginning of the construction phase of the project, we ask all of our primes who needs a user account and who they would need to send data for informational purposes (accounting department, subcontractors, etc.). We don't grant any external users access to add to our "Infodex" so we do it for them. We then assign those "Contacts" in the "Assigned Companies" tab under the Project Team. This way, they don't show up in the directory but they can be accessed by choosing the "Assigned Companies" checkbox when selecting recipients.
- The subcontractors would be listed as Contacts in our system. This gives the Prime Contractors the ability to send their submittal information to their subcontractors through Constructware. This makes it easier for them to get the information out to the people that need it without having to "fudge it" by sending it to themselves outside of Constructware, using the Email option on the Send Wizard, and then forwarding through their Outlook.
Again, because they are not "Users", they get the data directly in their regular email accounts - meetings, RFIs, documents, etc..
I hope this all makes sense. You can also refer to the Help in Constructware on Users and Contacts if I have gotten too wordy 🙂