Amey Achieves Predictable Project Delivery at Brent Cross Using Gather
10+
hours per week saved on recording
2,000+
site records captured
30
different depots tracked simultaneously
About the project
Completed in 2022, the Brent Cross Project was a complex, multidisciplinary project that brought together rail engineering, electrical power system engineering, environmental engineering and telecommunications. Leading contractor Amey Rail chose to use Gather, formerly known as Raildiary, to capture, manage and analyse site records digitally across all disciplines and teams.
Highlights
Paperless site records reduced the amount of on-site paperwork.
Site and office teams stayed more connected via real-time information shared using the Gather app.
Rail Method of Measurement was followed throughout the project lifecycle using Gather.
Prior to adopting Gather, previously known as Raildiary, as its site record management system (RMS), Amey Rail's project team wrestled with multiple processes across various platforms, including Word, Excel and WhatsApp. The lack of a centralised system to record site progress resulted in a communication lag. The site data available for the project team to analyse was poor and unstructured.
The innovative team at Amey Rail decided to partner with Gather to solve this recurrent issue and introduce real-time insights and automated reporting to the Brent Cross project.
Construction Manager Mark Fowley expressed frustrations with the old method: "We used to update our team on our completed works via Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp groups. We had separate processes for monitoring resource and labour and two different forms that needed to be filled out. Gather has put everything in one place for us."
Since implementing Gather, the site team has reduced the amount of paperwork needed on site. They are now able to capture site data in one simple-to-use mobile application. As a result, time spent on administrative tasks is now significantly reduced and communication has been boosted between office and site staff, allowing the team to work together more effectively.
Hassle-free onboarding
Rolling out technology to site and office-based teams can be a lengthy and complicated process. Gather prides itself on being simple to use and quick to deploy. All project setup and training can be conducted online and through an interactive portal.
A speedy training cycle for field users means that they can roll out the Gather app quickly across multiple sites. The sooner project-wide adoption happens, the quicker the office team can start to receive consistent workflows and structured project data.
Knowing that site staff buy-in is critical to the app's success, Gather focuses on user experience. The site team at Brent Cross embraced this digital solution. They came to see previous paper-based processes as having slowed them down and distracted them from more valuable tasks.
"Implementation of Gather is really easy. We had lots of support from our account manager who walked us through how to get set up and use the platform," Fowley commended Gather's customer support. "The guys on site found the app really easy to use. You don't have to be an IT expert to get the hang of it. It's really simple."
Fast, paperless site records
Gather has effectively eliminated paper from Amey Rail’s site operations at Brent Cross. With this digital tool field users can now digitally sign task briefs, document shift events with photos and arrive on site with 64% of their shift record pre-populated.
Such digital efficiency has led to significant reductions in the amount of time spent recording project information. This has not only resulted in a better work-life balance for the Brent Cross team; it has also had positive environmental implications in reducing carbon on site.
Aligning standard methods of measurement
One of the biggest impacts of Gather on the Brent Cross project was its capability to align with the Rail Method of Measurement (RMM) in real time. Additionally, all site data was further aligned with the project's Bill of Quantities and Activity Schedule.
Structured, consistent, accurate data aligned with standard methods of measurement provided the commercial team an increased ability to drill down into project performance data and make effective and informed decisions.
There are benefits to having real-time, reliable insights on all site activities. This keeps projects on track. It also helps to promote communication between site and office and avoid disputes as everyone on the project has access to the single source of truth on site activities.
Furthermore, using Gather, the Brent Cross team was able to make fast, effective decisions and augment their decision-making for future project plans based on historic data captured on site.
In sum, implementing Gather has allowed the Amey team working on the Brent Cross project to drive productivity on site by providing them with granular data insights.