15x

Connecting site and office

Before adopting Gather, Circet had encountered communication issues between the site-based construction teams and the office-based management. This led to miscommunication, a lack of clarity on project progress, and, ultimately, inefficient project delivery.

Construction record management system (RMS) Gather was built by fellow quantity surveyors and civil engineers to bridge the gap between site and office. Its mobile-native smartphone and tablet portals allowed site supervisors to record planned versus actual progress anywhere, anytime, even from the deepest tunnels of London Underground.

As soon as the site supervisors returned to an environment with internet access, the Gather app automatically synced the latest project data onto the cloud. The office team could then review, analyse and extract the latest production metrics on their desktop portals. All standardised and digitally searchable.

This real-time visibility of project performance was key to solving the communication puzzle. All internal stakeholders, as well as the client TfL and the consultant partners at CPC Project Services, had access to an accountable single source of truth on project progress through Gather's Power BI dashboards. The time needed for information gathering, report writing and status updating was significantly reduced.

Besides removing the communication delays between functions and teams, Gather's guided workflow also ensured that all records captured were consistent, quality, and accurate. Site supervisors also regularly attached geotagged photos showing project progress. The rich, robust, auditable database on site activities gave project managers complete clarity on project progress from their desks.

The connectivity and trust built on real-time, accurate site data also yielded long-term benefits beyond the immediate 4LM cable installation project. It fostered a stronger partnership between Circet and CPC Project Services, leading to discussions about future projects and joint proposals for research and development initiatives

All in one place

Before switching to Gather, Circet did not have a centralised system, channel or format for site data. Instead, bits of information on project progress were scattered across various paper forms, stored at different locations, and over multiple platforms like WhatsApp groups, email threads, and SMS messages.

The introduction of Gather solved this fragmentation of insights once and for all. Circet could now plan, record and report all site activities on Gather. Once given the right access, all users had real-time access to rich, robust site insights. This streamlined workflow transformed the management of project overheads and improved performance of the on-site operatives.

In other words, having all project information in one place directly contributed to staying ahead of the baseline plan.

Gather also provided auxiliary functions of generating Cable-Card and Testing Assurance documents. This not only facilitated budget management throughout the project but also improved work-life balance for all team members.

"The amount of time we've saved using Gather on our 4LM project has exceeded our expectations. The time it takes to complete a shift record has been reduced to three minutes. At least 100 hours and counting have been saved on providing assurance documents."

Moadd Al Helliani, Construction Manager at KN Circet UK

Gather's simplicity and user-friendly interface ensured adoption by field users like Al Helliani, regardless of their affinity with new technology. As a result, papers were effectively eliminated from project sites, further enhancing efficiency, data accuracy and the carbon footprint of the project.

Reducing project costs by 11%

Gather RMS had reduced the overall project costs by 11% in just the first six months of its rollout. Circet's choice of site record solution has delivered the client TfL an impressive saving of £140,000 in the same period, giving a 15x return on investment.

The savings spanned different areas: contractor management and commercial management:

• £1,012 per week saved on contractor management
• £2,400 per week saved on commercial management
• 1,626 hours saved in total managing payments and contracts
• 100+ hours saved providing assurance documents

Circet's Senior Project Manager Nick Mansell illustrated these savings vividly: "No more endless forms to fill in. No more staying behind at the end of each night shift. No more constant clarification queries throughout the following morning. Gather saved us a tremendous amount of time."

In sum, Gather's capabilities in consistently capturing and analysing data and its user-friendly interface have allowed the project team to proactively manage the project, make data-driven decisions, and optimise resource allocation. These significant cost savings validate the effectiveness of Gather in enhancing project efficiency and driving financial benefits for the TfL 4LM Cable Installation project.