challenge
ClearTech Engineered Solutions is a specialist engineering contractor based in Dublin that designs and installs post tensioning for bridges, buildings, roads and other civil engineering projects. Post-tensioned structures require less concrete and reinforcement, which has a lower environmental impact than traditional or pre-stressed concrete. And as demand for these services increased, ClearTech had more RFQs than it could respond to.
solution
As a result, ClearTech began using Bluebeam® Revu® to increase the speed and accuracy of their project estimates. Revu became the digital hub for ClearTech’s practices, including estimating, design and reviews, QA/QC and document management. Revu helped ClearTech save thousands of euros by reducing the cost of paper printing for design comparisons and reviews. Additionally, using the overlay tools in Revu resulted in faster markup methods and reduced work hours per project.
“The other companies we work with also use Bluebeam. And we communicate using the same software so we have more concise and accurate feedback and reviews on drawings.”
Thiago Tamm
Structural engineer
ClearTech
Benefits
- ClearTech has won 50% more projects since implementing Revu
- The company has grown its client portfolio to include companies such as Salesforce, Facebook and Amazon
- ClearTech has also taken on international projects in Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, where it has opened an office to focus on growing its business in these regions.
CEO Feargal Cleary started ClearTech Engineered Solutions in Dublin, Ireland in 2010, in the depths of a major industry downturn.
Cleary knew that traditional operations and models in design and construction would soon give way to technology-driven, environmentally sustainable models that would require more agile operations. While big companies are laying off workers and cutting budgets to stabilize their businesses, Cleary aimed to build something smaller and more flexible: Ireland’s first post-tensioned concrete service.
Post-tensioning is the process of pouring concrete with steel cables in ducts, then tensioning the cables to compress the cured concrete. The resulting slab has the compressive strength of concrete and the tensile strength of steel. This combined solution results in the use of significantly less concrete to achieve greater structural strength than traditionally reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete.
“Sustainability is a big focus for ClearTech,” said Cleary. “So what we do is reduce the depth of the concrete, reduce the reinforcement, and that gives the customer a sustainable solution over the life of their building.”
ClearTech’s post-tensioning process has benefits for the environment and the company’s bottom line, not only by using less concrete, but in the form of tax incentives and rebates for reducing the building’s environmental impact.
With a decade of successfully delivering major projects, ClearTech remains a niche procurement business, with a small team of 20 full-time employees. The ClearTech team punches well above its weight attracting high-caliber clients, however, thanks to its lean approach, which was made possible when it put Bluebeam Revu at the heart of its digital operations.
Digitized estimate
In 2018, ClearTech’s project track record and strong reputation meant it was fielding more RFQs than ever before. Everyone was using PDF to publish design information, but there was no easy way to digitally quantify material measurements.
Also, the ClearTech team was still using A3 and A1 prints, often wasting half a day waiting for designs to come off the printers, only to spend hours marking and measuring drawings by hand. This time-intensive process was also error-prone, resulting in inaccurate estimates and rework. If ClearTech was going to respond quickly to RFQs, it had to speed up its estimating process.
The Powergreen Digital team presented ClearTech at Bluebeam Revu. PowerGreen trained the team to make digital estimates with Revu’s automatic measurements and exportable metadata.
The results were almost immediate: the printing budget was reduced by two-thirds, saving thousands of euros. And because the proposals were less stuck in the administration, there was more time to look at new projects or refine processes.
It wasn’t long after that that ClearTech started using Revu for other purposes. The team turned to digital document management, using Revu not just for layouts, but for all of their PDF documents. Now everything that happens in ClearTech before going to a job site is in Revu.
A ClearTech worker uses Bluebeam on a tablet at the workplace. ClearTech initially used Revu for estimating and bidding, but now uses it to establish key performance indicators for site workers.
Source: Bluebeam
Expanding the use of Revu
Revu’s overlay tool was quickly discovered and used consistently by ClearTech engineers in the design review process. Designs change quickly; keeping track of these changes and keeping all stakeholders aligned can be challenging because a single project can have hundreds of different designs. ClearTech engineers use overlay tools in Revu to compare plans and quickly spot design differences.
Leticia Siqueira, a structural engineer at ClearTech, uses the overlay tool to track change occurring on site and at the construction stage. “So when new revisions come in, I can easily see the difference and work on it right away,” Siqueira said.
“We want to be a leader in the industry and we are pushing people like Bluebeam to show that there is an opportunity for innovation in the industry here in Ireland.”
Cleary’s anger
CEO
ClearTech
“We used to print out both drawings, the newer one and the older version, and look at them,” added Thiago Tamm, another structural engineer at ClearTech. “It takes more than half a day to review these drawings to compare the changes. But with the overlay tool, you can now do it in less than 25 minutes and you’re done comparing.”
Using overlay tools, engineers can also share revisions almost instantly, creating a single source of trusted and up-to-date truth for all parties, increasing transparency between stakeholders. Communication between the office, job site and contractors is also faster, easier and more accurate. The benefit comes in the form of cost savings by minimizing delays and mitigating the risks of rework and injury as fewer hours are needed to complete a job.
“We have the cloud-based system so we can communicate with the guys on site,” Tamm said, referring to Bluebeam Studio. “We always make sure the newest drawings are there so they follow the current review.”
Siqueira added that Revu helps him keep track of “any changes that happen on the site and communicate more easily, also personally, with all our employees and other contractors.”
ClearTech also uses Revu to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for site engineers to track the time required for each task, as well as to enter this data into custom column sets in Revu. By analyzing this information, ClearTech can more accurately estimate the cost of labor, as well as the cost of concrete and steel in subsequent budgets. They even commission their engineers on-site to complete the work in less time, which has a measurable impact on the company’s bottom line.
The completion of each project adds data to the company’s business intelligence, so ClearTech can continuously refine and improve its operations and estimates and reduce waste in both materials and wages, all in line with the ‘larger focus of the company.
Cleary said that “by using custom columns … we can get an accurate understanding of what we use on site, what is used, what is needed and what we need to order. We use this insight in the office to create our orders to look at come in”.
As Revu is at the heart of ClearTech’s data operations, it is also used for the company’s quality control processes, partly for its own meticulous record-keeping, but also to meet an Irish legal requirement, Regulation of building control amendment (BCAR). The regulation requires tracking of materials used in construction and renovations, and is designed to increase transparency between builders, homeowners and residents.
“It’s important that, through the BCAR, we have an accurate understanding of every part of the systems that we’re putting into concrete,” Cleary said.
There is also the benefit of better communication with partners and customers. “The other companies we work with also use Bluebeam,” Tamm said. “And we communicate using the same software so we have more concise and accurate feedback and reviews on the drawings.”
ClearTech Structural Engineers Leticia Siqueira and Thiago Tamm review a paper on Revu. Siqueira said Revu allows ClearTech to communicate reviews and changes more efficiently in a workplace.
Source: Bluebeam
Reducing waste, saving money, expanding borders
Since ClearTech began using Revu for its estimates, it has reduced waste, improved record keeping and communication, and increased transparency among stakeholders.
Since adopting Revu, ClearTech has won an additional 50% of projects, thanks to its greatly improved estimating and communication process. The company has also completed work for clients such as Salesforce, Facebook and Amazon.
Still, the biggest difference might be cultural, as the entire ClearTech team has used technology to improve their performance, raising the company’s ambitions.
ClearTech has since taken its business international, completing projects in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where it recently opened an office to focus on growing its business in the region.
Growing your home business has certainly become a bigger priority as well.
“We want to be a leading light in the industry,” said Cleary, “and we are pushing people like Bluebeam to show that there is an opportunity for innovation in the industry here in Ireland.”
Workers install rebar at a ClearTech job site.
Source: Bluebeam
Today, ClearTech is faster, leaner and more successful than ever. It has become the company Cleary envisioned when he started it 10 years ago.
“What we’re seeing now is that we can think ahead and look ahead and there’s a consistency of projects that are coming forward now that we didn’t have before,” Cleary said. “And that’s what we’re seeing now that we’ve started using Bluebeam.”
