DSD Construction has adopted a trio of Causeway solutions in order to streamline construction processes to increase productivity and profitability within the business
DSD Construction has integrated Causeway Commercial Management (CPA), Causeway Estimating, and Causeway Tradex e-invoicing solution with its wider processes, to allow significant gains while ensuring minimal disruption.
The civil engineering contractor employs over 150 across its business and is a nationwide surfacing and civil engineering specialist that works on highway, rail, and nuclear facility projects, as well as multiple private sector developments.
Implementing digital technologies to transform business processes
DSD Construction had the aim to increase the profitability of its contracts with significant growth over the next three years.
However, it was important to find a way to achieve these targets without putting pressure on staff and resources. Therefore, efficiency improvements through the implementation of digital technologies were the best way to transform their business.
DSD has seen a significant change in their needs as they move from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1 contractor
Martin Tweddle, operations director at DSD Construction commented: “As a business, DSD has grown sustainably over the last 30 years.
“However, within the last decade, we have seen a significant change in our needs as well as our clients’ needs as we have predominantly moved from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1 Contractor. This is due to the award of many local authority frameworks within our surfacing and civils divisions as well as some significant awards within our nuclear division”.
To better understand DSD’s needs, Causeway arranged a series of ‘discovery workshops’ with key stakeholders within the company to understand its needs such as how the business operates, what the challenges were, and how Causeway solutions could provide improvements.
After research, Causeway determined DSD’s ‘step up’ resulted in the need for:
- Streamlined and standardised processes within estimating, buying, commercial and accounts departments
- Enhanced project accounting and reporting capabilities
- Greater visibility of cost and value
- Increased governance for budget management.
Before implementing Causeway, most of DSD’s estimating, project cost management and invoicing processes were carried out manually with spreadsheets.
The evaluation conducted following the discovery sessions revealed how time and resources could be saved by adopting specialist software solutions.
By demonstrating the cost of continuing with ‘business as usual’, Causeway was able to demonstrate that increased efficiency around the Cost Value Reconciliation (CVR) process could lead to an increase in their profitability by 10%.
The implementation of Causeway will save DSD both time and money
Martin added: “The award of frameworks and the continuity of works allows us to invest in industry leading systems such as Causeway Estimating, CPA and Tradex.
“With the right application we can save time and money, whilst applying best practice across the business which we hope will contribute to another 30 years of success for DSD Construction”.
“Causeway have been fantastic to deal with every step of the way and look forward to a great business relationship”.
Causeway Estimating solution
The Causeway Estimating solution is designed specifically for construction and helps contractors and subcontractors to manage the bidding and tendering process.
The solution allows estimators to quickly create accurate estimates and draw on information from previous projects, eliminating re-work and improving productivity.
Causeway Commercial Management (CPA)
Causeway Commercial Management (CPA) provides fully consolidated cost management, allowing the capture and allocation of all costs including labour, plant, material, and subcontractors for improved project cost visibility and decision making.
With Causeway Commercial Management, estimated costs can be compared directly to actual project costs in a single view to help eliminate cost overruns.
Intuitive data entry and central data storage eliminates task duplication, saves time and minimises the risk of errors. Causeway Commercial Management also includes access to Causeway Docs, the online document management system to provide centralised storage and easy access to all project related documentation.
The solution can provide a breakdown of cost and information in a structure that matches the contract requirements to efficiently capture and manage costs and give real-time visibility on value and profitability.
Causeway Tradex
The e-invoicing solution improves straight-through-processing rates by validating invoice information and auto-matching it to a purchase order and/or receipt note to make Accounts Payable teams more efficient and to ensure payment terms are achieved.
For DSD Construction, the ability for Tradex to fully integrate with its financial systems, including Sage 50, was an important consideration for minimising disruption to day-to-day operations during implementation. This integration also delivers improved data visibility to ensure informed decision making.
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