home / news

August 2009

PRESS RELEASE Scott Wilson Deploys Business Collaborator to Support Information Exchange on Crossrail Project

Online project extranet international roll out complete across 20 project teams

Business Collaborator Ltd (BC), part of Unit 4 Agresso and a pioneer in collaboration software, today announced that Scott Wilson Group Plc, the global design and engineering consultancy has implemented its core software on the firm's Crossrail 'on network' design project. The system has also been rolled out internationally across 20 of Scott Wilson's project teams to improve efficiency, the ability to execute projects successfully and to support growth.

The first Scott Wilson client to benefit from the new system was Network Rail on the design of the 'On Network' sections of its Crossrail project; the largest infrastructure project in Europe with a total spend of £15.9bn. Crossrail is the new railway for London and the South-East delivering a world-class, affordable railway across the capital from 2017.

Following the formation of a Project Technology Group and the appointment of Mark Bew to Director of Business Information Systems (and Chairman of Building Smart), Scott Wilson has set about driving new information technology initiatives to improve business performance and drive long term growth for the group which has doubled in size over recent years.

"Business Collaborator is central to the long term success of our business," comments Mark Bew. "For Crossrail, for example, we were able to quickly set up a project environment using BC's technology and provide access to all companies involved in the supply chain such as BDP, Bennetts, EC Harris and Network Rail itself. We have 1,000 active users and have written processes and procedures, which take account of the BS1192 code of practice.," he continued.

The group is also progressively adopting Business Information Modelling (BIM) technologies and BS1192 processes and procedures using the BC system as a common data and project collaboration environment.

"A key requirement is that information only occurs in the system once to avoid duplication. We therefore created procedures in the BC system which manage the transfer of information and data ownership. For the production and distribution of drawings, BS1192 numbering conventions are followed before being uploaded to the BC system for information, review or sign off. To enable the collaborative process, each separate project team uploads to the BC system when design information is ready to be coordinated with the wider design team," said Adrian Burgess, Project Technology Manager at Scott Wilson.

"We aim to take Scott Wilson from a 2D computer-aided world to an environment where all team members can work off the same virtual, information-rich building model throughout the project lifecycle. Instead of linear communications and separate islands of information, the deployment of Business Collaborator and adherence to BS1192 procedures will ensure that we can take a mature, standardised and responsible approach to the control, co-ordination and exchange of design information," he concluded.

"We're delighted that Scott Wilson has joined the likes of Atkins, Halcrow and Mouchel as an Enterprise customer of BC. We have no doubt that they will both continue to push the boundaries of BC in order to deliver the best solution possible for the business," commented Sanjeev Shah, Founder and Managing Director at Business Collaborator Ltd.

Notes to Editors:
BS1192 is a code of practice for the collaborative production of architectural, engineering and construction information in order to get people to work together earlier, provide processes to enable effective collaboration and guidance on the application of suitable tools to support this collaboration. This was the output of the five-year government funded Avanti Programme established in 2002 to formulate an approach to collaborative working in order to enable supply chains to work together effectively.

Business Collaborator has been designed specifically for the construction environment and is being used by over 100,000 construction professionals globally. It provides a centrally accessible project repository with visibility of the latest document and drawing revisions, backed up by a full audit trail of activity. The software is hosted by BC and is provided as a service via the Internet. This ensures that the system is reliable, performs well at all times and that data is protected and accessible.

About Business Collaborator
Founded in 1994 Business Collaborator is a pioneer in collaboration software originally delivering successful collaboration solutions to the construction industry. It now has customers across all sectors, from architects and consultants through to developers, fit-out and facilities management, and delivers value to both small and large projects. Business Collaborator is a member of the NCCTP (Network of Construction Collaboration Technology Providers), developing standards and promoting collaboration throughout the construction industry. BC is also participating in the 3-year pan-European ECOSPACE project, which aims to ensure that by 2012 every e-Professional in Europe will be empowered for real-time dynamic collaboration.

About Unit 4 Agresso
Unit 4 Agresso NV, NV, is headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on both the Dutch and Norwegian stock exchanges. The Unit 4 Agresso group is an international developer of integrated business information and management systems providing secure e-business solutions to its customers. It develops, sells, implements and supports business software for the management and optimisation of business operations and has around 3500 staff in 19 countries supporting 5200 customers. It generated 2007 sales of €321 million, is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands and publicly traded on Euronext Amsterdam (Symbol: U4AGR).

About Scott Wilson Group Plc
Scott Wilson Group plc, is a global integrated design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments. With its headquarters in the UK, the Group has a worldwide network of 80 offices and approximately 6,000 employees. Scott Wilson offers Strategic Consultancy and multi-disciplinary professional services in the Railways, Buildings & Infrastructure, Environment & Natural Resources and Roads Sectors.

The key Regions are the UK, Asia Pacific, Europe, India and the Middle East, with regional centres in London, Hong Kong, Warsaw, New Delhi and Bahrain.

Current high profile contracts include Manchester Waste PFI, Brent Civic, Crossrail, A46 design, Asia World-Expo Centre, Nam Theun 2, Erbil International Airport, Florida I-595 Corridor Improvements, Colombo Port Expansion, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Diyar Al Muharraq and the S69 Expressway.

For more information, please contact:
Hilary Goodband
Interim Group PR Manager - Agresso and CODA
Tel: 01423 537977
Email:hilary.goodband@coda.com

Lak Siriwardene
Head of Corporate Communications
Scott Wilson Group plc Tel: 0207 798 5262
Email:pressoffice@scottwilson.com

Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, contact Stuart Hall-Cooper at pressoffice@groupbc.com.