Case Study: Cloud-based Causeway Docs delivers significant document control benefits for Higgins Partnerships

With cross-supply chain collaboration and effective information management now a core requirement on construction projects, Higgins Partnerships knew that it needed a solution that would streamline the process.

Mark Wittmann said: “When I joined the business around four years ago, we did not have a shared platform for electronic document management. This meant that collaboration with third parties, such as for controlled comments and approval of documentation, was not possible.”

As well as issues with cross-supply chain collaboration, without a solution in place Higgins Partnerships also faced the challenge of sharing the most up-to-date project information efficiently with teams on site.

The contractor had been using an internal electronic system for sharing drawings and other documents; but, from the release of documents in the office, it could take several days for the drawings to be printed and distributed on site. This meant that sometimes updates to the drawings had been made by the time the information had been disseminated, which was something the business could no longer ignore.

In 2018, the Higgins Partnerships team engaged with Causeway about the possibility of creating a shared document environment, something that was in development at Causeway, in the form of Causeway Docs.

Causeway Docs is a cloud-based document storage platform designed specifically for construction businesses. It provides a robust and secure repository for storage, management and sharing of all project drawings and documents, delivering a fully collaborative environment for entire project teams.

Causeway Docs features built-in task automation and is PAS1192 and ISO19650 compliant.

The solution has a dynamic roadmap and is regularly updated with new releases.

Mark Wittmann added: “There has been extensive development of the Causeway Docs solution over the past four years. In collaboration with the Causeway team, we have worked to create and develop the processes, data structures and project templates that specifically meet the needs of our industry.”

Causeway Docs allows documents and drawings to be reviewed and approved on the platform, giving Higgins Partnerships a full audit trail to ensure transparency and clarity at all stages.

The cloud-based solution means that the latest versions of drawings and documents can be accessed from anywhere by everyone involved in the project, including those on site, which Mark Wittmann says has "helped to eliminate the possibility of errors due to outdated information and streamlined our collaboration."

Since the implementation of Causeway Docs, the Higgins Partnerships team has seen significant improvements in both document control and the availability of documentation.

Mark Wittmann said: “The Causeway Docs solution has been fully integrated within our supply chain for about 18 months now. It has worked very well and streamlined our processes significantly."

Higgins Partnerships now has more than 100,000 documents across more than 50 projects stored and managed on the solution.

Mark Wittmann added: “For Higgins Partnerships, Causeway Docs does exactly what we require. Each new release of the software has made the solution better and better, and today it delivers our business significant document control benefits. We are looking forward to working with Causeway on further development of the solution and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”