AC Scotland boosts efficiency with Trimble ProjectSight

Advance Construction Scotland is a leading civil engineering and groundworks specialist, delivering expertise in earthworks, infrastructure, residential, public sector and renewables. As a rapidly expanding company, AC Scotland has partnered with Trimble to implement ProjectSight, replacing manual document management processes with a fully connected, AI-driven workflow that seamlessly unites their team and drives productivity.

AC Scotland manages an impressive volume of work, operating roughly 200 sites a year with an average of 250 drawings per site. This amounts to upwards of 50,000 drawings annually—even before factoring in constant revisions. Previously, their document management process was entirely manual. Drawings received via email were opened individually and details typed by hand into a basic Excel register.

Processing a single site could take a document controller anywhere from six to eight hours, and sometimes up to two full days. Beyond the sheer administrative time drain, this labour-intensive process left the door open for human error. Small typing mistakes or broken hyperlinks in the office easily translated into compounded problems on-site.

AC Scotland knew they needed a digital software system to handle their rapid growth. Their primary brief was straightforward: find a highly presentable, user-friendly system that could be tailored to suit their unique internal processes. While they had reviewed other robust tools like Trimble's Viewpoint, they realised that not every groundwork project required such a comprehensive system.

“Viewpoint is an amazing tool, and we continue to use it on key projects where the company is responsible for both the design and the build. But not all projects require that type of system.” - Darren Sommer, Engineering Manager at AC Scotland

When ProjectSight was presented, the AC Scotland team knew within ten minutes that they had found the right solution. ProjectSight offered the perfect balance of simplicity and capability. It provided an intuitive platform that could scale effortlessly, whether a project was worth £10,000 or £20 million, and whether it was managed by a single engineer or a massive field team.

AC Scotland streamline drawing management with AI-powered uploads.

One of the biggest hurdles in adopting new construction technology is the cost and time associated with onboarding. However, the process of taking ProjectSight into use has been remarkably easy for AC Scotland. Unlike cumbersome legacy products that require lengthy implementation periods, the clean interface of ProjectSight has allowed the team to get up and running almost immediately.

“The support's been great. It does help that everything's straightforward; there are clear sections to guide you and if you have a question, you can reach the service team straight away.” - Megan Gallagher, CAD Manager at AC Scotland

By leveraging Trimble's professional services and opting for initial face-to-face training, AC Scotland was able to ask questions directly and tailor the system to their specific daily operations. They initially trained five key personnel, who are now well equipped to roll the software out to 500 end-users. The highly intuitive nature of the software means that the learning curve is minimal, eliminating the typical fear of change that accompanies digital transformations.

“It’s incredibly intuitive and easy to use. This is really important as we have a diverse team of engineers - some who are digitally minded and others who are perhaps less so. Across the board, everyone was able to get on board with using ProjectSight within just a few minutes." - Darren Sommer, Engineering Manager at AC Scotland

Engineering teams are finding Trimble ProjectSight intuitive and easy to use.

Already, the impact of ProjectSight on AC Scotland’s day-to-day operations has been immediate. The most significant benefit is the drastic reduction in administrative time. Thanks to the software's AI capabilities, which automatically read and populate drawing title blocks, the time required to upload and distribute a 250-drawing site dropped from eight hours to under five minutes.

Additionally, the software’s PDF comparison tool stands to revolutionise revision tracking. Instead of spending hours manually inspecting two screens to spot differences, the software can overlay revisions and highlight changes in seconds.

“On restricted sites, where the use of a tablet or phone is prohibited, being able to access the ProjectSight App directly through the Trimble TSC710 controller allows site engineers to view drawings on the same equipment they use for setting out - quite a game changer!”  - Darren Sommer, Engineering Manager at AC Scotland

Out in the field, engineers now have reliable access to live drawings directly from their mobile phones, tablets, or even their Trimble TSC710 controllers. This eliminates the expense of printing thousands of paper drawings while ensuring everyone works from a single source of truth. Moving forward, AC Scotland plans to expand their use of ProjectSight by integrating quality checks, RFIs and the 360 Capture module, which will allow site teams to map 360-degree images directly to their project drawings.

ProjectSight App in use on the Trimble TSC710 controller.

By connecting their site teams directly to the office and establishing a sustainable, future-proof workflow, AC Scotland has eliminated outdated manual processes. The ease of adopting ProjectSight and the immediate return on investment proves that user-friendly technology is a necessity for driving profitability and supporting rapid business growth. Looking ahead, with a single source of truth accessible from any site, AC Scotland is well-equipped to deliver high-quality groundworks with unprecedented efficiency.

Ready to eliminate manual data entry and connect your site teams? Explore how Trimble ProjectSight can transform your construction workflows today.