Precision Surveying Solutions (PSS Group) are based in Perth, Western Australia, a region that’s experienced its fair share of economic turbulence. In recent years the mining industry pulled into the slow lane, which had a follow on effect for businesses in the region. Everyone tightened their belts and competition increased.

PSS managing director Anton Oud took a long hard look at his business’ existing processes and found room to streamline their workflow and save dollars. He did just that, and then some.

Precision Surveying Solutions (PSS) carry out surveying services for multi-story high rise apartments, shopping centres and commercial developments in the Perth metropolitan area.

“We do conventional surveying using leading technology.”
- Anton Oud, Precision Surveying Solutions.

In order to upgrade their processes PSS had already begun using simPRO Enterprise to manage projects, forming the backbone of their digital workflow. When it came time to digitise their estimating workflow, PSS needed an app that readily integrates with simPRO . By browsing the list of simPRO add-ons, that’s exactly what Anton found.

The Old Days

Often it’s not until the market forces your hand that you realise the opportunity for change.

Previously, like many, PSS had used a combination of spreadsheets and paper which was once considered standard practise.

“It used to be a very manual process to track the progress of a job.”
- Anton Oud, PSS.

We all know how long it can take for paperwork to make its way back to the office, providing it doesn’t get lost along the way. Not to mention - what is it with some people’s handwriting?! It can be like reading a script from your doctor.

Sign-up, Plug Into simPRO and We’re Under Way

After trialling several competitors, Anton signed up for Groundplan’s 14-day trial and he was quickly impressed by its ease-of-use.

“It was just so much simpler to use than the others.”
- Anton Oud, PSS.

Then there’s the integration with simPRO. Given simPRO’s integral role in a business such as PSS, the integration with simPRO makes it a no-brainer.

“The process for pushing an estimate from Groundplan into simPRO to create a quote is extremely straightforward.”
- Anton Oud, PSS.

The New Process Equates to Huge Savings

By utilising cloud-app technologies such as Groundplan for estimating, simPRO to manage the projects and Google Drive to store and share files, and by fully utilising all the associated benefits such as working remotely, Anton estimates he’s saving his company hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

“The changes we’ve made are saving us around $500,000 per year."
- Anton Oud, PSS.

Now that the initial configuration and setup is in place, Anton is no longer required to carry out the work himself. For instance, the estimating process is taken care of by an estimator who works remotely.

The prices are all set up in Groundplan based on ‘points’. Each point has an associated cost based on parts and labour (an amount of time). Once the points have been plotted in Groundplan, it gets pushed through to simPRO to calculate the quote.

“Now that the client sees exactly what they’re getting, it adds so much value.”
- Anton Oud, PSS.

It goes to show: give someone the right tools and a clearly defined process, and you’ll be freed up to continue building the business in no time. 

The Advantages Are Endless

PSS have found that the list of advantages to the new processes are endless. If you’re counting points on a plan and you lose count, you have to start again. When the plan is on a screen, you can tap away to your heart’s content. If you make a mistake on the plan there’s no reprinting required, just hit the delete key.

The clients love it. The output is clear and concise. There’s a legend explaining what each markup is and it’s digital so hasn’t been through a scanner.

If you haven’t already realised the enormous savings and conveniences you can achieve using cloud applications such as Groundplan, either get in touch or start your free 14-day trial today.