Sir Robert McAlpine
Commute less, communicate more
A video conferencing solution delivers significant costs savings and productivity gains
Founded in 1869, and still family owned, Sir Robert McAlpine is a leading UK construction company operating in the building, civil engineering and related maintenance markets. With a turnover of £1 billion, and a workforce approaching 1,500, the company’s main strength is its capability and expertise in managing a wide range of multi-discipline projects.
Geographically dispersed
Of necessity Sir Robert McAlpine operates from a large number of sites across the UK. The company has twelve permanent offices and as many as sixty project offices at any one time, all fully equipped with IT. In addition, Sir Robert McAlpine sources materials and fittings from subcontractors and suppliers all over the world, including Canada, Brazil and China.
Given the geographic spread of offices, and the regular communication needed when managing large projects, managers were spending a significant amount of time travelling. “For monthly meetings, which typically last an hour or two, staff would regularly spend five hours or more travelling,” says Brad Davies, IT Manager. “It was an enormous waste of time, not to mention costly. So we decided to pilot video conferencing at three sites – Central London, Bristol and Leicester.”
Long-standing supplier
In searching for a solution Brad spent time researching on the Internet. He also asked existing suppliers for their views, one of which was ISC. “ISC has been a long standing supplier to Sir Robert McAlpine,” says Brad. “They understand our business and often put forward new and innovative solutions for us to consider. At one of our regular review meetings the subject of the distance between offices came up and the ball started rolling from there.”
ISC suggested a visit to Sony, which Brad accepted. When he saw what they had to offer he knew it was just what Sir Robert McAlpine needed and asked ISC to put forward a proposal. “For due diligence I asked another well-known supplier to quote as well,” comments Brad. “But they were 30% more expensive, so ISC got the order.”
The proposed solution consists of three video conferencing CODECs and cameras, two stands and screens, and a floor mounted plasma screen for Yorkshire House in Central London. All the systems are both ISDN and IP enabled. Any site can have a one-to-one conference with any other, or multi conference links can be set up with Yorkshire House as the host. In addition, Yorkshire House has the ability to combine face-to-face video with data presentations, so documents or Microsoft Powerpoint presentations can be viewed.
Straightforward installation
Installation of the video conferencing solution was straightforward. Sir Robert McAlpine ordered the three ISDN lines that were needed for each site. By using ISDN, rather than ADSL, the bandwidth required is guaranteed. ISC installed and configured all the equipment at the three offices. “The installation was extremely efficient and quick,” comments Brad. “Yorkshire House took a little longer, due to the fact that ISC needed to drill through to the basement car park. But it still only took a day and, within three days we were up and running.”
Immediate benefits
From the first video conference the benefits of having the solution became clear. “The quality of the system is fantastic,” says Brad. “It’s just like being in the same meeting room. Also we had been using conference calls, but we really hadn’t appreciated the benefit of having face-to-face contact. Being able to see who you are talking to, and having the ability to exchange information, makes it much easier for people to get their point across. We’ve actually found that meetings are shorter. Plus staff at remote offices feel more involved, which is good for motivation and morale.”
Sir Robert McAlpine has also been surprised about how many of their suppliers and customers have video conferencing facilities. “We recently saved the time and cost of three people travelling to Canada,” enthuses Brad. “Tele-conferencing wouldn’t have been viable, because of the need to see the products that were being discussed. I am sure this use of the system will expand in the future.”
The financial gains have also been impressive. “The first installations paid for themselves in just three weeks,” explains Brad. “The price of buying, installing and running the solution is tiny when compared to the cost of managers’ time travelling, plus the expense of the travel itself. In addition, we’re increasing productivity.”
There is also another less obvious but very important benefit. “Every company’s carbon footprint is coming under scrutiny,” says Brad. “It’s a huge focus for us. For example, we’re already running a fleet of Toyota Prius hybrid fuel cars. Significantly reducing the need for travel will have a major positive impact on our carbon footprint.”
Extending the benefits
Since the original systems were installed, another eight offices have been brought onto the video conferencing network and more are planned. “It has become a standard part of the equipment that we routinely install at our project sites,” says Brad. “We’re also looking at desktop conferencing for our senior managers and directors. It’s so convenient, it improves communication and it’s highly cost-effective. I can’t think of a down-side.”
Solution summary
Challenge
- Staff were spending unacceptably long periods of time travelling between sites for meetings
Solution
- Sony Video Conferencing
- Sony Audio Visual
- Floor mounted plasma screen
- Installation & project management
- End user training
Results
- More effective communication
- Significant cost savings
- Staff productivity improvement
- Payback in three weeks
“ISC has been a long standing supplier to Sir Robert McAlpine. They understand our business and often put forward new and innovative solutions for us to consider. At one of our regular review meetings the subject of the distance between offices came up and the ball started rolling from there.”
Brad Davies, IT Manager, Sir Robert McAlpine
