Pacegrade Ltd was established in 1977 as a small joinery business manufacturing doors, window, skirting, etc. for the domestic market. A change of direction came around the year 2000 when it was realised that a large market existed for ‘architectural façades’ based around timber products. Pacegrade now turns over about £5m per annum supplying into the commercial market working with principal contractors such as Beard, ISG and Morgan Sindall to provide products for the likes of Sky, Facebook and Persimmon.

Before

• Disconnected IT systems
• On-premise, not easily accessible
• An abundance of paperwork

After

• One solution for project management
• Automated tasks and reminders
• Improved efficiency and speed
• Full project audit trail

Challenge

Pacegrade has seen lots of growth in recent years, which meant internal, on-premise systems and processes were unable to keep up with the changing demands of a multimillion pound business. Much of the administration was carried out in Excel, Word, and other applications and there was a high dependence on physical paperwork to keep things in place.

Having a disconnect between the systems didn’t allow for quick and easy assessment of what actions were not completed, and where important contractual information was stored. As an overflow of this, control of quality, progress chasing and snagging on-site was a particular concern, and H&S documentation was cumbersome to source, organise, and store.

The limitations of on-premise were also being felt within the business. As most information was stored on Pacegrade's main server at the Head Office in Lye, getting on-site and external access to this information was difficult.

Solution

With the arrival of a new Production Manager in 2021, it was decided to invest in more suitable IT solutions to operational controls within the business, and also to move the manufacturing unit towards ISO9001 accreditation. It was therefore necessary to put in place more rigid and traceable systems and processes that could not be easily bypassed. A search took place for an ‘off the shelf’ system that could be adapted to suit the business needs without requiring re-programming. A major consideration for Pacegrade was that the system was hosted on the cloud, rather than being on-premise. Pacegrade looked at several different types of system, from MRP, ERP, and document control systems. However, many of these were on-premise.

After software demonstrations and careful consideration, the business directors opted for Field View. The ability to provide for remote working both on and off line was also a factor in the decision to purchase.

Uses for Field View

Pacegrade chose to set Field View up for project management. They began to file all external documentation against the individual projects set up on Field View, and generate nearly all internal documents and forms required to manage the supply chain from design to site handover from within Field View.

Field View allows them to define individual elements within each project by use of the drawing calibration system, and all related processes (e.g. H&S, QA, works orders, etc.) can be controlled against the individual elements, rather than grouping the whole project together. Pacegrade have created a plethora of forms, ranging from purchase requisitions to permits to work, and QA management to H&S documentation.

Field View being cloud-based means that all authorised users have guaranteed access to any of these forms at all times, even if they have to use a mobile phone in an emergency. This has aided information exchange dramatically. Pacegrade also appreciate the option to give clients and principal contractors access to parts of the system so that they can view and interrogate relevant information themselves.

Results

Since implementing Field View just over a year ago, Pacegrade have already seen a 10x ROI, due to time savings and productivity wins throughout the business. A major benefit that Pacegrade are seeing from Field View is that more operational management is taking place, leading to reduced costs. They can now carry out more administrative work in shorter timescales, and administrative processes that existed prior to the introduction of Field View are now carried out in a more efficient way – with a full audit trail.

Pacegrade can now set reminders for important project milestones, task completions and key dates to be circulated with the relevant forms automatically and completed in a timely manner.

Field View’s browser-based functionality means Pacegrade have found the speed in which they can access and recall information has vastly improved across the business. Pacegrade noted that they have seen a reduction in errors in nearly all areas across the business since adopting Field View.