Streamlined review cycles that unlocked £150m in savings.
Streamlined review cycles that unlocked £150m in savings. We transformed a tangle of disconnected spreadsheets into a unified digital workflow – cutting 7 weeks off the design review and assurance process and saving £150 million.
The context
In 2020, the team behind As it is was brought in to support SCS Railways – the joint venture delivering the London tunnels for HS2. As part of the world’s most ambitious infrastructure project, SCS needed to streamline its Design Review and Assurance process across dozens of stakeholders and suppliers.
The problem
Critical design reviews were managed through a tangle of 18 spreadsheets and 5 disconnected systems. Data was inconsistent, decision-making was slow, and review cycles were taking up to 19 weeks – delaying progress and escalating costs.
The solution
We worked closely with engineers, designers, and assurance leads to map the end-to-end process and develop a single digital workflow. This gave everyone a clear view of what needed to happen, when, and by whom – with full traceability from design to assurance to construction.
The outcome
The new process cut review times from 19 weeks to 12 and helped unlock £150m in projected programme savings. But more than that, it laid the foundations for Digital Flow – proving that when you bring structure, simplicity and clarity to complexity, better outcomes follow.