The ENGdoc journey started over a pint between friends, David Mullen and Tim King.
David, a qualified Mechanical Engineer and with over 20 years in building services, was working as mechanical lead on projects and Tim is an Environmental Engineer and Managing Director of King Environmental Services for almost 20 years. Tim had started his own Testing and Commissioning business some years previous and had been receiving enquiries about construction documentation and drawings.
After some research they identified a demand within the industry for high quality engineering documentation. Their founding ethos was to produce engineering documentation, for engineers and by engineers. Their service was different to traditional drawing and documentation services at the time in that it included site attendance by qualified engineers to walk down and redline construction drawings and CAD services to update these to accurate ‘as built’ drawings.
Starting business in the Innovation Centre at IT Sligo, the company achieved local recognition in 2008 as Sligo County Winner of the National Enterprise Awards. The following year, Engineering Documentation was selected as a winner of the Best Emerging New Business at the Small Firms Association Small Business Award in 2009.
During the years which followed and with the downturn particularly affecting the construction industry, the company started to explore new and more efficient solutions. Rather than laying off people, they invested their resources in R&D – particularly in the use of digital technology and the newly emerging process of Building Information Modelling (BIM), which at the time was starting to become a buzz word within the industry.
From an simple challenge of illustrating pipework runs in a plantroom with greater clarity, they dipped their toe into the 3D environment. This proof of concept opened the doors allowing them to provide a much improved service to both clients and end users in terms of accuracy and efficiency
From the initial design of a system to the co-ordination, construction and handover of a building, they have enabled their clients to realise a host of benefits from digital technology.
“The downturn forced us to think a little differently at how we were doing things, certainly in how we were efficiency-wise with regard to thinking smartly rather than just doing the job,” David recalled in conversation with Building Ireland.
“The main benefit of BIM that I would see is that you are looking at the job being built before you go to site and actually build it. To me the visualisation of it is key. You are seeing if routes will work and if strategies will work in a 3D virtual environment before you are ordering materials or having conflict on site!” he quipped.
“Even from the point of view of ordering materials, you can schedule out your lengths of pipe, ducting and fittings, bits and pieces like that. There are other advantages to be taken depending on how progressive the client is or wants to be .
“When we are asked ‘will you give us a hand with the BIM on the job?’, we are always looking to see what does the client want to get out of it? Do they want to save money and time on co-ordination? Do they want to make your ordering more efficient? Do you want to make the installation much more straightforward for the guys on site?
“Different clients will have different priorities but the majority will have an input into what they want to get from it that will be of benefit to them when the project is completed.”
To enhance their services further, Engineering Documentation invested in point cloud scanning – a concept which allows them to effectively bring the building site back to their office. Using 3D laser scanners, they can take millimeter accurate measurements from a site installation and replicate that in a virtual environment.
Depending on the installation to be surveyed, they can take a number of approaches to ensure a quick and accurate outcome. For larger sites they have invested in drone technology to allow them to gather point cloud data from the air.
“We have three different machines for it, an internal machine, an external machine and a drone depending on the type of area you want to capture or the purpose you want to capture it for,” explained David.
“That is probably the biggest element of our work at the moment. For example, we used it for a recent hospital project where there was a ceiling stripped out. We went down to the meeting and took a scan of it. We were then able to bring that site virtually back to the office which allowed us to co-ordinate the services off site.
“The other side of things you can use that for is capturing your build and validating your model and ensuring that what you are handing over accurately reflects what is handed over on site.”
With the growth of the business following the global recession, Engineering Documentation moved into new accommodation in Sligo town which would facilitate its growth.
To facilitate current and future expansion, the company developed a training centre which was certified as an Autodesk ATC (Authorised Training Centre) in 2016. This centre now facilitates both internal and external training in Autodesk drawing products including AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks and BIM360.
This progressive company has recently launched its Graduate Training Programme – an 8-week training plan where new employees blend learning in their Training Centre with practical experience to help bridge the gap between education and the requirements of industry.
The company is now focussed on the provision of practical BIM support to their clients. These services include Revit modelling, MEP co-ordination, point cloud and drone surveys as well as general drawing support and visualisation.
With modern technology, this work can be done efficiently from their office base in Sligo without the need to have employees permanently located on sites as would have been the case previously. This helps to promote a culture of learning within the company and gives younger employees access to the vast bank of experience within the office.
David and Tim consider themselves lucky over the years to have been able to attract skilled and forward-thinking staff and by giving their younger team members access to this knowledge base they hope it will greatly assist their future development.
As a company aiming to lead the way in digital innovation, Engineering Documentation recently achieved certification for ISO 19650:2018 for Building Information Modelling which they see as a major milestone for the company’s development within the industry.
‘This has been one of our biggest achievements in recent years – it ensures that our work is being carried out in line with very strict international standards to give peace of mind to all our clients as well as our client’s clients.
This new standard, in addition to their existing certifications for ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environmental) and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety) demonstrates a dedication to professionalism within the company which they strive to carry through in all their work.
As well as providing technical expertise, they pride themselves on their practical and customer focussed approach. Not every project follows a predictable pattern and they do their best to ensure their clients are looked after along each step of the way.
Over the years their work has taken them to the UK, mainland Europe, Scandinavia, the United Arab Emirates as well as all around Ireland. The company are very proud to say that the majority of their clients are the European industry leaders in the supply of large scale Data Centres for the world’s largest blue chip companies.
“The main project we are on at the moment is a Data Centre in Denmark – we are providing Spatial Co-Ordination and BIM Support to the electrical contractor. We are working on another Data Centre project ongoing in the UK and a combination of medical and large scale residential projects as well.”
David added: “The core of our business is repeat work. We probably have a small enough client base but they would use us for all of their work. That’s what we have worked hard on over the years – developing good relationships with our clients.
“In the early days our main competition was from overseas where jobs were being awarded purely on the basis of price. Although it was initially difficult to compete, our clients found that they couldn’t get the back-up service and support that the modern industry requires. Jobs are evolving and changing on a daily basis and our aim is to assist our clients to manage these changes in an efficient manner.”
“I would like to think that we are practical and flexible and obviously we pride ourselves on the quality of work that goes out of here, first and foremost. In this industry it doesn’t always follow that the job goes by the book, you need to be flexible and understanding and I would like to think that we have good strengths on that side of things.”
As they celebrate their 15-year anniversary Engineering Documentation Ltd looks forward to many more diverse and interesting projects in the years to come.
Engineering Documentation Ltd
1st Floor
Westward Town Centre
Bridge Street
Sligo
Phone: +353 71 9141564
Email: [email protected]
Dublin Office
Unit 7, Block 3
City North Business Campus
Stamullen
Co. Meath
Phone: +353 1 841 8955
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.engdoc.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October, Vol 7 No 10
