SD Engineers, established twenty-four years ago as SD Structures, has witnessed steady growth since its inception. Beginning as a small structural firm, the company has evolved into a comprehensive multidisciplinary enterprise.
Recently rebranded as SD Engineers, the inclusion of the civil engineering team has expanded the company's capabilities. This transition aimed to enhance efficiency and equip the company for more comprehensive project undertakings.
We sat down with Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, Associate at SD Engineers, to hear how they’re using Causeway’s drainage design solution to drive efficiency and growth during this exciting time for the business.
The Solution
In the realm of design software, SD Engineers embarked on a thorough exploration of available options. Among these, one solution clearly stood out: Causeway Flow.
This choice wasn’t arbitrary; it resulted from a careful evaluation process that highlighted Causeway Flow’s exceptional qualities. Its rapid integration capabilities, user-friendly interface, and effective problem-solving abilities set it apart from the competition.
“We have a lot of historic projects that run on older software, and that software is completely compatible with Causeway Flow. It’s been brilliant to take those models and try and reinterpret them easily. But in all honesty, I found it’s easier just to start again because Causeway Flow is so fast, and you can quickly map out everything you already have.”
Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, an Associate at SD Engineers
This shift brought about notable changes in SD Engineers’ design approach.
The move from conceptual ideas to concrete designs became a streamlined process, leading to significant reductions in the organisation's design timelines.
Chris further emphasised the impact of Causeway Flow:
“When we moved over from the older software, we used to use a dongle licence. We changed over to the network cloud version of Causeway Flow, which was absolutely brilliant for us. It was about a third of the cost and gave us the ability to install the product anywhere we wanted.”
Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, an Associate at SD Engineers
The adoption of Causeway Flow wasn't just a technological shift; it underscored SD Engineers' dedication to efficiency, innovation, and adaptation to the evolving industry requirements. This transition continues to support the company’s ability to tackle complex projects and navigate the challenges of the ever-evolving engineering landscape.
“I feel like Causeway is really invested in what we do, they’re really supportive.”
Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, an Associate at SD Engineers
The Outcome
Chris and his team are thrilled with the results they are seeing from Causeway Flow and SmartTools. Commenting on the efficiency of the Causeway solutions:
“Going from a sketch scheme, as opposed to having to fully model something, that didn't exist before, so that's a saving of time. You're talking about doing something in 10 minutes as opposed to spending two days on a model to get it to a point. That's really powerful.”
Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, an Associate at SD Engineers
The adoption of Causeway Flow expanded their civil engineering capabilities, offering the team new opportunities.
Reflecting on SD Engineers' future relationship with Causeway:
“We want to expand and work on even bigger projects and much more cooler engineering. I really think Causeway Flow is going to be a big part of this, It's really going to help our projects grow and really push the limits on software and engineering and design some really cool stuff.”
Chris Croft, BEng (Hons) CEng MICE, an Associate at SD Engineers
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