Speller Metcalfe - Design-Build and Refurbishment Projects
Trust is essential when you’re responsible for turning another’s dream into reality, and no one knows this better than major building contractor Speller Metcalfe. People have placed their trust in this national UK firm for over 20 years, and the diverse range of projects they’ve brought to fruition have repaid that trust tenfold. With over 200 employees to handle a diverse body of work that often ranges from £250,000 to £40 million, their expertise has garnered Speller Metcalfe a reliable name and revenues in excess of £130 million.
Past triumphs for the company include modern builds like the conference centre at the University of Warwick and the 8-lane, 25-meter competition pool at Perdiswell Leisure Centre in Worcester. They’ve also undertaken award-winning restoration projects like the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and the historic Master’s House in Ledbury, Herefordshire, which dates back to 1487. One of their latest projects include the multimillion Atkins headquarters based in Epsom, Surrey - their largest endeavor to date.
“You can get everything done in the palm of your hand with Fieldwire because it’s so mobile. We can easily capture data, filter it, tag it, and add notes all while on-site. We get a lot of value out of it. It probably saves us a good 5-10 hours a week.”
Updating Your Field Management
As Speller Metcalfe continued to take on new, more challenging construction jobs, they realised that they would need to simplify the day-to-day management of their work in order to stay ahead of their projects. Marc Woods, IT Support Technician at Speller Metcalfe, took charge of the search for a modern tool that could suit his firm’s needs as their reach kept expanding. He found exactly what they were looking for when he came across Fieldwire.
“We used to mainly rely on pen and paper, but back in 2014 we began looking for alternatives and tried out several tech applications,” says Woods. “Performance-wise, they really didn’t come close to what we eventually found in Fieldwire. Our on-site team related to Fieldwire so much better than the other programs, and that really sold us on the app. The ease of use of Fieldwire outweighs that of all the other apps we’ve come across.” 
The reliability and simplicity of the app made it easy for Speller Metcalfe’s workforce to adapt to the new technology. Their core use for Fieldwire is plan viewing and capturing on-site images to note field conditions and measure progress, although they also utilise the report generation and functions. Each feature makes it simple to record project advances and setbacks, so if site teams are performing regular field tasks like window installations, dilapidation surveys, or QA/QC, they can send their input to others in the most efficient way possible.
“When we go out to document site conditions or for a quality assurance inspection, Fieldwire really simplifies the whole process,” says Woods. “We’ll create tasks in the app and pass it over to the laborer, and if the issue is still open after a few days, then we go back and check any outstanding work and confirm the completed task looks good. It’s very helpful for snagging and locating items quickly right there on the plans.”
Workplace efficiency has improved considerably since adopting Fieldwire and being able to track every duty in real time, as well as keeping digital plans with them at all times. Now, if they need to attach RFIs to floor plans or capture photos or videos of key instances, all they have to do is pull out their phones. This intuitive performance has enabled the Speller Metcalfe team to learn quickly and grow accustomed to modern project management methods.
“We got used to using Fieldwire rather quickly. What makes our guys so pleased to use it is that it’s easy for them to document their work and share it. Fieldwire has mass approval from the team since it takes a lot of weight off of their shoulders, so they’re quite happy with it.”
Reaping the Rewards
Naturally, ease of use leads to progress being made much quicker, which then saves Speller Metcalfe time and resources that can be directed toward more useful pursuits. Fieldwire is streamlining the flow of Speller Metcalfe’s schedule to such a degree that the lines of communication between site managers and on-site operatives have been cleared of clutter, yielding positive results in the process.
“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s been helping our guys save a lot of time just on rework alone,” says Woods. “People don’t always have a pen and paper available, but their phones are always with them, so being able to pull up Fieldwire anytime ensures that they can always manage quality assurance while they’re going around the site. So it is saving us time and money because they’re actually getting out on-site more, rather than waiting for data to be brought back to the office.”
With more than 20 teammates using the app on revolving day and night shifts, saving any significant number of hours really makes a sizeable difference. Speller Metcalfe is able to capitalise on all of the advantages of Fieldwire without sacrificing time or energy on extraneous steps. This has a big impact for the team as they continue to take on larger construction projects, since the app seamlessly allows them to both focus on individual efforts and keep tabs on the overall status of the job.
“The old process involved a project manager having to go around the site to take photos, upload them to a laptop, write up a report, send it to the team, and just go through a lot of back and forth to get things done,” says Woods. “You can get everything done in the palm of your hand with Fieldwire because it’s so mobile. We can easily capture data, filter it, tag it, and add notes all while on-site. We get a lot of value out of it. It probably saves us a good 5-10 hours a week.”
Built on Trust
Speller Metcalfe continues to steadily develop more high quality installations, and their road will continue to get smoother with Fieldwire in tow. As an innovative and forward-thinking company, that dedication to working at the forefront of construction earns them not only well-deserved prestige, but trust as well. And trust is at the core of every commitment they make, for it’s that same level of trust that has brought the Speller Metcalfe team together with Fieldwire. By relying on the construction management app to organise their work, they can funnel even more enthusiasm into the needs of their clients.
“I would definitely recommend Fieldwire, without a doubt. From a user point of view, the amount of time it saves you surpasses any of our older methods from the past. Our on-site associates and even some of our clients are asking to get on board with Fieldwire after seeing us demonstrate it. It’s a great product.”
