Digital Engineering Workflows Enhance Buildability, Quality and Sustainability

Morrisroe’s digital transformation is delivering measurable productivity gains across the business by digitising engineering workflows, automating data capture and improving real-time visibility across key areas of project delivery.

At 2 Finsbury Avenue, the technical complexity of the scheme prompted the engineering team to digitise almost 90% of site engineering and surveying operations. This created significant time savings and enabled the team to provide more effective support throughout delivery.

The project combined top-down basement construction with the progression of two slipformed concrete cores, requiring highly coordinated systems, processes and engineering controls. The team’s faster digital engineering approach supported this complex methodology and contributed to the wider programme efficiencies achieved.

The benefits were recognised by British Land’s Project Director, Charles Horne, who commented:

“The programme efficiency and construction benefits were significant… Morrisroe employed a top-down construction methodology where simultaneously the 25m deep basement was excavated as the East Tower rose over 160m at the same time. This saved over nine months on programme and involved very complex engineering and planning.”

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Digital coordination strengthening preconstruction buildability

Our digital workflows enhanced the preconstruction and planning processes already used to assess buildability before works began onsite. By applying model-based coordination earlier in the process, the team was able to test design intent, construction sequencing and temporary works requirements digitally, helping to resolve issues before they could affect physical delivery.

This improved the coordination of permanent and temporary works designs, supported more effective clash detection and enabled the team to interrogate consultant drawings and validate construction methodologies with greater confidence. The process was used to review key buildability interfaces, including slipform systems, falsework and formwork, crane integration, temporary works sequencing and permanent structural connections.

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Reality capture enabling right-first-time delivery

Achieving “right-first-time” delivery in construction means moving beyond reactive defect checking and embedding proactive digital quality assurance into day-to-day project controls. At 2 Finsbury Avenue, the team used reality capture and automated verification to create a live digital feedback loop between the design intent and the physical works on site.

This approach brought together multiple sources of quality assurance data, including:

• Leica RTC360 point-cloud scanning
• Cyclone 3DR processing     and analysis
• Reality Cloud Studio     visual records
• BricsCAD model-based coordination

By comparing the live “as constructed” condition with the design model, the team was able to identify and resolve issues earlier, giving engineers a critical window to act before minor deviations developed into costly remedial works.

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Digital quality assurance activities

The workflow supported a wide range of digital quality assurance activities, including as-built verification surveys, structural deviation analysis, tolerance inspections, progress validation scanning and topographical and volumetric analysis.

Key benefits included:

• Up to 70% faster deviation analysis reporting
• Verification accuracy within ±2–3mm
• A 40–60% reduction in drawing production time through digital survey automation
• Clearer digital records of what was built, how it was checked and how construction information was validated

Together, these improvements strengthened the project’s quality assurance process and helped support more consistent, right-first-time delivery.

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Octave Ovation Sustainability Award

Octave’s awards programme recognises customers who use data and intelligence to deliver measurable real-world impact. The awards celebrate organisations that improve performance, increase efficiency and simplify complexity across their operations.

Morrisroe received the Sustainability Award for embedding sustainability into operational delivery, reducing environmental impact and strengthening business resilience.

Through more accurate quantity forecasting, pour planning, material take-offs and volumetric analysis, the digital workflow supported stronger material control and reduced the risk of unnecessary waste and associated embodied carbon.

Reflecting on the award and the impact of these digital workflows, Morrisroe’s engineering lead, James Wibberley, commented:

“The future of sustainable construction will not be defined by new materials alone, but by smarter ways of planning, coordinating and delivering them. Through BricsCAD, we are showing how digital engineering can transform the delivery of complex structures—helping create a built environment that is smarter, safer and more sustainable.”