Benchmark stands the test of time at Gleeson Civil

Gleeson Civil Engineering is an independent civil engineering company undertaking general civil construction of bulk earthworks, pavements, drainage and concrete structures.  The company has wide ranging experience in both large and small civil, mining, rail, marine and airport infrastructure projects.

A user of Benchmark Estimating Software for over 14 years, we talked to Managing Director Tim Gleeson about the benefits over spreadsheets of Benchmark Estimating Software, and how the regular software updates continue to benefit their business.

Profile of Gleeson Civil Engineering

• Web site: gleesoncivil.com.au
• Industry: Civil and Mining
• Location: Newcastle, NSW, Australia
• Year Established: 1993
• Number of Employees: 20

14 years without spreadsheets & never looking back

Gleeson Civil Engineering is widely regarded in the civil and mining industries for doing a quality job with integrity and absolute professionalism.  Celebrating 20 years as a company this year, Gleeson Civil purchased Benchmark Estimating Software 14 years ago and have never looked back.

Prior to using Benchmark, Gleeson Civil used spreadsheets for estimating.  Managing Director Tim Gleeson explains why he would never go back to this method… “Spreadsheets are just so easy to make errors in no matter how clever you are or how hard you try. You can end up spending more time checking formula than actually estimating.” says Tim.

Benchmark’s Libraries of Items and Routines offer further benefits for Gleeson Civil over spreadsheets.  “I use the Libraries in Benchmark all the time for my common tasks. I can add an Item from the Library or run a Routine and then easily adjust a production rate or other variable to tailor the task to the site conditions.  I couldn’t do this in a spreadsheet in the time it takes me in Benchmark!  I also have more confidence in each estimate, and in the consistency of the estimates done within my company, as they follow a standard and robust process.”

The software continues to evolve and improve Gleeson’s estimating capacity

Benchmark Estimating Software offers customers regular updates and technical support as part of an annual maintenance and support service.

One of the most powerful new features added to the software in recent years is the “Composite Items” feature which Gleeson Civil are using with great success.  As Tim explains “In the civil contracting game a huge challenge for estimators is pricing the different bills of quantities in varying formats that we get from clients.  We need to be able to price these quickly and with confidence.  The Composite Items feature in Benchmark solves this headache for me and my team.  With this feature we can easily and quickly adapt to the different ways our clients break down their bills with accuracy, transparency and flexibility.”

Another new feature used by Gleeson Civil regularly is “MY BENCHMARK”. This feature allows Tim to see a snapshot of his company’s performance, access his recent projects easier and customise his user experience. “It’s good to see Benchmark making these types of new developments.”

RAAF Base Williamtown project undertaken by Gleeson Civil

Running more profitable projects

Handing over the appropriate estimate data to project managers/supervisors is a critical operation in a successful contracting business.  Gleeson Civil are “old hands” at this process within Benchmark.  Tim explains why this is one of the most important aspects of running a profitable project.  “Another benefit over spreadsheets is that, when you win a job, the handover process will be fast, effective and very transparent.  The management reports in Benchmark are continually improving.  The “Resources by Item with Options” report is one of our standard handover tools; with this report we can hide certain data and format the report how we like.  This makes it easy for each Project Manager to understand the way the estimate has been prepared and what has been allowed for.”

This “best practice” handover process and reporting power are just not available in spreadsheets, and these features continue to help Gleeson Civil and many contractors to run more successful and profitable projects.  This is also “… of great benefit to our clients as the projects run smoother” explains Tim.

 

Read more about Gleeson Civil Engineering on their web site.

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