Martin Bradley MRICS,
Silverstone Building Consultancy
Dan: How has ESTA helped you in your day-to-day activities?
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Client: The main thing is having a single point to manage all of your project management tasks. So, document storage, having a project program in one place, the function to create all of your project certificates in one place, and your project directory. It just makes everything a lot more succinct and streamlined. You’re not bouncing from one application to another trying to find everything in one place. It’s all just there. It’s very intuitive to use. If you're switched on with tech, it’s very simple and straightforward.​
​Yes, definitely the main things for me are being able to find things quickly or do things quickly. Like I said, the other day, I was off on Friday afternoon, and the contractor tested this over the weekend to get something done. I did a contract instruction and evaluation within a couple of minutes of getting back in the office on Monday. That’s how easy it is, whereas it probably would've taken a lot longer previously
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Dan: How long would that have taken before?
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Client: It probably would've taken about an hour to get everything pulled together. But because everything’s saved in the vault, and it pre-populates certificates from previous ones, it's a case of checking things like what you previously certified and just inputting that.
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Client: That figure takes minutes rather than hours. That’s good. It’s great. Like you said, it’s exactly what you want—to make your life quicker and easier.
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Dan: How's it been received by clients?
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Client: Cost reports—I think that’s been really good. I’ve set up a template internally where the widgets are pre-positioned within the documents. So, essentially, just to get people to upload that. We’re using a similar template each time, and with the visual elements, it helps people. Instead of loads of text, there’s a graph or table or a miniature print of a program, and just being able to use that and refresh data buttons. That’s great.
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Dan: So they can digest it a bit easier, right? Instead of all text, they can see visually what's happening in the project from the grassroots level that you're doing on-site and certifying, right?
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Client: Yeah, absolutely. It just makes it easier to digest.
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Dan: So just one more question. What was the most surprising element when coming onto ESTA?
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Client: I think the simplicity of it. It’s been designed for surveyors and project managers, with knowledge of what it entails. It’s not a tool designed by someone without experience. It feels very intuitive and easy to learn quickly. The good thing is it’s hard to break.
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Client: It’s hard to break. You can only do certain things on it, and once you've learned how to do it, it’s like riding a bike. If you need to do something quickly, you just drop in and do a certificate or send a copy of a project directory or a cost report or do a contract instruction or change log. I think those sorts of things are really helpful, having everything under one roof.
And having prompts to say, you’ve got a certificate due, or x amount of risks or things outstanding that you need to look at, and just being able to track them month by month.
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Dan: Yeah, it just speaks back to you, giving you the prompts you want as a surveyor to help you out, really.
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Client: Exactly.
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