The Challenge
In its early days in Arizona, Wyyerd sent printed work orders to field teams, including design, mapping, and all the materials and resources for each project. To create the work orders involved extracting data from multiple systems and databases, collating the relevant information, tracking construction progress in spreadsheets and email, and finally recording the as-built results and sign-off.
Steve Darflinger, Director of Engineering and Construction Systems, comments, “In those days, construction comments and as-built changes were added by hand to the dog-eared, coffee-stained paperwork by the field teams, and back in the office we transferred information to our Vetro FiberMap software.”
With ambitious plans to expand, both by acquisition and through organic growth, the number of construction projects started to rise, and the challenges of manual processes soon became clear.
“Trying to manage projects was just impossible with spreadsheets, and the need for scale soon showed the cracks in our processes,” says Steve Darflinger. “For example, it was all too easy to report construction was complete when we had missed some key steps – or the opposite, where we didn’t know we had fiber ready to light up and sell to new customers. The aim was to grow fast, increase our throughput, and complete construction rapidly and successfully.”
The Solution
When Steve Darflinger joined Wyyerd, the company was already looking closely at Vitruvi Construction Management Software, which offers full integration with many mapping solutions, including Vetro FiberMap. As a first step, Wyyerd commissioned a Proof of Value, looking at how processes could be transitioned from spreadsheets, and reviewing the capability and flexibility offered by Vitruvi.
“This demonstrated the wealth of functionality that Vitruvi immediately brought to the table, and particularly highlighted the advantages of the integration with Vetro FiberMap,” says Steve Darflinger.
After two months of exhaustive testing and configuration, Wyyerd selected Vitruvi Construction Management, and embarked on a major change management and digital transformation program.
“As before, we create our new fiber designs in Vetro, which includes conduits, splicing, hand-holes, terminals and more, and their precise geographic location. However, where previously we would review the design manually to assess the workload and resources, we now import the design direct to Vitruvi, which calls up the resources, timelines, and processes, and creates a complete work order ready for construction.”
Electronic work orders generated by Vitruvi are handed to external contractor partners, who are responsible for physical construction. As each stage is completed, Wyyerd’s own field inspectors update the as-built status, which in turn replicates to the Vetro FiberMap solution to show the as-built designs and, ultimately, which fiber circuits are ready to light up.
“Vitruvi’s full integration with Vetro FiberMap enables us to streamline the generation of work orders and then return as-built data. In addition, when every element of the work order is marked as complete, Vitruvi sends an automatic notification so that we know which circuits are ready to light up and can be moved to the sales teams,” says Steve Darflinger.
“Selecting Vitruvi really came down to three reasons: the off-the-shelf functionality to solve our core challenges, the customizability that enables us to meet our specific ambitions, and the stellar support from the Vitruvi team.”
The Results
Wyyerd now has around 225 users on Vitruvi, managing and reporting daily on hundreds of complex construction projects. The transition to digital workflows has all but eliminated paperwork and spreadsheets, and enabled this relatively small team to support a dramatic scale-up in construction delivery.
By switching to digital workflows, Wyyerd is streamlining back-office administration as well. As a contractor completes construction milestones, Wyyerd uses Vitruvi to generate a summary that lists the completed work and fees, and provides a total. If the contractor agrees, then the appropriate invoice will be paid without the need for negotiation, greatly reducing the workload for both Wyyerd and the contractor.
In addition, milestones recorded in Vitruvi provide more-detailed insight into progress. Particularly for large construction projects, Vitruvi shows completion of each section, and the ready-to-light fiber can be handed to the sales team at an earlier stage.
“What is really important to Wyyerd is to start providing services to customers as soon as we possibly can. With Vitruvi, we can push status, literally daily, with real-time status of work completed, to give us immediate progress insight. Essentially, if it’s not in Vitruvi it didn’t happen,” remarks Steve Darflinger.
As Wyyerd continues its drive to expand, the company is exploring multiple ways to use Vitruvi to extend digital transformation and manage increased construction efficiency.
“For example, when we look at a new market, we want to assess the costs of reaching those homes and businesses with fiber. With the design in Vetro FiberMap, we can use Vitruvi to assess and price all the likely work orders, which provides us with an estimate and timeline. Vitruvi gives us the ability to identify opportunities more effectively, helping us to grow our fiber network both rapidly and profitably.”
Vitruvi is now central to its operational workflows at Wyyerd. With the addition of automated scheduling and notifications, and the recent implementation of integrated invoicing, the company is building a complete platform for fiber construction.
“Ultimately, we use Vitruvi for end-to-end service delivery, from when a project is identified right to the construction completion. Vitruvi Construction Management has transformed our ability to scale, and enables Wyyerd to continue on its ambitious high-speed fiber growth path.”
