A fifth-generation manufacturer and contractor of steel framed agricultural buildings has secured funding to digitise its operations, becoming one of the first in its industry to take up a suite of state-of-the-art technology.

Wareing Buildings worked with Made Smarter to support its adoption of Tekla PowerFab, a suite of software which enables more efficient management of the steel fabrication environment, providing a flow of information throughout the project lifecycle.

The Lancashire-based business designs, manufactures, installs and maintains steel framed buildings for commercial and agriculture sectors.

Digitisation is expected to allow the business to achieve an almost 10% productivity gain – equivalent to £3,774/staff member and a return on investment of more than 220%.

The support marks the first phase in Wareing Buildings’ ‘smart digitisation project’ – part of a £1.8 million wider business investment and development programme to be completed in the next three years.

The software will enable Wareing Buildings to provide customers with real-time information on the design, manufacture and dispatch of products via a single online system, which will eradicate the use of paper drawings.

By introducing drone surveying and mapping systems, Wareing Buildings will significantly reduce the time spent on-site during the initial planning stages of its projects, using digitally captured information which allows for greater precision in measurement and land analysis.

Matt Hastwell, senior draughtsman at Wareing Buildings, said: “Though we already employ digital technology, the majority of our everyday activity – including the processing, tracking and delivery of steel fabrication jobs – has remained a largely manual process.

“This has created an inefficient environment which we have been keen to step away from for several years.

“We knew that an information management system, through which all of our daily activity – including material ordering, fabrication schedules and deliveries – could be easily processed, managed and accessed would turn our outdated processes on their head.

“This type of investment is unique for our industry and we are delighted to be ahead of the curve.”