22/09/2026 | Utilities

Circet Ireland & UK

Innovating with GIS in the infrastructure sector

A company that pioneered the use geographic information system (GIS) technology in the infrastructure sector is reaping the benefits of its foresight, innovation and ambition. Circet Ireland & UK has transformed working practices right across its business with Esri’s ArcGIS technology and continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with ArcGIS to ensure the successful, rapid rollout of critical national infrastructure.

Innovative use of ArcGIS has transformed all business processes from planning and design to construction
Field-based processes have been fully streamlined enabling surveyors to capture accurate data far more efficiently
Collaboration with clients has reached new heights thanks to real-time data sharing and dashboards

The Challenge

Circet Ireland & UK was among the first organisations in Ireland’s infrastructure sector to recognise that well-established ways of working had to change. The company specialises in designing, installing and maintaining telecommunications and energy networks and works with large infrastructure owners and network operators on highly significant, national infrastructure projects.

Business leaders at the company realised that traditional survey approaches and business processes were too time-consuming and no longer delivered the precise data needed for modern, large-scale infrastructure projects. Across the sector, new infrastructure was being delayed unnecessarily due to missing and inaccurate asset information and poor communications, so the time had come for a radically different approach.

I’m proud to say that, back at the start, no-one was using GIS like we were in the industry, and now almost everyone is using it in a similar fashion. It’s becoming standardised across the industry.

Greg Mullen,

Director of Planning and Design, Circet Ireland & UK

The Solution

Circet Ireland & UK set out with the initial aim of transforming processes for surveying sites and telecoms networks in the field. Using Esri mobile solutions, including ArcGIS Survey123 and ArcGIS Field Maps, the company completely eliminated the use of paper maps and forms in the field, making it possible for surveyors to capture more accurate data, digitally and efficiently, on everything from health and safety risks to asset conditions.

The immediate success of these new field processes spurred the company on to reevaluate and redesign more and more of its business processes, from the field to the boardroom. Using ArcGIS Online in a software-as-a-service model, it created solutions for allocating tasks to surveyors in time-efficient jobs lists, new processes for validating infrastructure designs in 3D and state-of-the-art systems for sharing data and monitoring large-scale asset surveys.

To support the build phase of nationally-significant infrastructure projects, the company created a particularly impactful mobile app that records ‘as built’ changes and provides accurate asset information back to clients. It also introduced an array of interactive dashboards, created in ArcGIS Online, that track survey or build activities and provide clients with an up-to-the-moment view of progress.

Today, ArcGIS is embedded across almost all of the company’s operations, from planning and design through to construction, asset capture, project management and client communications. A specialist in-house team in Donegal, with combined business and GIS expertise, continues to explore the full capabilities of ArcGIS, delivering continual process improvements and cutting-edge solutions for infrastructure industry clients.

One of the earliest adopters of GIS technology in the infrastructure sector, Circet Ireland & UK has undoubtedly secured its position now as one of the industry’s most prolific GIS innovators. Greg Mullen, Director of Planning and Design at Circet Ireland & UK, is proud of the journey the company has taken and shares his passion for GIS through industry events. “I’m proud to say that, back at the start, no-one was using GIS like we were in the industry, and now almost everyone is beginning to use it in a similar fashion,” he says. “It’s becoming standardised across the industry.”

ArcGIS helps us guarantee a high level of professionalism in the services we deliver.

Greg Mullen,

Director of Planning and Design, Circet Ireland & UK

The Benefits

Faster delivery of critical infrastructure projects
With its highly-efficient ArcGIS-driven processes, Circet Ireland & UK is well placed to help its clients accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure projects. Whether it is supporting the rollout of rural broadband or upgrading electricity networks, the company makes time savings at every project phase. Furthermore, by collecting more extensive and more accurate data in the field, it helps its clients to avoid unnecessary delays.

Cost savings and return on GIS investment
Circet Ireland & UK is confident that the use of ArcGIS has substantially improved its overall cost efficiency, to the extent that Mullen believes that ArcGIS now pays for itself. Cost savings are particularly evident in field operations as all survey information is now collected correctly and accurately the first time, with no more duplicated journeys, fewer costly overnight stays for surveyors and lower expenditure on diesel.

Stronger project and revenue management
Using the accurate survey information from ArcGIS, Circet Ireland & UK can generate more accurate bills of materials and bills of quantities. It can, therefore, price new projects with greater certainty, which clients appreciate. The app for recording ‘as built’ changes also provides evidence when a pipe or trunk has to be extended, due to factors beyond engineers’ control, ensuring the organisation is accurately renumerated for work and materials actually delivered.

Transparent client communications
The use of ArcGIS Dashboards enables Circet Ireland & UK to share project information in real time with its clients. This transparency does not just improve collaboration and project management, but also builds a high level of trust between the contractor and its clients. “If you do a good job you’ve got nothing to hide,” observes Mullen with pride. “ArcGIS helps us guarantee a high level of professionalism in the services we deliver.”

Rapid delivery of new business solutions
Circet Ireland & UK particularly appreciates is its ability to create new business solutions for itself and its clients very quickly using the many tools and app builders available in the ArcGIS system. The organisation recently built a bespoke solution to help a client record asset locations, delivering it in just one day. “We are one of the biggest users of ArcGIS in Ireland, but even we are only scraping the surface,” Mullen says. “There is a lot of potential in the box still for us to explore.”

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Circet Ireland & UK

Innovating with GIS in the infrastructure sector

Innovative use of ArcGIS has transformed all business processes from planning and design to construction

Field-based processes have been fully streamlined enabling surveyors to capture accurate data far more efficiently

Collaboration with clients has reached new heights thanks to real-time data sharing and dashboards

The Challenge

The Solution

The Benefits

Get in touch

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