Soon after it was founded in 2019, Fibrus began to explore new ways to work with its delivery partners and contractors.  It wanted to improve information sharing, remove its contractors’ dependence on paper maps and accelerate the rollout of full fibre broadband infrastructure.   

When the company won the Project Stratum contract from the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver full fibre broadband to 81,000 rural homes and businesses, this planned business process transformation had to be expedited.  Without delay, the company needed to establish more efficient, integrated, digital processes for collecting, viewing and sharing information, that would enable it to scale up its operations rapidly and achieve ambitious project milestones.

Cost savings of up to £5 million 
Fibrus has achieved considerable, sustainable cost savings from using ArcGIS to improve data accuracy and eliminate time-intensive tasks.  “We estimate that we have already saved £2.5-5 million by using ArcGIS to reduce build revisits and by using dashboards to track progress instead of manual processes,” says Cade Wilkinson, Head of Planning at Fibrus.  “With the ability to share a single version of the truth with all contractors and clients, issues no longer arise from misinformation that can be expensive and time-consuming to correct.”

Time savings of 500 hours per week  
Fibrus estimates that its use of ArcGIS has led to a saving of 500 hours per week across Fibrus, its contractors and its subcontractors.  This incredible efficiency gain is particularly evident in surveying, as field operatives now spend less time in the field, gather data using just one device and don’t need to return to the office to type up their notes.  “When all of the process improvements are taken together, across the whole business, we estimate that we can operate at least 50% more efficiently using ArcGIS,” says Riain Garcia, Senior GIS Manager at Fibrus.

Faster delivery of next-generation networks
By streamlining key processes such as design changes, ArcGIS is enabling Fibrus to roll out full fibre networks and meet client targets far more quickly than before.  On Project Stratum, Fibrus completed the first customer connection in just 91 days and then connected over 5,000 rural homes and businesses every month thereafter.  “I don’t think we would have accomplished the exceptionally high number of connections needed for Project Stratum as fast as we did without ArcGIS,” observes Garcia.  

Improved cost control and profitability  
Fibrus uses ArcGIS Pro to create accurate cost estimates for new infrastructure designs and maximise the number of potential customers within proposed project areas, to help it optimise its profitability.  It also uses information from ArcGIS to verify contractor invoices and approve payments to contractors based on real time information about what has actually been built.  “ArcGIS provides far greater visibility of what is happening on the ground, helping us to improve financial control, traceability and accountability,” says Wilkinson.

Improved collaboration with contractors and clients
Significantly, the use of ArcGIS has completely transformed the way that Fibrus works with its contractors, subcontractors, delivery partners and clients.  Everyone references the same information and even Fibrus’ government clients have direct access to ArcGIS for monitoring contractual milestones.  As Wilkinson puts it, “ArcGIS gives everyone a one-stop shop for information on everything to do with Fibrus projects.”