BW: Workplace Experts, a leading UK office and higher education fit-out contractor, partnered with Transparity to deploy Microsoft Fabric and transform how it uses data. With multiple systems across projects and a growing need for real-time insights, BW wanted a centralised platform to streamline reporting, enhance safety, and future-proof its operations with AI and predictive analytics.
By working with Transparity’s data experts and embracing Fabric’s powerful capabilities, BW moved from time-consuming manual processes to a modern, unified data strategy saving 4 days a month for their Finance Director alone! The result: faster reporting, improved compliance, better safety visibility, and a clear path to AI innovation.
BW is taking the fit-out industry by storm, growing quickly in a highly competitive, saturated market. To maintain this momentum, the business places a strong focus on innovation and technology as a key differentiator within the industry which is often prone to lagging behind.
With multiple systems in play across the lifecycle of a project, from Salesforce at the sales stage to Procore for construction management and Coins for finance, pulling meaningful insights together was complex and time consuming across every team.
Historically, data was extracted from a wide range of sources into SQL databases, with custom scripts of up to 10,000 lines required just to keep systems and datapoints aligned. With data flowing in in disparate formats, keeping everything running smoothly was a challenge. Any change in supplier APIs meant lengthy troubleshooting, and reporting was often delayed, inconsistent or at high risk of human error.
For site teams, vital safety data was stuck in paper based formats, at risk of being forgotten or seen as unreliable on a desk somewhere rather than being used at the centre of day-to-day work. With 75% of the BW team spending their days on site, the impact of unreliable data was felt across the business.
Meanwhile, the Finance Director relied on manual spreadsheet collation to understand financial performance, spending up to 4 days a month seeking the insights they needed. This not only slowed down progress but created a risk of error when reporting on projects often reaching a value of £100 million.
"Construction has been behind the curve in technology adoption. For us, the challenge was simple: how do we make data easy to access, accurate, and genuinely useful for the people who need it most?"
Tomas Hollingsworth, Director of Technology at BW
After looking at the options on the market, from dedicated off-the-shelf solutions to Microsoft’s offerings, BW selected Microsoft Fabric as the bedrock of their modern data strategy. The decision was driven by a recommendation from our data experts as the ideal platform to unify data from multiple sources, simplify transformations and provide real-time insights on a single pane of glass.
Working with our data team, BW implemented Fabric using the medallion architecture (bronze, silver, gold) to standardise, clean and prepare data for reporting. The approach created a single source of truth across teams from project management to finance and kept safety data easily accessible, removing the complexity of bespoke SQL scripts.
With accurate data and predictive analytics, the solution allows both the internal team and customers to understand the realistic timeline for every step of the project. For example, the team can now give data-driven predictions on the timescales for specific items or equipment based on real-time data, rather than educated guesses.
This single source of truth isn’t just for while the project is in flight, it also creates a digital paper trail of every component, finish and manual used in a project. Industry regulations require a full record be kept for 12 years to ensure the safety of those using the buildings and make any future remediations simple. With this new data platform, the BW team can see the full DNA of every project from start to finish in one location.
“Because Microsoft Fabric is a SaaS platform there’s no extensive delays when it comes to the implementation. There’s no planning for a year before you see the output of your efforts, it all connects together and it’s up and running so we were able to prove value very, very quickly.”
Tomas Hollingsworth, Director of Technology at BW
Fabric also provided a future-ready foundation for AI. With millions of data points now stored in the Fabric Lakehouse, BW can experiment with Copilot and other AI tools to accelerate analysis and unlock predictive insights. From accident prevention to logistics optimisation.
The impact of the project has been immediate and significant, transforming the way the team work day-to-day on sites across the country and in the central offices. Gone are the days of manual reporting, with outputs the team couldn’t 100% trust. Instead, they have instant access to reliable, interactive dashboards and a single source of trust no matter the department.
"The real value isn’t just having data in one place, it’s what that enables. Safer sites, more informed decisions, and a competitive edge in our market. Microsoft Fabric has given us the foundation to do that, and Transparity have been the perfect partner to get us there."
Tomas Hollingsworth, Director of Technology at BW
Site teams no longer rely on a paper plan lost in a pile of paperwork in the site office. Now, they can turn to a real-time dashboard to check permits, review timings for safety procedures and to keep projects on track. For example, when hot work is carried out on site, which comes with increased safety risk, the site managers can clearly see when and where this will be, ensure the team have the equipment and PPE they need and be reminded to make sure those works are closed off safely when the work is complete.
With predictive capabilities site safety goes beyond real-time and allows site managers to be alerted to potential disruptions from the weather, resource levels and any relevant health and safety concerns.
Instead of collating data from 30+ spreadsheets, teams from individual project managers all the way to the Finance Director can see the financial performance of a project at a glance. With the data neatly streamlined into a single source of truth, teams from senior leadership through to individual project owners can catch the highlights or drill down into the details they need.
With quick, easy access to vital data like project margins, budgets and variances, the Finance Director alone has saved 4 days out of every month on reporting. Now, not only have they saved the headache of working through spreadsheets, but they can get back to driving the strategic decision making and financial performance of the business.
The number of projects managed simultaneously has grown from 20 to over 50, unlocking a potential increase in revenue of 150%. Not only does this reflect a landmark change in the growth trajectory of the business financially, but brings clarity to decisions about how to grow the team and where.
With all their data centralised, BW is able to maintain compliance with mandatory and optional industry regulations easier than ever. A full 12-year audit trail is maintained automatically in the background, ensuring their compliance with rigorous industry regulations like the Building Safety Act and standards like ISO 27001, while also ensuring they have all the information they need to protect the business from liability in the event of an issue. With the industry-wide focus on creating the Golden Thread of information, this capability is more important than ever.
With all their data securely organised and accessible with Microsoft Fabric, BW is ready to embrace the AI era. The team have grand plans to take their data and leverage it in a variety of AI applications, from predictive analytics for accident prevention, to project bidding and logistics. The business now has access to enhanced insights and capabilities barrier-free.
With vast amounts of data from years of projects, the BW team can improve the sustainability of their projects going forward by looking for opportunities to streamline processes.
For example, fine tuning delivering times and routes to be more fuel efficient when bringing essential supplies to site. Gone are the days of deliveries scattered throughout the day. With project managers better able to see what’s needed and when they can ensure suppliers send only the equipment required and ensure it arrives within a single window following the most fuel efficient route.
As a result of the success of the project, Tomas was able to quickly demonstrate the value of a modern data platform and advanced analytics. The value was so clear to senior leadership that the business has since grown out a team of data experts of its own to further drive the adoption and development of their data platform.
BW: Workplace Experts is a London-based fit-out contractor, helping create offices that feel built for the future. BW deliver workspaces that do more than house desks – they inspire, connect, and help teams thrive to help redefine the role of the workplace.
With over 250 specialists and decades of experience, BW bring fresh thinking, innovative solutions and quality work to every project, from refurbishments to full service design-and-build.
