Centrica selects BuildOnline for wind farm development team

Centrica Renewables, the renewable energy arm of Centrica, is using BuildOnline's On-Demand document technology to help manage the design, construction and operation of its UK wind farm developments.

BuildOnline's business process optimization technology will streamline the way Centrica engineers and project managers both handle key information, and communicate it to their contractors and suppliers throughout the assets' lifecycle. The On-Demand format will make it easier for Centrica to roll out the technology to its partners. It will also enable project team members to access critical information securely from anywhere at any time. Under the initiative, engineers will be able to manage project-related information and oversee work on many more sites than is currently possible.

Centrica is committed to developing wind farms as part of its energy portfolio to supply power to its British Gas and Scottish Gas customers. Previously, the company was relying on email to share plans and documents with partners. This led to data silos forming across the supply chain, resulting in limited visibility of crucial information, problems with version control and a poor audit trail.

"We believe this technology will allow us to improve the way in which we work, not just across our development team, but also with our contractors and suppliers. We can now work with them as though they were extended members of the team," said Ross Ovens, project manager of Centrica.

"Having full ownership of all the information relating to our assets is vital to the productivity and efficiency of our development team," he continued. "In short, we hope that BuildOnline will provide good document management, increase our visibility of all information and allow us to handle it effectively and securely. Of course, management tools such as this can avoid unnecessary delays and cost."

"One of the reasons we chose BuildOnline's On-Demand business collaboration solution was the speed at which the technology could be deployed. Users need very little training as they are all able to use Web browsers, and we are expecting to see the benefits almost immediately," he concluded.

"We've been impressed by Centrica's vision. While the world is changing, it maintains its position as the UK's leading energy supplier," said Mark Suster, CEO of BuildOnline. "Centrica Renewable's strategy to focus on developing wind energy is matched by its desire to adopt industry leading business practice to achieve goals faster and cheaper."

"Our technology will simplify operations for Centrica, from design and construction through to maintenance, allowing engineers to focus on the job-in-hand."