How a Leading Design and Consulting Firm Transformed Their Collaboration with Bluebeam

By leveraging Bluebeam’s digital collaboration tools, Arcadis redefined global project management, enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness across international teams and complex infrastructure projects.

Managing Complex Projects Across Continents

Managing large-scale infrastructure projects across borders presents significant challenges.

For Arcadis—a global design and consulting firm with 35,000 employees operating in 70 countries—seamless collaboration was both essential and challenging. The stakes were particularly high in Australia, where 1,300 employees were engaged in major linear infrastructure projects involving numerous global stakeholders.

Faced with the choice to modernize its project management processes or risk inefficiency, Arcadis turned to Bluebeam. This digital collaboration platform revolutionized how the firm worked, delivering improved productivity, greater accuracy, and a reduced environmental footprint.

Overcoming Cross-Border Collaboration Challenges

For years, Arcadis relied on outdated, paper-based processes for project reviews and markups. Time zone differences further complicated workflows, as scanned physical markups caused delays, miscommunication, and version control issues.

The firm’s commitment to sustainability also clashed with its reliance on paper-intensive workflows, making the reduction of its carbon footprint a key priority.

“By using the capabilities of Bluebeam, such as Studio Sessions, we’ve established a centralized way of managing all our comments, reviews, and a standardized approach to markups and quality control,” said Steven Coyle, Digital Lead for Australia Mobility at Arcadis.

Transforming Project Management with Bluebeam

Recognizing the need for modernization, Arcadis adopted Bluebeam, revolutionizing its project workflows. The platform’s suite of tools enabled:

Real-Time Document Sharing: Teams could collaborate on the same documents simultaneously.
Centralized Markups and Reviews: A single, cloud-based environment allowed for consistent and streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Quality Control Processes: Standardized protocols ensured accuracy and accountability.
With Bluebeam, Arcadis introduced best practices that brought newfound transparency and efficiency to its global operations.

Game-Changing Results: A New Standard for Success

Real-Time Collaboration:
Bluebeam allowed Arcadis’ global teams to work on documents simultaneously, no matter their location. Tasks that once took days could now be completed within hours, significantly accelerating project timelines.

“There were two main reasons we adopted Bluebeam,” explained Sergio Fuentes, Associate Technical Director of Digital Engineering for New South Wales Civil Infrastructure at Arcadis. “The first was coordination and collaboration. Considering the size and complexity of our projects and the number of stakeholders, we needed an effective way to communicate—and Bluebeam provided that.”

Improved Accountability and Standardization:
By standardizing reviews and markups, Bluebeam ensured all team members adhered to consistent protocols. This enhanced accuracy, minimized errors, and fostered greater accountability.

Enhanced Client and Partner Collaboration:
Using Bluebeam’s interactive dashboards and detailed markups, Arcadis improved communication with clients and joint venture partners, enabling clear and professional updates on project progress.

Boosted Productivity and Reduced Delays:
Eliminating paper-based bottlenecks empowered teams to work faster and more efficiently, whether in the office or remotely. Real-time collaboration replaced outdated, manual processes.

Driving Innovation Through Digital Transformation
Arcadis’ transformation was guided by a strategic focus on standardization, automation, and data-driven processes.

“Bluebeam improves collaboration by allowing drafters and engineers to access the same document with the same version in real time,” said Mark Javillo, Principal CAD Technician and BIM Manager at Arcadis, “reducing miscommunication and ensuring consistent project updates.”

Key Takeaways for the AEC Industry
Arcadis’ adoption of Bluebeam underscores an important lesson for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry: digital tools are no longer optional—they’re essential.

In a time when project complexity and sustainability demands are growing, effective cross-border collaboration is a competitive advantage. By embracing Bluebeam, Arcadis not only increased productivity but also advanced its environmental goals, providing a blueprint for success that other AEC firms can follow.

Learn more about how Bluebeam can improve your team collaboration

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