Founded in 1968, NSCC International has made a name for itself as an expert contractor, specializing in ground improvement, foundation engineering, onshore marine works, and horizontal directional drilling. Over the years, the company has showcased its commitment to innovation by contributing to various iconic projects throughout the Middle East, like the Abu Dhabi International Airport Midfield Terminal Complex and the Etihad Museum.

Engineering work, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, is heavily reliant on meticulous documentation. Safety records must be up to date, while worksite data needs to be readily available. Recognizing this, NSCC decided to digitize and centralize its record-keeping processes to gain immediate insights into project progress, track material use, wastage, manpower, and other critical metrics.

Khalil K Khouri, the CEO of NSCC, said, “We aimed to digitize our entire reporting system.” To achieve this, NSCC partnered with Accienta to utilize Smartsheet, envisioning a highly sophisticated construction reporting tool that would allow the company to go entirely paperless.

Tackling the Complexity

The initial challenge involved understanding and collating the essential data points that NSCC required. This daunting task involved deep consultations with professionals from various departments such as engineering, project teams, and finance. Accienta’s team began channeling all the gathered data into a single hub using Smartsheet Control Center.

Nidal N Khoury, the CEO of Accienta, explained, “We channeled data on manpower and equipment from an Oracle module into Smartsheet through Data Shuttle. The workflow ran twice daily.”

“With the automation provided by the Control Center and powered by Data Shuttle, NSCC project managers now have a real-time overview of project progress,” Khoury added. “We were able to digitize and automate all daily reporting activities, thereby reducing time spent on these tasks by 50%.”

Towards an Efficient Work Environment

Smartsheet’s implementation in NSCC has brought about significant time savings. “Project management has been halved from six hours to just three per day. Engineers can now spend more time on-site rather than on reports. Due to detailed reporting, we have improved compliance and can accurately forecast monthly costs and revenue,” stated Khouri.

NSCC can now predict profits on any given day by combining project site records, reports, and monthly financials. Khouri praised Accienta’s understanding of Smartsheet and the construction and project management industries, which made the implementation efficient.

NSCC now enjoys access to connected, dynamic reports and comprehensive portfolio dashboards. “It’s easier to access live cost and revenue data and to methodologically estimate completion,” Khouri added.

Looking to the future, NSCC plans to integrate its Smartsheet solution with Power BI to enhance portfolio reporting for executive leadership. The company is also exploring new Smartsheet modules like Data Table to tap into real database functionality.

Khouri concluded, “Effectively managing construction projects is a complex and detailed task. Getting a clear picture of costs, progress, and forecasts can be challenging. But with Smartsheet, users have all the necessary information at their fingertips. At any given moment, managers can review the current project status automatically. That’s the real value of the solution.”