Managing complex infrastructure projects across continents is no small feat.
For Arcadis, a global design and consulting firm with 35,000 employees spread across 70 countries, ensuring seamless collaboration was both a challenge and a necessity. The stakes were particularly high in Australia, where 1,300 employees were engaged in major linear infrastructure projects involving numerous global stakeholders.
Arcadis faced a critical decision: modernize its project management process or risk falling behind. Its choice: Bluebeam, a digital collaboration platform that revolutionized the way the firm worked—boosting productivity, enhancing accuracy and reducing environmental impact along the way.
Overcoming Cross-Border Collaboration Challenges
For years, Arcadis relied on outdated paper-based processes for managing project reviews and markups. Engineers and designers working in different time zones had to wait for physical markups to be scanned and emailed—a process that frequently caused delays, miscommunication and version control issues.
The environmental toll was significant, too. Arcadis’ sustainability goals clashed with the considerable amount of paper consumed in its manual workflows. Reducing its carbon footprint became a priority.
“By using the capabilities of Bluebeam such as Studio Sessions we’ve established a centralized way of managing all our comments, reviews and also having a standardized approach to our markup, a quality control process,” said Steven Coyle, digital lead for Australia Mobility at Arcadis.
Transforming Project Management with Bluebeam’s Digital Tools
Recognizing the need for change, Arcadis adopted Bluebeam, transforming how it managed project workflows. Bluebeam’s suite of tools enabled real-time document sharing, centralized project markups and streamlined quality control processes—all within a single, cloud-based environment.
The firm quickly developed best-practice protocols using Bluebeam’s platform, standardizing markups and creating a centralized method for managing comments and reviews. These changes brought newfound efficiency and transparency to the firm’s global operations.
Game-Changing Results: A Blueprint for Project Success
Real-Time Global Collaboration: With Bluebeam, Arcadis’ global teams could access and edit the same documents simultaneously, regardless of location. What once took days now took mere hours, dramatically reducing project turnaround times.
“There were two things that prompted Arcadis to use Bluebeam,” said Sergio Fuentes, associate technical director of digital engineering for New South Wales Civil Infrastructure at Arcadis. “One of them was coordination and collaboration. Considering the size of our projects, the complexity of them and the number of stakeholders that we have, we needed to find an effective way to communicate, and Bluebeam provided that.”
Improved Accountability and Standardization: Bluebeam enabled Arcadis to create a standardized process for reviews and markups, ensuring that every team member followed the same project protocols. This improved accuracy, reduced errors and fostered a culture of accountability.
Enhanced Client and Partner Collaboration: Arcadis also used Bluebeam’s collaboration features to improve communication with clients and joint venture partners. Using interactive dashboards and detailed markups, team members could share project updates with stakeholders in a clear, professional manner.
Boosted Productivity and Reduced Delays: By cutting out paper-based bottlenecks, Arcadis empowered its teams to work faster and more efficiently. Tasks that once required physical markups and delayed responses could now be completed in real time—whether team members were in the office or working remotely.
Industry Expertise: Driving Innovation Through Digital Transformation
Behind Arcadis’ transformation is a clear strategy centered on standardization, automation and data-driven processes.
“Bluebeam improves collaboration by allowing both 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, “which reduces miscommunication and ensures project update consistency.”
Why It Matters: Key Takeaways for the AEC Industry
Arcadis’ experience with Bluebeam highlights an essential truth for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry: digital tools aren’t just helpful; they’re critical. In an era where project complexity and sustainability demands are only increasing, the ability to collaborate effectively across borders is a competitive advantage.
By reducing paper consumption and streamlining project management, Arcadis has not only boosted its productivity but also advanced its environmental goals—a win-win that many AEC firms can learn from.
