AtkinsRéalis were invited to bid for the detailed design phase of a major clean water network upgrade project in the North of England. The scheme had already been taken through planning by a different consortium of engineering consultancies, and the proposed new infrastructure was deeply intertwined with a network of decades-old existing assets.
When AtkinsRéalis expressed their interest in tendering, the client provided a substantial document library comprising approximately 2,000 files. This dataset included everything from 300-page planning documents and contractual terms to as-built drawings, inspection plans, topographical surveys, environmental studies, and compressed zip files. The files were organised within a deeply nested folder structure, with no consistent naming convention, making it impossible to quickly access key information.
Indexing files from source SharePoint site using the Hoppa web app
Despite the dataset being essential to developing a high-quality, accurately costed bid, AtkinsRéalis faced significant challenges in navigating it efficiently. Their standard approach involved deploying Junior Engineers to sift through and identify critical areas of interest before migrating files to a new workspace. This process was highly manual, repetitive, and time-consuming, taking weeks to complete while carrying a high risk of human error due to the complexity and volume of documents.
With only six weeks to respond to the tender, AtkinsRéalis needed an alternative approach that would baseline the information faster and smarter.
Hoppa's solution
Hoppa was engaged to provide data processing support. Responding quickly to the request, Hoppa developed an ISO 19650 compliant labelling convention tailored specifically to the project’s dataset. Hoppa then connected to the document library, analysed each file’s content, generated clear and concise descriptions, and applied the new classification standard.
Within just three days, Hoppa transformed what had been a disorganised and difficult-to-use dataset into a well-structured, quality-assured information catalogue ready for migration to a Common Data Environment, enabling efficient future retrieval and analysis.
“Hoppa’s support through innovative data management approaches has introduced new ways of working, significantly improving delivery efficiencies and strengthening our risk management capabilities.”
Critical insights delivered
During this process, Hoppa rapidly identified that several expected documents were missing from the dataset originally provided by the client. Without Hoppa, this absence might only have been discovered too close to the submission deadline to address effectively, or worse, missed entirely. Thanks to Hoppa, AtkinsRéalis were able to escalate and resolve the issue within the first week of their tender development.
Beyond human capability
As Hoppa cycled through the documents, it ran advanced natural language queries such as:
- “Summarise the key terms of this contractual document”
- “Surface all dates listed in the document and their relevance”
These automated analyses delivered granular insights far beyond what person-based alternatives could realistically achieve within the constraints of a work-winning exercise, where cost efficiency and speed are paramount.
If you’re facing similar challenges with overwhelming project data, legacy information, or tight tender deadlines, Hoppa can help you transform complexity into clarity. Our team thrives on making critical knowledge accessible and usable at speed, so you can focus on what you do best – delivering confident, high-quality work for your clients.
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