EMBRACING new geographical software has seen a York business expand its engineering toolbox in a move that has improved communication across its operations.

This year TSP Projects, based in The Crescent, of Blossom Street, has introduced Geographical Information System (GIS) software across its business, and as such is entering the Business Innovation of the Year category in The Press Business Awards.

With a team of 420, TSP Projects is multi-disciplinary solutions business covering a range of disciplines and sectors, from civil engineering to aviation and security.

More often than not the firm has multiple teams working on the same project, meaning they need to be able to collaborate and talk to each other in one voice that can subsequently be presented in a digestible format to the client.

John Barnard, Programme Director Information Solutions at TSP Projects, said: “We needed to uncover a way of doing this, ensuring the company remained at the forefront of engineering technology whilst working in the most efficient and safe manner possible.

“The answer was GIS. A software which has ignited a new way of communicating with one another and is now paving the way in which we deliver major projects in the future.

“For engineers, both the data and the language that we use is key to communicating how a project should be designed and delivered.

“But just because we’re engineers, it doesn’t mean we all speak the same and understand one another in the same way.

“GIS allows different levels of information and data to come together seamlessly, providing some absolute tangible outputs. For example, we can overlay one electronic map over another set of data to establish a visual display of an area designated to work on.”

By using GIS, TSP Projects’ teams can display variations of data from different areas of the business on one single map for everyone to use. They can build visual frameworks of client requirements and use GIS software to determine appropriate actions needed to deliver projects and designs.

TSP Projects said that so far, the impact that this software has had has been immeasurable. By using a tool that everyone can collaborate on, GIS has improved communication, using data in a more versatile way, allowing them to see a broader view of a project.

Sally Stephenson, communications assistant at TSP Projects, said: “We are enabling ourselves to see the bigger picture. Put in real terms we can use photos, points of interest on a site and any other relevant information which can be fed back into the office, so that everyone is receiving the same updates of the same data through the same system - GIS.

“The future of technology is constantly changing, and we’re living in a world where we must all evolve and adapt to innovation and disruption.

“Most notably for TSP Projects is the demand to grow and ensure our clients receive the best technical results from us.”