CASE STUDY
How a delivery team avoided redesign and saved 6 weeks
SECTOR: POWER TRANSMISSION
LOCATION: DIDCOT, OXFORDSHIRE, UK
JUMP AHEAD
Overview
the problem
the solution
the results
OVERVIEW
Avoiding redesign and getting the project moving again
A UK water company was two years into planning a major infrastructure upgrade when the initial design was rejected. Critical site constraints had been missed, forcing redesign and delaying progress through gate stages. The project team used Sensat to bring all site information into one shared view, helping them understand risk earlier, align specialists faster, and move the project forward without further redesign.
THE PROBLEM

The project site sat in a historical coal mining area, creating hidden risks below ground. These risks were known in theory, but difficult to understand in practice because information was scattered across systems.
Project teams were working with:

• Coal Authority data

• Geological surveys

• Underground utilities

• CAD models

• PDFs, GIS screenshots, and shared drives.

This made it hard for the PM to confidently explain site risk, slow to get alignment across teams, and easy for critical issues to surface too late.

‍

"
‍‍Trying to explain the effects of a fault is a nightmare. These fault lines are 300–500m deep and the material around them is unpredictable. The design team needs to understand that risk early.
Ground Investigation Specialist, Tier One Water Company
The workaround wasn’t working

The project site sat in a historical coal mining area, creating hidden risks below ground. These risks were known in theory, but difficult to understand in practice because information was scattered across systems.
Project teams were working with:

• Coal Authority data

• Geological surveys

• Underground utilities

• CAD models

• PDFs, GIS screenshots, and shared drives.

This made it hard for the PM to confidently explain site risk, slow to get alignment across teams, and easy for critical issues to surface too late.

‍

THE SOLUTION
How Sensat was used

The delivery team used Sensat to bring all relevant site data into a single visual view, overlaid on real-world context. This included:

• Coal Authority and geological data

• Underground utilities

• Design models

• Topographical and LiDAR surveys Instead of chasing information, the PM could see and show the full site context in one place.

‍

What changed for the delivery team
Faster alignment
Specialists could point to the same view of the site, making risks easier to explain and decisions quicker to agree.
Fewer redesigns
Designs could be checked against real site constraints earlier, reducing late-stage surprises.
Less admin
Time spent hunting for files, screenshots, and explanations dropped significantly.
Easier sign-off
The PM could clearly show why decisions were made, speeding up approvals.
Why this mattered

For the project delivery team, Sensat wasn’t another system to manage. It became the place to understand the site, explain risk, and keep the project moving.

The result
6 weeks
instead of the typical 3 months to hand back the plans.
Reduced rework
after initial design rejection
Faster progress
through planning stages with fewer blockers
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