Rooney Bye

Executive Summary

Rooney & Bye have been providing civil and structural engineering consulting services for corporate and government construction projects for the past 47 years. Based in St. Leonards, New South Wales, Rooney & Bye employs five full time staff.

Rooney and Bye introduced e-commerce in 1997 to improve its manual business and communication processes.  Managing Director, Philip Butcher's original aim was to improve internal data management.

The virtual office is an emerging phenomenon in the business world enabling distributed location of a company's workforce with virtual centralisation of corporate information and resources.  At Rooney & Bye, staff and associates can work from home instead of working in the office. They each have the necessary design software to perform their work as if they were in a traditional office. They use email to send and receive drawings and specifications electronically.

Rooney & Bye's e-commerce implementation significantly increased the company's information processing and dissemination efficiency both internally and in dealing with clients and suppliers. Net cost savings attributed to this initiative, after deducting ongoing costs of $4,403, amounted to $61,272 in 2001, a substantial return on the initial investment of $14,295.

It is early in Rooney & Bye's e-commerce development strategy and the company has several plans to expand their electronic capabilities.  One idea is the establishment of an interactive company website as a portal for company promotion and customer enquiries.

The Business

Rooney & Bye have been providing civil and structural engineering consulting services to the construction industry in the corporate and government sectors for the past 47 years.

Past projects include work for the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Turf Club, Rosehill Racecourse and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).  Managing Director, Philip Butcher specialises in horse racetrack design and construction and has undertaken track analyses in Australia and internationally.

Based in St. Leonards, New South Wales, Rooney & Bye employ five full time staff.

Getting Started

Rooney and Bye introduced e-commerce in 1997 to improve its manual business processes and communication. Managing Director Philip Butcher initiated the move with the aim of improving internal data management efficiency. He saw an opportunity to save company time, reduce costs and improve customer service by distributing drawings and other documentation electronically instead of using postal and courier services.

As e-commerce emerged in the industry as a best practice tool, Rooney & Bye's customers and clients increasingly demanded that they adopt e-commerce. As architects began requesting documentation in electronic format, the use of online technology was extended beyond the company itself to clients and suppliers.  Electronic transmission would also allow online revision and modification of documents.

As the director of Rooney & Bye's e-commerce strategy, Philip sourced his information from other businesses in the industry. He assessed how other companies implemented similar systems before embarking on the project. Philip also attended courses on Internet technology and e-commerce applications.

Virtual Office

The virtual office is an emerging phenomenon in the business world, enabling the distributed location of a company's workforce with virtual centralisation of corporate information and resources. Virtual offices allow staff to work away from the traditional office space, facilitating more flexible work schedules.

At Rooney & Bye, staff can work from home instead of working in the office. They have the necessary design software to perform their work as if they were in a traditional office. Besides sending and receiving documents, the Internet is also used to research construction materials, such as roof sheeting, to assist with the design process.

Staff found several benefits from this working arrangement including a reduction in paper-flow due to access to a centralised knowledge repository, efficient information distribution, reduced travel time, and 24 hour access to the 'office'. The company also enjoys lower overheads due to reduced office space requirements.

Current e-commerce strategy

In addition to the virtual office technology, Rooney & Bye have recently been involved in a project for the Sydney Cricket Ground involving a business-to-business (B2B) project management system. The project managers created an online portal where requests for information and documentation could be entered electronically. The information was then electronically forwarded to all relevant parties and any updates to documentation could be made electronically.

The company have standardised the type of software they use in order to comply with the software type most commonly used in the industry.  This ensured the work produced was consistent and compatible with other businesses. They now use AutoCAD software exclusively for all of their Computer Aided Design (CAD) work.

Currently Rooney & Bye's online presence involves being listed on the websites of the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia (ACEA) and the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust).  Staff also use the Internet to research suppliers, new technologies and products.

Security is an important issue as electronically transmitted and stored information can be vulnerable to interception, modification and destruction. Rooney & Bye have taken steps to minimise these risks. In addition to physical security, the company have a standalone mail server on which all email is received.

This central point for mail collection acts as a quarantine centre where all emails are checked for viruses before being distributed to the appropriate staff member. The antivirus software is updated on a weekly basis. To ensure company data is protected in the event of a disaster, a recovery plan is in place via periodic system backups to Compact Disc (CD).

Revenue and Costs

* Note: Capital Expenditure was amortised over a four-year period

Financial Analysis

E-commerce significantly improved the company's information processing and dissemination processes both internally and in dealing with clients and suppliers. Total operating benefit attributed to this initiative amounted to $61,272 in 2001, a substantial return on investment.

Enhanced efficiency in communication saved the company an estimated $31,000 through the instantaneous document delivery system.  Electronic documentation also reduced staffing requirements for administrative tasks ($37,000), printing and photocopying ($3,100), postage and freight ($3,400) and filing time ($1,750).   The company's innovative virtual office decreased staff travel costs by $3,200 and stationery expenditure by $500.

Rooney and Bye invested a total of $14,295 into the new system. A major component of this expenditure was the $10,000 Rooney & Bye spent in preliminary research, system design, and staff training.  Dialup access to the Internet required the installation of an additional telephone line ($275) and an additional computer ($3,000). A CD copier for system backups was purchased for $500 and additional office furniture to support the new hardware cost $500.

Ongoing costs totalled $4,403 in 2001. Internet Service Provider (ISP) fees cost $306 and increased telephone calls for the dialup connection (around 60 per month) cost an additional $180 for the year.

Non-financial Benefits

Equipped with email functionality, Rooney & Bye can now offer customers enhanced quality and speed of service.  The benefits of their use of a Business to Business (B2B) project management system were also enjoyed amongst other participating businesses.  For example subcontractors participating in the project had a central repository from which to access project documents while their clients had the means to monitor project progress and provide input.

Staff have also benefited from the e-commerce system as previous labour intensive tasks are now automated. This allows them to spend more time on productive work and less time performing administrative tasks.   In addition, the provision of a virtual office environment has been positively viewed by staff.

Challenges

Following the decision to implement e-commerce, Philip found quality information on how to approach the issue difficult to obtain. This not only impeded the company's initial implementation but future initiatives that could assist the business were also unclear.   Philip felt that there was no external help available and that the company would have to develop the solution themselves.

This initial hurdle was overcome by consulting with other businesses in the industry to determine the strategy that would be suitable for Rooney & Bye.

Future

It is early in Rooney & Bye's e-commerce development strategy and the company have several plans to expand their electronic capabilities. One idea is the establishment of an interactive company website as a portal for marketing material and customer enquiries.

Subject specific queries, such as 'retaining walls', could be submitted via the website and electronically forwarded to Rooney & Bye. Staff would then email the customer with a potential solution utilising established templates for consistency and accuracy.

Philip recommends that for businesses embarking on an e-commerce project, they should spend time undertaking their own extensive research and make a start on your e-commerce initiative, but remain open minded as there are no hard and fast rules.