Gridlocked Ltd case study
The Challenge
Gridlocked Ltd - a successful construction company, Cambridge. Users: Management, surveyors, contractors, suppliers.
Delivering complex, multi-million-pound builds. They used to reply on a mix of CAD tools, spreadsheets and off-the-shelf systems that cost thousands each year. No single system did everything they needed, which meant rekeying, and limited visibility of cost and risk.
The goal was a single, integrated platform that could handle enquiry, tendering, rate building, drawing take-off, procurement and live site management. By bringing these into one system the business would cut software spend, improve accuracy and retain full control of its data and roadmap.
The platform also had to support faster tender turnaround, consistent pricing, clear approvals and audit trails, with dashboards that show commercial and delivery teams exactly what matters.
The Development Process
We are working closely with Gridlocked to document every step from first enquiry to live site, involving estimating, commercial, planning and site teams. We produced a detailed specification covering screens, workflows, roles, documents, and management information.
All screens were wireframed before build. There were 40 core screens and a configurable dashboard module, so each manager can tailor their own view of tenders, tasks, costs and risks. We designed a rate builder, materials and labour databases, and a drawing and measurement CAD tool so quantities link directly to BoQ items.
Enquiries and Tendering modules were prioritised first, with training and phased go-live to ensure smooth adoption. Subsequent modules cover secured/live stages, procurement, assets and reporting and will be delivered during 2026.
Key features
- Single workflow from Enquiries and Tendering through Secured, Procurement and build.
- Enquiries with structured capture, document versioning, reviewer flow.
- For smaller projects one-click “create tender” button.
- Smart data importer. When suppliers provide prices they often send spreadsheets that don’t correspond exactly to Gridlocks database. We use AI to map their data to the correct fields and reformat as needed.
- Tendering with A–Z revisions, checklists and BoQ package output with cover letters.
- Rate Builder with cost variables, materials and labour libraries, project/global price snapshots and cheapest-equivalent prompts.
- Drawing and measurement tool for plan upload, scale setting, line/area take-off and linking quantities to rate items
- Materials, Labour, Plant, Equipment and Consumables databases plus a full Asset Register with movements and stock-take
- Global Task & Planner with board/list/Gantt views, SLA colours, notifications and recurring tasks
- The task planner integrates across modules generating reminders
- Secured/Live stage automation for pre-start, orders, payment calendars, inductions and procurement POs
- Governance: role-based access, password policy, session locking, activity logs and document control
- Scalability for unlimited users with granular permissions and activity logs.
Fully custom dashboards for each user
Smart Import - We use AI to automatically map supplier spreadsheets to the Gridlocked database in seconds
Search and report on exactly what you need quickly and easilyOutcome
At the time of writing the Enquiries and Tendering modules are live, delivered on time and working very well, with positive client feedback. The wider programme is on track and rolling out in phases.
“RD Research...”
MD Craig Bugless
Gridlocked Ltd