How J. Wyndham Prince transformed data chaos into a rapid 18-month ROI

The Challenge

Before 12d Synergy, J. Wyndham Prince had accumulated a huge volume of project information across past and current work, but that information was scattered. Files were stored across multiple servers, job folders, public folders and local drives, while important emails were buried in personal inboxes and mail servers. This made data slow to access, difficult to identify and increasingly hard to trust. With critical documents lost across old drives and storage running short as data volumes grew.

That fragmentation created a domino effect of issues: documents were misfiled, misnamed or deleted, version control was weak, collaboration was harder and older records could take hours or even days with IT involvement to retrieve. For a mature consultancy working across land development and public infrastructure, this was no longer just inconvenient; it was affecting efficiency, responsiveness and risk management.

The Solutions

Wyndham Prince worked closely with the 12d Synergy team during implementation and deliberately took its time refining the structure before full deployment. That mattered because the goal was not simply to install a new platform, but to redesign how the business organised and retrieved project information.

Once implemented, 12d Synergy brought project data, design files and emails into one searchable database. The firm chose it because it aligned well with its existing 12d Model workflows while also integrating with other software used across the business. This gave J. Wyndham Prince a single source of truth for project records, with stronger document version control, easier rollback and faster access to legacy information.

The platform also improved flexible working. Staff could access Microsoft Office documents, CAD files and 12d Model data remotely without having to shuttle hard drives between home and the office. That made it easier to work from anywhere while still staying current with the latest project information.

The Result

• Achieved a rapid 18-month ROI from the implementation.
• Consolidated project data into one accessible, organized database.
• Enabled lightning-fast email and document retrieval across current and legacy projects.
• Reduced retrieval of older files from hours or even days to around 30 seconds in some cases.
• Improved version control and rollback for design and document files.
• Supported flexible working through faster remote access to Office files, CAD files and 12d Model data.
• 747,092 files, 262,657 project emails, 2,234 GB of accessible data, 1,285 projects and 63 users managed in 12d Synergy.

A mature consultancy needed retrieval speed as much as control

Watch: Peter Mehl & David Johnson of J. Wyndham Prince on their rapid ROI with 12d Synergy

In this video you will hear from Peter Mehl & David Johnson on how they used 12d Synergy to overcome their Data Management Issues and to transform their business! Harnessing Document Version Control, lightning fast document and email retrieval and much more.

Fast retrieval turned old data into a practical asset

One of the strongest proof points is how dramatically retrieval improved. Previously, recovering older versions or archived project files could involve searching through hard-copy records, old servers or IT backups. David Healy, Senior Design Engineer at J. Wyndham Prince, notes that work which once took hours, and sometimes days when IT had to restore from backup, could now be handled in about 30 seconds.

That changes the role of historical project data. Instead of being technically retained but practically difficult to use, it becomes part of the firm’s active working knowledge — searchable, accessible and useful when clients, designers or project managers need answers quickly.   

Version control and rollback reduced risk and frustration

Full version control was another major shift. Under the previous setup, returning to an earlier file state meant hunting through backups and hoping the right version could be found. With 12d Synergy, the team could access file history directly and roll back to earlier versions much more easily.

That is especially valuable in a civil engineering and project management environment, where design changes, client comments and revised requirements can make earlier versions critically important. The ability to “hit that history button” and return to the version the client actually wanted is a small operational detail with big downstream value.  

Flexible working became simpler and faster

The case study also shows that flexible working was not treated as a separate initiative. It became a natural outcome of better data management. Staff could log in from home, access the latest updates and avoid carrying hard drives back and forth between locations.

That mattered both for convenience and for continuity. Once project files, emails and design data were centralized, people no longer had to rely on physical transfers or partial copies of data to keep work moving outside the office.