Xzist Digital Selected projects · UK construction

Real problems. Working software.

A small set of projects I've built for UK construction firms — the problem in their business, what I built, what changed when it shipped. Every tool below is in daily use right now.

Recent work spans civil engineering, fencing, and infrastructure — though the platforms and systems I build apply across UK construction more broadly.

01 — Land Wide UK / Embedded technology partner

Replacing six disconnected tools with a single bespoke platform — and becoming a long-term technology partner in the process.

At a glance

Land Wide UK Ltd is a UK civil engineering and fencing contractor operating across infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

Xzist Digital works with Land Wide UK across its wider digital operation — including bespoke software development, IT support, brand redevelopment, website design, and ongoing AI-driven workflow optimisation — effectively acting as the embedded technology function the business required as it continued to grow.

The challenge

Like many established UK contractors, Land Wide UK was operating a fast-paced business using a collection of disconnected systems that had evolved over time rather than being intentionally designed.

Outlook handled email communication. Excel managed labour scheduling. WhatsApp was heavily relied upon for site communication. Dropbox stored drawings and project files. Quotations were created using manually versioned Word templates and distributed via email.

As projects and operational demands increased, visibility across workflows became more difficult. The business needed a single platform that could provide a clear overview of projects, streamline communication, improve scheduling, and support the full operational lifecycle from enquiry through to completion.

At the same time, the company's branding and online presence no longer reflected the scale or quality of work being delivered. The existing visual identity felt dated, and the website lacked the functionality and presentation needed to properly showcase projects within a rapidly evolving sector.

The approach

Rather than starting with development immediately, the first stage focused on understanding how the business actually operated day to day.

This included sitting in on quotation meetings, reviewing project workflows, and following the full journey of a project — from initial business development contact through estimating, delivery, site management, invoicing, and closeout.

That process uncovered both the strengths and operational friction points within the business: purchase order tracking, delayed projects, tender revisions, plant hire calculations, document approvals, and the practical need for mobile-friendly access to RAMS, drawings, and project information on site.

A consistent pattern quickly emerged. While every project was technically different, the underlying operational process remained highly repeatable. That created the opportunity to design a platform tailored specifically to the way Land Wide UK already worked, while removing unnecessary operational drag.

The solution

The result was LWUK-Internal — a bespoke all-in-one operational platform designed specifically around the workflows of a civil engineering and fencing contractor. The system replaced six disconnected tools with a single integrated platform.

At its core is a project-focused CRM that manages the full lifecycle of a contract: initial enquiry, quotation, project award, scheduling, delivery, and closeout.

Key functionality includes:

  • A full quotation builder with reusable line-item libraries, version tracking, branded PDF exports, and customer e-signature workflows complete with hash-stamped audit logs.
  • Labour and plant scheduling boards with drag-and-drop allocation, conflict detection, and bulk schedule movement tools.
  • Real-time internal project messaging to keep communication directly linked to operational activity.
  • Mobile-friendly site access allowing operatives to view drawings, files, signed documents, and project information without relying on office calls.
  • AI-assisted task creation and natural-language parsing, supported by automated daily summary digests.
  • Centralised management of files, suppliers, plant logs, team directories, and audit histories within a single environment.

The platform was built using a modern technology stack including React, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL on managed cloud infrastructure. Security includes user-scoped permissions, real-time data synchronisation, and secure edge functions for external integrations.

Importantly, Land Wide UK retains ownership of both the codebase and its operational data, avoiding ongoing per-user SaaS dependency and allowing the platform to evolve alongside the business.

Alongside the software development, the Land Wide UK brand and website were fully redeveloped to better reflect the quality and scale of projects being delivered.

The updated identity was applied consistently across digital and print media, while the new website — landwideuk.co.uk — was rebuilt to clearly communicate capability, showcase completed projects, improve enquiry generation, and deliver a faster, more modern user experience.

Ongoing IT support and AI-led operational optimisation continue alongside development, ensuring the business remains supported while continuing to adopt new technologies and efficiencies.

02 — Fabricatta / SaaS platform

The all-in-one operating system for UK kitchen worktop fabricators.

At a glance

A purpose-built SaaS platform for UK kitchen worktop fabricators, replacing the patchwork of spreadsheets, quote templates, design software, and shared calendars that most fabrication businesses rely on to run a job from enquiry to install.

The problem

A worktop job is deceptively complex. By the time a customer's kitchen is finished, that single job has touched sales, templating, CAD, scheduling, materials, install, and invoicing. Most UK fabricators stitch all of this together with Excel, WhatsApp threads, paper job bags, and whichever generic CRM they tried last. Information gets re-typed at every stage. Quotes take hours instead of minutes. Jobs slip between templater, workshop, and installer because nobody has a single view. Material is over-ordered because remnants aren't tracked. The owner ends up doing admin in the evenings that should have been automatic.

The off-the-shelf options don't help. Generic job-management platforms don't understand cutouts, drainer grooves, edge profiles, or seam geometry. The enterprise stone-industry systems built for large manufacturers are wildly over-priced and over-engineered for a typical UK fabricator running a workshop and a few crews.

The approach

I started by spending time with the actual workflow — how an enquiry becomes a quote, how a templater records measurements, how a job moves to the shop floor, how an install gets booked. The throughline was clear: the work itself is highly skilled and varies job-to-job, but the process around it is remarkably consistent. That meant a properly-fitted SaaS could absorb most of the admin without taking anything away from the craft.

I deliberately didn't try to build a tool that does everything. The brief was tight: solve the parts of the workflow that hurt most, and treat the things that matter to fabricators — cutouts, joints, drainer grooves, edge profiles, slab nesting — as first-class features rather than abstract line items.

The build

Fabricatta is three modules built around a single record: the job. A client enquiry becomes a project, a project becomes a quote, a quote becomes a scheduled job, and a finished job becomes an invoice — all without re-typing anything.

The CRM holds clients, contacts, sites, files, and a chronological timeline of every interaction. The design tool is a canvas-based worktop designer that draws the way fabricators actually work: centerline drawing, multi-part layouts, automatic seam handling, edge profiles per side, UK-standard appliance cutouts, drainer grooves, and slab nesting. As you draw, the quote prices itself. Materials, edges, cutouts, and fabrication all calculate live, then export as a branded PDF with the 2D plan embedded. Job management runs the workflow that follows: a sales pipeline kanban, a weekly crew calendar with drag-and-drop scheduling, and stage tracking from "awaiting template" through "installed."

The platform ships with 570+ products pre-seeded from ten major UK supplier catalogues — Caesarstone, Silestone, Dekton, Compac, Technistone, Neolith, Corian, Hi-Macs, CRL Stone, and Quarella — so a new fabricator can quote real material from day one without any data entry.

Built modern. React, TypeScript, Supabase, Vercel. Auto-save on every change. Full audit trail on every action.

Status

Built end-to-end by Xzist Digital — product strategy, design, and engineering. Launched April 2026.

Work with me

Recognise the pattern? Let's talk.

I take on a handful of new clients a year. If any of the projects above echo your business, let's start the conversation.