Organisation
Environmental consultancy, two offices, 36 advisers and 12 support staff. Clients: 60% public sector, 40% developers and industry.
Example engagement · Environmental and planning advice
Reports and quotes drawn from earlier work
An advisory firm of 48 people delivering environmental impact assessments, nitrogen calculations and planning advice to municipalities, provinces and developers.
employees48
turnover€6.1m
projects a year~140
Profile
The organisation
Work
Environmental impact assessment procedures, nitrogen deposition (AERIUS), soil and noise surveys, advice under the Omgevingswet (the Dutch Environment and Planning Act). Every assignment ends in a report that has to stand up legally.
Systems
SharePoint with 14 years of reports, AFAS for hours and invoices, AERIUS Calculator, a folder of quotes in Word, email.
The question
Where the hours went
The average quote took 9 hours, mostly spent searching for comparable earlier projects and rewriting text that already existed. For tenders it rose to 30 hours per submission, with a one-in-four chance of winning.
Reports often started from zero because earlier work couldn't be found by content. Senior advisers spent an estimated third of their time looking things up, sorting them and checking source references instead of forming the judgement itself. Regulatory changes arrived through newsletters and stayed with whoever happened to read them.
Working session and scan · Worked example
Four weeks of watching the work
The Working Session with eight advisers, then the AI Accountability Scan: four weeks alongside three running projects and the quote flow.
9 hours
per quote, of which 6 hours searching for and reusing existing text.
31%
of senior hours went on finding things again and sorting sources, not on assessing.
2,400
reports in SharePoint, searchable by file name, not by content.
4 in 10
quotes contained passages from an outdated version of a standard text.
0
fixed place where changes to the Omgevingswet and case law were tracked.
The pattern: the knowledge existed but couldn't be found. The hours went into finding, not into thinking.
What we built
Three workflows, one knowledge base
Not separate tools. One searchable memory of earlier work, with three pipelines on top that draw text from it. Every passage shows which report it comes from.
The knowledge base
All 2,400 reports, quotes and memos searchable by content. A question such as "noise survey for housing next to a provincial road, after 2022" returns the passages and where to find them.
Human approvesAn adviser judges whether the source fits.
Quotes and tenders
A first version drawn from comparable earlier projects, with the origin shown per paragraph. Standard texts come only from the approved, current version.
Human approvesThe project lead approves before sending.
Reports with source references
Structure and first draft of chapters from our own earlier work and the research data supplied. Every claim with its source. No source, and it says: I don't know.
Human approvesA senior adviser writes the judgement themselves.
Regulation monitor
A weekly overview of changes to the Omgevingswet, general administrative orders (AMvB) and relevant rulings, linked to the running projects they affect.
Human approvesA lawyer confirms relevance.
The three rules
Every result has its source.
If the source is missing, it says: I don't know.
What goes out, a person approves.
Engagement · Worked example
Four months
Agreed before we started. One workflow live each month, with the results measured on the organisation's own work.
Month 1
Knowledge base
2,400 documents made searchable. Test panel of 6 advisers: for 84% of searches the right report was among the first three results.
Month 2
Quote pipeline
First 20 quotes through the pipeline. On average 3.5 hours per quote. Zero outdated standard passages after checking.
Month 3
Report pipeline
Two environmental impact sub-reports and four noise reports set up with the pipeline. Source check by the senior: 4 corrections on 210 references.
Month 4
Monitor and set-up
Regulation monitor live. Training for all 36 advisers. Working policy set down: what may go in, what may not, who approves.
Results · Worked example
After four months
3.5 h
per quote
was 9 hours
12 u
per tender
was 30 hours
1 in 3
tender win rate
was 1 in 4
19%
senior hours spent looking things up
was 31%
100%
passages with a source
was not measurable
1 week
regulatory change known
was weeks, or never
What it's worth · Worked example
€310,000 to €400,000 a year
Calculated conservatively: internal hourly rate €95 to €125, first year at 65 to 75% realisation, measured effects only. The calculation is shown so you can redo it with your own figures.
Freed-up hours on quotes and tenders
€95–120k~1,300 hours a year × €95–125, 75% realisation
Freed-up senior hours in reporting
€140–185k12 percentage points × 12 seniors × 1,600 hours × €95–125, 65% realisation
Extra tenders won
€55–70kMargin on 2 extra assignments a year, no turnover counted
Avoided rework from outdated text
€20–25kMeasured correction rounds last year × hours
Total, calculated conservatively
€310–400kAfterwards
What happened next
The knowledge base became the starting point for onboarding: new advisers found in week one what used to take months. Twice, the regulation monitor flagged something affecting a running piece of advice before the client saw it themselves. These effects are not counted in the value above.
Zo begin je.
Want to look for yourself first? The supplier scan and the Chain check are free and need no conversation.
The supplier scanA half-hour intro
About where your hours go. No obligation. We won't chase you afterwards.
Book an intro callThis is already running
BBEbuddy. Teachers ask a question and the answer comes from a knowledge base of their own, with the source attached. Runs in three languages.Valora. A valuation that used to take hours now takes minutes, with every calculation step visible.Bookaflow. A booking system that stops the moment a person has to decide.
Read the case