Ballymena-based Patton Group has been commended for its innovation at a recent awards ceremony.

The firm scooped the Excellence in Innovation title at the 2009 Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Business Awards.

A spokesman for the group, which was established in 1912, said since 2005, its investment in Workspace - the construction industry's leading document and knowledge management system from Union Square Software - has been underpinning a 'drive for quality'.

Patton Group took the decision to invest in Workspace following a year-long selection process evaluating working practices and researching available products.

The goal of the Workspace implementation was to improve quality and efficiency through both consolidating and improving access to the company's knowledge base.

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According to the spokesman, Workspace's implementation was embedded into the Patton company culture through an internal branding exercise which rebranded the system "UNIFY".

UNIFY has enabled Patton Group to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging environment, with clients John Lewis and Belfast Metropolitan Collage citing UNIFY as the main factor in their decision in appointing the group.

It brings numerous advantages in project delivery such as faster communications, greater flexibility, fewer project delays and earlier completion times.

UNIFY was integral in Patton Group gaining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accreditation and has helped the group to reduce overheads and improve margins.

The judging panel agreed that through UNIFY, Patton Group has developed a culture of continuous improvement and innovation by capturing creativity and innovative thinking.

Group IT Manager Brendan Magill said: "This award represents a major achievement for the group and the progress that we have made with Workspace. By integrating our entire operations we have cut costs, driven efficiency and unified the company."

Will Yandell, Commercial Director at Union Square Software, said: "It's fantastic to see our clients winning awards for Workspace. Patton Group was the first contractor in Northern Ireland to invest in Workspace, since then they have driven the use of product to encompass every aspect of their business operations."

(PR/BMcC)