Northern Consulting Engineers (NCE) is a leading Structural and Civil consultancy based in Queensland, Australia, with an expanding presence across the country and into New Zealand. Known for its expertise, innovation, and reliability, NCE has built a strong reputation for delivering complex, multi-disciplinary projects with precision and excellence.
As a proudly locally owned firm, NCE thrives on the strength of its team — over 40 skilled engineers dedicated to providing high-quality, customized solutions. With offices in Sunshine Coast and Townsville, NCE is strategically positioned to serve clients across diverse industries, ensuring seamless project execution from start to finish.
"For any company struggling with email overload and team collaboration, we highly recommend Yablo. It’s not just an email tool — it’s a centralized workspace that streamlines communication, improves efficiency, and enhances transparency."
How Yablo Transformed Our Communication Workflow
"Our work spans large-scale developments to smaller projects, such as structural modifications," says Tim Messer, Director at NCE.
"While our larger projects follow a structured project management approach, our smaller projects require agility and efficiency. This is where Yablo has revolutionized how we manage client interactions, internal collaboration, and task tracking."
Before adopting Yablo, NCE relied heavily on Outlook and individual mailboxes, supplemented by a few shared inboxes. This system made tracking email threads, assigning responsibilities, and ensuring smooth handovers cumbersome. Now, with Yablo, the team benefits from a centralized communication platform that organizes all project-related emails and makes them easily accessible to the right people.
"One of Yablo’s most valuable features is its ability to handle the high volume of inquiries and communications we receive daily. When customers request modifications, the back-and-forth emails, design coordination, and approval processes can quickly become overwhelming. Yablo has streamlined everything, making the entire process effortless."
From Email Chaos to a Centralized System
"Previously, emails were scattered across individual mailboxes, with a few shared inboxes. This lack of visibility made collaboration difficult, requiring manual forwarding and additional tracking systems."
With Yablo, NCE now operates in a fully transparent, centralized workspace where:
- All project-related emails are stored in one place.
- Team members can seamlessly assign conversations to one another.
- Internal notes and discussions are integrated directly into the system.
- Project handovers are smooth, minimizing miscommunication.
Tim Messer adds:
"The board view and task-based approach in Yablo fit perfectly with our workflow. We were already using a Kanban-style system for project tracking, so incorporating Yablo felt like a natural extension. Now, we manage both email communications and tasks within a single platform, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools."
How Yablo Enhances Collaboration
At NCE, ensuring the right people review and approve communications before they are sent is critical. Each project involves collaboration across multiple departments, including:
- Engineers – responsible for technical specifications and approvals.
- Drafters – handling drawings and compliance.
- Administrative staff – managing inquiries and document handling.
- Finance teams – overseeing cost breakdowns and invoicing.
Yablo has significantly improved collaboration across these teams.
Tim Messer shares a key example:
"Our administrative team can now draft responses and attach necessary documents. Engineers or project leads can review and send them off with minimal delays, ensuring all outgoing communication is accurate and meets our internal quality standards."
He continues:
"A major advantage of Yablo is its ability to merge conversations related to the same project. At NCE, each job has a unique job number, and all related communications are tracked under that reference."
"Previously, keeping related emails connected was difficult — especially when multiple people from the same company sent separate inquiries about the same project. With Yablo, we can merge these conversations into a single task, ensuring all correspondence remains organized and easily traceable."
How AI is Making the Difference
For NCE, responding quickly to customer inquiries is crucial.
"When we first started using Yablo, our team quickly embraced message templates. These have helped standardize responses, saving valuable time while ensuring consistency."
Now, with Yablo Genius, a suite of AI-powered features, NCE can analyze incoming messages, generate relevant responses, and automate routine tasks — freeing up time for high-priority work.
"Yablo Genius takes this to another level. Instead of relying on pre-configured message templates, we can simply provide Yablo with key points, and the system crafts a professional response for us."
Final Thoughts
"Yablo has completely transformed the way we manage customer communications at Northern Consulting Engineers. Having a centralized platform to track all conversations, collaborate seamlessly, and maintain a comprehensive project history has been a game-changer for our business."
"We’re also incredibly impressed with the responsiveness of the Yablo team. They listen to feedback, continuously improve the platform, and ensure it evolves alongside our needs. Having a tool that grows with us is truly invaluable."
About Northern Consulting Engineers
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