Each month, PTE's Knowledge Hub team will explore the complexities and technical challenges British project architects face every day.

Have you ever wondered how much time you've spent manually compiling schedules of accommodation? Hours of cross-referencing spreadsheets, counting dwellings, checking unit mixes, and updating data after every design change. For large projects, this becomes a tedious and error-prone task. At PTE, we have automated this process to save time, avoid mistakes, ensure data remain consistent across teams, and that they respond to our clients’ briefs.

An automated schedule provides a structured summary of critical project data, directly linked to design models or central databases. This eliminates manual data entry and speeds up decision-making. Beyond saving time, it improves coordination between architects, clients, and planners ensuring everyone works with the latest information.

It captures the key metrics that matter most to our clients. Briefs are often focused on numbers: the total number of homes, square footage, net-to-gross ratios, and the percentage breakdown of tenure types and home types. These figures are essential for assessing a project's viability and ensuring it aligns with business and policy objectives.

By automating schedules, we help clients visualise our designs in numbers, offering a clear, data-driven understanding of how the scheme performs. Whether it's housing mix, density, or tenure split, these schedules translate complex designs into accessible information, bridging the gap between design intent and client priorities.

Furthermore, automated schedules allow us to quickly analyse and adjust our projects, giving clients immediate feedback on how design changes impact viability. Whether modifying unit layouts, adjusting plot sizes, or refining home type distributions, we can instantly update key figures and assess the implications. This agile approach ensures informed decision-making throughout the design process.