Reducing Engineering Burnout Without Hiring More Engineers
Client profile (anonymized)
Mid-sized civil engineering firm
80+ staff | Australia | Multi-project pipeline
The situation
The firm was growing steadily, but senior engineers were spending more time:
- Updating drawings
- Processing redlines
- Managing documentation than doing actual engineering work.
Hiring more engineers was expensive—and wouldn’t solve the admin bottleneck.
What was breaking
- Engineers were overloaded
- Documentation delays were impacting project timelines
- Turnover risk was increasing
What NOW implemented
We embedded a small offshore Project Operations Team, including:
- AutoCAD Production Operators for redlines and as-builts
- Documentation control support
- Clear handoff rules between engineers and offshore staff
The result
- Engineers reclaimed hours each week for design and review
- Documentation turnaround times improved significantly
- No increase in local headcount
Why it worked
We didn’t “add staff.”
We removed friction by placing AutoCAD operators where they belonged—in technical production support, not admin.
We Didn’t Need More Engineers. We Needed Our Engineers Back.
I run a civil engineering firm in Australia. We weren’t struggling to win work—we were struggling to keep up with it.
Our senior engineers were spending an insane amount of time updating drawings, processing redlines, and handling documentation. Hiring more engineers felt like the wrong answer. It would just increase costs without fixing the real problem.
What we actually needed was technical production support.
That’s when we partnered with NOW.
Instead of giving us “drafting help,” they helped us rethink how work flowed. They embedded AutoCAD production operators who handled redlines and as-builts, with clear boundaries between engineering decisions and drafting execution.
Within weeks, our engineers were back doing what they were hired to do—design, review, and lead projects.
We didn’t add chaos. We removed friction.