Shaking Things Up: Modernising Seismic Impact Monitoring
A customer case study with Xi Engineering
Xi Engineering provides specialist engineering support to a variety of sectors, including defence. One of their key responsibilities is supporting the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) by assessing wind farm developments within the Eskdalemuir Consultation Zone (ECZ), ensuring they don’t interfere with seismic monitoring capabilities.
To carry out these complex assessments, Xi Engineering had been relying on a legacy Excel-based tool. While functional, the tool posed increasing challenges in terms of usability, scalability, and security. As demands grew, it became clear that a modern, digital solution was needed to streamline the process and better support both wind farm developers and the MoD. This customer case study tells the story of our initial work with Xi Engineering.
The Problem
The Excel tool was cumbersome and inefficient, making it difficult for developers to model and plan windfarm proposals, and for the MoD to manage seismic headroom effectively. Manual processes increased the risk of error, created bottlenecks, and lacked the transparency and accessibility needed for collaboration between stakeholders.
The Solution
Vidatec partnered with Xi Engineering to design and develop a fully digitised replacement. The solution was split into two tailored applications, each serving distinct user groups:
- Industry Tool: Built for windfarm developers to assess seismic impacts, view budget allocations, and model proposals before submitting them for approval.
- MoD Management Tool: Created for MoD users to track and manage seismic headroom, process incoming requests, and plan long-term strategies more effectively.
Vidatec led the entire discovery phase, working closely with both Xi Engineering and end users to map user journeys, design intuitive interfaces, and define the functionality required to support the complete workflow.
The Final Result
The new applications have transformed the seismic assessment process, delivering a secure, scalable, and user-friendly platform for both public and defence sector users. Windfarm developers now have a clear, efficient way to model and manage their proposals, while the MoD benefits from enhanced oversight and decision-making capabilities. By digitising and streamlining a critical national infrastructure process, Vidatec has helped Xi Engineering unlock new efficiencies and future-proof their services.
MP Buckingham
Managing Director
Xi Engineering
