Faced with a costly industry challenge, our product growth team stepped up with a smart, efficient, and customer-focused solution. When Hawkins — Downer’s vertical construction business—needed historical weather data to support their tender process, they could have been charged up to $36,000 annually to access this information from traditional sources. Recognising the financial strain and inefficiency, Road Science saw an opportunity to provide real value.
Zeus is our online forecasting tool that interprets weather data and provides road workers with clear advice on when and where they are able to use Road Science products. In order to support the Hawkins team, our Product Growth Engineer, Josh Appleton, adapted the existing internal data process for Zeus, to quickly create a bespoke solution tailored to Hawkins’ needs. The result: a custom-built app that allows their tender team to specify dates and locations to receive accurate historical weather data—at a fraction of the cost.
Daniel Hart, National Planning Lead at Hawkins notes "We’re delighted with the service Road Science has delivered. Thanks to their support, we now have access to a significantly larger and more comprehensive source of historical weather data — at just a fraction of the alternative cost. Leveraging Zeus, the team developed an intuitive, user-friendly interface that has streamlined the entire data extraction process. Road Science worked closely with us to ensure the data was delivered in exactly the format we needed, saving us both time and money. This partnership has added real value to our operations."
The impact was immediate and significant. When previously paying $100 for daily data for one site, and $300 for the hourly data, Road Science agility provided Hawkins with a 99% cost reduction - including development of the app, The new solution delivers the same critical data, but slashes costs and simplifies access without compromising quality. Even more impressive, the entire solution was scoped, built, and delivered in just four hours — showcasing Road Science’s innovation and commitment to solving real-world industry problems.
This successful collaboration highlights Road Science’s technical expertise and ability to turn existing capabilities into tailored, cost-effective tools that address customer pain points. It reinforces our role not just as a supplier, but as a proactive partner driving smarter outcomes across the infrastructure sector.
Whether it's about saving dollars or solving headaches, our product growth team are here to help make an impact on the industry for the better. Get in touch with Road Science today and let’s see how we can help with data-driven solutions.
Josh Appleton
Product Growth Engineer | Road Science
E | Josh.Appleton@downer.co.nz
