Legacy Software Modernized for Remote Access and Real-Time Collaboration in Steel Fabrication
How Canyon Steel migrated aging on-prem software to the cloud, moved blueprints into SharePoint, and gave field managers iPad access from the job site — without replacing a single scanner.
Managed by Soaring Towers
Hear it from Blake Baggett at Canyon Steel
“Our company is more efficient than ever!”
A structural steel fabricator that grew from a garage in 2008 into a 40-strong team.
Canyon Steel is a structural steel fabrication and erection firm serving commercial construction projects across California — schools, offices, libraries, hospitals, and large industrial builds. Founded in 2008 by Tom Baggett, a former New York ironworker, the company has grown into a 40-person operation specializing in BIM-driven design, CNC fabrication, and on-site erection.
As project volumes grew, the legacy software and paper-based workflows that once worked started slowing every team down. They came to Soaring Towers for a modernized, mobile-ready technology foundation — without throwing away the hardware and software investments they’d already made.
A growing fabricator slowed down by legacy software, paper workflows, and no remote access.
Aging on-prem software, paper-bound collaboration, and zero remote access created friction across the shop floor and the job site — the same pattern we see across most fabrication and construction firms before they modernize their operations.
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Legacy software on unsupported hardwareFabTrol — the system the shop ran on — sat on aging hardware with no vendor support, becoming a daily risk to operations.
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No mobile or remote accessManagers needed up-to-the-minute blueprints from the job site — but the only way to get them was a trip back to the shop or a printed copy.
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Paper-based collaboration bottlenecksSharing drawings, revisions, and project documents meant printing, walking, and waiting — slowing every handoff between teams.
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Sensitive project data at riskBlueprints, contracts, and operational data lived on aging local systems — without the redundancy or security a modern fabricator needs.
A cloud-modernized environment with mobile access, secure collaboration, and zero legacy throwaway.
Soaring Towers designed and implemented a modernization plan built specifically for the way Canyon Steel operates day to day. The four pillars below replaced the legacy friction without forcing the shop to scrap hardware that still worked.
Today’s fabrication and construction firms need more than aging on-prem systems and paper.
Fabricators and construction firms running on legacy software, paper documents, and on-prem-only access can’t keep up with the pace, mobility, and security a modern project demands.
At Soaring Towers, we specialize in modernizing operational systems for construction and fabrication firms — without forcing them to throw out the investments they’ve already made.
Four foundations of a modernized fabrication operation.
Every layer below was selected and configured specifically for the realities of a working fabrication shop — distributed teams, sensitive project data, and the need for blueprints to follow the work, not the other way around.
FabTrol in the cloud
The legacy FabTrol system, virtualized and moved to a secure cloud environment — modern reliability, remote access, and an end to dependence on aging on-prem hardware.
- Secure cloud hosting
- Reliable remote access
- No more legacy hardware risk
Microsoft SharePoint
Blueprints, contracts, and operational documents migrated into SharePoint — real-time access, version control, and team-wide visibility from anywhere a project takes them.
- Centralized blueprint storage
- Real-time, versioned collaboration
- Laptop & iPad access
The job site, not just the shop.
Secure remote access to FabTrol and Tekla PowerFab — so estimators, project managers, and field leads can work from wherever the project needs them.
- FabTrol remote access
- Tekla PowerFab access
- iPad blueprint access on site
Modernized without throwing away what works.
A specialized on-premises bridge built to keep the shop’s existing scanners sending documents straight into SharePoint — no hardware replacement, no workflow disruption.
- Existing scanners preserved
- Direct scan-to-SharePoint workflow
- Zero hardware replacement
Ready to modernize your legacy systems without scrapping what works?
If your shop is wrestling with aging software, no remote access, paper-based collaboration, or data security gaps — we can help.
Get practical guidance for evaluating your legacy systems, mobile access, and operational readiness. No commitment, no sales pressure.
Measurable outcomes for Canyon Steel.
Documents that once required a trip back to the shop now load on an iPad at the job site. Legacy software that ran on borrowed time runs in the cloud. And the scanners the team already knew how to use kept working — because we built a bridge for them.
A fabrication shop firing on all cylinders — without throwing out what works.
After partnering with Soaring Towers, Canyon Steel modernized its core systems while preserving every investment that still served the business — so the team could move faster without throwing away what works.
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Faster document retrievalA 30% improvement in document retrieval time — instant access to the right blueprint, in the right version, from anywhere.
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Mobile job-site accessProject managers and field leads pull up blueprints on iPads from the job site — no more trips back to the shop for revisions.
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Stronger data securitySensitive blueprints and project documents now sit on secure, redundant cloud storage — protected and recoverable.
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Faster team collaborationReal-time, versioned SharePoint collaboration replaced printing and walking — fewer errors, faster handoffs between teams.
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Preserved legacy investmentExisting scanners, software workflows, and team habits stayed in place — modernized around the team, not over it.
Our company is more efficient than ever!
The Legacy Systems Modernization Checklist
Before making your next technology decision, evaluate whether your legacy systems are holding the shop back. Our free checklist surfaces:
- Legacy system risks
- Remote access gaps
- Data security vulnerabilities
- Collaboration bottlenecks
- Hardware compatibility issues
- Operational inefficiencies
- 40+ operations & technology checkpoints
- Legacy modernization best practices
- Cloud migration recommendations
- Remote & mobile access guidance
- SharePoint collaboration best practices
- Backup & business continuity standards
A partner that understands legacy modernization.
Construction and fabrication firms require more than reactive IT support. Our business-first approach ensures technology serves the way your team actually works — modernizing without scrapping what still delivers value.
Answers for construction and fabrication leaders.
Don’t see your question? Reach out for a discovery call.
It includes assessing legacy systems, migrating critical software to the cloud, integrating with collaboration tools like SharePoint, enabling secure remote and mobile access, building custom bridges for legacy hardware where it makes sense, training the team, and providing ongoing support — designed around how your shop actually operates.
Aging on-prem software running on unsupported hardware is a daily operational risk — and it can’t deliver the mobile, remote, and collaborative access modern projects demand. Cloud virtualization preserves the software your team already knows while adding the reliability, security, and accessibility you need.
By migrating blueprints into a collaboration platform like SharePoint, configuring secure remote and mobile access to design software (FabTrol, Tekla PowerFab, etc.), and equipping field teams with iPads or laptops that can pull the right document, in the right version, on demand.
Operational experience in construction and fabrication, willingness to preserve existing investments where it makes sense, cybersecurity expertise, cloud and remote access capability, fast support response times, and a track record of modernizing legacy systems without disrupting the shop.
The stack we deployed for Canyon Steel.
