Fixology builds traceability, document control and engineering data systems for Bristol and West of England firms. A full traceability and document control system typically takes 14 to 22 weeks, and a focused engineering data tool 6 to 10 weeks. Code and hosting are in your name from day one, in a UK or EU region, and you see working software every two weeks.
Bristol's engineering base, in brief
North Bristol is one of the UK's main aerospace centres. Airbus employs around 3,000 people at Filton on design, engineering and support for wings, fuel systems and landing gear (Airbus), and a long supply chain of machining, composites and test firms surrounds it.
The area also hosts national research infrastructure. Isambard-AI, the national AI supercomputer run by the University of Bristol, is housed at the National Composites Centre on the Bristol and Bath Science Park (University of Bristol).
For a business commissioning software, this means two things: a strong local market for engineering skills, and customers higher up the supply chain who expect their suppliers' systems to keep good records.
Engineering software is mostly about evidence
When an aerospace or defence customer audits a supplier, the questions are about records. Which batch of material went into this part? Who approved revision C of the drawing, and did the shop floor build to it? Where is the inspection report?
Many smaller suppliers answer those questions from a mix of paper travellers, a shared drive and an ERP that was never set up for serial-level traceability. The software they need is not glamorous:
- Traceability from goods-in to dispatch, by batch or serial number.
- Document control with approvals, revision history and a record of who saw what.
- Non-conformance and concessions tracked to closure, with evidence attached.
- Links to the ERP or MRP so nobody types the same order twice.
Moving off paper and an ageing Access or desktop tool is usually a staged legacy modernisation rather than a big-bang switch. Sometimes the right answer is a module in an existing quality system; when the process is specific enough that off-the-shelf tools force workarounds, a focused bespoke system is the better long-term answer. Our manufacturing software page covers this in more depth, and bespoke ERP development covers the bigger version.
Putting AI to work on engineering data
Bristol engineering firms tend to have large archives: test reports, specifications, standards, years of non-conformance records. That is a good fit for a narrow AI assistant that answers questions from your own documents and cites the page it used.
A sensible first version takes 8 to 12 weeks. It runs on a hosted model in a UK or EU region under your own account, so nothing leaves your control, and it is tested against real questions from your engineers before anyone relies on it. See AI development for how we scope this, including when a simple search tool would do the job better.
Inside a typical traceability system
Take a hypothetical aerospace supplier of around 150 staff. The system tracks parts by batch and serial number from goods-in to dispatch, controls drawings and procedures with approvals, flags export-controlled items, and exchanges orders with the ERP. It typically takes 14 to 22 weeks.
Traceability is the largest piece of work because it carries the business rules: split batches, rework, concessions and returns. Validation runs before launch take longer than on most projects, since your quality team will want to test the system against real job histories.
Building for prime contractors and defence customers
Suppliers to primes and the defence supply chain inherit requirements from their customers. Technical data may be export controlled, so access has to follow need to know and nationality rules. Customers ask where data is hosted, who can see it and how access is logged. Security questionnaires arrive before a contract is renewed.
We design for that from the start: role-based access tied to your own directory, a full audit trail, hosting in a UK region under your account, and encrypted storage. Our security page covers hosting, access control and UK GDPR. Your own accreditations stay with your business; the software gives you the records to support them.
West of England Growth Hub and national support
The West of England Growth Hub gives free and impartial advice to small and medium-sized businesses across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The Combined Authority also runs the new national Business Growth Service locally with the Department for Business and Trade (West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, April 2026).
Speak to them before you commission a build: they will know what funding and innovation programmes are open. For genuinely novel engineering software, R&D tax relief may also apply.
Remote by default, on site when it counts
We do not have a Bristol office. Fixology works remotely from its registered office in Luton, and we travel to you for discovery (including time on the shop floor), user testing and launch. Between visits you get a demo on a test link every two weeks and answers within one working day.
You own everything: code in your repository from day one, hosting in your name in a UK or EU region. That also helps when a prime contractor asks where your data lives. The how we work page explains the sprint process.