Construction - August 2021

August 2021 | constructionglobal.com

PRECISION TRACKING ENHANCES PRODUCTIVITY New measurement launches and tie-ups enable construction firms to keep close tabs on all inspection activities

Early-stage Off-Site Construction Companies

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The Construction Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DOMINIC ELLIS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

SCOTT BIRCH

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

GEORGIA ALLEN DANIELA KIANIČKOVÁ PRODUCTION MANAGERS

OWEN MARTIN PHILLINE VICENTE JENNIFER SMITH PRODUCTION EDITOR

JANET BRICE

CREATIVE TEAM

OSCAR HATHAWAY SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL HECTOR PENROSE SAM HUBBARD MIMI GUNN JUSTIN SMITH REBEKAH BIRLESON DUKE WETHERILL JORDAN WOOD VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

KIERAN WAITE

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

MANAGING DIRECTOR

MOTION DESIGNER

JORDAN HUBBARD

SAM KEMP EVELYN HUANG

TYLER LIVINGSTONE

LEWIS VAUGHAN

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

MEDIA SALES DIRECTORS

MARKETING MANAGER

GRETA ANDREJEVAITE

JASON WESTGATE MARK CAWSTON

MARKETING DIRECTOR

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

ROSS GARRIGAN

STACY NORMAN

PROJECT DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT & CEO

BEN MALTBY MIKE SADR KRIS PALMER TOM VENTURO

GLEN WHITE

FOREWORD

Rising optimism fuelled by digital growth THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IS EMBRACING NEW WAYS OF WORKING WHICH WILL DELIVER BETTER PERFORMANCES AND RAISE SAFETY STANDARDS

“The need for reliable, immediate data and digital tools which can help deliver projects cost effectively, are commercial necessities” CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

You can sense the optimism throughout the construction sector – in sharp contrast to this time last year. Housing and infrastructure projects are keeping contractors busy and trading updates point to improved performances and healthy order books.

I think there is another metric too – the growth in new technologies. The need for reliable, immediate data and digital tools which can help deliver projects cost effectively, are commercial necessities, and it’s heartening to see the pace of digital transformation underway.

Those late off the blocks can be comforted by the breadth of emerging opportunities – whether it’s courting autonomy to bridge productivity gaps or using AI to support bids for new work. With so many options available, it can appear bewildering. One manager advised limiting data capture points to the key areas that you must prioritise.

But as familiarity with new tech grows, we should embrace change – and look forward to a golden era for construction.

DOMINIC ELLIS

dominic.ellis@bizclikmedia.com

© 2021 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

constructionglobal.com

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CONTENTS

Our Regular Upfront Section: 08 Big Picture 10 The Brief 12 Global News 14 People Moves 16

Timeline: Key Metrics for Buildings in the Climate Change Committee Pathway to Meet the Sixth Carbon Budget

18 Trailblazer:

Renee Parker 20 Five Minutes With:

Padraig Finn

40

Project Management

Diffuse Disputes Through Better Project Management

26

Salzgitter Machinenbau Taking the Load in Global Supply Chains

48

Keolis Amey

Partners in Passenger Safety

60

Engineering

80

Technology

Tracking Productivity in Industry 4.0

Precision Tracking Enhances Productivity

68

88

Momentum Builds in AI Analytics Platforms and Robotics

Early-stage Off-Site Construction Companies

Digital Construction

Top 10

BIG PICTURE

8

August 2021

‘Big Carl’ crane

Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station, England

CREDIT: EDF

For a crane that soars 820-feet high and can haul 5,000 tonnes in a single lift, it’s surprising how few people have seen ‘Big Carl’. But thanks to a BBC2 documentary series, we are all that bit more informed about Sarens’ showpiece structure – and the size of the task facing the Hinkley Point C team.

constructionglobal.com

9

THE BRIEF “OUR RESEARCH SHOWS US THAT CONSTRUCTION IS RIPE FOR TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION AND EVOLUTION” Faisal Butt, CEO, Pi Labs

READ MORE

“The importance of partnership makes the preconstruction phase, when organisations decide who to work with and how, so critical to every project’s success” Mike Pettinella,

Director of EMEA Sales Autodesk Construction Cloud READ MORE

“During these tough economic times, many subcontractors are not maintaining proper commercial insurance coverage” John Fohr, CEO, TrustLayer

READ MORE

10

August 2021

BY THE NUMBERS

John Lewis moves into real estate development

80K £517M Annual pre-

10K

Rental homes targeted

Number of tax loss to John Lewis January 30 staff, who Will be on could get existing sites reduced rents (some fully furnished by John Lewis)

7K

16

Number of stores to close

EDITOR'S CHOICE GCCA AND WEF LAUNCH CONCRETE ACTION FOR CLIMATE The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and World Economic Forum have launched ‘Concrete Action for Climate’ (CAC), which aims to drive the industry to carbon neutrality.

READ MORE

NISSAN AND ENVISION-AESC TO BUILD UK ELECTRIC VEHICLE HUB Nissan and Envision-AESC have committed to creating a £1 billion flagship Electric Vehicle hub in Sunderland, securing the city's future viability as a car manufacturing centre.

READ MORE

CAUSEWAY TECHNOLOGIES RECEIVES £120M PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDING Causeway has secured a £120 million investment to fund strategic acquisitions and accelerate organic growth.

READ MORE

 GOOGLE

The £2 billion KKR John Laing deal

Google's 6th Street

So what’s been the most eye-catching deal of the summer?

You would have to say John Laing’s all-cash £2 billion acquisition from Aqueduct Bidco, a newly formed company owned by funds advised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and its affiliates.

under Southface's BIT

Are there any other parties involved?

KKR has agreed to partner with Equitix, an experienced infrastructure investor, to jointly own John Laing's existing asset portfolio.

Equitix will acquire a 50 per cent shareholding in the existing asset portfolio which will continue to be managed by John Laing's management team.

million and agreed to

What’s prompted the agreement?

KKR believes John Laing is well-placed to capitalise on connectivity, renewable energy, transport and growing demand for postpandemic national infrastructure projects.

The UK alone is planning to spend £40 billion on infrastructure projects.

For John Laing, the pandemic has meant that its reliance on digital connectivity has never been greater, and it needs to ensure it has the investment and services to succeed in the digital economy.

How will this affect its global operations?

Alongside UK & Europe, John Laing also has a sizeable presence in North America, Latin America and Australia. Recently it invested an additional US$14 million to increase its stake in the Denver Eagle P3 project in Denver, Colorado, to 50%.

campus in Kirkland, Washington, is the first office campus to certify its operations Building program.  BELLWAY Bellway has acquired 15,982 plots since last August worth £891 buy a further 9,000

W A Y U P

plots as it strives to keep up with soaring UK housing demand.  HENRY W POLLARD AND SONS A 161-year-old UK South West construction firm has ceased trading and left buildings unfinished, according to Business Live.  SKILLS SHORTAGES The Construction Skills Network says the industry will require an extra 217,000 workers by 2025 to meet demand from a fast-recovering

AUG 21

W A Y D O W N

COVID-19 pandemic. constructionglobal.com

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GLOBAL NEWS 1

UNITED STATES

Key issues from Miami Condo collapse Investigations are continuing into the collapse of a 12-storey building in Miami's Champlain Towers South sea-view condo development and focusing on column integrity, sinking, drainage and reclamation.

2

UNITED KINGDOM

UK publishes Building Safety Bill The Building Safety Bill sets out a clear pathway on how residential buildings should be constructed and maintained, according to the UK Government.

12

August 2021

4

FINLAND

ReCreate project reuses concrete in new buildings Universities and companies in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany are deconstructing precast concrete intact and reusing them in new buildings.

5

SOUTH KOREA

Hyundai buys controlling stake in Boston Dynamics Hyundai Motor Group has bought a controlling interest in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank following regulatory approvals and follows Bridgestone Americas' investment in Kodiak Robotics.

5

3

SWEDEN

HeidelbergCement to upgrade Slite site to carbon neutral HeidelbergCement claims its upgraded plant on the Swedish island of Gotland will be the world’s first carbon-neutral cement plant. The Slite plant, at subsidiary Cementa, will be scaled to capture up to 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

constructionglobal.com

13

PEOPLE MOVES QUIN BRELAND FROM: INTERNAL TO: VORTEX COMPANIES CURRENTLY: GENERAL COUNSEL AND HEAD OF ACQUISITIONS NOW: MANAGING DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN OPERATIONS The Vortex Companies has announced that Quin Breland, General Counsel and Head of Acquisitions, is moving to Germany to become the Managing Director for its European operations.

His near-term goals will be to re-establish the company's operating team and develop a strategy to promote Vortex's line of trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation materials, equipment and service solutions. A member of the Vortex team since 2016, he has played a critical role in all of the company's strategic acquisitions and organic business development, as well as being a key advisor to the company's international expansion effort.

14

August 2021

NICHOLAS MEE FROM: LIDL UK, R55 TO ROCKWELL TO: ROCKWELL WAS: BOARD DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF LAND NOW: MANAGING DIRECTOR UK London-based mixed-use developer, Rockwell, has announced the promotion of Nicholas Mee to Managing Director UK. Nicholas has played a pivotal role in the acquisition of Rockwell’s landmark developments, with responsibility for identifying, appraising and negotiating mixed-use development and investment opportunities. He is committed to ensuring each and every project responds to and reflects its location, with design and usage specifically tailored on a site-by-site basis.

ALBERT KAHLOW FROM: AIRSWIFT TO: AIRSWIFT WAS: REGIONAL DIRECTOR CANADA & GLOBAL HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY NOW: GLOBAL SALES DIRECTOR, IT AND TECHNOLOGY Airswift, the global workforce services company, is diversifying into the IT and technology sectors, with Albert Kahlow promoted to Global Sales Director, IT and Technology. He will lead the new division and meet growing demand for advanced technology skills in areas such as AI and automation across a range of sectors. Based in Dubai, Kahlow will have access to key tech hubs within Canada, North America, Australasia and Europe, while being central to the Middle East’s burgeoning tech scene. constructionglobal.com

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TIMELINE KEY METRICS FOR BUILDINGS

IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITTEE PATHWAY TO MEET THE SIXTH CARBON BUDGET The path to Net Zero set out in the CCC’s advice sees substantial nearterm growth in the deployment of energy efficiency measures and heat pumps as two of four priority areas over the next decade, alongside the roll-out of low-carbon heat networks and hydrogen trials. “We should not delay on heat pumps or low-carbon heat networks as viable solutions for most of the country,” it states.

TPY = Thousand per year

2020 HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS (TPY):

LOFTS INSULATED (TPY):

CAVITY WALLS (TPY):

SOLID WALLS INSULATED (TPY):

Annual Change:

Annual Change:

Annual Change:

Annual Change:

Value:

Value:

Value:

Value:

9% 36

16

August 2021

26% 32

-3% 40

-22% 10

2025

2030

2035

2050

HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS (TPY):

HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS (TPY):

HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS (TPY):

HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS (TPY):

62.5

62.5

62.5

62.5

415

1,075

1,435

1,525

LOFTS INSULATED (TPY):

LOFTS INSULATED (TPY):

LOFTS INSULATED (TPY):

LOFTS INSULATED (TPY):

CAVITY WALLS (TPY):

CAVITY WALLS (TPY):

CAVITY WALLS (TPY):

CAVITY WALLS (TPY):

SOLID WALLS INSULATED (TPY):

SOLID WALLS INSULATED (TPY):

SOLID WALLS INSULATED (TPY):

SOLID WALLS INSULATED (TPY):

710 215

225

675 175

245

200 55

45

0 0

0

constructionglobal.com

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TRAILBLAZER

Renee Parker Job Title: Business Development Manager Company: AFG Group

Dedicated to clients and decorated volunteer

A

s an employee of AFG since 2013, Renee provided both client development and project management support. She successfully expanded AFG’s presence in the Washington DC region, developing existing partnerships and introducing new opportunities to the firm. Most recently, Renee was tapped to lead the complex multi-year, multi-phased U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Lease Management Project for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the 6700B Rockledge Drive Facility in Rockville, Maryland.

Renee was a dedicated volunteer with the Society of American Military Engineers Northern Virginia Post, having served as the 2nd Vice President from 2000-2001 and Programs Director from 2014-2000. In 2019, Renee was the recipient of the Regional VP Award for Outstanding Service to SAME, and in 2017, she received the Regional VP Coin for Notable Service to the Post.

Prior to joining AFG, Renee had a long career developing facility planning and space acquisition guidance with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and was awarded the Special Achievement Award for Sustained Superior 18

August 2021

Performance of Duty, which was presented

by Attorney General Janet Reno.

Renee is moving to Florida to be closer to her grandchildren and looking forward to continuing her volunteer work as a project manager building wells in the Dominican Republic with Water at Work Ministry and leading a community nutrition effort in Guatemala with Impacto Ministry.

“ Seeing as how AFG has tripled its revenue since she was brought on, I would say she has been incredibly successful in accomplishing that mission” CHERYL O’CONNOR, CEO, AFG

constructionglobal.com

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

PADRAIG FINN PADRAIG FINN IS OPERATIONS DIRECTOR AT DORNAN GROUP, WHICH DELIVERS COMPLEX PROJECTS ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTORS. THE IRELAND-BASED GROUP ANTICIPATES OVER €5BN INVESTMENT FROM THE SECTOR WITHIN EUROPE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IN PHARMACEUTICAL PROJECTS INCLUDING BIOTECH, FILL FINISH, API, GENE & CELL THERAPY, AS WELL AS BLOOD FRACTIONATION AND VACCINES AND IS PREPARING TO SUPPORT ITS EXISTING AND FUTURE CLIENTS TO MEET THIS DEMAND.

20

August 2021

Q. TELL US ABOUT DORNAN GROUP AND KEY STRATEGIES FOR 2021/22?

Q. SPECIFICALLY, IN PHARMA, EXPLAIN WHAT THE NEW EUROPEAN PHARMACEUTICAL OPERATIONS WING OFFERS TO CLIENTS?

» We are one of the largest

specialist construction firms in Europe. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we posted a record turnover of €486mn in 2020, up from €332mn in 2019.

Dornan Group now has its eyes on further growth for 2021 and beyond, with a specific focus on the rapidly growing pharmaceutical sector. With long-standing expertise in this sector, Dornan is placing a renewed focus on its European pharmaceutical operations wing, further strengthening its capabilities to provide innovative solutions to existing and future clients.

We have already made a number of strategic hires in the last year to support our ambitious growth plans.

» The pharmaceutical sector has

€486mn

We posted a record turnover of €486mn in 2020, up from €332mn in 2019

experienced rapid growth in recent years, and we anticipate a significant investment within Europe over the next five years in projects ranging from biotech to fill-finish, API, and cell & gene therapy as well as blood fractionation and vaccines.

Dornan Group was one of the first Irish construction companies to expand into Europe almost 15 years ago, and we’re now looking to use Ireland as a base to grow our pharmaceutical client base in Europe and Switzerland, having recently won another large project in Belgium with a global biopharma company, focusing on neurology and constructionglobal.com

21

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

immunology. We are now in a position to bring this specialist skill set to our core clients across Europe through our European pharmaceutical operations wing.

Q. WHAT KEY TRENDS DO YOU SEE IN HEALTHCARE LOGISTICS AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

» The convergence of tech and

health is becoming a reality, and digital transformation is enabling us to deliver the most efficient results

for clients. We are embedding digital solutions into workflows that are key to accelerating the delivery of critical fast track projects while increasing productivity and creating efficiencies throughout our lean engineering and construction processes. Our goal is to promote an ethos of ‘technologyenabled execution’ in support of high-performance culture and profitable growth business strategies.

At Dornan Group, our teams are well-positioned to deliver strategic management and rapid implementation of a multi-faceted Digital Technology Roadmap, including platforms such as SmartPlant, 3D Modelling, Intelligent P&IDs, Navisworks, Automated Design, 4D-to-7D Solutions, BIM360, Datacentric 3D Environment, Immersive Visual Technology and Collaborative Interface Technology.

Q. HOW IS BUSINESS IN OTHER KEY AREAS - DATA CENTRES, INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING?

» We continue to win data centre, commercial and manufacturing projects across Ireland, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and most recently, a large Industrial Instrumentation project in Germany. In Ireland,

“ OUR GOAL IS TO PROMOTE AN ETHOS OF ‘TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED EXECUTION’ IN SUPPORT OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE AND PROFITABLE GROWTH BUSINESS STRATEGIES” 22

August 2021

“ T HE CONVERGENCE OF TECH AND HEALTH IS BECOMING A REALITY, AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS ENABLING US TO DELIVER THE MOST EFFICIENT RESULTS FOR CLIENTS.” as we are focused primarily on pharmaceuticals and data centres, much of our work continued unaffected throughout the pandemic, and we recorded the strongest turnover in the history of the company.

Q. WHAT MEASURES ARE YOU TAKING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY AND NET-ZERO TARGETS?

» Sustainability is a major business

priority for Dornan Group. As demand for low carbon and sustainable construction continues to increase,

we are always looking to find the best solutions to meet our environmental obligations. At Dornan, we also use the Supply Chain Sustainability School, which is a virtual learning environment that helps construction suppliers and sub-contractors to develop their sustainability knowledge and competence. Our long-term goal is to become carbon neutral, and we are taking proactive steps now to ensure this becomes a reality. We believe that if a collective effort is made now, we will see significant improvements over the coming years. constructionglobal.com

23

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

26

August 2021

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

TAKING THE LOAD IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS WRITTEN BY: JANET BRICE PRODUCED BY: THOMAS LIVERMORE

constructionglobal.com

27

P

Bespoke load handling equipment from SMAG is the one-stop-supplier for the world’s top 10 ports and in construction

einer Grabs “is a brand name in every harbour on the planet,” according to Rainer Veith, the CFO of Salzgitter Maschinenbau AG (SMAG), as he explains how the acquisition and the development of the grabs product range resulted in SMAG becoming an international brand.

PEINER SMAG Lifting Technologies (PSLT) is a subsidiary of SMAG, the worldwide leading manufacturer of grabs and lifting equipment that are critical to the flow of global supply chains.

SMAG is renowned for its problem-solving skills, bespoke products and close relationship with the customer, which are cited by Veith as three reasons for its global success in load handling equipment, process engineering and special machine construction.

“The secret of our success is that SMAG evolves with the times and re-invents itself - resilience is in our DNA,” said Veith, who joined the German-based company just after its centenary celebrations in 2019. “We now have a brand name that is known across the globe.”

Today, through its subsidiaries, SMAG is the world market leader in the manufacture of grabs used in global transport, waste management and agriculture. Other divisions include process engineering, special vehicles and mobile antenna masts.

The group, which employs 2,000 people, has dedicated manufacturing facilities in Germany, China and India, 27 locations 28

August 2021

worldwide and a reported sales volume of €300 million.

SMAG uses its expertise in metal and heavy steel construction in combination with hydraulics and electrical engineering. The three pillars of the business include: • Load handling equipment - includes grabs and spreaders • Process technology - system solutions are used for the industrial extraction of sugar • Special mechanical engineers - mobile drilling, mobile mining machines and mobile antenna masts Veith points out that process engineering in the sugar industry is another component of SMAG’s growing portfolio. “In 2018, SMAG acquired 94 per cent of the BMA, the wellknown market leader in process engineering when it comes to sugar refineries. They have double-digit million Euro projects around the world and are definitely an asset for the entire group.”

“ You will see the giant P (for PEINER AG) in every harbour on the planet” RAINER VEITH

CFO AT SALZGITTER MASCHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

Rainer Veith, CFO at Salzgitter Maschinenbau AG (SMAG) constructionglobal.com

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

SMAG | The Key to Future Success - Dynamic, Modern & Diverse Operations

“ The secret of our success is that SMAG evolves with the times and re-invents itself - resilience is in our DNA” RAINER VEITH

CFO AT SALZGITTER MASCHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

30

August 2021

Pronounced problem-solving According to Veith, SMAG’s role in the market is based on the company’s pronounced problem-solving skills, superior, standard-setting products, high global sales power and global service.

“We are close to the customers because we do not have serial production or that many standardised products, as we focus on bespoke vehicles, grabs and refineries. So, we must be close to the customer, we must listen, and we do listen to the customer and to their needs as this is absolutely key,” said Veith.

“We have the whole range of grabs from the very small to the biggest ones, but most of our competitors have focused on one niche type of grab. By offering this complexity of grabs, we jeopardise a little bit on our economies of scale, but we must stay close to the customer and listen to their needs in order to be a one-stop supplier to them.”

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

RAINER VEITH TITLE: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER COMPANY: SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

EXECUTIVE BIO

Grabs and spreaders One of the major milestones for the group came in 1986 when it acquired the grab technology division of PEINER AG. Its range of products includes bulk cargo and container handling as well as special hoists. Key areas of action are ports, ships, manufacturers of cranes and construction machinery, steel mills, waste-to-energy plants and recycling/ scrap handling industries.

Based on the proven PEINER product design, PSLT's factories in Salzgitter (Germany, Headquarters), Shanghai (China) and Chennai (India) develop and manufacture lifting equipment for any cargo handling application.

Six years ago, PSLT added spreaders for container handling to its portfolio, which are used in ports and terminals worldwide.

The new subsidiary RAM SMAG Lifting Technologies Pte Ltd, headquartered in

Rainer Veith trained as a banker.

In 1996, he graduated from the University of Paderborn with a degree in business administration. He later completed a degree at WHU / Kellogg with an MBA. Veith began his professional career as a trainee at Robert Bosch GmbH in the USA, Germany, France and Italy.

Veith took on management tasks for E.ON and Uniper. He then worked as General Director and CFO for the Bilfinger Group in Lyon, France.

Veith was appointed to the SMAG management board in 2019 and is responsible for finance, controlling, human resources, procurement and IT.

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

“ Shrinking core expanding periphery - this is how my MBA professor Ranjay Gulati described strategic alliances, and I think it is true today” RAINER VEITH

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CFO AT SALZGITTER MASCHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

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August 2021

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

Singapore, manufactures the products under the brand RAM Spreaders in Changshu (China).

“We are the industry leading grab manufacturer,” said Veith. “Some of the grabs can be up to 30 - 45 cubic meters in volume, and one grab can weigh up to 18-22 tonnes - so this really is a dream for big kids captured in adult bodies - they are the coolest products,” said Veith.

The group's customers include shipping companies, port companies, port crane, mobile crane and construction machinery manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of special vehicles, European defence forces, mining and drilling companies and sugar factories.

STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS Acquiring the grabs product range from PEINER AG helped SMAG expand into an international brand. SMAG also acquired BMA in 2018, a market leader for the process engineering of sugar refineries.

In 2015 NSL in Singapore and Salzgitter Maschinenbau AG merged their spreader and grabs divisions as part of a joint venture under the leadership of PEINER SMAG Lifting Technologies GmbH (PSLT). This is one of the world's leading manufacturers of grabs for handling bulk goods and for board cranes.

This merger resulted in the world's largest group of companies for load handling equipment in the field of bulk goods and container handling. The partnership enables the group to exploit even greater market potential in addition to the port equipment sector.

A century of engineering excellence Salzgitter Maschinenbau AG dates back to 1919 when Anton Raky, engineer and pioneer of modern drilling technology and oil production, founded the Anton Raky company, deep drilling in Salzgitter.

The foundation stone for SMAG was laid in 1937 when the Salzgitter Group took over the factory for the construction of drilling machines. In 1986 the company acquired the gripper product range from PEINER AG and, over the years, expanded it into an international brand.

Jürgen Bialek who has been with PSLT for 51 years and was pivotal in building up the successful grabs business not only in Salzgitter but in the Asian companies as well said during the 100th anniversary: “...50 years of Peiner grabs – they are like a part of my family.”

Modern procurement Commenting on the subject of procurement within SMAG, Veith said: “Procurement is for me a leading edge when it comes to value creation. It would be utterly wrong to see only the transactional constructionglobal.com

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

FUTURE STRATEGY SMAG wants to expand its position in the market as the world's leading provider of grabs and spreaders for efficient freight handling.

It is relying on the growth market of maritime freight traffic. For this, SMAG can fall back on many years of experience in metal and heavy steel construction and on independent competencies in construction, production and assembly. The local presence in the large volume markets (China, India) is being expanded.

In addition, SMAG is focusing on expanding its presence in the global mining technology market with a focus on drilling technology underground and above ground, as well as building special vehicles for mining and process industries, such as steelworks.

SMAG’s corporate strategy is geared towards sustainable and profit-oriented growth.

part of procurement, but my staff has to challenge traditional views and tendering practises and constantly look for better sourcing options. Do not underestimate indirect procurement but see it as the best chance for savings. For example, SMAG: Purchasing volume per annum in Germany approximately €100m, of which indirectly €20 million, of which 10 per cent saving equals €2 million, which would be equivalent to a reduction of 30 FTEs. “For me, the core elements of value creation are sales, procurement and production. Other departments are all important, but if one of the three core elements fail, every company is at risk of insolvency in the medium term.

34

August 2021

“Procurement successes are easier and less painful than staff changes, and for new technologies, procurement is a driver of innovation.

“Leadership by CFO facilitates independence, but is not absolutely necessary; it can be any C-Level person who is seriously backing procurement,” he said.

Competitive edge Veith cited the group’s competitive advantage as having a strong infrastructure with a production network in several countries, plus it is built on a long tradition of being able to evolve with the times and re-invent itself, “which is crucial in today’s climate”.

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

“We have a great production network with facilities in separate countries from our headquarters here in Salzgitter and our process engineering in Braunschweig (Brunswick) Lower Saxony. We also have production facilities for grabs in Chennai, India, and the production facility for spreaders is in the greater area of Shanghai, China, with headquarters in Singapore.

“We are a very global network. As a middle-sized German company with a sales volume turnover of €300 million, we can leverage this production network and the sourcing possibilities that [go] along with that. Also, to have a construction base with very skilled engineers in India, and also here with our traditional construction in Germany,

is a great asset, which few middle-sized German companies actually have.”

Commenting on how SMAG continued to operate during the pandemic, Veith, who started with the company in November 2019, said he was fortunate enough to travel to India and Singapore to see the facilities before restrictions were in place.

“We switched to Zoom or Team meetings and adapted our facilities for increased health and safety, but apart from that, our supply chain has been very stable. We see transportation costs going up, but overall, we have not had any shutdowns due to lack of supplies, which [proves] our business model works and that our supply chains are very stable. constructionglobal.com

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

“ Some of our most important customers are the leading OEMs in the crane industry” RAINER VEITH

CFO AT SALZGITTER MASCHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

“In India, Russia and America, our industry was deemed as system-relevant, so we came out of shutdown early, and our affiliates quickly caught up to reach and exceed budgeted revenue levels. Overall, our sales did not suffer any consequences from the pandemic. We have been fairly unharmed and remained robust throughout the crisis, which is good news.”

Evolving ecosystems “Shrinking core expanding periphery - this 36

August 2021

is how my MBA professor Ranjay Gulati described strategic alliances, and I think it is true today,” said Veith. “This allows the company to focus on the core tasks and look outside of the periphery for help with R&D or innovations they do not have the capacity for such as digitalisation, robotics or Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“We do not have the in-house capabilities to develop AI, and we would not, but it does make sense that we invest. We need to partner with suppliers [and] companies

SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS How are you using AI or machine learning or big data, and what possibilities do they bring to the future of SMAG? “We are doing this already, especially at BMA, in process engineering. We plan to ramp up our efforts in coordination with our customers, and we'll pick up speed in the near future.”

What plans do you have for the future - will you be opening in a new country, or are there new acquisitions in the pipeline?

“I think that the group has evolved quickly with its mergers and acquisitions over the past five years. It’s now time to consolidate, to improve our efficiencies and continue to grow organically.”

SMAG has been operating for more than 100 years - how would you sum up the secret of your success?

“During the past century, we have evolved with the times and have re-invented ourselves - resilience is in our DNA.”

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

LIFE OUTSIDE THE OFFICE WITH RAINER VEITH, CFO AT SMAG: What did you enjoy about life in Worcestershire, UK? A more relaxing way of life in the shadow of the Malvern Hills and living by the River Severn in the UK. What country do you want to visit?

Paris, France to play in the European Senior Golf Championships.

What is your favourite cuisine?

French What is your most precious possession?

My family Favourite movie?

Pirates of the Caribbean What advice would you give to a young Rainer Veith?

Do what you love most and then work hard for it.

“ Our larger grabs can have up to 30-45 cubic meters in volume, and one of those grabs weighs 18-22 tons - so this really is a dream for big kids captured in adult bodies - they are the coolest products” RAINER VEITH

CFO AT SALZGITTER MASCHINENBAU AG (SMAG)

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SALZGITTER MACHINENBAU AG

€300 million

Group Sales Volume

2,000 Number of Employees

27

Locations Worldwide

1919

Year Founded

who have that intelligence and knowledge.

We need to develop our ecosystem even further to get ready for the challenges of the next decade.”

Veith cited the importance of their “seamless” partnership with Open Systems and comments on how ecosystems today help a company.

“Open Systems is a crucial partner for SMAG as we use them for data exchange with our Asian affiliates. It works really well, and it's vital for us to work together on the exchange of information about production and

developments in the market. It’s very important for us that the process is seamless and easy, and this is what Open Systems provides for us.

“In order to be successful in the future, we have to be a bit more modern, younger, dynamic and more diverse. We have to drive lean management and operational excellence. This is definitely something that is already underway and will be the key for future success, said Veith.

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DIFFUSE DISPUTES THROUGH BETTER PROJECT MANAGEMENT The pandemic has caused a neardoubling in the value of disputes – which means they need to better manage projects to minimise the fall out WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

T

he average value of disputes globally rose from $30.7 million in 2019 to $54.26 million in 2020, while the length of disputes fell from 15 months in 2019 to 13.4 months, according to a recent Arcadis report.

The data, featured in Arcadis' 11th annual report, illustrates industry-wide ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic although interestingly, the overall volume of disputes stayed relatively the same in 2020 as in 2019, contrary to what most observers would have anticipated as projects stalled and costs soared.

While trends in the value and length of disputes varied between regions, all surveyed saw an increase in "mega disputes" related to bigger capital programs and private projects. Notably, more than 60% of survey respondents encountered project impacts due to COVID-19.

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Owners, contractors, or subcontractors failing to understand and/or comply with their contractual obligations became the leading cause of construction disputes in 2020 (jumping from 3rd place in 2019), followed by owner-directed changes and third-party or force-majeure changes as the second and third-leading causes, respectively.

Highlights from the report include: • Proper contract administration was a theme across the globe for the successful and early resolution of disputes • Most disputes were settled through party-to-party negotiation, and a willingness to compromise played a key role in early resolution • Among regions surveyed, the buildings (education, healthcare, retail/ commercial, government) sector saw the most disputes

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

“ From selecting the best people for the job to mitigating risks, preconstruction is where you make your money and lay the foundations for a successful build” MIKE PETTINELLA,

DIRECTOR OF EMEA SALES, AUTODESK CONSTRUCTION CLOUD

• In North America, construction dispute value rose from $18.8 million in 2019 to $37.9 million in 2020, while the length of disputes shortened from 17.6 to 14.2 months.

So how can firms prevent disputes escalating in the first place?

Writing in the foreword to Connected procurement: the Foundation of Construction Success, Mike Pettinella, Director of EMEA Sales at Autodesk

Construction Cloud, says trust between owners, main contractors and subcontractors remains a vital element.

“The importance of partnership makes the preconstruction phase, when organisations decide who to work with and how, so critical to every project’s success,” he writes.

“From selecting the best people for the job to mitigating risks, preconstruction is where you make your money and lay the foundations for a successful build.”

Inviting, tendering and submitting bids involves interactions between a large number of construction organisations. But currently there’s little consistency across the industry in the technologies used for this crucial process, the report notes.

Construction firms use a diffuse set of software to manage bids. Email is the constructionglobal.com

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Pursue quality partnerships, embrace on-site tech and adopt agility Construction professionals surveyed in the Arcadis report have clear ideas about the qualities that would make them want to collaborate with a business again in the future – and communication, as well as reliability, is an important factor. For subcontractors, regular communication and project updates (31%) and the timely completion of work (29%) are the attributes that would make them most likely to work with an owner again in the future. Turning to main contractors, the quality of handover delivered by subcontractors (46%) is the most influential attribute, followed by them completing work on budget (41%) and on time (40%). Notably, the use of digital technology on-site is also an appealing trait for both main 44

August 2021

contractors (31%) and subcontractors (25%). In an article for Business Chief North America, Chris DeBrusk, Partner, Digital Practice, Oliver Wyman, considers the future role of the project manager.

He believes as organisations adopt agility and drive their transformation efforts using a more iterative approach with increased alignment between business and technology stakeholders, the role of the project manager is definitely going to change. “That being said, it will be a rare organisation that is able to eliminate the role completely,” he says. “More likely is that the role will become one of enterprise coordination, organizational change management, and risk management and less a manager of SDLC processes.”

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

most popular tool across owners, main contractors and subcontractors, followed by a combination of Google Drive, Microsoft Excel and DropBox. Notably, a fifth of owners (20%) and subcontractors (19%) use a custom-solution that has been created in-house.

A significant proportion of companies don’t use technology at all. More than a tenth of owners (12%) and subcontractors (13%) say that most of their tenders are still paperbased, although this trend is less prominent among main contractors.

Errors can take place that compromise the project later on - and this isn’t a rare occurrence. The majority of main contractors (86%) and subcontractors (78%) admit that errors are made during the tender

submission process that impact the project down the line. In fact, a quarter of main contractors say this happens on the majority of projects (24%).

InEight and Microsoft Dynamics 365 connect all business processes with Construction 365 InEight Inc. has announced a strategic integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 to deliver Construction 365 – a unified enterprise platform incorporating over 30 different integrations to help businesses improve and standardize insights and information flow between office and field for capital construction projects.

The integration unifies the data experience (including CRM, Estimating, constructionglobal.com

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

“The Project Manager’s role will become one of enterprise coordination, organisational change management, and risk management and less a manager of SDLC processes” CHRIS DEBRUSK

PARTNER, DIGITAL PRACTICE, OLIVER WYMAN

Project Controls, BIM, Risk Management, Document Management, Scheduling, Accounting, and Procurement, through desktop and mobile capabilities) to deliver businesses with improved transparency and alignment, providing a single source of truth to enhance ease of user access, collaboration and security across Microsoft and InEight applications. Using the end-to-end, customisable platform, customers can now connect data and processes seamlessly and intuitively across systems to reduce errors, omissions and redundancies while improving the outcomes of complex long-term projects.

Pål Christian Hustoft, CFO, at Veidekke Entreprenør AS, a joint customer of Microsoft and InEight and one of Scandinavia’s largest construction companies said it believes the Construction 365 solution will meet its business needs as a fully integrated digital transformation platform, providing transparency and control throughout the business. “We expect the ongoing implementation will confirm our beliefs, making it possible for us with a greater ability to create great projects for our clients with our desired profitability and on schedule.”

Petter Merok, Industry Executive, Architecture, Engineering & Construction, Microsoft Norway, saic complex construction projects involve huge amounts of variables and many different cross-practice and company personnel.

“This powerful Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration with InEight empowers teams with unified, real-time data across all processes to make smarter decisions that drive business progress. We are proud to be playing a role in supporting productivity and performance improvements in the construction industry, at a time when it has perhaps never been more important.”

Mike Paul, Managing Director for EMEA at InEight, said while the physical world is still seeing borders and restrictions on freedom of movement, the trend in the data world is the opposite. “Connectivity is key. Through this integration with Microsoft Dynamics, InEight is creating interconnected workplaces to enhance collaboration and project outcomes in capital construction. It’s an important and timely step towards our goal of digitalising construction project management.” constructionglobal.com

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

Partners in

Passenger Safety

WRITTEN BY: RHYS THOMAS PRODUCED BY: GLEN WHITE

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

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Natalia Pickett, Head of Procurement, KeolisAmey Docklands, sheds light on the vital role procurement plays in more than 117 million annual rail passenger journeys

L

117 million Passengers use the DLR each year

ondon’s Docklands Light Railway, known as the DLR in local shorthand, is the UK’s busiest light railway network and one of the vital transport arteries for business and leisure in the sprawling British capital. It is operated by French transport specialist Keolis and British infrastructure engineering firm Amey, under the joint venture KeolisAmey Docklands.

The service is responsible for the comfort and safety of more than 117 million passengers each year, giving the transport network an enormous impact on the economy, and the day-to-day lives of Londoners and tourists alike. Cutting through the city’s financial hub in Canary Wharf, the line also feeds into convention centres and cultural hotspots, as well as residential areas and retail destinations. Though the pandemic has significantly reduced the number of passengers over the past 18 months, it is a responsibility that Natalia Pickett, Head of Procurement at KeolisAmey Docklands, takes incredibly seriously.

“Safety is a word I say a million times a day, because whichever solutions we implement, services we buy or technology we deploy, the safety of our passengers, staff and transport crew is the most important factor always,” she says.

Pickett’s procurement division is responsible for sourcing and implementing everything from vital services and back office supplies, to to spare parts for maintaining rolling stock. When someone once asked Pickett’s husband what his wife does for a constructionglobal.com

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

Title of the video

“ Safety is a word I say a million times a day, because whichever solutions we implement, services we buy or technology we deploy, the safety of our passengers, staff and transport crew is the most important factor” NATALIA PICKETT

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

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living, he joked that she is a “professional shopper, at an industrial scale”. To some extent, she says this is true: “If you imagine your thought process at the DIY shop when you’re redecorating the bathroom, there are parallels to the considerations in my professional life: whether the product is good quality, safe, value for money. But there is much more to it than that."

Pickett describes herself as part matchmaker, part problem solver - the key to both being partnerships. “Those are really the core of my work, and I’m pleased to say that the team and I are very good at it. Procurement is not only about saving money. That is fundamentally not true; savings will be the natural outcome of procurement processes,” she says.

“Partnership is another of those words I repeat a lot, because it is very important to me. With my suppliers, we must learn from one another, bounce ideas between one another and grow together; it is almost love,”

KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

NATALIA PICKETT TITLE: HEAD OF PROCUREMENT LOCATION: LONDON DOCKLANDS, UK

EXECUTIVE BIO

she jokes. “We need to reach the stage of the relationship where we can talk about the good things, the bad things - it doesn’t matter to me. As long as we’re talking then we can find a solution, which is what procurement is really all about.”

Pickett and her team operate in a unique procurement environment. Unlike malleable sectors such as IT, procurement in the rail and wider transport industry runs at a more cautious, measured pace.

Safety concerns mean Pickett is unable to “simply change a nut here and a bolt there because it is cheaper”, but these stringent regulations do crystallise a fundamental level of quality adherence not often present in more agile sectors.

All suppliers in the rail industry can be found on the Rail Industry Supply Qualification System, a sector-specific database which holds all their insurances, certifications, licenses and financial information. “It makes my job quicker,”

Natalia Pickett is an experienced procurement and sourcing professional with more than 25 years’ experience. In her current role she is responsible for developing and implementing commercial strategy and contracting models to support a variety of rail network contracts, including DLR, Wales and Borders Rail, and Metrolink. Pickett has worked in senior procurement roles at Network Rail, Regus and Shell, and earned a masters in Math, Physics and Computer Science from Moscow Railway University, and latterly an MBA in management from the Open University.

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

“ With my suppliers, we must learn from one another, bounce ideas between one another and grow together; it is almost love” NATALIA PICKETT

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

Goal Systems Improving the Productivity of your Business!

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

Pickett says. “And it also makes suppliers’ Services play an equally important role lives easier because they don't need to in keeping passengers and staff safe and answer all those same questions again comfortable. That comes with its own The DLR for me.” set of challenges, particularly as the size has a Pickett’s teams also leverage a of KeolisAmey Docklands belies its suite of other digital procurement impact. “We operate a large service, departures tools, though she admits she may be but our actual company is only around record considered “a little old fashioned” in 860 employees, which is nothing her approach to digital transformation. “I compared to the biggest networks. We can don’t like to use lots of different computer be limited in finding suppliers that want to systems and pieces of software,” she says. work at that scale,” she says.

“I find that the more systems you use, the After around a year of negotiations more noise you have to deal with. But we do to secure a quality occupational health use Microsoft Dynamics and IBM Maximo, provider, Pickett encountered Medigold which is a very robust asset management Health. “They were different. They were ERP system and very important to our keen to work with us, but beyond the usual procurement analysis. Using this system services, it was apparent that they care about I can instantly know what a good is, how our staff as much as we do. They offered we bought it, what we spent and use the insight into how to reduce blood pressure, information to review our categories. From how best to approach dietary requirements. a digital perspective, they are enough for us.”

When we inevitably have staff off sick, they Not all Pickett’s procurement efforts help us bring people back to work as swiftly are dedicated to steel, tracks and carriages. as possible, because while we are paying

99%

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

2014

Year Founded

Transport Industry

860

Number of Employees

“ I think in 2022, we will be back to business as usual.

It will be a time to achieve efficiencies” NATALIA PICKETT

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

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them on leave, we need to cover their job, meaning we are paying twice. But this is not about simply pushing people back to the track, it’s about caring for our staff while minimising spend, and Medigold are a great partner for that.”

Another example of this close collaboration is Xrail, a rail services supplier which provides trackside cabling to KeolisAmey Docklands. Xrail was discovered through the Rail Industry Supply Qualification System, though none

of Pickett’s team had heard of their work previously.

“But we followed procedure - as is our mantra - and invited them for a presentation,” she says. “And then the magic happened. This sounds like such a matter of fact, one-dimensional job on the surface but they are so passionate, so innovative, and we all thought: ‘wow’. We awarded them the contract, and they have been fantastic.”

Pickett’s decision to offer Xrail the contract was further vindicated some months later.

While sleeping rough at an organised event to raise money for The Railway Children Charity, she encountered Monica Barbosa, Xrail Group’s Director of Business Development and Communications. “It was an accidental meeting, but we got to talking and realised we are cut from the same cloth,” Pickett says. “It was an interesting experience and great to know we’re passionate about the same values. This is what I mean when I talk about the importance of partnerships that go beyond saving money.” constructionglobal.com

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

“ When the new franchise started on 1 April this year, nobody noticed.

The suppliers delivered on time, the network didn’t stop, and that was our real achievement” NATALIA PICKETT

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

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KEOLISAMEY DOCKLANDS

Pickett’s partnerships extend beyond London. The joint venture between Keolis and Amey expanded in 2017, landing the contract for the Manchester Metrolink, a light rail network that is the largest of its kind in the UK. Procurement played a central role in the project, but it was largely invisible and that was by design.

“We began by providing numbers and what we can achieve with suppliers, but procurement’s real role in the launch of this service was in the realisation. Our job was to ensure that day one looked no different to the previous day. So when the new franchise started on 1 April this year, nobody noticed. The suppliers delivered on time, the network didn’t stop, and that was our real achievement. The purpose of my role is to make sure that everything works and I’m not noticeable. It’s similar to HR: why should anyone notice if everything runs nice and smooth? So well done to us.”

When KeolisAmey Docklands was awarded the ISO 55001 asset management certificate, “we were very proud of it”, Pickett says. “And I'm particularly proud of the fact that to get this certificate, we as a procurement function didn't need to do anything extra.”

Pickett hopes to remain quietly exceeding expectations and out of the limelight in the coming year, when commuters begin returning to work and cities reopen to tourists. “I think in 2022, we will be back to business as usual. And I will do all my standard efficiencies projects, and we have taken over maintenance of the Lewisham extension - seven stations in south London.

It will be a time to achieve efficiencies.

Nothing is certain, but this is the plan.”

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TRACKING PRODUCTIVITY IN INDUSTRY 4.0 Gains from Industry 4.0 could be worth an £25bn each year – providing you have the right digital tools of the trade WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS 60

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ENGINEERING

I

ndustry 4.0, the phase in the Industrial Revolution that marries physical production and operations with smart digital technology and big data, is driving significant change in the traditional manufacturing landscape. Yet the construction sector remains one of the least digitised sectors of the economy, according to McKinsey.

The opportunity can no longer be overlooked. The New Civil Engineer reports that the gains from Industry 4.0 to the construction industry could be worth an extra £25bn each year.

Although it can seem daunting, traditional businesses such as builders’ merchants

and timber yards stand to reap enormous productivity benefits from taking the first tentative steps towards such digital transformation. This is especially relevant now, as W, meaning the future looks especially bright for the industry.

Mark Hughes, RVP of UK&I, Epicor Software, said it’s not always obvious where this process begins. Coordinating work across departments such as finance, HR and marketing can easily result in a mix-up of priorities, in addition to potential loss of time and money. So let’s take a deep dive into the detail of how to track, measure and improve productivity through digitisation. constructionglobal.com

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ENGINEERING

“ Let’s take a deep dive into the detail of how to track, measure and improve productivity." through digitisation” MARK HUGHES

RVP OF UK&I, EPICOR SOFTWARE

Why should productivity be tracked?

This isn’t a trick question, nor is the answer simply to improve productivity. It’s a little more complex than that and it helps to have clear objectives to begin with. When approaching tracking productivity initially, there are two key objectives.

Firstly, analyse differences, nuances and anomalies in your existing processes. For example, this could mean looking into why one employee might be skipping a step in a process, while another proceeds more

quickly but makes mistakes which must later be corrected. Or perhaps your business has several locations, with one consistently completing routine tasks quicker than the other, such as picking and packing stock in a warehouse. What does each location do differently?

Secondly, locate obstacles and expose inefficiencies. When employees are skipping a step, are they missing something they need, perhaps equipment or training? An employee’s to-do list may well be full of tasks that they view to be unimportant, or which detract from their jobs as a whole. As somebody managing this, it’s important to be non-judgemental in your approach, so that employees are as open as possible — allowing for greater understanding of what is driving efficiency or lack thereof. constructionglobal.com

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Who are you tracking and where?

Everyone in a company ought to be aware of their work performance, and how it affects the business as a whole — beginning with the MD or CEO. It’s fairly standard practice these days for employees to have key performance indicators (KPIs), allowing for measurement and goal setting.

The earliest stages of digitisation allow for more accurate measurement of many KPIs at all levels in the company. In a warehouse for example, employees can use terminals or tablets to log the time taken to complete particular tasks — creating valuable performance data and revealing potential bottlenecks. It’s worth reiterating that simple time-related metrics like these are applicable at all levels of a business, in all departments.

Greater digitisation means more opportunities for measuring productivity.

It means that tracking can take place wherever employees are — be that in the yard, in the warehouse, in the office or remotely at home. The benefits of increasing productivity in one area tend to be shared across others. Speeding work up in the yard might accelerate work in the warehouse, which may give a productivity boost to the administrative staff down the line.

How should productivity be measured?

Productivity can be measured in two ways: either by efficiency metrics or output metrics. The output metrics tend to be associated with corporate-level goals tied to finance and operations, such as profit margin and revenue. Efficiency as a metric is a snapshot of productivity within a particular time period — the time it takes to complete a task or move through different stages of a workflow.

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27-year high UK manufacturing growth hit a 27-year high in April

$25bn

each year could be gained in constrution with Industry 4.0

Efficiency metrics are straightforward and easy to spot. They might take the form of ‘lines per hour’, for entering orders into a system, or ‘items per hour’ for picking them and delivering them. Comparison within the parameters of an efficiency metric makes assessing productivity differences between employees far simpler.

Comparing more than one differing metric with each other directly can be tricky, but taken together they can paint a useful picture for your business. So, returning to the warehouse as an example, a manager

should be tracking a top-line output metric such as percentage accuracy of inventory — as well as efficiency and output metrics for each task that affects that accuracy.

By making a greater effort to track and log all of the processes taking place, errors can be reduced in picking, packing, shipments and paperwork.

The most accessible way to consolidate all of this new tracking data in one place is to digitise — invest in a quality software platform where employees can log activity. constructionglobal.com

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ENGINEERING

“ The earliest stages of digitisation allow for more accurate measurement of many KPIs at all levels in the company” MARK HUGHES

RVP OF UK&I, EPICOR SOFTWARE

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ENGINEERING

WHAT WILL BE THE OUTCOMES? 1 | Greater employee engagement Providing that all tracking remains fair and free from judgement or bias, employees can begin working together to improve their own metrics.

Greater visibility of data will empower your people to make their own recommendations for better working practices, eliminating waste from the bottom up.

2 | Less time wasted; more time saved One of the primary ways to save time is through the automation of repetitive tasks such as invoicing or stock taking, made possible through digitisation. For example, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform which monitors inventory levels and delivery times can streamline operations massively, smoothing out peaks and troughs of activity through more accurate prediction of supply and demand.

3 | Greater efficiency and agility By consolidating the varied productivity metrics into one digital platform, it becomes possible to see how they affect each other. You may notice that the time it takes to complete one seemingly basic task in a workflow actually has a significant knock-on effect down the line. It might then be prudent to assign more people to that task in order to speed up your whole operation.

These outcomes are only the beginning: the first steps on a longer journey of digital transformation. As is often the case with rapid periods of innovation, we don’t necessarily know where this journey ends. It is however becoming clear that Industry 4.0 is progressing at a rapid pace. The construction sector is one of the largest in the UK economy and it deserves to be on board and reap the full benefits. constructionglobal.com

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MOMENTUM BUILDS

IN AI ANALYTICS PLATFORMS

AND ROBOTICS Funding in AI and robotics technologies is spiralling – covering everything from AI analytics platforms to autonomous sites and self-driving trucks WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

B

eyond the frenzy of your standard construction site, a quiet revolution is taking place.

Investment in new technologies is spiralling as the industry seeks to build efficiencies, improve productivity and reduce delays.

Global construction is valued at $13 trillion yet despite pioneering a lot of technological innovation, including CAD, simulation and early ML applications, the building and infrastructure construction is still the second least productive industry.

Every year, approximately 40% of value is lost in unnecessary delays, rework and waste. Increased investments in BIM and visualisation while valuable, has not done 68

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much to bridge the critical gap between construction plans and the as-built reality.

UK-based construction analytics platform Contilio has raised an initial $1.5M led by VC Pi Labs to help drive expansion as the ConTech industry continues to grow. The breakthrough 3D AI construction analytics platform will use the funds to attract more customers, and further advance its product and tech.

Contilio’s AI platform provides actionable intelligence from 3D construction site data (Lidar/Laser scans) by intelligently classifying all structural, architectural and MEP elements and automatically comparing them with the BIM and the schedule.

The software works seamlessly with all commercially available Lidar/Laser scanners and most recently drones. Since launching from stealth in 2019, Contilio has been used by global general contractors (e.g., Balfour Beatty), developers (e.g., Prologis) and owners (e.g., Enel), helping them deliver building and infrastructure projects cheaper, faster and more sustainably.

On average, customers report that the Contilio platform delivers the progress and quality insights 15 times faster for 100% of the construction site. This, for the first time, enables key stakeholders to remotely track

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

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“ The pandemic has shifted the industry’s focus from 360 visualisation tools, to automated and scalable software” ZARA RIAHI,

FOUNDER & CEO, CONTILIO

progress, swiftly manage delays and installation errors, and to make smart decisions.

When deployed at scale, Contilio claims it delivers significant cost savings, better bid performance and up to 20X return on investment. Due to the significant reduction in construction rework and waste, CO2 emissions are reduced, helping sustainability strategies.

The next version of Contilio’s product which will be launched soon enables the users to access the insights 24/7 from

anywhere in the world with 10X better performance in terms of visualizing 3D insights. A free version will be also made available to a short-list of power users.

Zara Riahi, Founder & CEO, at Contilio said: “Construction is a pivotal part of all of our lives whether we are indoors, commuting or communicating. After spending years managing mega construction projects and investing in AI and Fintech, I realised that the 3D AI advancements would help deliver the much-needed change for an industry that I knew deserved much better.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, shortage of skilled workforce, and the growing trend for better build quality have exponentially increased the demand for data-driven insights, predictable outcomes and timely verification of quality errors. This has shifted constructionglobal.com

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DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

the industry’s focus from 360 visualisation tools, to automated and scalable software, taking the value game to the next level.

“Pi Labs investment and its unparalleled access to a global network of property and construction leaders will be a great asset to Contilio as we quickly grow our customer base and advance our business in our journey to reshape the construction industry. We look forward to working together and having a positive impact on the future of real estate and infrastructure.”

Faisal Butt, CEO of Pi Labs, said ESG and progression of the real estate industry have always been core to Pi Labs’ mission.

“Construction is a key part of that equation, where manual, costly and paper-based processes have been a core reason for wasteful errors, critical delays and overruns,” he said. “Our research shows us that Construction is ripe for technology disruption and evolution and that Construction tech has a vital role to play as we work towards achieving net zero, optimised supply chain and efficient construction delivery.”

Contilio’s solution fills a large void in terms of enhancing construction efficiency and reducing waste. Its AI software not only helps enable significant cost savings during construction, but also drives sustainability benefits and better build quality for owners and developers, enabling them to reap the benefits during asset operations. “That is why we at Pi Labs are delighted to be supporting Contilio’s expansion and continue to believe that Construction Tech will offer many innovations that will improve our built environment.”

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August 2021

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

OsloMet sets up Trimble tech lab Norway's Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) has received a gift from Trimble to establish a state-of-the-art Technology Lab for civil engineering and energy technology. The lab will expand the university's leadership in digital applications for civil and structural engineering, building technology and sustainable building design. The lab will include a broad range of Trimble's solutions such as Trimble SiteVision, Robotic Total Stations and Rugged Tablets. Advanced software solutions Quadri, Novapoint, Quantm, Tilos, Tekla Structures, Tekla Structural Designer, Tekla Tedds, Trimble Connect and the company's popular 3D modeling software, SketchUp Pro and SketchUp Studio.

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SafeAI powers connected autonomous sites SafeAI recently announced $21 million in Series A funding led by Builders VC. The new capital will be used to advance the company’s interoperable autonomous technology through accelerated research and development, and fuel global expansion to meet rising demand for autonomous heavy equipment.

SafeAI is driving the transformation of the mining and construction industries through connected, autonomous sites. With chronic labour shortages, unsafe working conditions and frequent project delays, these industries are in a unique position to benefit from autonomy. And unlike on-road applications of the technology, autonomous heavy equipment operates in controlled environments, which means companies can create smarter, safer, more productive project sites today that create meaningful, near-term impact.

“We are at a tipping point for autonomous heavy equipment,” said Bibhrajit Halder, founder and CEO at SafeAI. “We’ve proven that autonomy makes work sites significantly safer and more productive; now, we are on the cusp of mass adoption. Together with our valued partners, customers and investors, we’re poised to deploy autonomy in off-road industries like construction and mining, at scale, to rethink the way heavy industry operates.”

Heavy industry is a huge, growing global market, ripe for disruption. The construction equipment market alone is valued at $140 billion, and expected to increase to $175 billion by 2025; construction-related spending accounts for a staggering 13% of global GDP, or $11.5 trillion. But there remains significant room for growth; in construction alone, higher productivity could create an estimated $1.6 trillion 74

August 2021

" Automated vehicles offer a number of benefits to commercial fleet customers and society, including safer roads with fewer unexpected incidents, and upwards of 20 percent savings in fuel and efficiency" PAOLO FERRARI,

GLOBAL CHIEF SOLUTIONS OFFICER, BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION, AND PRESIDENT & CEO, BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS

in additional value. With just 25% of the infrastructure needed by 2050 in existence today, autonomy can bridge this productivity gap with greater efficiency and 24/7 operations. SafeAI is at the forefront of this transformation.

“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement in the autonomy space today; but it’s clear the biggest opportunity for this technology is off-road,” said Mark Blackwell, General Partner at Builders VC. “With its industry-leading autonomous software, scalable retrofit approach and partner

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

ecosystem, SafeAI is uniquely poised to capitalize on this opportunity. We’re proud to support the company in its next chapter of growth as demand for autonomous heavy equipment continues to skyrocket.”

New investors LTC, DG Ventures, MACA and Vimson Group, and existing investors Autotech Ventures, Brick and Mortar Ventures, Embark Ventures, Monta Vista Capital and Obayashi Corporation, also participated in the round. The funding comes on the heels of a year of rapid growth for SafeAI, including new partnerships

with Obayashi, Goodyear and Macnica, and expansion into Australia’s booming mining market.

Giatec debuted what it claims is the world's first concrete AI tool for producers, SmartMix, at the FutureTech conference.

The web-based AI tool allows producers to optimise concrete ingredient proportions, reduce cement usage, and predict the performance of their mixes while still meeting project specifications. Giatec believes this tool will lower Greenhouse Gas emissions resulting from concrete constructionglobal.com

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production by 400 million tons annually, the equivalent of taking 110 million cars off the road.

Hyundai and Boston Dynamics target robotics value chain Hyundai Motor Group has bought a controlling interest in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank following regulatory approvals. Post-closing, the Group holds an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics and SoftBank, through one of its affiliates, retains the remaining 20 percent stake. The deal valued the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion.

Together, both companies aim to create a robotics value chain, from robot component manufacturing to smart logistics solutions. Additionally, the Group will support Boston Dynamics' continued expansion of its product line and global sales and service footprint.

In the field of robotics, the Group aims to develop advanced technologies that enhance people's lives and promote safety. The deal is also expected to allow the Group and Boston Dynamics to leverage each other's respective strengths in manufacturing, logistics, construction and automation.

Boston Dynamics launched sales of its first commercial robot, Spot in June 2020 and now has hundreds of robots operating in a variety of industries, including construction, power utilities, manufacturing, oil and gas, and mining. The company also recently unveiled Stretch, its first commercial robot specifically designed for warehouse facilities and distribution centers.

RobotLAB and SoftBank Robotics America announced that the humanoid robots Pepper and NAO are now exclusively available through RobotLAB in North America. The partnership also expands Pepper's previous industry and STREAM 76

August 2021

education focus areas to a broader range of applications, and marks RobotLAB's debut as one of SBRA's Whiz Partners.

Bridgestone buys stake in Kodiak Robotics Bridgestone Americas has made a minority investment in Kodiak Robotics, a leading US-based self-driving trucking company.

The partnership will allow Bridgestone to integrate its smart-sensing tire technologies and fleet solutions into Kodiak's level 4 autonomous trucks.

The companies will also pilot future autonomous and smart tire technologies to further enhance vehicle intelligence and advance toward a safer, more efficient, and more sustainable mobility future.

"Automated vehicles offer a number of benefits to commercial fleet customers and society, including safer roads with fewer unexpected incidents, and upwards of 20 percent savings in fuel and efficiency," said Paolo Ferrari, Global Chief Solutions Officer, Bridgestone Corporation, and President & CEO, Bridgestone Americas.

"Advancements in tyre-centric technologies are critical to unlocking greater innovation in mobility, while also delivering significant sustainability benefits. This investment will enable Bridgestone and Kodiak to work together to co-develop advanced mobility solutions with speed and precision that will revolutionise commercial trucking."

Trio collaborate on digital twin Nexer Insight (Nexer Group), NCC, Microsoft and Scharc recently completed the first phase of a joint project on digital twins, which took place in connection with the construction of the new Sigfridsborgsskolan in Nacka municipality, Sweden.

The primary purpose was to investigate how digital technology can make construction design safer, more sustainable and more efficient.

About two years ago, Nexer Insight was introduced to NCC by Microsoft. A meeting that resulted in a first joint and unique collaboration on safe and secure constructionglobal.com

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DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION

“Construction tech has a vital role to play as we work towards achieving net zero, optimised supply chain and efficient construction delivery” FAISAL BUTT, CEO, PI LABS

workplaces; one of NCC’s most important focus areas. The project was based on cranes at construction sites – a high-risk area identified by NCC – and involved in addition to Nexer Insight (at that time Sigma), Microsoft, ARROW and Edins Byggkranar.

“In the crane project, part of the project Connected Construction Site, we tested new technology based on monitoring using cameras and advanced software that immediately warns the crane operator of any people on the ground. In the project, Microsoft provided the cloud-based technology platform that formed the link between us at Nexer Insight, NCC and the others involved”, says Carl Tönseth, Regional Manager, Nexer Insight, niched in IoT and AI. Digital twin is likely to be a key project management tool as it anticipates such dangers.

“This can be, for example, real-time sensor data from zones where it can be dangerous to work due to hazardous microparticles in the air.

We have also tried to track where the material is, as well as people we may need to get in touch with, and who in the worst case has had an accident and need to be found quickly”, says Claes Henschel, NCC. NCC sees the potential to conduct predictions and simulations where the project members can test what happens if they do it in one way or another, ensuring operations are safer, more sustainable, and save time and money. constructionglobal.com

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PRECISION TRACKING ENHANCES PRODUCTIVITY New measurement launches and tie-ups enable construction firms to keep close tabs on all inspection activities WRITTEN BY: DOMINIC ELLIS

I

n a post-COVID, data-driven world, nowhere is digitally out of bounds, and contractors have an increasing number of solutions at their fingertips to ensure accuracy at all times.

The importance of insights and real-time data to heavy equipment operators and fleet owners is stimulating more interest in the integration of telematics system into heavy equipment machineries – spurred by the growth in wireless comms and mobile devices. These factors are likely to support development of the global telematics in heavy equipment market in the near future.

Trimble recently announced that Infotech is adding high-accuracy positioning and measurement capabilities to its Mobile Inspector Measure Service application through an integration with Trimble Access field software.

Infotech provides field staff with simple, yet powerful and configurable, mobile apps to manage data collection and inspection activities for digital delivery of

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TECHNOLOGY

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The right materials. At the right place. At the right time.

Industry Measured Results SiteSense® Materials and Inventory Management helps customers keep track of the materials throughout their project lifecycle more efficiently.

40%

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IMPROVES CASH FLOW SAVINGS

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IMPROVES CRAFT LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

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TECHNOLOGY

" Iris ActiveTrack is gamechanging technology that will help our customers reduce costs by eliminating time spent reviewing paperwork, measuring, marking, and using templates during assembly processes” SEAN FRANCOZ,

VIRTEK GROUP PRODUCT MANAGER

civil infrastructure including Federal and State Department of Transportation (DOT) projects.

"Trimble recognises the importance of an efficient, transparent and repeatable workflow that focuses on industry-specific solutions," said Stephanie Michaud, strategic marketing manager, Trimble Surveying & Mapping Field Solutions. "By sharing precise geospatial measurements between Trimble Access and Infotech's Mobile Inspector application, users can pair high-accuracy locations with asset inspection data to verify final as-built models

for civil infrastructure projects. "TrustLayer, specialists in compliance tracking, has integrated with Procore Technologies, bringing its real time insurance verification capabilities into the Procore platform, and allowing Procore users to validate that a company has the required insurance to access a job site.

The TrustLayer platform also automates the collection and tracking of certificates of insurance (COIs) and other compliance documents such as W9s and surety bonds.

TrustLayer’s collaborative risk management platform helps construction teams track, manage, and verify the compliance statuses of subcontractors, vendors, and other third party service providers. The new integration between Procore and TrustLayer enables quick access constructionglobal.com

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to valuable insurance compliance details within the Procore software.

“During these tough economic times, many subcontractors are not maintaining proper commercial insurance coverage,” said John Fohr, Chief Executive Officer of TrustLayer. “The TrustLayer/Procore integration allows construction companies to speed up start times by automating the collection and tracking of compliance docs.”

Virtek’s Iris ActiveTrack laser positioning software continuously projects stable, accurate laser lines onto moving parts to guide workers in a variety of manufacturing processes. Even complex, 3D shapes are projected with precision, dramatically 84

August 2021

accelerating time to market and ensuring product quality. The company has also released the newest edition of its Iris 3D software with enhanced API. "Iris ActiveTrack enables technicians to position the right part, in the right place, at the right time, even while the part is in motion," said Sean Francoz, Virtek Group Product Manager. "This is game-changing technology that will help our customers reduce costs by eliminating time spent reviewing paperwork, measuring, marking, and using templates during assembly processes. The largest gains come from the elimination of rework caused by quality escapes."

TECHNOLOGY

“ During these tough economic times, many subcontractors are not maintaining proper commercial insurance coverage” JOHN FOHR,

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TRUSTLAYER

Datumate recently released its automated, digital grade checking capabilities.

The DatuBIM Construction Data Analytics platform now transforms 2D designs into digital data model objects, calculates grade checking reports, and further automates progress monitoring.

This entirely digital process significantly reduces work, prevents human error, saves professional resources, and ends the construction companies' dependence on several software tools to perform these frequent reports. DatuBIM's new capabilities cut down office work for grade checking by approximately 70% on a typical elongated infrastructure project.

PV Solar sector adopts tracker systems The PV Solar industry continues to adopt tracker systems for increased energy yields and higher power output during more hours of the day.

Solar-Ops' myPV IQ software – a low-cost monitoring and control solution for utility scale PV solar and energy storage facilities – includes robust tools to visualise ganged and independent tracker rows, supporting enhanced asset management and maintenance capabilities.

Duke Energy has begun construction on the 22.6-MW Speedway Solar power plant in Cabarrus County. The project will be owned and operated

by Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a new brand that includes Duke Energy Renewables. During peak construction, Speedway Solar will employ about 70 workers.

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" OpenSpace's combination of advanced AI technology, an easy-to-use platform, and an exciting product roadmap positions the company well for further growth in this rapidlyadvancing industry” MARK MCLAUGHLIN GENERAL PARTNER, ALKEON

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"Our customers are extremely excited about our new, automated grade checking. For them, it is an entirely new level of efficiency and control. And for us, it is an ample example of what we want to achieve with DatuBIM: making infrastructure construction better," says Dr. Jad Jarroush Datumate, Founder and CTO. "DatuBIM's virtual 3D data objects derived from 2D plans and automated grade checking are a giant leap that brings our customers closer to BIM with 4D (schedule) and 5D (costs). Right now, we see that our customers, as the construction industry at large, need help in handling 3D. So our role is to make sure they reap all the benefits that 3D can offer."

In April, OpenSpace, which specialises in 360° construction photo documentation and analysis, announced a $55M Series C funding round, led by Alkeon Capital Management. The funding follows the expansion of its ClearSight Progress Tracking platform. Additional participants in the round include PSP Partners, GreenPoint Partners and New World Development, as well as returning investors Lux Capital, Menlo Ventures, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Zigg Capital.

Mark McLaughlin, General Partner at Alkeon, said: "OpenSpace's combination of advanced AI technology, an easy-to-use platform, and an exciting product roadmap positions the company well for further growth in this rapidlyadvancing industry.” constructionglobal.com

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TOP 10

EARLY-STAGE OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES WRITTEN BY: TOM SWALLOW

Construction Global takes a look at some of the top construction companies specialising in early-stage off-site construction methods

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O

ff-site assembly has become commonplace in the construction industry, although it is far from a revelation. The concept of off-site construction was first conceived in the late 1800s. Projects can benefit from cost-efficiency, earlier project deadlines, improved waste management, and consistency across various builds.

Construction companies can also utilise similar processes to a production line for standardised builds. From component building to modular, off-site construction can take many forms.

Let’s take a look at 10 companies that specialise in earlystage off-site construction.

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Acre Designs Energy-efficient homes reap benefits for both people and the environment. Acre Designs provides prefabricated homes, which the company classes as ‘zero-energy’ for their high energy efficiency and low energy consumption. Acre Designs assembles components of the houses offsite – from windows to smart technology – to the point where they are packaged into shipping containers. Acre targets high-end customers but plans to develop more affordable systems, which it sells through its ecommerce platform.

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09 Module

Module’s ‘incremental’ homes are designed to grow with families’ requirements. Clients of Module can buy a prefabricated start kit for their construction project, with the option to add additional sections as more space is required. This innovative construction product can be adapted to suit the majority of space and cost requirements. The Module housing method aims to reduce the barriers to homeownership for lower-income families while supporting environmentally friendly construction.

TOP 10

08

ReMaterials ReMaterials has developed a new roofing material called ModRoof, which was created in an effort to address the substandard roofing materials in the developing world.

ModRoof was developed as an eco-friendly replacement for corrugated cement and metal sheet roofing, made from recycled agricultural and packaging waste.

Combined with its easy-to-ship design, the product is ideal for use in less economically developed areas of the world, providing a safer roofing solution.

07 Kasita

Kasita provides stackable, minimalist prefab housing solutions, which are produced in an off-site setting, with the ability to create and ship its homes within a matter of weeks.

The company targets millennials with the need for mobile, affordable homes. The units can be transported to the site within a very short period, opening up the ability to purchase a house quickly, eliminating the traditional house search. The company is also developing beyond this market to provide hotel construction, shortterm stays, and outdoor living. constructionglobal.com

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Modular Design for a Diverse World eStruxture Delivers Flexibility Vertiv solutions, including the Vertiv™ Liebert® DSE economization system, allow eStruxture to bring equipment online faster and support the unique service level requirements of its customers.

Read the Case Study

TOP 10

05 Blokable

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ManufactOn ManufactOn partners with Autodesk’s design and construction platform to provide visibility to its subcontractors, which allows them to see when building components have been assembled.

The company was founded to accelerate the industrialisation of construction by providing cloudbased tools for us in materials management to empower the supply chain. It works with construction industry leaders to design processes for efficiency, usability best practices through its end-to-end prefab process management systems.

The Seattle-based company, Blokable, develops real estate using modular building methods.

The aim of the company is to provide much-needed housing solutions, as well as custombuilt modular architecture and construction. The Blokable Building System and BlokSense Platform allow the company to produce repeatable structures, simplify its quality control process, build in all weathers, maintain its pricing and build times, and support government initiatives by simplifying the approval process.

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04

Cover Technologies Specialist in accessory dwelling units and secondary property structures, Cover Technologies utilises prefabrication systems for its construction and complex algorithms to carry out its design process. The company’s use of technology complements its efficient prefab production and creates bespoke designs in as little as three days. The company’s main focus is to provide high performing structures with uncompromising designs, to improve the lives of its customers and transform the traditional industry.

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03 Plant Prefab Plant Prefab is responsible for designing and prefabricating bespoke, high-quality, sustainable homes for single and multi-family use. The company addresses some of the challenges in urban home construction through the use of off-site fabrication. Plant Prefab works with architects on projects in California, US, to construct its LivingHomes, which support sustainable building, are affordable methods of house building, and promote a healthy lifestyle for its clients.

02

TOP 10

Emagispace Emagispace was originally founded to provide innovative solutions for building film sets and discovered fast and simplistic methods of creating much larger spaces. The company provides solutions for building interior commercial spaces, as well as larger spaces like disaster relief shelters, storage units, exhibits, and hospital rooms. The product has been greatly received by some big-name companies, such as Facebook, Revlon, Samsung, and the most recent applications at companies like Google and Walmart. The company’s patented fibreboard panel products, which consist of recycled newspaper, wood chips, are suitable for the creation of rooms at a low-end cost of US$15.50 per square foot. This innovative product makes use of a simplistic construction, with the potential for use at a much larger scale.

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TOP 10

“ The extent of the company’s work complies with the demand for student housing, multi-family rentals, hotels, and affordable housing projects - a US$63bn market” 98

August 2021

TOP 10

FullStack Modular FullStack Modular was formed in 2016 through the acquisition of assets from Forest City Ratner Companies.

Roger Krulak, Chief Executive Officer at FullStack Modular, has over 25 years of experience within the construction industry and holds high levels of knowledge in real estate development. The company provides design and build services for modular residential projects in urban areas.

The extent of the company’s work complies with the demand for student housing, multi-family rentals, hotels, and affordable housing projects – a US$63bn market. The developments in technology and manufacturing allow FullStack Modular to build highrise buildings much faster than those who use conventional techniques while also reducing the costs involved, which all take place at its 100,000 square foot factory.

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bp "pushes boundaries" of procurement with Fairmarkit bp wanted to free up procurement resources to concentrate on value-added procurement activity as well as ensure they were managing their spend and budgets efficiently. To do this, the company wanted to both automate as much of their process as possible and monitor procurement data in real time to identify efficiencies.

The Challenge Procurement at bp is an incredibly large operation. The company’s supply chain spans the globe, incorporating functions as varied as drilling for oil, to constructing wind turbines, to operating retail storefronts. In this environment, the procurement team needs to manage spend ranging from billion-dollar specialist equipment to the receipt rolls in cash registers.

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