Best Use of Technology: Site Productivity

Balfour Beatty

Digital by design

We’ve delivered an exceptional digital solution to manage project delivery performance as part of our DigitalByDesign Strategy. Through this innovative digital solution, we achieved unparalleled technical collaboration, successfully managing project completion and establishing the golden thread for a complex hospital project.

At MMUH, we revolutionised software utilisation, unlocking opportunities for Balfour Beatty and advancing our digital transformation. Importantly, we’ve embedded this digital expertise in early stages on other projects, exemplified by AWE project, Gatwick Airport, HS2 Head Houses, UoS West Slope, setting a new standard for project delivery performance and affirming our commitment to digital excellence in the construction industry.

Facit Homes

Facit Mobile Production Facility

Facit Homes’ Mobile Production Facility (MPF) deserves to win the award due to its groundbreaking innovation in construction. The MPF significantly enhances productivity by leveraging BIM and on-site digital manufacturing, reducing labour, cutting construction time and eliminating delays. This method integrates systems like plumbing and electrical wiring precisely, boosting efficiency.

Unlike traditional methods, the MPF uses advanced digital design and CNC machining for precise, error-free components, and operates continuously in a controlled environment. Developed through rigorous R&D, the MPF showcases a strategic investment in cutting-edge technology and iterative improvements across projects.

Facit’s scalable modular design, in partnership with Tharsus, aims to produce 80 homes per year, lowering labour costs and removing constraints. This vision for widespread adoption highlights its potential to set new industry standards for efficient, sustainable construction.

Winning the award would recognize Facit Homes’ transformative approach, promoting a more productive and sustainable future in the construction industry.

Hilti

Hilti Jaibot on IBM Project London

With it's 5m drilling arm, dust free capability, drilling speed, digital model embedment, intuitive marking system, and Health & Safety benefits, the Jaibot was perfect for the large open floor spaced project in London. Breaking the benefits down into three categories: Performance, Innovation, and Health & Safety; the Jaibot outperformed traditional methods in every factor.

Performance saw a 4-5x time saving on standard drilling speeds (~350 holes per day), overall cost savings vs standard labour of ~£2 per hole, higher accuracy rates, and efficient hole marking. Innovation allowed every drilling point to be pulled directly from the BIM model, hole quality data logged for review, and workflows easier to organize.

Health & Safety benefits enabled a dust free solution, elimination of working at height, and one person operation.

Laing O'Rourke

ITP's, easy as 1,2,3

Our team took a convoluted and time-consuming ITP process and consolidated the data into a user-friendly and indispensable dashboard for accessing key project information.

Using familiar systems, the dashboard has enhanced "paperwork" discipline, and put crucial data at the fingertips of those delivering our projects.

Lattice Build Technology

ULEZ expansion scheme

Lattice, an early-stage startup, was used by TKJV, one of the largest contractor joint ventures, for the ULEZ expansion project for Transport for London. Initially utilized as the primary software for asset installation, Lattice was given additional responsibilities, aiding in the digitization of survey and maintenance processes for the installed assets.

Despite tight project deadlines, a small team of three individuals successfully delivered a software that catered to over 15 field teams and one office team. The resulting outcomes were increased productivity and efficiency, evidenced by tangible savings in man-hours during delivery and maintenance, fuel conservation through optimized survey routes, and reduced paper usage due to digital document availability throughout the project bringing the overall cost of the project down significantly.

Lattice sees itself being beneficial to any multi-location projects like traffic lights, bus-stops, EV chargers, solar/wind farms etc

Mott MacDonald

Cloud-Integrated I&M processing system for efficient observational method application

Mott MacDonald works in a design joint venture with SYSTRA as part of an integrated project team (IPT) with Balfour Beatty VINCI and client HS2 . Our Cloud-Integrated I&M Processing System revolutionises instrumentation and monitoring (I&M) processes by automating data processing and integrating it with customizable Excel spreadsheets.

Developed on Mott MacDonald's Azure platform using Python, this system drastically reduces data retrieval time from hours to seconds, empowering engineers to make swift, data-driven decisions. The innovative approach provides instant accessibility to I&M data, streamlining the observational method application on-site and enhancing overall project efficiency.

By automating tedious manual tasks, this solution optimizes resources and allows engineers to focus on higher-value activities, setting a new standard for productivity and operational excellence in the industry.

Network Rail

AVA

AVA is the largest and possibly the only footbridge on the GB rail network that consists almost entirely of stainless steel. In addition, the design for manufacturing principles and the modern methods of construction implemented mean that it is now possible to produce the parts for a large number of footbridges much quicker than if fabricating conventional footbridges and therefore the benefits from economies of scale and the decoupling of the manufacturing stage from the project critical path are much greater.

The extensive use of digitalisation and technology in the materials as well as all the processes and operations during the project’s development stages can revolutionise the way footbridges are commissioned in a way similar to the one the introduction of the assembly line and the Ford Model-T achieved in the automotive industry in the early 20th century.

VolkerStevin

Rother tidal walls east

The Kings Avenue project team faced significant challenges due to limited construction space and the need to widen the existing embankment. They ingeniously used a spider excavator to install a 5m-deep steel sheet pile wall through the embankment crest, marking the first time this technology has been used in this way.

The spider excavator stabilises itself on the slope without an engineered platform and can lift and drive 5m-long steel sheet piles, making it ideal for the site. The team's additional innovations, including a change in capping beam material, resulted in a remarkable 43% improvement in piling productivity and a 59% programme saving compared to the original methodology. These advancements also achieved a 65% cost reduction and an 82% decrease in carbon emissions (from 333t CO2 to 61t CO2).

The project highlights the team's commitment to boosting productivity, sustainability, and efficiency through innovative engineering solutions.