2023 Consultant of the year: Technical Excellence

Aecom

Key to AECOM’s success is the internal enablement of technical teams so that all elements of the business evolve into the future of technology. Innovation flourishes where the experience and understanding of subject matter experts collaborates and enhances their offerings with modern digital tools. AECOM have drawn inspiration and project management methodologies from a technology-orientated approach and has integrated this with practical engineering processes to develop a consultancy offering that delivers exciting new possibilities for the engineering and infrastructure industry. Supporting, enabling, and democratising the upskilling of subject matter experts has produced an environment of exciting innovation, evidenced by the many interesting and vital projects AECOM are involved with, as well as award wins and national press interest.

AtkinsRéalis

Transformational technology should drive transformational outcomes. That’s why we go beyond merely providing technology: we harness innovations to each project’s specific needs, connecting people, data, and technology to solve real-world problems. By enriching solutions with multidisciplinary insights and stakeholder needs, Atkins ensures that technical excellence delivers real impact. From using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to map and monitor landslides, to accelerating the delivery of crucial civil infrastructure by collating data streams via advanced analytics tools, we partner with clients to shape solutions to individual needs, taking responsibility for real-world challenges. In turn this increases our impact. NetCreate’s groundbreaking use of open-source data is accelerating the design of water and wastewater networks across the world. Our BIM-Analytics-Carbon tool is exposing and reducing embodied carbon at the design stage. Our ability to tailor these technologies cultivates the collaboration and trust necessary to build long-term relationships - and turning technical excellence into transformative outcomes.

Mott MacDonald

Mott MacDonald continues to apply first class digital solutions to their projects. Our digital solutions platform, MOATA, is helping us to solve some of the most pressing societal problems through the power of data. Our people, including several of our rising stars, have used MOATA to deliver our purpose of maximising social outcomes. This included developing spatial reasoning solutions to help prioritise disaster relief and optimising a wastewater treatment plant through real time data dashboards. MOATA is our commitment to technology’s democratising vision, empowering non-specialists at any point in the value chain or project cycle with powerful and accessible insights. We are also improving the infrastructure appraisal process, with a new tool which actively designs wellbeing into everything we do in a project. Our commitment to digital innovation will continue to make decarbonisation easier and growth more sustainable across the infrastructure industry.

WSP

Whether we’re helping clients make the best use of tools already accessible, or developing innovative solutions for complex problems, unlocking the power of data is key to building a future that works for everyone. We understand the challenges, know how digital engineering tools and data can be used, and apply the information in innovative ways to generate successful outcomes. Daisy uses AI and machine learning to analyse a building’s performance across metrics and create thousands of models to show the most efficient option, going beyond what’s currently possible to mitigate for embedded and operational carbon at the earliest design stages. The Vision Zero toolkit uses available data with Microsoft Office and Power Apps to empower local transport planners to make the best decisions they can using familiar tools. We believe digital should be both innovative and accessible, and we demonstrate our commitment to both across a range of projects.