INTELLIGENT SEMINAR

TECHNOLOGY, THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION

Ardent Tide (2019 BITA Business to Business Award Winners) recently held their third instillation of their Intelligent Seminars series at the Guildhall. They showcased some very interesting technology that is already being adopted by forward thinking companies outside Construction. Technology has revolutionised every other sector, globally, adding financial and operational value, whilst creating commercial longevity. Construction is second only to farming in its slow pace to digitalise, a trend that has not gone unnoticed from multiple global tech giants, all looking to capitalise.

The evening was moderated by representatives from tech titans SAP and LTI, who have been tasked by their businesses to catalyse this change in construction. Balasubramanian V (LTI) explained how on a construction project in India, he managed to increase profit margins 6%, through a series of digital interventions, focusing on several factors, from supply-chain efficiency, to how finetuning crane movements can literally save days on a contract. We are all aware that identifying these ‘problems’ and turning them into opportunities are the margins that make the difference.

BITA regular Noel Byrne, known for his work at Ardent Tide presented his construction technology start up, Arriva Digital, demonstrating Origin to Destination (O2D – see page 6) Noel explained how this digital platform is reducing the thousands of needless miles that vehicles make due to missed delivery time slots. The technology which is currently being used by Croydon Council in their £5.5 Billion Growth Zone as a planning condition, has been nominated as a finalist for three major awards this year for its work with Croydon for innovation in technology.

There was a shining example of a construction business, Tide Construction Ltd, adopting technology to create a new way to build. Owned by John Fleming, who spoke at the event, they have just completed work on the tallest residential modular building in the world due to be completed in half the time of a traditional skyscraper, with the ‘modules’ manufactured at the Vision Modular Systems factory in Bedford before being transported to Croydon. This is substantially quicker than building traditionally and resulting in approximately 50% time saving on programme. Mr Fleming said “Our method also results in significantly less disruption onsite with up to 80% fewer vehicle movements, a reduction in onsite resources and reduced waste when compared to traditional methods of construction.”

Scheduling software company Sirenum, who have been dubbed the ‘Uber for construction labour’ presented their software’s capabilities that is already being adopted by some of the biggest agencies in the world. Their platform gives full visibility as to the who, when and where when it comes to placing staff, even ensuring they have the correct compliance and qualifications required for the task. This system has been tried in tested in numerous sectors, and much alike other tech and services providers, Sirenum see construction as the industry most in need of this advancement in scheduling which will bring certainty and reliability to a whole new level.

The evening was wrapped up by Hiup, who improve training and development through the use of technology. Using technology to deliver training and key messages increases learning retention rates, decreases staff downtime and training costs, supporting businesses to become more profitable as used by Tesco, Ballymore and Blu-3. From digitised company inductions to virtual reality experiences, Hiup impressed with their ability to transform the way a construction company can engage with and train their ops.

CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE IN CRASHES SIMPLY BECAUSE HGVS ARE DESIGNED WITH MASSIVE BLIND AREAS. TECHNOLOGY COULD WELL BE THE SOLUTION.

Ardent Tide Director, Dermot O’Grady, finished with “technology is the future but every night we go to bed, we wake up further behind what is possible. This event is about leap-frogging to be as close to where the future is and showcase some technologies that are literally transforming businesses”.

Ardent Tide would like to thank all the sponsors and charities that make these seminars possible: Ayming, SAP, Hiup, J. Coffey Construction, Enterprise flex-e-rent, LTI, Tide Construction, Sirenum, Kerry London, OCB Site Services, O2D & Croydon Council. The next edition of Ardent Tide Intelligent Seminars will take place in 2020, if you would like to be added to the mailing list you can get in touch with them through Linkedin or Twitter.