Construction Global – February 2020

U.S. Green Building Council: Exploring sustainable solutions

www.constructionglobal.com

FEBRUARY 2020

Leveraging technology and innovation to build better

SAVILLS CRITICAL FACILITIES GROUP: How knowledge builds trust through expertise

Adaptive Data Centers

Data centers aligned Delivering adaptive data centers at scale and pace, with while offering missionyou critical stability DATA CENTER TRENDS

BUILDING BETTER

MODULAR ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS FOR DATA CENTERS

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FOREWORD

W

elcome to the February issue of Construction Global magazine!

Aligned grace the cover of this month’s issue. Global Head of Design & Delivery Mike Coleman reveals how Aligned designs “a physical, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure that is very quickly deployable, but also deployable in the right-sized increments to meet customers’ unique capacity needs and requirements now and in the future”.

Oracle Construction & Engineering’s Executive Director of Innovation Burcin Kaplanoglu gives us the lowdown on its Innovation Lab. The simulated worksite provides hands-on experience of the transformative power of the internet of things (IoT), drones, autonomous equipment, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other developing technologies.

Throwing the spotlight on Canada, we discover how construction leader Pomerleau is disrupting the industry

with the ability to self-perform and build better; a ‘one stop shop’ for all its clients’ needs from development to design and build.

Elsewhere, we learn how Balfour Beatty is delivering the UK’s M4 Smart Motorway Program, aided by BIMfuelled design from Autodesk; and examine how the City of Los Angeles is harnessing community engagement to build a sustainable future.

Also in this issue, we profile Savills Critical Facilities Services who advise on all aspects of data centre services from infrastructure to IT; and hear from the temporary power and temperature solutions experts Aggreko on best practice for cooling systems in mission critical structures.

Do you have a story to tell? Email daniel.brightmore@bizclikmedia.com to join the conversation.

Enjoy the issue!

Daniel Brightmore, Editor

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

03

A simpler approach to a future-proof data center.

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Click the home icon (top right of page) to return to contents page at anytime

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CONTENTS

Adaptive Data Centers

10 32

44

56

HELPING DATA CENTRES KEEP THEIR COOL

68

Data centre experts deploy

With less complexity

Introducing the HyperPod: a fast, flexible and cost-optimized architecture designed to deploy IT increments of 8−12 racks • Rack-ready system • Freestanding pod • Easy to configure

se.com/ca/hyperpod

86 Pomerleau Inc.

106

124

City of Los Angeles

Savills

Adaptive Data Centers

10

WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

FEBRUARY 2020

11

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

ALIGNED

Aligned is focused on designing and delivering dynamic solutions with industry-leading technology and adaptive infrastructure that align with customers’ needs and requirements

“ 12

O

ften when a large hyperscale provider is looking for a space, it has an internal plan for the year for capacity and compute

- typically based on the individual business being able to support projected growth and requirements for the year. That need for sophisticated capacity planning in the data centre industry is often due to sector volatility or how fluid the business requirements for individual applications are…”

Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery at Aligned, leads the company’s clients through the minefields of mission-critical; a solution provider able to react quickly to changing needs. “A customer may have planned for 10MW of space, but the business might realise it needs 15MW, and right now,” he says. “At Aligned, we have the capability to help them through that and ensure they have the space they need, where and when they need it.”

FEBRUARY 2020

13

2013

Year founded

550MW

Current portfolio under development

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ALIGNED – BUILD-TO-SCALE’ 15 Aligned’s approach is to design

down to as little as 750KW of cooling

a physical, electrical, and mechani-

capacity in an individual increment.

cal infrastructure that is very quickly

Allied to this, our electrical topology

deployable, but also deployable in

is extremely flexible, allowing us to

the right-sized increments to meet

make adjustments towards a specific

customers’ unique capacity needs and

customer.”

requirements – now and in the future.

Coleman highlights that this flexibility

“Instead of building a 50MW data

allows Aligned to deploy incrementally

centre and having it sit there waiting

across a building in two ways. “We

for it to be fully utilised, we’re able to

can add to the planned capacity for

build the physical structure, whether

the building, but also if the customer

it’s a cold or a warm shell, and then

decides that they’re going to grow in

incrementally deploy infrastructure at

place,” he explains. “From a density

pace,” assures Coleman. “For example,

perspective, we can add that capacity

we can get the mechanical backplane

in their current physical footprint and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

ALIGNED

16

not require additional square footage

our suppliers, with incremental release

or a lift-and-shift of equipment into a

dates that allows us to keep them up

different space. That’s the philosophy

and running.”

behind the design and the way that

Aligned has commoditised its pro-

we’re able to meet those commitments.

cesses allowing it to deploy mechanical

Once we have the cold channel, we

and electrical equipment in modules.

make the space ready maintaining

This reduces onsite construction and

approximately 50MW of our mechani-

the labour required while also minimis-

cal and electrical infrastructure rolling

ing disruption for any tenants using

through the supply chain. We manage

the facility. “We aim for our work to be

that very closely between the sites. By

seamless and the process to go almost

standardising that infrastructure from

unnoticed,” adds Coleman.

site to site, we’re able to make delivery commitments with our vendors, with FEBRUARY 2020

Future-proofing its infrastructure solutions is critical for Aligned when

contemplating the overall design of a project. “Future-proofing is typically focused on increased density; with CPUs getting increasingly powerful, they draw more and more power,” notes Coleman. “Historically, what happens in the data centre when you look at the retail or wholesale environment, is that a company with a traditional 15-year lease for a larger deployment will start to see a lot of empty space in the room because as they go through a tech refresh cycle, the equipment they’re installing is getting smaller, while requiring an equal amount of

“ Aligned’s approach is to design a physical, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure that is very quickly deployable, but also deployable in the right-sized increments to meet customers’ unique capacity needs and requirements – now and in the future” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

17

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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mike Coleman A former head of global data center operations at Google and Yahoo, Mike Coleman has spent 15 years on the electrical engineering design side for data centers and mission critical, working almost entirely on design-build.

“I’ve worked on buildings for Microsoft, Adobe, VMware, Intel, Facebook, Apple… You name it,” he says. “I have a very strong understanding of the overall cost, construction, scheduling and value engineering needs to help end users, owners and operators focus on their original requirements while ensuring the associated costs and benefits are achieved.”

19

Coleman offers a unique perspective on the process to plan for yearly deployment by individual business units across large global infrastructure and the challenges that need to be overcome. “I appreciate the complexity of their software platforms and how that translates into what our physical infrastructure needs to be able to accommodate,” he confirms.

“Being able to meet their needs with overall business and capacity planning helps me provide f lexible solutions and overcome challenges for our customers at Aligned.”

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

ALIGNED

cooling. When Aligned started in 2013, our goal was to drive a more sustainable approach to providing a physical structure in a number of ways. Today, we match 100% of our IT load with renewable energy sources.”

Aligned saw that with traditional cooling systems, faults would occur and this became the driving force behind the push for future-proofing.

“With our Delta Cube arrays, we’re able to start off with a customer at a low density, which today averages about 20

five to 10 kW per rack. However, the way that our mechanical structure is deployed enables that customer to then scale up, or in place, without having to maneuver or adjust their infrastructure. They then typically scale to anywhere from the 10kW up to 50 kW a rack. We can incrementally add capacity quickly, and our customers never have to worry about looking for a new space. We call this capability Expand on Demand.”

At the core of Aligned’s bespoke approach is its proprietary cooling technology – Delta CubeTM and CACTUS®. “It could not be any more flexible,” confirms Coleman. “For higher FEBRUARY 2020

21

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densities than 50 kW per rack, it is also easily integrated with liquid-cooled solutions. The industry really hasn’t standardised around anything, so whatever we do right now will not be a catch all. It would be a unique deployment for an individual customer, which we could accommodate.”

Aligned’s electrical topology, and how it deploys power, is based around a standard offering which is also incredibly flexible. “Many of our customers might have some core systems

“ We can incrementally add capacity quickly, and our customers never have to worry about looking for a new space. We call this capability Expand on Demand” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned 23

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ALIGNED – DELTA CUBE TECHNOLOGY, DESIGNED FOR SCALABILITY’

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ALIGNED

C O M PA N Y FACT S

• Aligned matches 100% of our IT load with renewable energy sources.

• Aligned’s cooling system is capable of operating using 80% less energy and 85% less water than traditional cooling systems.

24

FEBRUARY 2020

that require more robust electrical reliability. They might have an N+1 environment for the production equipment and network gear, or more critical systems that are usually deployed in a smaller footprint. These might need to be more robust, whether it’s twoline or double-corded, even with our standardisation around our design, we can easily accommodate those adjustments because of the way that we designed the physical infrastructure.”

Aligned has the ability to offer any type of renewable energy to its customers. In the U.S., more often than not, this green energy is brought in via the utility, but Coleman notes that some of Aligned’s customers are investing directly into wind farms and solar that support their local grid. “Taking this approach, you’re shaping and leading the power. We have experience doing this and are happy to work with them.”

The company’s green approach extends to its cooling system, which is capable of operating using 80% less energy and 85% less water than traditional cooling systems. “There’s the Delta Cube, and we also have a proprietary chiller that we develop and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

25

Data Center Trends “When you look at the large hyperscalers, the appetite right now to take down space is tremendous,” says Aligned’s Global Head of Design & Delivery, Mike Coleman. “The pace that they need to fill to try to keep up with the demand is unattainable. Hence, innovation has become secondary to iteration just so they can meet the demand, because every time you add some new technology, it slows the build process down. You have to vet it, there’s more testing, you’re not exactly sure how well it’s going to work, and the business simply cannot tolerance any delay or misses on delivering capacity.”

Coleman sees less innovation right now, simply because of the sheer build volumes. “However, it’s also allowing the overf low to drive growth in businesses like ours,” he says. “Providers are becoming much more strategic partners so that they can meet demand.

Therefore, our capital, infrastructure and people provide a great recipe for them to reach out to us for support.”

Coleman also highlights the significance of what he calls “the return to the metro” of the early 2000s. “In the past, data center construction was almost entirely in a metro area, close to the customer due to latency, with content stores closest to the user.

Then, we saw the trend of everybody moving out of the metro to massive campuses in remote locations. But now, the tremendous growth in cloud is leaving the majority of the large cloud users in a hybrid environment. We’ve gone back to that latency requirement where large cloud deployments need to be close to the metro because very often, they’re providing services to an on-prem IT infrastructure, so you need close proximity to that. We’re starting to see 30-50MW deployments between these large hyperscalers in areas where they wouldn’t look to be building data centers because their sites are typically 200-500MW. The growth in this area is going to be immense.”

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

27

ALIGNED

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cooling system that can kick in as well, so we really have all conditions covered.” He maintains the system is designed to run on 100% outside air as much as possible and that reduced energy and water consumption is driving the industry-leading 1.15 PUE that Aligned operates at.

Aligned typically partners with the top five contractors in the U.S. data centre market, drawing on the technical expertise of those who have heavily invested in the talent needed to support mission-critical projects. “Very often, we’re partnered with a large manufacturer – the CACTUS,” reveals

general contractor to establish the

Coleman. “The chiller itself runs pre-

original building,” confirms Coleman.

dominantly on 100% outside air when

“The other reason is the pace that we

conditions allow (when dewpoint is low

build at, nine or even six months in

and temperature is in the right range).

some cases, requires enormous cash-

It’s not until we see adverse conditions,

flow efforts, and a very large workforce.

which are not consistent annually, that

We have a handful of both capital

we activate the adiabatic cooling in the

and construction partners capable

chiller, which does not run all the time.”

of supporting that. Once the site is

Coleman notes that adiabatic cooling

established and you’ve got iterative

runs for a fractional number of hours

work, whether it’s multiple additional

a year compared to the outside air.

buildings on the site or additional build

“When dewpoint becomes an issue or

down to the shell, we’ve developed

humidity is a little higher and adiabatic

partnerships locally. The local MEP

isn’t effective, we do have a traditional

contractors and subcontractors are w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

29

ALIGNED

critical alliances for us moving forward to continue the expansion of our operations and be good partners to the communities we work in.”

Aligned’s recipe has resulted in some notable successes. “I’m very impressed with our first building in Salt Lake City.

That was a brownfield conversion of a chip plant where we were able to purchase and retrofit the building, as well as get customers deployed there in under a year; that’s almost unheard of in our industry,” says Coleman. “Similarly, 30

based on the way that our infrastructure is designed, we were able to complete our first phase of capacity in

“ I’m very impressed with our first building in Salt Lake City. That was a brownfield conversion of a chip plant where we were able to purchase and retrofit the building, as well as get customers deployed there in under a year; that’s almost unheard of in our industry” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned FEBRUARY 2020

31

Ashburn in about six months, which is

infrastructure funds are not looking for

the fastest I think I’ve ever seen. Both

quarterly earning updates and require-

amazing accomplishments for us.”

ments back on their investment. We

Aligned recently secured a $575mm

have the ability to accomplish anything

credit facility, which will further support

our clients need, which makes the road

its goals for 2020 with expansion of

ahead truly exciting.”

its adaptable colocation and build-toscale solutions at current campuses; Salt Lake City and Phoenix expansions are already underway. “We can achieve

Adaptive Data Centers

whatever our customers need. We’re not capital constrained, our partners’ w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

32

DELIVERING A SMART MOTORWAY EXPANSION WITH BIM-FUELLED DESIGN

FEBRUARY 2020

33

The M4 Smart Motorway Programme, undertaken in the UK by Balfour Beatty, is using BIM (Building Information Modeling) and VR (virtual reality) to turn a design from Arcadis and Jacobs into reality WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHT MORE

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

T

he M4 Smart Motorway Programme will deliver technology upgrades to manage a 50mph speed limit and road widening

project along a 52km stretch of the M4, running

from junction 12 at Reading to junction 2 in London.

The challenge is to find the most cost-effective way to work around existing structures, including bridges, and to find the best solution without using more land. Undertaking the project in 2015 as a 60/40 joint venture with VINCI, Balfour Beatty’s Head of Digital Project Delivery, Harry Parnell, is leading on Smart Motorway upgrades that will reduce congestion and shorten journey times 34

for thousands of road users. Traffic is monitored so that when congestion is detected, the hard shoulder can be opened as a permanent running lane to add extra capacity at a controlled speed.

Meanwhile, it’s a huge task to keep the motorway moving while doing the construction and making sure the three priorities of Highways England are upheld — customer, delivery and safety.

MEETING THE BIM MANDATE WITH MDM AND 3D MODELS The team is applying Autodesk tools such as BIM 360, Navisworks and Revit in a connected workflow to meet the challenges of Highways England’s BIM mandate. The level of detail and information needed for Highways England’s asset requirements is paramount. Arcadis and Jacobs have collaborated FEBRUARY 2020

35

with Autodesk on the development of Mobile Device Management (MDM), which helps amend asset data to the 3D models.

“We’ve been agreeing the model production delivery table - an ISO 19650 responsibility matrix - for the level of detail of the assets and the attribution which goes into the Autodesk MDM tool,” explains Parnell. ISO 19650 certification is the international ISO standard recognised for managing information over the whole life cycle of a built asset using BIM. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

“We use Autodesk tools to analyse our sequencing to see how we can be more efficient, and take days or weeks off our programme” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty In the process of delivering the infrastructure design from Arcadis and Jacobs, Balfour Beatty has been working with these 3D models to create the drawings for construction. “Infra-

36

structure clients need to make sure the designer is going to give the contractor what they need. We’re actually getting a 3D model cut into 2D drawings with unique IDs against that 3D project information model,” says Parnell. “Then with Jacobs, we’ve done a series of workshops, running thorough clash detection reporting to make sure we’re achieving a buildable design.”

BUILDING ON PREVIOUS SUCCESSES WITH INTERCONNECTED TOOLS A collaborative approach helped Parnell’s team agree on the BIM execution plan and build on the success of its M5 project, FEBRUARY 2020

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘4D MODELLING AT THE M5 SMART MOTORWAY’ 37 which received the 2013 BCIA Award

efficient, and take days or weeks off our

for Safety Excellence. He sees the M4

programme,” reveals Parnell. “The key

programme as a “lighthouse project”

thing is, we’re engaging with multiple

where all the different processes

people on the project and getting them

Balfour Beatty has developed will come

to use tools like Navisworks to review

together on a scheme valued at £850mn.

the design and get those benefits.”

Having the right tools to manage the logistics of such a vast project has been

DEVELOPING NEW BIM TOOLS

vital for the team to enhance buildability,

Balfour Beatty is working closely with

while meeting the challenge of a

Autodesk and Excitech on the develop-

three-and-a-half-year timeline, so that

ment of a cross-section tool in response

expansion works at Heathrow airport

to the 3D/2D challenges posed by the

can begin.

M4 project. Parnell’s team needs to be

“We use Autodesk tools to analyse our sequencing to see how we can be more

able to cut through multiple applications (such as Revit, Civil 3D and AutoCAD) w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

38

“We’re aiming to get 4D sequencing inside of the VR environment to review designs, health and safety risks and buildability. It will be the next step-change in the industry” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty FEBRUARY 2020

D ID YOU KNOW

The Digital Rehearsal Room The introduction of new tools has brought its own challenges for the M4’s grand project delivery team - including Balfour Beatty, VINCI, and Taylor Woodrow. Balfour Beatty’s Head of Digital Project Delivery, Harry Parnell, has run

Located at the M4 site office, the digital rehearsal room supports the continued flow of construction by providing a safe environment for the delivery team to analyse the project while avoiding unnecessary disruption on

training sessions with Navisworks Manage and Navisworks Freedom to get everyone on the same page and educate staff in the use of models, reviewing them, marking up, and as a tool to enhance information sharing around the design in project meetings. This has improved the team’s ability to interact with the design on the M4 project.

the motorway.

“We’ve created a digital rehearsal room,” explains Harry Parnell. “It’s driven by three projectors with a touch-screen environment to actually move around a model — a collaboration area where we can get the designers, contractors and the supply chain into the same room to review the project.”

For Parnell’s team, Autodesk applications such as Civil 3D, Revit, and AutoCAD are key. “We choose an application depending on the discipline,” he says. “We’re using Revit for bridge structures and gantries; AutoCAD for all our comm’s, and Civil 3D for highways alignment, emergency refuges and central reserve areas. We federate all of that inside Navisworks to perform clash detection.”

Infraworks models allow the team to communicate with key stakeholders throughout the project. “We can show them the job and what we’re actually going to be building at the end of it,” confirms Parnell.

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39

LEADERSHIP

so that the construction teams can get the cross-sections at a specific change location with all the disciplines included.

Rather than having to refer constantly to the CAD team, Parnell believes this will enhance speed and efficiency in the ongoing design process. “We’re seeing the potential for it to be used for linear infrastructure projects and handle large models,” he says. “Breaking the models into smaller locations, and smaller chunks 40

of data, will make associated applications work more efficiently.” Autodesk has also worked with Balfour Beatty to develop BIM 360 Field in situ, ahead of its rollout across the M4 Smart Motorway Programme.

MAKING THE MOVE FROM PAPER TO DIGITAL

He estimates a saving of around three

Balfour Beatty has enjoyed a 300%

staff. “By doing things digitally, the

return on investment through the use

mobile devices pay for themselves

of BIM 360. The move away from

within seven weeks per person,” he

paperwork to the use of mobile

adds, noting that significant savings

devices on site, loaded with BIM 360

have been made on the M4 project

Docs, makes project information

using the Autodesk AEC Collection.

accessible to Parnell’s team along

“If a clash went undetected, the cost

the 52km stretch of the M4 motorway.

would be £500 for each instance.

FEBRUARY 2020

hours per week for each member of

41

“For our future infrastructure schemes, it’s about early engagement and collaboration; agreeing the level of detail and information while getting the models, standard methods and procedures agreed up front” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

Using Navisworks we’ve achieved savings in the ballpark of £4mn.”

3DR DEVELOPS A FORGE-POWERED DATA SUPERHIGHWAY The use of models also helps to track and share progress on the project.

Balfour Beatty’s in-house drone team creates fly-through videos and process photogrammetry, transforming data into actionable maps and models to fuel ongoing design along the M4 scheme.

This also keeps the motorway active 42

while supporting the safety of workers.

Balfour Beatty is taking advantage of a collaboration between Autodesk and 3DR. “With this integrated solution we can collect the data, pull it into 3DR, process the information into meshes and point clouds, then export the data into BIM 360 to share out with the grand

for teams to collaborate on during

project delivery team,” explains Parnell.

a project.

The combination of 3DR and BIM

“With 3DR, it’s not just about the

360 allows for rapid data sharing

processing,” says Parnell. “The online

during the ongoing design process.

portal application is very easy to

In the past, these large files would

use, and learn. When we’re analysing

be distributed via hard drives sent

progress on the M4 project, we can

through the mail. However, this would

overlay two different sources of data,

lead to duplicated information and

and compare one month’s drone

the lack of a single source of truth

flight with another.”

FEBRUARY 2020

on where they should stand inside of the environment. In the VR room, this translates to the permanent works design providing a platform to enhance safety before construction staff visit the site for real.

The M4 Smart Motorway Programme has further benefited from this innovation by allowing workers to wander around sections of the project to gain a vision for the ultimate aims of the design. VR links delivery team offices, enabling exploration of the site without the need for team members to be in the same room or having to travel to site for presentations, saving time and money.

“We use a HTC VIVE, Oculus Rift scenario, so people can more easily understand the project while immersed in that environment,” reveals Parnell.

VR MAKES 3D DESIGN A REALITY FOR CONSTRUCTION TEAMS

“We want to push boundaries. We’re

Balfour Beatty is also pushing bounda-

of the VR environment to review designs,

ries by using virtual reality applications

health and safety risks and buildabil-

for the M4 Smart Motorway Programme.

ity. It will be the next step-change in

The company previously used VR on

the industry.”

aiming to get 4D sequencing inside

its sister M6 project for plant/people interface training. Parnell’s team runs design models and creates yellow, amber and red zones to train operatives w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

43

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

44

Visit your construction tomorrow, today WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE

How Oracle Construction & Engineering’s Innovation Lab is encouraging collaboration and providing the gateway to an ecosystem that can support the plan, build and operate lifecycle

FEBRUARY 2020

45

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

46

O

racle employs over 40,000 peo-

Andy Verone, Oracle Construction &

ple across nine industry specific

Engineering’s Global Vice President

business units. The genesis for

for Industry Strategy & Innovation.

construction and engineering was

the acquisition of Primavera over

BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM

10 years ago, a strategy which has

“It starts with a secured common data

continued with the purchase of Ac-

environment and ecosystem,” explains

onex, Textura and Skire — $3bn of

Verone. “We know we can’t do every-

acquisitions inside one global busi-

thing for every customer, so our eco-

ness unit. “We’ve focused on having

system supports the plan, build and op-

expert DNA to help our customers

erate lifecycle - everything from capital

not only to solve today’s problems,

planning, portfolios, risk-management

but also look to the future,” pledges

and pre-construction to design coordi-

FEBRUARY 2020

47

nation, job site mobility and payments.

ogy. By working with them and under-

We’re giving our customers the insights

standing their use cases we’ve taken

they need to more efficiently perform

a different approach,” he says. “Rather

their large capital projects.”

than being API-driven, we’ve focused

Burcin Kaplanoglu, Oracle Construc-

on the problems we need to solve and

tion & Engineering’s Executive Director

the companies we can partner with to

of Innovation, recalls the company’s

develop those applications and hard-

goal was to create an ecosystem

ware solutions.”

capable of looking at the market and evaluating new technologies. “We

THE INNOVATION LAB

decided to work with a small group of

To support Oracle’s exploration of

companies - some startups and some

new tech, the company chose to

more mature - to validate their technol-

develop its own Innovation Lab. “We w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

48

“ We decided to build our own construction site. The Innovation Lab is a platform for integrations and use cases where you can experience solutions in action” — Burcin Kaplanoglu, Executive Director of Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering

FEBRUARY 2020

decided to build our own construction site. The Innovation Lab is a platform for integrations and use cases where you can experience solutions in action,” confirms Kaplanoglu. “We asked our customers what they wanted to see.” The site opened in the summer of 2018 and has since welcomed over 1,000 visitors. “Technologies can help our customers deliver their projects, but what we’re really focused on is how can we help them improve the process and the skills of their workers.”

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UK GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL – ADVANCING NET ZERO’ 49

Oracle aims to support customers

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

with its own tech stack via its partner’s

Verone explains that visitors to the lab

solutions. “The Innovation Lab has

start the experience in a construction

shown how successful this approach

trailer on site, the antithesis of a confer-

can be with 80% of the technolo-

ence room or corporate visitor centre.

gies that we’re working with at the site

“It’s an environment which allows our

now commercially available,” reveals

customers to better explain the prob-

Kaplanoglu. “We’re curating how these

lems they face,” says Verone. “It always

technologies can work together with

leads to a second visit from the project

input from our customers. Alongside

managers that are actually delivering

plans to extend the Innovation Lab in

projects out there in the world.”

Chicago with an indoor/outdoor site

“It’s an immersive experience, from

space, Oracle is looking at rolling out the

wearing your hard hats and the safety

concept globally, starting with Europe.

requirements of entering the site,” he w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

adds. “We’re really keen to reach out to the educational community across the US and get people excited about this industry again. We open our doors to high schools and universities to show the next generation of constructors and civil engineers that the activities happening on job sites today are very technology driven. Everything from drones, and the potential for 5G to reshape project delivery on site, to IoT, VR and BIM modelling.”

50

“ We know we can’t do everything for every customer, so our ecosystem supports the plan, build and operate lifecycle” — Andy Verone, Global Vice President, Industry Strategy & Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering FEBRUARY 2020

51

CONSTRUCTING AN ECOSYSTEM WITH TRUSTED PARTNERS

that are visualised in an interactive

Oracle is collaborating with the likes

for contractors, clients, and govern-

of Bosch, Reconstruct and Triax to

ment organisations around the world in

develop an ecosystem of solutions to

the energy, infrastructure, and building

support construction customers. UK-

sectors. “They’ve trained their algo-

based startup, nPlan, uses machine

rithms working with 250,000 sched-

learning technology and a large data-

ules for a broad range of contractors,”

set of construction programs to help

adds Kalplanoglu. “Based on the data-

understand uncertainty and risk in con-

set, they build models for customers

struction projects. The company’s soft-

to predict what the outcome will be per

ware makes high-quality predictions

schedule activity. Their analysis can

front-end web app and a suite of APIs

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

FACT BOX

Innovation in Action

52

Kaplanoglu has identif ied key areas of interest from the customer feedback received where Oracle will be looking to partners within its ecosystem to provide solutions. The Innovation Lab provides a hands-on trusted space for customers to see solutions in action and collaborate with Oracle’s partners (including the likes of Bosch and nPlan) on how to build construction tomorrow.

“Our customers told us they wanted a solution that links a project schedule to the materials on site. They want to be able to digitally track that shipment and know where it sits in the production process and be notified once it has been installed,” he reveals. “We also have solutions to manage crew on site, the zones they’re expected to be working in, and safety alerts should an accident occur – it’s about being proactive rather than reactive.”

FEBRUARY 2020

Kaplanoglu believes that whether you’re an owner or subcontractor progress reporting is essential. “With the ultimate goal being the completion of the project so everyone can get paid, we’re working with one of our customers to look at ways of automating that reporting process with verification in the field,” he explains. “By scanning the site with a robot that alerts a 3D model in the cloud linked to a partner solution called Reconstruct (a ‘Visual Command Center’ that shows you what is there vs what should be there), the schedule can be updated. During 2019, one of our customers trialled this concept with 360-degree cameras and brought their findings back to the lab to learn what robot scanning of the environment will add through Augmented Reality (AR). You can actually do progress reporting based on the data that comes from the field and you don’t even need to be on the site.”

“ Whether we collect it with sensors or humans, we need to find ways to better understand data and use it to predict what’s next” — Burcin Kaplanoglu, Executive Director of Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering

help us deliver efficiencies and realise benefits for our customers.”

CONNECTING TRENDS Oracle Construction & Engineering focuses on creating a connected platform to serve the ecosystem, supply chain and project team network of four key markets: residential and commercial, public infrastructure, energy and resources as well as industrial manufacturing. “Connecting processes is a must for our clients pursuing plan, build and operate,” says Verone. “We need to connect everything from capital planning through building, execution and assets and facilities management. We’ve got to leverage that data to enhance visibility. Driving adoption is key. No software application in the world is going to be successful unless you encourage adoption from your customers.”

Verone maintains that trust plays an important role in delivering results. “In today’s market that user experience has to be positive and very easy for our customers to consume with the security they demand,” he says. “The model management gives our customers a comprehensive integrated platw w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

53

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

form, a standardised asset register for handover on a scalable platform capable of taking on the biggest infrastructure projects in the world.”

The connecting trend uniting all these solutions is data. “Whether we collect it with sensors or humans, we need to find ways to better understand data and use it to predict what’s next,” urges Kaplanoglu who notes three key issues: we either have too much data and not enough ways to understand it; not enough data 54

because areas of work site productivity are not being tracked with automated processes, or much of the data lacks the opportunity for real-time insights. “This creates an environment where we react,” he adds. “Moving us from, ‘let’s check the box when the work is completed’ to, ‘let’s have sensors to track live data so we can actually continue to see the progress without even needing to be on site.’”

BUILDING COLLABORATION IN 2020 Expanding its engagement with more customers in the physical site environment will continue to be paramount for Oracle and the development of its ecoFEBRUARY 2020

system of partner solutions. “We’re not just simulating, we’re learning a lot from the lab and general contractors to help us innovate,” confirms Kaplanoglu.

Oracle is also heavily engaged with global construction organisations such as Building Smart International (BSI), which drives transformation of the built asset economy through the creation and adoption of open, international standards. “We’re playing a role in their work groups,” explains Verone. “It’s helping us validate what we’re doing from customer requests and engagement to our own product strategy and development teams.” To validate the tools that will enable solutions for customers, Oracle is continuing its collaboration with Texas University’s Construction Industry Institute research unit to document and create 16 best practices from an EPC contractor perspective. It’s all part of Oracle’s push to encourage collaboration and integration, and help build a stronger, smarter, and more connected future for the industry.

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TECHNOLOGY

HELPING DATA CENTRES KEEP THEIR COOL

56

WRITTEN BY

NICK OSBORNE

Following the news that the 2010s was the hottest decade on record, Nick Osborne, Data Centre Specialist for Aggreko, explores how providing sufficient air conditioning equipment is a key measure to avoiding overheating and ensuring against downtime

FEBRUARY 2019

57

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TECHNOLOGY

58

D

elivering many key day-to-day

As global temperatures continue to

services such as our

rise and adverse weather conditions

communications, energy systems,

become more prevalent, controlling

transport and health services, data

and mitigating the vast amount of heat

centres and large-scale server rooms

that data centres produce is a more

are an integral part of daily life. Ensuring

pressing issue than ever for the sector.

these facilities and their equipment

With over 175 zettabytes of data pre-

remain continuously operational is an

dicted to be in existence by 2025, it is

absolute priority. One such factor that

even more vital than ever that existing

can affect the smooth operations of a

and future data centres have the cor-

data centre is extreme adverse weather,

rect infrastructure in place to ensure

which can cause equipment to fail and

heat generated by server racks and IT

result in costly downtime.

apparatus is balanced.

FEBRUARY 2019

EXTREME HEAT CAUSES DOWNTIME Climate change is a contentious topic across all industries, not least the data centre sector. With the market predicted to account for a third of global electricity consumption, as well as 3.2% of worldwide carbon emissions by 2025, the growth of the data centre industry threatens further climate change and ensuing effects on weather and temperature.

High temperatures and humidity that could become commonplace in the future are conditions that spell disaster for data centres. Equipment in these facilities produce vast amounts of heat as it stands, and, with elevated Cooling systems, both liquid and

temperatures from extreme weather

air-derived, are available to data centre

patterns, the risk of overheating be-

providers to suit the requirements

comes higher than ever.

of facilities of all sizes and outputs.

The large amounts of heat gener-

However, a survey by Science Direct

ated by server racks and IT apparatus

found that 61% of data centres are

have been a long-standing concern

running at low efficiency, particularly

for companies across many industries.

thanks to unsuitable cooling systems.

With worldwide spending on data

With this in mind, it is vital that data

centres hitting $93bn in 2019 accord-

centre providers understand the

ing to Synergy Research Group, it is

requirements of their facility and can

no surprise that stakeholders want

benefit from the expertise of a special-

to prevent downtime and the ensuing

ist to select the best cooling solution.

costs that come from it. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

59

TECHNOLOGY

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POWER, HEATING AND COOLING FOR THE LIFECYCLE OF YOUR DATA CENTRE’

60

As technological advancement

The rises in temperature caused by

drives further implementation of in-

by-product heat within a facility can

novations, such as Edge Computing,

affect infrastructure performance

Artificial Intelligence and IoT, new

and lead to potential disruption and

hardware to satisfy the higher demand

plant failure – consequences data

of the data centre will produce even

centres and businesses reliant on

larger amounts of heat. Companies

server rooms are keen to avoid.

investing in advanced technologies to

Consequently, it is of paramount

enhance their offering means not only

importance that IT professionals and

that data centre providers will need to

data centre managers carefully con-

construct more facilities, but will also

sider whether their existing cooling

need to more carefully consider how

equipment is suitable for their busi-

they will cool equipment with more

ness’ needs.

advanced hardware.

FEBRUARY 2019

KEEPING COOL

This approach is most applicable

When it comes to removing heat in

for data centres and facilities with

data centres, the two most common

comparatively smaller power load

methods currently in use are air or

densities, where the power load

water-cooled systems. As higher tem-

required for the mixing process is

peratures begin to put data centres of

a small fraction of the facility’s total

all sizes at risk of overheating, it is vital

power load. Where this is not the

that providers select the correct solu-

case, the system’s efficiency declines.

tion for satisfying the requirements of

Instead of balancing the tempera-

their facility.

ture of the room, a water-cooled

An air-cooled system delivers cold

system transfers chilled water to ex-

air into the data centre or server room,

actly where it is required – the server

extracting warm air from the room,

racks and computer banks. This

mixing both to eliminate hot spots.

targeted approach is more efficient

“With over 175 zettabytes of data predicted to be in existence by 2025, it is even more vital than ever that existing and future data centres have the correct infrastructure in place to ensure heat generated by server racks and IT apparatus is balanced.”

— Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko

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TECHNOLOGY

C O MPAN Y FACT S Aggreko is a world-leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services. We are working at the forefront of a rapidly changing energy market and are focused on solving our customers’ challenges to provide costeffective, flexible and greener solutions across the globe.

62

We harness innovation that helps us maintain a global reach and supply portable equipment for a wide range of uses. From unique commercial industrial projects, through to utility provision and humanitarian emergencies. We bring expertise and equipment to any location, from the world’s busiest cities to its most remote places.

Aggreko specialises in serving eight key sectors: Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Mining, Petrochemicals & Refining, Business Services & Construction, Events, Data Centres and Utilities.

Across these, our equipment offers maximum fuel f lexibility, using gas, diesel (including HFO), and renewable fuel sources. We offer microgrid and FEBRUARY 2019

storage solutions and are developing our offer to include more tools to help our customers adapt to the energy transition the world is experiencing. What makes us unique is our extensive expertise, experience and values.

This means we put our customers first, innovate and deliver leaner and more efficient equipment quickly.

Since 1962, Aggreko has grown from a small local business to a global energy pioneer. We have more than 7,300 employees, operating in around 100 countries. With revenues of approximately £1.7bn ($2.2bn or €2bn) in 2017, we are listed on the London Stock Exchange (AGK.L) and headquartered in Scotland.

Aggreko draws together global expertise and technology development to go further for customers. The ability to provide power, heating and cooling will continue to open-up opportunity and create potential for individuals, communities, industries and societies all over the world. Together and over time, we believe our services will make a massive difference.

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TECHNOLOGY

64

“ As technological advancement drives further implementation of innovations, such as Edge Computing, Artificial Intelligence and IoT, new hardware to satisfy the higher demand of the data centre will produce even larger amounts of heat.”

— Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko

FEBRUARY 2019

for companies operating larger data centres or server rooms.

Though cooling systems of these types are usually installed as a permanent fixture within a data centre, temporary rental of cooling solutions may also need to be employed with extreme hot weather patterns occurring more frequently than ever. With data centres already using more and more power than ever before and the resulting impact on the environment a key industry concern, temporary solutions will alleviate the effects of a sudden heat wave without permanently using large amounts of power across a facility’s lifespan.

Within a data centre that uses free cooling, a system where cool air is supplied directly from the outside in cold weather locations, such temporary solutions may be required in unusually warm conditions that may suddenly occur. As a contingency strategy, the implementation of chiller stab points within the cooling system allows for pre-existing access points for temporary chilling solutions to be quickly installed, ensuring downtime is kept to a minimum. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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TECHNOLOGY

It must be noted that no two sites are the same, and may be subject to a wide array of changing variables such as temperature, humidity levels and available space. So, before selecting air conditioning and cooling equipment, a site survey should be carried out to clarify the site’s power and temperature requirements, and what environmental factors need to be considered.

FINDING THE RIGHT SOLUTION 66

Specifying the right temperature control system can be a highly technical task, usually requiring an expert in heating, ventilation and air conditioning to develop a bespoke plan. With

“With data centres already using more and more power than ever before and the resulting impact on the environment a key industry concern, temporary solutions will alleviate the effects of a sudden heat wave without permanently using large amounts of power across a facility’s lifespan.”

— Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko FEBRUARY 2019

67

this in mind, it is advisable companies

weather fronts, choosing the right cool-

use a third party to carry out this

ing equipment for a data centre is vital

service. Companies such as Aggreko

to avoiding downtime and added cost.

offer full consultation as well as

Being sure of the facility’s demand, the

equipment to ensure that the cooling

weather patterns in its location and,

system within each data centre suits

crucially, consulting an expert of data

their individual requirements.

centre temperature control will ensure

Whether it is a long-term solution for

such issues do not occur.

temperature control, or a short-term hire of a system to alleviate the effects of sudden heatwaves or extreme w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

T O P 10

68

FEBRUARY 2020

DATA CENTRE TRENDS Following a recent Gartner report, we count down the key trends shaping the infrastructure architecture of the data centres of the future WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE

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T O P 10

10

DATA CENTRES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED, AS HYBRID IT BECOMES STANDARD

Gartner sees IT organisations as brokers of ‘hybrid IT’, forecasting that enterprise data centres will become increasingly distributed, with applications and workloads located where they have the best fit and can deliver the best possible business outcomes. New infrastructure models will continue to emerge including: modular micro/ edge enterprise data centre models and cloud radio access network (C-RAN) edge solutions; on-premises cloud services options, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts, Microsoft Azure Stack and Google GKE On-Prem; consumption-based purchasing models for on-premises; and colocation interconnection options provided by 70

the likes of Digital Realty and T5 Data Centers.

FEBRUARY 2020

71

09

SIMPLIFIED, STANDARDISED AND RATIONALISED

Data centre infrastructures are changing from predominantly complex or proprietary systems to repeatable and predictable, standardised around commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) infrastructures. In addition, fast-paced adoption of new advances with systems such as hyperconvergence, software-defined and composable infrastructures is adding resources for consolidation initiatives. To increase rationalisation, nonstandard workloads and applications will stay on-premises or move to hosted off-premises. w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m

T O P 10

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08

INTELLIGENT, SOFTWAREDEFINED AND AUTOMATED

In Gartner’s I&O Leaders Survey, I&O leaders indicated plans to work with business leaders to implement AI and machine learning technologies, such as predictive and prescriptive analytics and deep learning. This will improve business productivity and help the business transition into a zone of productivity necessary for digitalproduct-driven organisations. Gartner recommends managing and driving AI capabilities that are embedded by infrastructure vendors, in addition to reusing artificial intelligence for operations (AIOps) capabilities to drive end-to-end (from digital product to infrastructure) automation.

FEBRUARY 2020

07

RESILIENT AND SERVICE-DEFINED

As enterprise data centres become more intelligent, automated, software-defined and modernised by new technology, their resilience will improve. Gartner stress the importance of the selection and design of infrastructure that is adaptable to the requirements of digital business systems by establishing planning principles that account for the changing nature of infrastructure resilience debt.

Meanwhile, a culture of continuous resilience improvement throughout delivery teams should be supported by emphasising, governing and rewarding behaviour that promotes resilience, such as ownership, collaboration and transparency.

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T O P 10

06

SMALLER, DENSER AND MORE VERTICAL

Five years ago, enterprise data centres were frequently designed with average energy densities as high as 5 kW/rack. Today, new designs are often built with averages higher than 8 kW/rack. The increasing redistribution of workloads to cloud, colocation and edge means less physical space is required in data centres. Increased virtualisation, integrated systems, HCI options and advanced solid-state array (SSA) storage require less physical space, but similar amounts of, if not more, energy. This means that more attention must be given to power and cooling systems.

74

FEBRUARY 2020

75

05

EFFICIENT AND COST-EFFECTIVE

Improving data centre efficiency has long been the mantra of I&O leaders focused on infrastructure modernisation. Compounding the issue, the complexity of business-driven environments and demands from an increasing number of business areas are growing faster than most organisations’ IT budgets. As a result, organisations across the world have developed, adopted and improved numerous technologies for improving data centre efficiency.

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T O P 10

04

AGILE AND FLEXIBLE

Enterprise data centre infrastructures require multiple adaptive modes of IT. Some are based on core IT transactions and systems of record. Others are based on rapidly evolving systems of innovation and engagement. Continuous delivery and deployment practices advocate the complete automation of the delivery pipeline — from the point where developers commit their code to the actual release of the software application to the user. In continuous delivery scenarios, stop points allow decision makers to determine when to move forward. With continuous deployment there are no stop points. Code 76

moves directly from the developer’s commit, through the development life cycle to the production servers, with no human action required.

FEBRUARY 2020

77

03

MULTICONNECTED NETWORKS

Network connectivity is one of the most critical elements of hybrid IT. When critical workloads started moving to the cloud, the latency created by this traffic backhauling became unacceptable.

The enterprise WAN needed to be readjusted. Organisations are developing network initiatives, such as using colocation and cloud interconnects, adopting software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), software-defined networking (SDN) and APIs for implementing a multiconnected environment. w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m

T O P 10

02

GREENER AND SUSTAINABLE

A green data centre gleans the maximum amount of production from the minimum amount of materials and energy, without compromising performance, resilience or security.

A green approach requires an end-to-end integrated view that includes the configuration of the building, energy efficiency, waste manage78

ment, asset management, capacity management, technology architecture, support services, energy sources and operations.

Aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, future data centre infrastructures will be increasingly green and sustainable, because sustainability and profitability are no longer seen as competing interests. In business performance reporting, the boundary between these objectives is disappearing. Investor, regulator and shareholder demand has driven 78% of the Global 250 to integrate corporate responsibility information into their financial reports. This represents an increase from 65% in 2015.

FEBRUARY 2020

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘VOLVO IT’S GREEN DATA CENTER’

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T O P 10

80

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INSIDE THE HEART OF AN IBM CLOUD DATA CENTER’

FEBRUARY 2020

01

REGULATED BY GOVERNMENTS

Enterprise data centres are becoming increasingly regulated by governments due to the growing focus on digital ethics, privacy and risk. Several regulatory controls have direct implications for data centre infrastructures.

These include: SEC Rule 17a-4 which outlines requirements for data retention, indexing and accessibility for companies that deal in the trade or brokering of financial securities; The US Department of Defense (DoD) which requires all of its contractors to adhere to the NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171 standard to “protect controlled unclassified information in non-federal information systems and organisations�; NIST Special Publication 800-53, a catalogue of security controls spanning U.S. federal information systems and the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

The biggest events and conferences around the world for construction leaders EDITED BY DAN BRIGHTMORE

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4–7 FEBRUARY 2020

World of Concrete [ LAS VEGAS, USA ]

At World of Concrete, you will discover

Attracting 1,500-plus exhibitors,

all the products, resources and

World of Concrete (presented in

insights necessary to strengthen your

partnership with the likes of the

business. The commercial construc-

National Demolition Association and

tion industry’s first, largest and most

InfraRoi) welcomes 60,000 industry

important annual international event

professionals representing all seg-

for concrete and masonry professionals

ments of the construction industry

across the globe hosts original equip-

from commercial contractors and

ment manufacturers from around the

architects to engineers and precast

world and exclusive US distributors of

producers. The event is also home to

equipment, tools, products and ser-

the Mason Contractors Association

vices for the commercial construction,

of America (MCAA) convention.

concrete and masonry industries.

FEBRUARY 2020

83

3–5 MARCH 2020

Futurebuild [ LONDON, UK ]

Futurebuild brings together 27,000

of structured learning across

industry influencers and opinion

six keynote stages. Check out the

shapers to drive real change. A

Big Innovation Pitch, where a host

world class knowledge programme,

of manufacturers will offer radical

alongside an immersive exhibition

solutions to six key construction

of 450 innovative and inspiring

challenges, brace for Digital Impact

brands, and a host of networking

where visitors can discover all that

events, will combine to explore the

the digital ecosystem has to offer

latest thinking and debate the

the industry, and take the Innovation

biggest issues facing the built

Trail in partnership with Geberit,

environment now and in the future.

Hadley Group and Smart

The event features over 200 hours

Architectural Aluminium.

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

The biggest events and conferences around the world for construction leaders EDITED BY DAN BRIGHTMORE

6–9 APRIL 2020

19–22 MARCH 2020

Megabuild, Indonesia 84

Building Innovation 2020 [ VIRGINIA, USA ]

[ JAKARTA, INDONESIA ]

The National Institute of Building

Megabuild was launched in 2014

Sciences (NIBS) eighth annual

and is Indonesia’s premier architecture,

conference and expo offers a platform

interior design and building exhibition

for all those who impact the built

and conference, organised by the

environment. It brings together labour

industry for the industry. Featuring six

and consumer interests, government

key segments (Construction Materials,

representatives, regulatory agencies,

Bathroom & Kitchen, Doors & Windows,

and members of the building industry

Roof & Flooring, Interior Furnishing

to identify and resolve problems that

and Building Materials) Megabuild

hamper the construction of safe,

runs over 21 concurrent seminars, with

affordable housing and commercial

CPD points awarded for professional

structures throughout the US and

architects. Megabuild welcomes over

beyond. Join the innovators sharing

38,000 visitors annually, making

ideas, initiatives, practices and policies

connections and gaining invauluabe

to optimise building performance

insights from 380-plus exhibitors.

and sustainability.

FEBRUARY 2020

6 MAY 2020

National Construction Expo 2020 [ MILTON KEYNES, UK ] The National Construction Expo provides a platform to showcase the innovative technologies capable of delivering the

9–10 JUNE 2020

required to meet the needs of the UK’s

Women in Construction Summit

growing population. Addressing the

[ LONDON, UK ]

challenges of Industry 4.0, the expo will

Part of a world series of Women in

analyse the impact and efficiency of BIM,

Construction events dedicated to

sensors, data analytics and smart

championing diversity across the

systems. It will also consider the array

construction industry, London’s Olympia

of offsite manufacturing technologies

will welcome 1,400 attendees for two

that can reduce waste and risk while

days of development workshops and

speeding up the construction process

inspiring keynotes across 50 sessions.

and weigh up different approaches to

Built for women, by women, the summit

energy generation and storage. The

will examine the disruption required

expo is also set to examine the whole life

to redefine the onsite experience,

asset performance approach — focusing

dismantle culture barriers and reposition

on the costs of a project across its

the wellbeing agenda. Speakers will

lifecycle. Last year’s keynotes included

include Mott MacDonald’s Technical

insights from the likes of BAM Nuttall,

Director, Dr Barnali Ghosh, Skanska’s

Skanska, Willmott Dixon Construction

Global Diversity Manager, Pia Hook

and the University of Cambridge Centre

and Michelle Dix, TFL’s Managing

for Industrial Sustainability.

Director for Crossrail 2.

sustainable buildings and infrastructure

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86

Leveraging the power of innovation, Pomerleau enables its people to provide added value to its clients WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE

FEBRUARY 2020

PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

87

University of Ottawa - Advanced Research Complex, Ottawa, Ontario w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

POMERLEAU INC

Canadian construction leader Pomerleau is leading the industry through a period of profound change and delivering unparalleled results for its clients coast-to-coast

“W

hy try to earn a spot in a field that already exists? It’s much better to be on the cutting edge and create the field.” More than half

a century since he established the construction busi88

ness that bears its name in St-Georges de Beauce, Quebec, Hervé Pomerleau’s mantra has proved successful. With a coast-to-coast presence across Canada, Pomerleau offers a host of construction services encompassing infrastructure, design-build, lean and modular approaches, public private partnerships and more.

“We have strong partnerships across the country enabling us to be a one-stop shop for our clients and assist those who want to be more involved on an open book basis,” explains Eric Gaulin, Pomerleau’s Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations (CBO). “The sooner we’re involved, the greater value we can bring. We can engage partners from across our network to achieve a common goal from planning, to design and construction” FEBRUARY 2020

89

Willowbrook Rail Maintenance Facility, Toronto, Ontario w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

POMERLEAU INC

“ Why try to earn a spot in a field that already exists? It’s much better to be on the cutting edge and create the field” — Hervé Pomerleau, Founder, Pomerleau Inc Gaulin believes Pomerleau’s entre-

90

practices and push boundaries. And most importantly, it is employee driven and taps into the creativity of every

preneurial spirit, combined with the

member of the Pomerleau family. “FOX

inclusive culture of a family-owned

allows us to share initiatives across the

business, has created a solid platform

company from a central point and is the

to innovate and achieve success. “We

vehicle that guides our own transforma-

want our people to learn from their

tion and helps us in turn transform the

mistakes while ensuring they are taking

construction industry,” confirms Gaulin.

the initiative to become better people and employees,” he says. Pomerleau is taking the initiative to support them through its Foundation for Operational Excellence (FOX); created to keep the company agile, while future-proofing its business model. FOX helps create and maintain synergies, to standardise

Aerial rendering, longterm care facility, Gander, Newfoundland FEBRUARY 2020

Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POMERLEAU IS THE FIRST CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IN THE WORLD TO USE THE SPOT ROBOT ON ITS SITES. ’ 91

Gaulin highlights the successful

Gaulin. “Our job is not just to create

launch of cloud-based platform Procore

the concrete and physical foundations,

across the country, as an example of

to pour concrete, build roads or put

how FOX has enabled Pomerleau to

together steel structures. It’s to help

adapt to ultimately provide more value

build communities; we are building

for its clients. “Due to ongoing labour

the future.”

shortages, it’s becoming more impor-

In order to build the future,

tant. FOX is supporting champions for

Pomerleau relies on two things: the

this in each of our offices to draw on

excellence of its people and innovation.

best practices from around the world

That commitment was recognised for

and enhance our day to day operations.

the second consecutive year in 2019

It helps us deliver better and faster.”

with a CanBIM Innovation Spotlight

‘The Pomerleau Way’ delivers best

Awards for Pomerleau’s work on the

practice through collaboration, says

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in Fort McMurray. “We strive to imple-

and the Innovation Team is helping lev-

ment digital technology processes

erage the potential of technologies like

and methodology in our day to day

BIM across the company’s construc-

operations from project conception to

tion, maintenance and management

delivery and beyond,” assures Gaulin

services. “The BIM process is being

who is keen to see innovation become

used throughout a project’s lifecycle,

the norm on job sites. “Leveraging tech-

from planning, design, and precon-

nology helps us to reduce costs, avoid

struction to operation & maintenance,

delays onsite and, more importantly,

retrofits, expansion and even at times,

frees up our people to do what they

deconstruction,” she explains. “BIM has

do best: give expert advice that’s a

also allowed Pomerleau to produce a

value add for our clients.” At Pomerleau,

Digital Twin - a virtual version of a -job

technology is not an end onto itself, but

site. Using BIM helps us accelerate

rather a means to empower the team

the integration of other technologies

to provide advice and create added

such as virtual and augmented real-

value for the clients.

ity. Integrating technology on our

Lieu Dao, Innovation Manager, R&D

sites allows us to monitor progress

and Special Projects at Pomerleau,

for a higher productivity, to optimise

“ Integrating technology on our sites allows us to monitor progress for a higher productivity, to optimise scheduling, to get accurate data useful for operations and maintenance and more” — Lieu Dao, Innovation Manager, R&D and Special Projects, Pomerleau Inc w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

93

POMERLEAU INC

94

scheduling, to get accurate data use-

is forecasted to deliver 28% of

ful for operations and maintenance

Pomerleau’s revenue in 2020. “Our

and more. Ultimately, using technology

goal within the next three years is

helps us deliver higher quality and bet-

to deliver a third of that revenue

ter value for our clients.”

through CBO,” adds Gaulin. “We

Gaulin’s CBO team is one of three

are seeing a lot of momentum in our

operations teams at Pomerleau

Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary

which also include Quebec

offices and are extremely proud

Building Operations (QBO) and Civil

of getting a first CBO pro-

Infrastructure. CBO is making a

ject in British-Columbia

significant contribution to the ongo-

in 2019 with the South

ing success of the business and

Burnaby Arena.”

FEBRUARY 2020

CBO’s expansion, alongside the work

in Newfoundland for the Gander and

of Pomerleau’s other divisions, contrib-

Grand Falls long-term care facility; a big

utes to its overall success. “In two years

win for us. In Ottawa, we delivered the

in Atlantic Canada we transformed our

Science & Technology Museum with

business from being 100% lump sum

their new storage building, which alto-

contractors to now being 80% design

gether was a $200mn project.” Set to

build projects,” explains Gaulin. “In 2018

double Pomerleau’s revenue in Toronto

we also won our first P3 (public-private

via forthcoming high-rise and key pro-

partnership) project outside of Quebec

jects, CBO is also making headways

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Eric Gaulin Eric Gaulin has spent almost two decades working at Pomerleau in a variety of roles from Project Manager in Quebec to his current post as Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations (CBO).

“I used to want to be involved in every decision. Now, because of the size of my portfolio, I’ve learned to delegate,” he explains. Gaulin works closely with Pomerleau’s regional vice-presidents and regional -directors leading CBO’s offices, as well as with the leadership team from Pomerleau’s other divisions. “Now I see my role as a support one, providing guidance and giving my teams autonomy to make sure they use an entrepreneurial mindset when making decisions. I offer support when they need it, while ensuring the communication across our group is open and constant,” he adds.

It’s a vision of management that has evolved throughout Gaulin’s career: “I want us to resolve issues together and learn from each situation. At the end of the day, my goal is to make sure that the members of my leadership team are ready to take my position, and that the people under them are also ready and have the opportunity to step up.”

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95

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Š Photos : StÊphane Groleau

1966

Year founded

3,500 Number of employees

150

active job-sites coast-to-coast

and for facility management. It will allow us to automate time-consuming tasks and optimise time and resource allocation,” confirms Dao, who is keen for Pomerleau to keep pushing the envelope and lead by example as the Canadian construction industry undergoes an important digitalisation process. “Using coordinated 3D models is the key for efficient prefabrication planning and off-site construction. Using robots, autonomous drones and scans to monitor site progress and quality assurance.”

Gaulin notes a significant trend: that the projects Pomerleau is taking

in Ottawa, as well as in Western and

on are getting larger and more com-

Atlantic Canada. In fact, Gaulin’s

plex, with operational responsibility

team won its first building project in

being transferred to the company

British Colombia in 2019, the East

from its clients. “It can make a project

Burnaby Arena ice sports complex.

even more challenging when we’re

Gaulin recognises the need

trying to deliver in the fastest way

for Pomerleau to stay focused on

possible,” he says. “The labour short-

executing projects like these in 2020

age adds another layer of complexity

while increasing the company’s use of

and is really forcing us to innovate the

technology and innovative solutions

way we approach construction. In sum-

to build better. “We are furthering

mary, all our projects are mainly like

the BIM process, coordination and

a prototype; there are no two build-

progress analysis with artificial intel-

ings that are the same and we don’t

ligence on building & civil project

want our clients to waste time and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

97

POMERLEAU INC

DID YOU KNOW?

East Bloc Designated as a Classified Heritage Building by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, the House of Commons’ East Bloc is one of Canada’s finest examples of Ruskinian Gothic Revival Architecture.

Pomerleau has been hard at work on the rehabilitation and seismic upgrading of the building since April 2017. The project marks the first rehabilitation initiative of this scale since construction its construction

in 1859. Four areas were selected for critical restauration work: the South East Tower, the South Entrance, the South West Tower and the Governor Generals Entrance.

Pomerleau can count on the collaboration of partners AtwillMorin, Tower Scaffold, Heather & Little, McGowan Electric, Modern Mechanical, and Heritage Grade on this project, which is scheduled to be completed in November 2021.

Established in 2013, Lamarche Electric Inc is a reputable electrical contractor serving the greater Ottawa area, as well as Gatineau. Lamarche Electric Inc is a true full service electrical contractor.

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POMERLEAU IN 2 MINUTES’ 99

“ Our job is not just to create the concrete and physical foundations, to pour concrete, build roads or put together steel structures.

It’s to help build communities; we are shaping the future” problems and minimize delays. With — Eric Gaulin, Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations, Pomerleau Inc

the experience of having put the project together virtually before even stepping on site, we have already reasoned through potential challenges

money by making mistakes on these

and have a multitude of solutions in

prototypes. That’s why we need inno-

our back pocket.”

vation. We have tools that allow us to build virtually to help us anticipate

Technology also plays a key role in how the company recruits, trains and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

We make buildings work.

WE HANDLE MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, BUILDING CONTROLS, AND BUILDING SERVICES PROJECTS ON ALL SCALES, LARGE AND SMALL. WE’RE THERE TO SUPPORT YOUR INVESTMENT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY — FROM ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND DESIGN TO CONSTRUCTION AND ONGOING MAINTENANCE.

modernniagara.com retains staff. “We are increasing the support to our people by giving them the right training, mentoring and leadership,” says Gaulin. “In order to leverage technology for our clients we are investing in face-to-face interaction more than anyone else in the industry, because our people have always been the key to our success.

We are a people business undergoing an important internal transformation to future-proof our strategy. At the heart of Pomerleau is a spirit of entrepreneurship, which we want every employee to take part in through FEBRUARY 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

SOPREMA Woodstock Plant Pomerleau was awarded the contract for the construction of a 7,432 square metre production plant in Woodstock, Ontario. An international manufacturer, SOPREMA specializes in the production of innovative products for waterproofing, insulation, soundproofing and vegetated solutions for the roofing, building envelope and civil engineering sectors. Work was carried out between November 2017 and June 2019. Pomerleau was charged with the construction of an

exterior storage area, a one-storey office building and mezzanine, and a laboratory used for quality control.

Pomerleau also oversaw the installation of the production equipment. The project was rewarded with an Excellence Award in steel construction from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction in November of 2019. These awards recognise teams (client, architect and general contractors) that collaborated to deliver unique and original steel construction projects.

SOPREMA Plant, Woodstock, Ontario

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

101

POMERLEAU INC

102

FEBRUARY 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant The Pomerleau Bessac General Partnership will oversee building a new outfall pipeline for the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP), a largely industrial island in the Fraser River, southeast of Vancouver.

This outfall was desperately needed as the Annacis Island WTP could no longer service the growing population of the area.

The new WTP will meet the regional growth needs for the next 100 years.

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

103

POMERLEAU INC

VidĂŠotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec

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LEARN MORE

www.reimar.ca info@reimar.ca

DID YOU KNOW?

Longterm care facilities from Newfoundland Pomerleau was awarded, as part of a consortium, the contract for the design and construction of two long-term care facilities in Gander and Grand FallsWindsor in April 2019. The project, awarded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, is one of twelve P3 projects Pomerleau has worked on since 2010.

105 initiatives like FOX and PX3 so that

people first approach is one of the

everyone in our business can bring

many reasons why Gaulin believes

forth an idea that will help us main-

the future is bright for Pomerleau.

tain and even surpass our high

“We are not just keeping up with the

standards.”

pace of change that we see in our

PX3, Pomerleau’s new on board-

industry, we are thinking 10-15 years

ing and training program, launched

ahead, leveraging innovation, and

last August. It offers an ecosystem

investing in our people like we’ve

of initiatives to support excellence

done all along for 53 years.”

by focusing on three core principles: Pomerleau’s unique corporate culture, positive leadership and exceptional strategy. It delivers personalised support for job integration and personal growth. Pomerleau’s w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

106

THE CITY OF LA: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE THROUGH UNITY WRITTEN BY

OLLIE MULKERRINS PRODUCED BY

CRAIG KILLINGBACK

FEBRUARY 2020

107

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CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES

Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Resiliency Officer, discusses the innovative approach to creating a more sustainable Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Olympic games

D

oug Walters is currently engaged in a project under the direction of Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, focused on

addressing the escalating challenges of climate change. LA’s geographical location brings a host of varying landscapes within the vicinity of the city.

108

This, combined with the increasing challenges of climate change and our impact on the environment, presents several unique obstacles to the infrastructure and maintenance of the city, as Walters explains. “We’ve seen rising temperatures; pollutants that we inhale are increasing concerns about public health rates and our ability to breathe freely; we’ve seen wildfires in our hillsides and, when it does rain, we often see flooding in our streets.

It’s a challenge for any advancing society, particularly as people start to develop and build further into the outlying area of the city,” he says.

The diverse range of challenges faced by Walters has led him towards a holistic approach, where contributing factors from urban and natural environments have to be considered and siloed solutions must be set aside for a more focused FEBRUARY 2020

Japanese gardens at Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant

1781

City founded

$1.2bn Annual budget in US dollars

3,500 Number of employees

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

109

CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES

“ We have a host of low impact, best management practices to get homeowners or businesses to capture that first inch of rain and treat it”

110

— Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer

FEBRUARY 2020

approach. Often, this means looking at transforming behaviors alongside the technologies to support the change.

“There are many instances where there are environmental emergencies and economic opportunities that call us to tackle climate change and start looking at different ways we can change our behavior to limit our carbon emissions,” Walters explains. “Whether that be in our urban environments or in the suburbs or elsewhere, we’re working to reduce the negative impacts that certain communities have faced from

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LA SANITATION & ENVIRONMENT ROADSHOW’ 111 decisions made decades ago that result in some bearing the brunt of a lot of industrial waste or dirty air, for example. We’re moving a lot of those new technologies into those communities to manage waste.”

Walters has been working closely with Mayor Garcetti’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Lauren Faber-O’Conner, along with 27 other CSOs across the city’s departments to outline over 200 goals that, if achieved, will meet Los Angeles’ aspirations. Those led by LA Sanitation and Environment include initiatives for 100% recycled water, w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

Watershed experts building ecologically-based adaptation and resilience into our communities.

Learn More

For more information, contact Wendy Katagi

213.336.0001

wkatagi@stillwatersci.com

solar installations, alleviating health

the plan because many of the goals

concerns around homeless encamp-

that were on track to be achieved,

ments by creating rapid response

about 90%, had already been met.”

teams to collect abandoned waste, and

Alongside technology, Walters is

abating the rat population. Discussing

keen to reiterate that education is a

the progress the department has made

key factor in tackling climate change:

towards its own sustainability goals,

“There’s a lot more awareness in

he says that “our Mayor put forth a

the population as a whole,” he says.

sustainability plan back in 2015, which

“We’ve been educating children on

is committing all of us in the city – and

environmental issues for several

certainly the municipal departments

decades and, as they have matured,

– towards a more low-carbon, green

they have fostered a more socially

energy future. In April, he updated

responsible population.”

113

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Douglas Walters In his dual role as LA Sanitation & Environment’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Resiliency Officer, Doug Walters, P.E., BCEE, has been a leader on many fronts since his graduation as a Civil Engineer at UCLA. He’s been instrumental in numerous breakthroughs in ceasing ocean discharge of biosolids, designing composting facilities, transforming landfills, improving water quality, integrating water assets and planning, recruiting talented engineers, strategic planning, and touting environmental justice and equality causes. In June, he rode his bicycle 545 miles from San Francisco to LA to raise money and awareness in support of people living longer and stronger with HIV and AIDS.

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES

“ We are closer to nature, we’ve planted more trees and made leaps towards a sustainable future for our citizens and for the environment” — Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer

114

FEBRUARY 2020

115

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S U STA I N A B L E L A Black & Veatch has been proud to partner with Los Angeles for more than 35 years on over $1 billion in constructed environmental projects, including numerous award-winning facilities that have promoted the city’s water quality, reclamation and resilience.

ECHO PARK LAKE An award-winning rehabilitation effort redefined this LA icon as a stormwater treatment facility. Today the lake protects nearly 800 acres of Los Angeles River watershed while sparkling as the jewel of revitalized Echo Park, which has been a central part the city’s history for more than 150 years.

HYPERION WATER RECLAMATION PLANT LA’s oldest and largest wastewater treatment facility was completely reengineered and rebuilt without once going out of operation, including innovative solutions to control odor, reuse water, save energy, and restore Santa Monica Bay, earning recognition as a public works masterpiece.

117

This cultural shift has forced indus-

flooding regularly over the past dec-

tries to take note of the necessary

ade, making water management an

changes, and municipal bodies now

increasingly pressing issue. The city’s

meet less resistance from commercial

stormwater programme is set to

and technological sectors. “It allows

tackle both of these problems through

those who are more ambitious, which

the redirecting and repurposing of

is certainly a growing number in the

stormwater. “The programme started

city including our Mayor, to really

in the early 90s and it recently had a

scale up a lot of these goals and bring

huge boost,” Walters explains. “When

in industries that have new ideas or

it does rain in LA, for maybe 30 days

new technologies so that we can be

of the year, we get a lot. We tend to

more aggressive in our timelines and

get floods, and the sad part is that so

approach,” Walters elaborates.

much of that water runs straight off our

LA has experienced drought and

streets and directly into the ocean and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES

river. It is, effectively, wasted. By rethinking our approach and broadening our appeal to other sectors, we can reuse water to preserve and enhance the city’s biodiversity, something that most urban dwellers don’t often think about.”

The new initiative is looking to engage the community in environmental conservation through educational programmes and focused funding.

Through such engagement, citizens are able to actively contribute to the wellbeing of the city and themselves.

118

“We have a host of low-impact, best management practices to get homeowners or businesses to capture that first inch of rain and treat it,” says Walters. “We can then provide guidance on what the treatment practices and equipment may be.”

Technology is playing a vital role in managing and meeting the demands the city has on its limited water resources.

With regards to this, Walters is working with teams to develop these technological innovations and increase the supply of key resources. He explains: “We’re reducing our dependence on water from a snow pack up in the northern part of the state. We’re FEBRUARY 2020

119

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

Innovation through partnerships to focus on the future.

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWAî‚‚ is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its founding this year. Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LASANî‚‚ was one of a handful of clean water agencies that had the vision and foresight to create NACWA and ensure improved water quality and environmental protections to everyone across the United States - so thank you LASAN!

As NACWA reflects on five decades of clean water progress, we celebrate the accomplishments of our now nearly 500 public and private organization members. But none should be more celebrated than the accomplishments of LA Sanitation & Environment.

LASAN is a recent recipient of the coveted Water Resources Utility of the Future Today award and is looked to as an innovator by its peer utilities for its pioneering work on many projects, including but by no means limited to the following: The Residential Food Waste Diversion Pilot Program, which converts consumer food waste into renewable energy and reduces the amount of trash sent to landfills and gas emissions; and The Water Recycling Program, which protects environmental resources and provides a local, reliable water supply.

Congratulations LASAN on behalf of your fellow public clean water agencies across the country.

Keep blazing the trail!

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies 1130 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20036 Learn more at nacwa.org

looking at different membrane tech-

standards. “We can never forget trees.

nologies, membrane bioreactors,

They are such a powerful asset to have.

reverse osmosis and other advanced

They absorb pollutants through root

treatments so we can process and

systems, convert carbon from

manage our wastewater more effec-

our atmosphere and shield us from

tively while reducing costs to the city.”

the heat and airborne pollutants.

Walters supports low-tech, green

We’ve been planting trees in impacted

solutions that will not only reduce

neighborhoods, and this has become

the city’s net carbon emissions but

a big part of our strategy to cool the

also improve its aesthetic and living

environment down,” said Walters.

121

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CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES

“ We’ve been rolling up our sleeves, looking at ways to make this the most sustainable games ever. We have a commitment to making them the ‘zero-waste’ games”

122

— Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer

FEBRUARY 2020

In 2028, from 21 July to 6 August, LA will play host to the Olympic Games.

Walters and his team have been working towards making the games a zero-carbon event, as well as to raise awareness of the city’s sustainability goals. Speaking on the ambitions in place, Walters says, “We’ve been rolling up our sleeves, looking at ways to make this the most sustainable games ever. We have a commitment to making them the ‘zero-waste’ games. The Olympic planners are directly working with all of our big sponsors. They

have a huge role; they commit a lot of

says Walters. “We are proud of that

money to make the games successful,

image, but there is more to it. Now, we

but we want to make them aware that

are closer to nature, we’ve planted

we don’t expect to see lots of plastics

more trees and made leaps towards

making their way into our environment.”

a sustainable future for our citizens

LA is meeting the challenge of

and for the environment.”

becoming a leader in sustainability and intelligent resource management while using its reputation to change opinions and raise awareness around the solutions a government can enact to better its citizens’ lives. “We want people to think of LA as more than a jungle of entertainment, glitz and glamour,”

123

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124

Savills Critical Facilities Group: how knowledge builds trust WRITTEN BY

SHANNON LEWIS PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

FEBRUARY 2020

125

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

S AV I L L S

Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, and Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, discuss Savills Critical Facilities and building client trust through IT expertise

W

hile Savills was founded in 1855, Critical Facilities Services only became a part of its brand in the mid-2010s, when it

purchased American-based tenant representation specialist, Studley Inc. The Critical Facilities 126

team has served clients since 2000, when it began working as a consultancy focused on helping companies define strategy around its data center needs, whether that meant building a facility or leasing space from a provider. “Our core focus,” Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, says, “is representing users of space and services. Across all business lines, we focus on user representation.” In the late 2000s, cloud service providers rapidly gained popularity, which led to an increased client demand for analysis and discussion of outsourced infrastructure alternatives. Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, adds that “it became clear that, to really engage with customers appropriately, we needed to understand their entire infrastructure stack from a detailed technology perspective, starting with FEBRUARY 2020

127

1855

Year founded

39,000 Number of employees

w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

S AV I L L S

“ We’ve talked about opensource software, but now there’s open-source infrastructure. People are contributing for the greater good of the industry, trying to lessen the impact on the planet as data center growth continues”

128

— Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, Savills

FEBRUARY 2020

applications and moving deeper into systems and network requirements, as well as legacy platforms.”

According to Zilla, in the early 2010s, the team was looking to expand its IT expertise to engage clients on a more technical level. In came Drescher, a 20-year IT professional with a focus on network engineering and large-scale infrastructure project experience.

Drescher notes that he and Zilla pair in two fundamentally connected areas: the technical aspect, helping clients analyse their current and future

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SAVILLS CULTURE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE’ 129 technical requirements and develop-

According to Zilla, this allows them to

ing strategies to get them there based

connect to IT clients as they are knowl-

on what is important to them; and

edgeable about both their experiences

the financial analytics and structure

and the subject matter. Drescher

aspect, which focuses on strategic

notes, “we’ve been in the trenches

acquisition planning and identifying

of IT and understand the challenges

financial structures that best suit each

those professionals face. Our goals

client and project. Critical Facilities

are to reduce friction by educating vari-

works with a wide array of clients at

ous organisational stakeholders, and

different stages of their company life

move digital initiatives forward to help

cycle, from startups to Fortune 100

empower our clients’ businesses.”

businesses, meaning customisation

A point of pride for Savills is its hir-

and specialisation are key elements

ing strategy that seeks out-of-the-box

of its client dynamic. Both Zilla and

problem solvers with diverse back-

Drescher have IT backgrounds.

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at what a project is likely to need from a

“The real value of having a multidis-

skillset perspective. While many of the

ciplinary team is being able to meet

engagements brought to the company

our customer where their need is,” Zilla

have common elements, each client

says. The team is analytical, with a

has access to our full team to provide

consulting-focused planning process.

the best possible advisement for their

It provides advisory, strategic and trans-

specific situation,” Drescher says. This

actional services, as well as real estate

can mean anything from bringing on an

and financial planning from the begin-

additional IT specialist to analyse chal-

ning of any project. This allows clients to

lenging network connectivity needs in

know from the start what their require-

a particular geography, to consulting

ments are and what decisions lie ahead.

with an engineer to review technical

“We are continuously keeping updated

drawings and ensure the client is being

on the latest developments in the data

delivered what they are expecting.

center industry, and, just as importantly,

FEBRUARY 2020

on what technology trends are shaping

which choices are correct but rarely is

infrastructure moving forward,”

the best decision to do nothing.” This

Drescher says. “We’re a nimble firm that

is where Savills comes in, as a trusted

gets creative with client solutions.”

advisor. A proven track record of

With how quickly technology solu-

experience in the field, as well as its

tions change, it is difficult for users

exposure to the marketplace, allows

to discern between options. “The

the firm to be a knowledgeable partner

speed at which new technologies are

in a constantly changing industry with

being released is a constant chal-

an overwhelming amount of options

lenge,” Drescher says. “People are

for end users. As a firm that believes

apprehensive about making decisions

in providing clients an objective view

on something that they could change

of their best options, Savills Critical

their mind on in 12 months’ time. There

Facilities Services values partners

is a lot of analysis paralysis around

with the same priorities. “We’ve been

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Ian Zilla Zilla joined Studley (now Savills) in 2005 as a member of the Corporate Services Group (CSG). His background in computer science, technology and finance complements his team’s quantitative strategic planning approach and financial consulting services, and contributes to clients’ mission-critical facilities and complex headquarters transactions. Zilla’s experience with critical power acquisition, as well as his expertise with scenario modeling and financial analysis, has positioned him as one of the practice leaders of the Savills Critical Facilities Group (CFG), working on the largest and most complex transactions and gained national experience implementing portfolio-wide strategies focused on data center and headquarters transactions.

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S AV I L L S

HYBRID & HYPERSCALE BUILT ON INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE QTS is a leading provider of hybrid colocation and hyperscale data center solutions, throughout North America and Europe.

We are partner-focused, with an innovative, real-time Service Delivery Platform, and industry-leading customer satisfaction.

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fortunate enough to partner with firms that have the same user-first belief system we do,” Zilla says.

“Ultimately, it comes down to ensuring the customer feels comfortable with their final decision. Clients often face a lack of transparency from service providers. Different service providers don’t always provide services, such as colocation, in the same way,” Drescher explains. “We understand the provider landscape and the areas where they excel. We are able to engage the right potential partners for our clients.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Rick Drescher Drescher is recognised for unparalleled technical expertise and creative solutions at the intersection of real estate and technology analytics. His over 20 years’ IT experience in the financial services, technology and global telecommunications industries and extensive knowledge of enterprise IT systems has been leveraged to successfully design, plan and execute the fit-out and migration of more than 30 data centers and trading f loors, totaling more than one million square feet. As a founding partner of the firm’s Critical Facilities Group, Drescher provides strategic planning and advisory services pertaining to data centers, interconnection, cloud infrastructures and other technology-intensive real estate transactions.

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“ D uring a recent facility expansion project, the Savills team combined a diligent analytical approach — backed by significant market research — with a strong dose of tenacity. Working with them has been a pleasure, and the results create significant new opportunities for our business going into 2020” — Zac Smith, CEO, Packet

FEBRUARY 2020

It takes a solid understanding of each client’s technical, financial and operational goals to dig into the details of what’s being offered from various proposals. It’s about making sure our client is entering into a partnership with a service provider that meets their current and future needs most closely.”

This wide base of knowledge allows Savills to build client trust. IT knowledge is increasingly important; real estate and IT are now interwoven thanks to phone systems, cloud computing and network services. An often-overlooked element of cloud migration, for instance, is the effect it will have on network connectivity. By providing a strategic planning process that does a full technical and operational assessment, the company mitigates these challenges.

Zilla notes: “It creates trust and a partnership. Decisions are made by the entire organisation, which helps solve problems as they come up through objective, data driven analysis. The need for deep IT and financial knowledge is a must.” Client trust is important as many transactions between Critical Facilities and clients are long term, lasting 12-24 months. “There is nothing w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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“ The real value of having a multidiscipline team is being able to meet our customer where their need is” — Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, Technical Services, Savills FEBRUARY 2020

more important than building a trusting relationship,” he adds.

Savills’ involvement in the Asian and European data center markets has been expanding rapidly, a trend that will continue based on demand from the cloud technology industry, as well as expanding end user needs. As a result, sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority for tech companies, with users driving the change by demanding greener alternatives. “The good news,” Drescher says, “is that the industry is addressing it. Energy

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efficiency continues to improve across

the impact on the planet as data center

several key areas. Utility providers are

growth continues.” According to Zilla,

providing more access to renewables,

there is also an economic incentive to go

equipment manufacturers continue to

green. “People feel more of a responsi-

develop more efficient MEP systems

bility to the planet, and tech innovators

for data centers, and most importantly,

and markets are responding to that feel-

service providers and end users are

ing with services that align with client’s

incorporating these advancements

corporate sustainability initiatives.”

into their designs.

“We’ve talked about open-source software,” Drescher continues, “but now there’s open-source infrastructure.

People are contributing for the greater good of the industry, trying to lessen w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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