Construction Global – October 2019 by Construction Global

THE HYPERSCALE INTERCONNECTED DATA CENTRE REVOLUTION

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ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE AND INTEGRITY President, Brad Meltzer, on how the business uses technology to drive collaboration between client, architect and contractor

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FOREWORD

elcome to the October issue of Construction Global magazine. Our cover story this month highlights how Plaza Construction is “building tomorrow” by driving successful collaborations between client, architect and contractor. The award-winning Florida-based firm is utilising the latest BIM (Building Information Modelling) tools across a range of commercial, corporate, and residential projects, including Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum tower. We hear from Leica Geosystems’ Global Business Development Director Matt Wheelis on how these BIM tools are contributing to the transformation of construction through autonomous digital reality: “Our focus in construction is around connecting the digital and physical world between the information that comes from BIM or CAD (Computer Aided Design) and then taking that out to the fields where elements of a build can be installed precisely.” Also pushing the envelope with BIM, Finnish firm Tridify has introduced a Web VR (Virtual Reality) solution. “We’ve solved a problem the industry

has struggled with for many years,” reveals CEO Alexander Le Bell. “By making BIM models instantly available and viewable in any browser, technical barriers are removed…” Elsewhere, Bentley Systems’ Adam Klatzkin explains how its digital twin process (iTwin) combines engineering, reality and IoT data to create an immersive experience in 3D/4D, helping users to gain a deeper understanding of their infrastructure assets. Of course, all of this is only possible thanks to the data centres driving our ability to share in real-time. At the heart of that data centre revolution, we speak with Canada’s Cologix who are delivering flexible and interconnected services at the hyperscale level. Elsewhere in this issue, we get the lowdown on Colliers International’s sustainable approach to real estate and learn how Melbourne Water is leading on safety and social procurement. Enjoy the issue! Daniel Brightmore, Editor daniel.brightmore@bizclikmedia.com

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BUILDING BETTER

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CONTENTS

10 Plaza Construction

28 40 52

62 78 Events 82 Cologix

102 Melbourne Water

124

Colliers International

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big world. Plaza is building it. WRITTEN BY

DANIEL BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

OCTOBER 2019

Sky Rise Miami

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PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

The global contractor is delivering prestigious and award-winning hospitality, commercial, corporate, and residential projects by leveraging new technologies with a forward-thinking approach

ounded in 1986, Plaza Construction strives to be an outstanding builder and trusted partner, creating value for its clients

and their communities, through a commitment to excellence and integrity. The company started 12

to expand significantly in 2004 with operations in Miami. Subsequently, Plaza established a presence in Washington DC and in the past 18 months has set up shop in central Florida, specifically in Tampa and Orlando. “We’ve also opened up an office in Los Angeles working on a large mixed-use project,” adds President, Brad Meltzer. Recently awarded another sizeable project in San Jose, California – a large data center for CMI, China Mobile – Plaza is aiming to focus on markets like these, with a strong outlook and working in partnership with like-minded clients. Technology plays a big part in Plaza’s approach. “We have a group within our operation specifically focused on innovation. For example, in order to make sure our staff is trained effectively on the systems and software we currently use, such as OCTOBER 2019

Plaza project at 99 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ Rich Wood CEO company address at Town Hall meeting

Ritz Carlton Residences

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PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

“ Sometimes technology is like the human brain and we’re only using 10% of our capacity […] so it’s important our technology team reaches out to all of our staff, so they appreciate the true power of the tools they have at their disposal” 14

— Brad Meltzer, President, Plaza Construction

BIM360, our technology group, along with support from the manufacturer, holds live training sessions in our various regional offices. This allows staff to ask real-world questions to trainers and get immediate feedback and, ultimately, real-world results,” reveals Meltzer. He explains that Plaza beta tests new software on specific projects to carry out a cost benefit analysis to ensure that upgrades will make the company more effective and efficient in the long run. “Sometimes it might be as simple as selecting a new project and testing that tech over

OTM and Marquis

OCTOBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PLAZA CONSTRUCTION SOUTHEAST – CHANGING MIAMI’S SKYLINE’ 15 a six-month period to make sure it’s

a challenge for the industry as a whole

working effectively for us, before we

believes Meltzer. “The biggest issue we

then roll it out company-wide.”

face is with training,” he says. “Some-

Meltzer notes that technology is

times technology is like the human

advancing so rapidly, it’s important to

brain and we’re only using 10% of

avoid a “knee-jerk” reaction to buying

our capacity […] so it’s important our

every shiny new toy available. “When

technology training team reaches all

you’re investing hundreds of thousands

of our staff so they appreciate the true

of dollars in new solutions, it’s important

power of the tools they have at their

to make sure these advancements can

disposal. Plaza’s CEO Richard Wood

help your business today. And have the

is a builder first, a former superinten-

patience to wait for the right technology

dent, who believes in empowering

that works for your organization.”

people through workshops and

While technology can provide opportunities, it also represents

mentoring – it’s part of Plaza’s forwardthinking philosophy.” w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

Plaza uses software solutions such

phone and speak to the architect or a

as PlanGrid (part of the BIM 360 suite

subcontractor/vendor at their fabrication

from Autodesk) to enhance efficiencies

facility and know they are collaborating

on site. “Five years ago, our superin-

in real time. They can take a picture of

tendents would be walking the job site,

a job site condition, tag it to their iPad,

with a set of plans,” explains Meltzer,

to that location, and then are able to

“but there was almost no way to

discuss and solve that issue.” Innova-

confirm if that was the latest set of

tion is a core value at Plaza and one

drawings. They would need to ask if

Meltzer believes makes its staff feel

the drywall and electrical foremen have

part of a forward-thinking group. “It’s

the latest set? But now, we hand out

also really helping with recruitment of

iPads to all key individuals on site and

some of the best and brightest young

we’re able to know with certainty

people in the industry.”

they’re working with the latest set of

Meltzer believes that Plaza’s

plans. They can now just pick up the

collaborative approach, involving

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Brad Meltzer A master of architecture with more than three decades of experience, when Brad Meltzer began working at Plaza in 1989, he was among members of the current senior leadership team who cut their teeth as in-house contractors for larger developers. “We had no computers,” recalls Meltzer. “We did our own estimating, purchasing, project management and teams were smaller. I think having the opportunity to have performed in those roles, and as a superintendent, has given me a greater perspective on the challenges that all our staff face. It allows me to be a better leader and to mentor members of our team. I think that’s the most important thing, being able to lead by example.”

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PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

“ We’re fully engaged with our sub-contractor partnerships, what we like to call our best in the group, as they are an integral part of our process” 18

— Brad Meltzer, President, Plaza Construction

OCTOBER 2019

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PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

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BAKER CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION

is the largest concrete contractor in the nation, specializing in all types of cast-in-place concrete construction. Baker prides itself on our 51 year history of building complex concrete structures from forms to finish. Baker is proud to have a lasting relationship with Plaza Construction. OUR PROJECTS

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565 Broome St, NY 21

“ They are collaborating in real time. They can take a picture of a job site condition, tag it to their iPad, to that location, and then are able to discuss and solve that issue” — Brad Meltzer, President, Plaza Construction

key-subcontractors during pre-construction and utilizing their services in design-assist roles, allows the process to be the most successful. “This approach between client, architect and contractor has proved successful on numerous projects. For example, we’re currently finishing One Thousand Museum Tower, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (awarded its TCO in June), arguably the most complicated concrete project in America,” says Meltzer. “If Capform Inc. had not been part of the pre-construction effort with us for such a long time, it would’ve w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

“ The mindset in America has transformed and I think with Plaza’s strengths and the great story we have to tell, we can take our philosophy to wider markets” — Brad Meltzer, President, Plaza Construction

22 been much more difficult to have executed that project in such a timely fashion. Power Design did all of the electrical and low voltage work – again it was critical to have them on board early in the process.” Safety is paramount on all these projects. Corporate Safety Director Tomasz Dering leads safety operations for Plaza, regularly meeting with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to make sure the company is on track with the latest regulations. “We have safety initiatives to reward the subcontractor workforce for a safe job environment,” adds Meltzer. OCTOBER 2019

One Thousand Museum, Miami, FL “We have an incredible safety track record. Our EMR (Experience Modification Rate) is among the lowest in the industry for a company of our size.” Plaza is committed to building projects of lasting value that not only enhance surroundings but respect the planet. “We work with our clients to make sure that initiatives with regard to sustainability are available through our combined research and efforts with the design team,” confirms Meltzer. “We try to provide these opportunities to our clients at the most reasonable price. There was a time when people thought building green was more expensive but with more products on the market, the cost of achieving a sustainable outcome has become more competitive.” As a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), Plaza has built roughly $5bn worth of LEED certified projects across America; it’s a strategy at the core of the company’s offering. “One of our most interesting projects in this field was the 1 Hotel & Homes development on Miami Beach,” reveals Meltzer. “As an adaptive reuse project, it was a gut renovation of an older hotel complex transformed into a sustainable hotel w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

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and condominium through the strategic use of reclaimed materials, recycling and effective design solutions. I’m very proud of our team, as

$1bn

Approximate revenue

well as the collaboration with the owner and design professionals, in achieving that LEED certification.” Across all sectors Meltzer sees a positive, growing trend for developers to think more strategically. “They’re not viewing their contractor as a commodity any longer,” he says. “We’re finding the more experienced and savvy developers engaging with us earlier, bringing us on as part of their team, at the same

1986

Year founded

600

Approximate number of employees Century City Plaza development

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PLAZA CONSTRUCTION

Building tomorrow

Plaza Constructionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s President Brad Meltzer is excited for the company to be leading the 500,000 sq ft second phase of the $400mn expansion of the Resorts World New York casino complex, scheduled for completion by the end of 2020. The Queens venue attracts 10 million visitors a year where, in addition to expanding gaming space, the firm will manage construction of a 10-story, fourstar hotel with conference and meeting rooms. Plaza has also

China Mobile Data Centre, San Jose, CA

OCTOBER 2019

been chosen by Berkowitz Development Group to build SkyRise Miami; the $540mn 1000-foot tall entertainment and observation tower will be the tallest building in Florida. The Arquitectonica-designed downtown Miami building will overlook Biscayne Bay and include a 55mph base jumping experience, an indoor drop tower ride with a 95mph descent speed and a skywalk at 908ft.

Ritz Carlton Residences, Miami 27 time they’re selecting designers to

operates. “We will steadily and thought-

promote a more collaborative process.

fully expand into markets we believe are

More than 90% of what we do is

growing,” he adds. “For a long time,

negotiated work. We’re working with

construction was a very territorial

like-minded clients and their teams all

business, but I think that’s changing

at the same table from inception to

and regions are expanding. The

completion. That’s allowing us to help

mindset in America has transformed,

our clients with regards to schedule

and I think with Plaza’s strengths and

and cost early on. If they allow a design

the great story we have to tell we can

team to take a job too far before

take our philosophy to new markets.”

engaging with a construction manager, it’s harder to keep a project on track with respect to time and money.” Ultimately, Meltzer is keen for Plaza to continue to be known as the go-to contractor in the markets in which it w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

LEADERSHIP

OCTOBER 2019

THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL TWINS Construction Global hears from Bentley Systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adam Klatzkin about how its iTwin Services will transform infrastructure design and management WRITTEN BY

ADA M K L ATZKIN

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INDUSTRY 4.0

entley Systems’ mission is to provide innovative software and services for designing, building, and operating the world’s

infrastructure. The company was founded in 1984,

which was a pivotal time in computing, where we went from mainframes – one computer for many, many people – to desktops where there is one computer for every user. Bentley Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Keith Bentley recognised the significance of this technology trend and saw the opportunity to move engineering software from a mainframe-driven model to a desktop model, which was extremely successful. Bentley now has 3,500 30

colleagues, in 50 countries. One of the key drivers of the company is a culture that is supportive of trying new things, and I’m particularly energised by some of our current initiatives, which are aligning with another pivotal point in computing technology – the widespread adoption of cloud computing. This latest shift is characterised by a framework that leverages many computers for each person. Everyone has a mobile phone, a laptop, and a desktop – and web access to their information is expected everywhere. Bentley has embraced this new reality with its iTwin Services, an initiative that was announced at the Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference, in London last October. iTwin Services brings together concepts that Bentley has been nurturing in recent years, including iModelHub, introduced in 2017. iMOCTOBER 2019

odelHub is a cloud service that enables the alignment, accountability, and accessibility of infrastructure digital twins; it is a core part of Bentley’s iTwin Services. A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical asset. It might be a process, people, systems, devices, a building, a railway, and so on. It’s a digital representation that provides better quality of data, and better data management. Ultimately, it’s how we, as an industry, can get beyond BIM and create the future of infrastructure. Digital twins will help to create safer infrastructure by enabling better awareness throughout the operation and maintenance w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

INDUSTRY 4.0

“ Digitaltwins,created with iModelHub, can incorporate all the engineering information generated during the lifecycle of an infrastructure asset” — Adam Klatzkin Vice President, iTwin Services Bentley Systems

of infrastructure, along with the integration of IoT devices such as sensors and cameras. Back in October 2018, during Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure Conference, Keith Bentley announced that, as part of driving Bentley’s mission, the company is partnering with Hack Partners, a business that creates innovation movements in its new InfraHack initiative. InfraHack is driving innovation in the infrastructure sector through prototyping sprints and product accelerators. A 72-hour InfraHack hackathon

OCTOBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WHAT IS A DIGITAL TWIN?’ 33 to jump-start the innovation was held in

vided access to its iModelHub for the

May and sponsored by other industry

participants to examine infrastructure

heavyweights, including the National

data and workflows at the InfraHack

Infrastructure Commission, Mott Mac-

hackathon, helping to accelerate the

Donald, Fujitsu, KPMG, and the Centre

exploration of industry data and put-

for Digital Built Britain. InfraHack brings

ting Bentley at the forefront of innova-

together the entirety of the infrastruc-

tion in the construction industry.

ture industry, from technology provid-

River Tamoor Baig, Founder and

ers and engineering consultancies, to

CEO of Hack Partners, said: “Bentley

government bodies and infrastructure

is one of the biggest enablers of infra-

operators, driving collaboration be-

structure development and enhance-

tween the industry supply chain and in-

ment, globally. In my opinion, it is one

frastructure owner-operators together

of most critical companies that the

with grassroots innovators in a way that

wider public hasn’t heard of. It was a

no other initiative does. Bentley pro-

no-brainer to collaborate with the busiw w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

INDUSTRY 4.0

ness on InfraHack given the services that the Bentley Systems suite offers. It’s clear to us that Bentley has a very forward-thinking and innovation-driven mindset, which aligns well with Hack Partners and the InfraHack initiative. Together, I believe that we are going to make our hackathon produce outcomes for the industry that reach new heights.” I recently took part in a Hack Partners Innovation in Industry podcast where I noted that, “by participating in InfraHack, it gives us an opportu34

nity to create a deeper connection with the tech industry at large and a deeper connection with young people

“ You can imagine being able to achieve so many new types of insights, by leveraging all this normalised data - through dashboards, artificial intelligence, and automation.” — Adam Klatzkin Vice President, iTwin Services Bentley Systems OCTOBER 2019

to inspire them and see what they can do with this very open, powerful, and easy-to-get-started-with technology.” During the podcast with River Tamoor Baig, I had the opportunity to discuss the details of Bentley’s development of the iModelHub and the fantastic benefits it brings to the infrastructure industry, as well as detailing Bentley’s capabilities in digital twins. Infrastructure projects and assets contain vast amounts of information that come from many different applica-

tions, and this data is typically siloed.

will open the door for anyone to build

Digital twins, created with iModelHub,

services or applications that leverage

can incorporate all the engineer-

the power of the digital twin.

ing information generated during the

The best part is that the framework

lifecycle of an infrastructure asset.

is not disruptive to current engineering

iModelHub aligns the disparate digital

workflows. Engineers and designers

components created by different ap-

can continue to use the tools they want,

plications while maintaining an exten-

and their application-based data can

sive change ledger. Another exciting

be incorporated into a singular model

dimension of this is that there is an

along with other types of data, such as

open-source, JavaScript library, called

reality models captured by drones. You

iModel.js, for accessing and leverag-

can imagine being able to achieve so

ing the data in iModelHub. This library

many new types of insights, by leveragw w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

INDUSTRY 4.0

ing all this normalised data – through dashboards, artificial intelligence, and automation. When you consider all the parties working on a project, you also need to think about accountability. We’re tracking all the changes – everything that happens – throughout a project or throughout an entire asset lifecycle and maintaining it for as long as is needed. At Bentley, we like to draw on the analogy of a bank account. Imagine you logged into your bank account and 36

the only information you had was the balance, with no clue how you got to that balance. Could you possibly trust it? iModelHub has a change ledger – a timeline of change that captures everything. You can roll it back in time to see how you got to where you are, and you’ll be able to roll it forward in time with our recent SYNCHRO acquisition. Through 4D plans and schedules, you can roll forward into what you’re planning to do as well, which is amazing. Ultimately, digital twins are going to transform the design and management of infrastructure and enable us to achieve more sustainable development for generations. That’s the OCTOBER 2019

vision for digital twins. The greater the accessibility of information, and the more open the platform, then the greater the opportunity for information to be re-used. This is digital transformation – this is what we are hearing everywhere right now. It’s about the reuse of information. It’s about having a singular piece of information such as a digital component that is accessible for many different workflows and different purposes. You’re not going to achieve that result without an open ecosystem. There are a lot of startups today. But, very often, they focus on a niche, and it’s hard for them to interoperate and play in the larger system. This new framework for infrastructure digital twins is an exciting opportunity for everyone to participate.

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TECHNOLOGY

DISRUPTING CONSTRUCTION TO BUILD IN NEW DIMENSIONS Leica Geosystemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Global Business Development Director, Matt Wheelis, explains how its solutions are contributing to the transformation of construction through autonomous digital reality WRITTEN BY

OCTOBER 2019

DAN BRIGHTMORE

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TECHNOLOGY

n construction, we focus on

motor graders in a precise way to

connecting the digital and physical

shape the earth. “We’re also able to

world between the information that

capture what has been previously

comes from BIM (Building Information

done in the field, along with existing

Modelling) or CAD (Computer Aided

conditions, and bring that into the

Design) and then taking that out to the

digital space in combination with our

fields where elements of a build can be

solutions for tasks such as laser

installed precisely,” explains Matt

scanning or reality capture,” adds

Wheelis, Global Business Development

Wheelis. “We aim to make these kinds

Director at Leica Geosystems (a part of

of solutions as available to the industry

Hexagon group).

as possible by delivering easy to use

Leica’s products can run equipment such as bulldozers, drilling machines or OCTOBER 2019

solutions that features workflows tailored for construction.”

Leica is championing a move towards autonomous solutions that bring efficiency and productivity. “We’re seeking to take as much of the work from the user as possible to make their workflow in the field simpler,” explains Wheelis. “Last year, we introduced the RTC 360 solution, which employs computer vision, with five cameras constantly watching the world around the laser scanner. It also features edge computing on the device, so when the scanner is moved between locations to make new scans the onboard computing keeps up with the positioning and is able to register and stitch those scans together in a

“ CONTRACTORS ARE NOW EXPECTING TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION, ORDER CHANGES AND JOB COST INFORMATION” — Matt Wheelis Global Business Development Director Leica Geosystems

highly autonomous or assisted way. Without that assistance in the field, it would be a tedious process but now it’s easy to get a full view of that 3D reality captured in the field without needing to be highly trained.” Ease of use in the field is critical, believes Wheelis, who reveals the company is close to developing a three click process for the evaluation of a concrete pour which uses a scan to provide feedback on adjustments that may need to be made post-pour. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

“ OUR FOCUS IN CONSTRUCTION IS AROUND CONNECTING THE DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL WORLD BETWEEN THE INFORMATION THAT COMES FROM BIM (BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING) OR CAD (COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN)”

— Matt Wheelis Global Business Development Director Leica Geosystems

“It’s not just about making it easy because that’s what needed by the contractor. It’s also about making it fast and accurate so you can make adjustments on the fly rather than having to grind off or fill in the areas later,” adds Wheelis. The app solution, called Rithm, is being developed in partnership with StructionSite for JetStream, which is built on top of Leica’s platform. “Our three-step push button workflow provides heat maps which enable visibility of the topographic map of that area to pick out where levels are high or low. The savings in terms of avoiding rework and impact on schedules is significant.” Wheelis worked in the construction group at Autodesk (among the leading AEC software developers) for 11 years and are considered an important partner for Leica. “We collaborated on the release of our BLK 360 laser scanner which brought a complex process down to a single button,” he explains. “Our scanner and Autodesk’s

OCTOBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LEICA – 3D REALITY CAPTURE SOLUTIONS 45

mobile software came to market

which we work together to achieve,”

together so we worked very closely to

assures Wheelis.

ensure the workflow was as simple as

The sheer number of software

possible between our capture and their

startups in the construction industry

BIM software, including Revit and

able to consume or produce data

Autocad.” Leica has also connected its

represents a challenge for companies

iCON solutions with Autodesk’s

keen to leverage their data and

BIM360 to support customers with

produce meaningful insights. “The

their plans and designs in BIM 360’s

number of touch points is a big

Docs as their CDE (Common Data

challenge,” he says. “Finding the one

Environment). “It’s a connected

that makes the most sense for the

workflow from the design file to the

customer or project is key. For exam-

collaboration environment or the

ple, we’ve been working with the UK’s

CDE to the installation in the field,

Point Fuse to deliver a smooth w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

FACT BOX HE ADER

Three Needs for New Solutions in Construction

Data integration

1% increase in productivity. It needs

Imagine if you had all the infor-

solutions that move each step of the

mation on a construction project

construction lifecycle along effi-

easily accessible and correlated

ciently and quickly, all the way from

with a 3D model. The measure-

design to facility operation

ments for the formwork? The

and maintenance.

amount and specification of con-

Simple, user-specific

crete needed? The post-pour f loor

solutions

f latness report? All in one view.

There’s a wide range of project and

How much time and effort would

task management software avail-

be saved? According to construc-

able, but if it’s harder to use than

tion leaders surveyed by PlanGrid

the benefit it brings, it defeats the

in 2018, you would be looking at

purpose. Construction profession-

saving 14 hours each work week

als have much to accomplish in a

and the industry would potentially

day’s work, and the last thing to

save about $178bn in labour costs.

think about is inputting informa-

Seamless workflows

tion into a complicated platform

Construction is a slow process. How

to suit someone’s needs back in

many times have you passed a con-

the office. We can draw a lesson

struction site on a normal basis to

from trends in consumer software

only feel like nothing has changed

on mobile devices, where most

week to week? This is often due

tasks are accomplished in simple,

to waiting on the next link in the

task-specific “apps” rather than

chain to be completed before work

all-encompassing software. Con-

can progress. Over the past two

struction solutions must be easy to

decades, McKinsey Global Institute

use, simple to readand targeted to

reports the industry has only seen a

the user’s unique needs.

OCTOBER 2019

workflow. They’re consuming data

future needs? “We’re addressing the

from our reality capture solutions and

demand for connecting site processes

helping to produce, in a relatively low

with captured reality,” he explains.

touch way, as-built BIM model which

“Contractors are now expecting to be

can then be consumed or opened up

able to manage requests for informa-

by either Autodesk Revit or through our

tion, order changes and job cost

own BricsCAD solution.”

information. They need to connect this

What digital trends is Wheelis seeing

with their business workloads. Previ-

across the sector prompting Leica to

ously, those were things that happened

develop new solutions and start

on the same work site but didn’t

collaborations to meet the industry’s

necessarily connect together digitally. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

“ CONSUMER LEVEL INNOVATIONS AROUND HOW PEOPLE CONSUME DATA IN GAMING ENVIRONMENTS IN REAL TIME ARE STARTING TO BLEED BACK TOWARD THE PROFESSIONAL CONSTRUCTION SPACE” 48

— Matt Wheelis Global Business Development Director Leica Geosystems

It’s a great opportunity for us as technology providers who take an open stance towards working with other companies to add more value for customers across the industry.” Leica is delivering transformation for both industry leaders such as Skanska and small American MEP (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing) firms like Harveys in Montana. Through as-built digital reconstructions in the form of point clouds, Harvey’s is transforming OCTOBER 2019

the services it provides with deliverables high in accuracy and rich in detail. “They are working on large custom homes and luxury developments in mountainous areas of Montana and we’re finding that in this environment the plan and the model submitted for construction were not always followed exactly,” says Wheelis. “When Harvey’s started to prefabricate their plumbing offsite to improve install times, they adopted the BLK 360 laser scanner and began fabricating to the actual framing environment. They gained efficiencies, even with last-minute changes, and successfully united the BIM department doing the design and the crews in the field delivering the information back to the fabrication shop.” Looking to the future, Wheelis notes that when Facebook spent $2bn acquiring Oculus Rift, there was an expectation that Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) were immediately ready for prime time. He predicts that expectation will be driven to fruition as devices become more wearable. “Consumer level innovations around how people consume data in gaming environments in real time are w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

OCTOBER 2019

starting to bleed back toward the professional construction space,” he says. Leica’s overriding goal in construction remains the concept of transforming through autonomous digital reality. “We’re continuing to achieve scale and connect with an increasing number of partners who are going on this journey with us by innovating with our solutions,” assures Wheelis. At the forefront of innovation in this space, the company is preparing to launch BLK2GO – a handheld imaging laser scanner. “With an app, it utilises your own device for the controller,” he concludes. “It’s a very simple approach to capturing 3D space, bringing mobile mapping to a human scale in a form factor that’s going to be easy to adopt in the AEC space.”

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

CONSTRUCTION 4.0

Bringing

BIM

to the people

Tridify CEO Alexander Le Bell tells Construction Global how its BIM to XR processing service makes BIM models instantly viewable online, bringing 3D models into the mainstream for AEC practitioners WRITTEN BY

OCTOBER 2019

DAN BRIGHT MORE

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CONSTRUCTION 4.0

ridify was established in Finland in 2012 by a group of technologists with over 30 years of collective experi-

ence working in Virtual Reality (VR). The past

four years has seen the company focus on developing a bespoke solution to automate the delivery of architectural 3D, BIM and CAD models with BIM data attached. “We developed our own VR application for AEC professionals,” explains Tridify CEO Alexander Le Bell. “This software takes existing 3D assets and smart objects and creates immersive, interactive virtual environments that allow users to manipulate dynamic objects online in 54

real-time.” At first, the automation conversion technology was developed as an internal tool to help Tridify deliver its VR app easily to architects, developers, interior designers and facility managers. “Today, we are building on evolving our BIM to VR web publishing serviceso that everyone can use it at all stages of the AEC workflow – for training, simulation, design consensus, planning, and maintenance,” explains Le Bell. “We are looking at ways that the web can be harnessed so we can add value to the construction industry in a cost-efficient way.” Le Bell and his team have been developing Tridify’s Web VR solution to a point where they are confident the robust service OCTOBER 2019

it provides via the cloud will benefit users by being easily accessible anywhere. “Our new Web VR option solves a problem that the industry has struggled with for many years,” explains Le Bell. “By making BIM models instantly available and viewable in any browser, technical barriers are removed, they become a new commodity and are propelled into the mainstream. This will help to dramatically improve communication and collaboration workflows for architectural, construction and property companies.” “3D models can now be created from a BIM model in less than two minutes w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

CONSTRUCTION 4.0

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TRIDIFY 3D BIM TO WEB VR IN MINUTES’ 56 and shared with a global audience

that they want. Users do not need to

via WhatsApp,” he adds of the abil-

ity to access the service from any

just need a simple URL that they can

device with a web browser, from

share via any communication media

phones to VR goggles. “The new ser-

(SM, email, QR-code, WhatsApp).

vice starts from $20 per month, which

Developed with an open standard

is enough to publish models of sev-

for almost 100 known AEC software

eral small projects or a model of one

solutions, Tridify’s agnostic and flexible

medium size project. Soon it will

approach supports all IFC (Industry

become normal to share 3D models

Foundation Classes). “We give the

all the time, with anyone, anywhere,”

opportunity to use multiple models,

he says of the secure service. Tridify’s

and different software, catering to

customers can decide what data will

as broad a segment of the construc-

be shown and for what purpose, by

tion industry as possible,” affirms Le

only giving the user the viewing link

Bell, who is keen to debunk the myth

OCTOBER 2019

“ This software takes existing 3D assets and smart objects and creates immersive, interactive virtual environments that allow users to manipulate dynamic objects in real time” — Alexander Le Bell CE0, Tridify

that sharing BIM models is overly complicated and show how easy it is to cut down the time it takes to communicate across AEC disciplines. We are not trying to solve all the use cases with one single solution,” explains Tridify’s Head of Production, Jukka Muhonen. “Our ideology is to provide the simplest solution to solve the specific use case with the same data. One problem with the traditional approach is that you typically have

E X E CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Alexander Le Bell Alexander Le Bell is the CEO of Tridify, a software automation company specialising in delivering a BIM to VR web publishing service for the AEC industry. He has more than 20 years’ experience of digital hightech and mobile internet companies, from startups to multinational organisations such as Nokia, Ericsson and Philips. He was part of the team at Nokia responsible for creating the name WiFi, when he was involved in product marketing for WLAN at Nokia when the company was chairing the marketing of the WECA W-LAN alliance. He is passionate about using new disruptive, digital and mobile services that create real life benefits for employees as well as for businesses and their customers.

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

CONSTRUCTION 4.0

a UI that is full of buttons and no-one knows how to use them. Many of our customers say that if they have a menu on an app, they have just lost half of their users, because they find it overly complicated to learn and use.” Muhonen stresses that data management is an important key with BIM. “That is why we have developed this solution, to bring BIM data from all AEC design tools to one place, where you can layer them in one view and automatically show the most important parts that you want for your client. OCTOBER 2019

“ 3D models can now be created from a BIM model in less than two minutes and shared with a global audience via WhatsApp.” — Alexander Le Bell CE0, Tridify

For example, you might have archi-

immersive. That partnership approach

tectural, MEP and HVAC models in

is being harnessed with early adopters

one view and only show a single floor

like the multidisciplinary design group,

or single apartment from a 100-sto-

WSP, and its Finnish subsidiary, WSP

rey building.” Le Bell adds that Tridify

Finland Oy. “We gain valuable insights

is aiming to create a service where

working together with them,” confirms

you can actually share the visual ele-

Le Bell. Part of the global WSP group,

ments of a design without necessarily

the firm offers strategic advice to the

having to share the full BIM model.

construction and infrastructure sector.

Tridify has been working closely

“WSP uses the Tridify Web VR option

with some of the big game engine

for fast and effective VR creation on

companies in a collaborative environ-

early design stages to ease the com-

ment, targeting ways of making the

munication process with our clients,”

experience of viewing 3D models more

reveals Roope Syvälahti, Project w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

CONSTRUCTION 4.0

“ You don’t need any complicated apps, you don’t need to download or update anything, our Web VR service works simply in your browser with nothing else required.” — Alexander Le Bell CE0, Tridify

Manager at WSP Finland Oy. “We are happy to see services like Tridify that make the digitalisation of the construction industry easier. This innovation also opens up a great variety of possibilities for further development of VR models as BIM communication tools, also containing BIM data and not only being a pure visualisation.” Identifying the consistent trend for automation with new solutions for the construction industry, Le Bell was keen to harness the cloud and make Tridify’s approach accessible enough to meet the needs of customers across a variety of disciplines. “You don’t need any complicated apps, you don’t need to OCTOBER 2019

download or update anything, our Web VR service works simply in your browser with nothing else required.” The ultimate goal for Tridify is to more easily connect the end users of 3D models (the client) with the BIM managers and architects who develop them. “Now we have created a very scalable platform, it’s all about a range of viewers for different projects,” says Le Bell, who plans to build on Tridify’s VR capabilities adding AR functionality to the service which he believes will be enhanced further by the 5G rollout. “A variety of viewers can show the spark of your construction model from a single floor to a whole building. Now, the next step is to get people using this on a much broader scale, and have other companies contribute to create face viewers and use our APIs to expand the service and build on our platform approach.”

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

T O P 10

OCTOBER 2019

Engineering & construction companies Construction Global counts down the top 10 engineering and construction companies according to this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fortune Global 500. They achieved combined revenues of more than US$815mn, but who made the top spot? WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE

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

Daiwa House Industry $37.37mn

The Japanese firm, headquartered in Osaka, reported a 9.1% increase in revenues for 2018 and moved up 15 places on the Fortune Global 500 list to 327. Daiwa specialises in prefabricated buildings and is Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest homebuilder. The company was established in 1955 when it began building warehouses with an innovative pipe process for Japanese National Railways (JNR). Today it employs a global workforce of 45,000, delivering housing, logistics facilities, hotels and more

OCTOBER 2019

Bouygues $42.18mn

Founded by Francis Bouygues in 1952, Bouygues is a diversified industrial group. Its businesses focus on two sectors: construction, with Bouygues Construction (building, civil works, energy and services), Bouygues Immobilier (property) and Colas (roads), and also telecoms and media via TF1 and Bouygues Telecom. Bouygues recently began a collaboration with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies to develop low carbon concrete for the industry. The Gallic construction giant has spent 25 years on the Fortune list, rising 20 places this year to 287 with its reported revenue up 13.2%

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

ACS

$43.26mn

Revenues for 2018 were up 10% seeing the company rise 12 places in the 500, now ranked 272. Grupo ACS employs a workforce of almost 200,000 and is a leader in the industry of infrastructure development, along with civil and industrial engineering projects. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Madrid, the Spanish group was formed through the merger of OCP Construcciones and Ginés Navarro Construcciones. CIMIC Group (owned by ACS subsidiary Hochtief) was recently awarded a $2.73bn contract by the State of Queensland in Australia to deliver the tunnel, stations and development package of Brisbane’s Cross River Rail Project.

OCTOBER 2019

Vinci

$52.34mn

Rising 20 places to 206 in Fortune’s list this year, Vinci’s revenues rose by 13.1%. Originally founded in 1899, the French construction group has over 200,000 employees designing, financing, building and operating infrastructure and facilities across the globe. It is the majority owner of Gatwick airport in the UK where it has recently unveiled a five-year capital investment programme totaling £1.1bn. Other projects include the Atlantic Bridge in Panama and the launch of 3D Printing company Concreative through its subsidiary Freyssinet.

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

PowerChina $61.22mn

PowerChina is a state-owned company founded in 2011 on the basis of 14 provincial, municipal and district electric power survey and design, engineering, and equipment manufacturing enterprises formerly affiliated to Sinohydro Group Ltd, HydroChina Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China, and China Southern Power Grid Co Ltd. Moving up 21 places in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list to 161, its revenues increased by 13.7%. As of 2018, PowerChina has won 88 items of the China Construction Engineering Luban Prize, 49 National Quality Engineering Golden Awards, 167 National Quality Engineering Awards, 25 Tien-yow Jeme Civil Engineering Prizes, 33 China Quality Water Engineering Awards, and 150 National Quality Engineering and Consulting Awards.

OCTOBER 2019

Pacific Construction Group $86.62mn

Dropping one place in the latest Fortune list, China’s Pacific Construction Group (CPCG) is now ranked 97 but its revenues are up 12.2%. Employing over 385,000 people, CPCG has centralised its core business on infrastructure, investment, construction and management over three successful decades. It is China’s largest city operator across sectors, with work including national highways, municipal construction, water conservancy, building and landscape design.

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

China Communications Construction $88.14mn

China Communications Construction comprises 34 wholly-owned or controlled subsidiaries principally engaged in the design and construction of transportation infrastructure, dredging and heavy machinery manufacturing business. The company is active in myriad engineering and construction disciplines, including: port, terminal, road, bridge, railway, tunnel, civil work design and construction, capital dredging and reclamation dredging, container crane, heavy marine machinery, large steel structure and road machinery manufacturing, and international project contracting, import and export trading services. This year its revenues were up 11%, dropping two places to 93 in the Global 500.

OCTOBER 2019

China Railway Construction $88.14mn

Headquartered in Beijing, China Railway Constructionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (CRC) revenues rose to 11% in 2018 while its Fortune ranking dropped one place to 59. The state-owned corporationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roots go back to the Railway Engineering Corps set up in 1948. CRC covers project contracting, survey design consultation, industrial manufacturing, real estate development, logistics, trade of goods and materials as well as capital operations. Dedicated to becoming a global construction player, recent projects have included 4,000 social housing units in Angola and the construction of a seaside resort in Algeria.

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

China Railway Engineering Group

$112.13mn

Moving up one place to 55 in the Global 500, China Railway Engi-

neering Corporation Group’s (CREC) revenues have risen by 9.1%. Now under the supervision of China’s State Council, the group began life in 1894 when China Shanhaiguan Manufactory (now a subsidiary of CREC) was set up to manufacture railway tracks and metal bridges for the Peking-Zhangjiakou Railway, the first railway project designed and constructed by the Chinese. This summer, the work of group subsidiary China Railway No.2 Group on the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project in Nepal, with COVEC, achieved an award of merit for ENR’s 2019 Global Best Projects.

OCTOBER 2019

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

OCTOBER 2019

China State Construction Engineering $181.52mn

Moving up one place to 55 in the Global 500, China Railway Engineering Corporation Group’s (CREC) revenues have risen by 9.1%. Now under the supervision of China’s State Council, the group began life in 1894 when China Shanhaiguan Manufactory (now a subsidiary of CREC) was set up to manufacture railway tracks and metal bridges for the Peking-Zhangjiakou Railway, the first railway project designed and constructed by the Chinese. This summer, the work of group subsidiary China Railway No.2 Group on the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project in Nepal, with COVEC, achieved an award of merit for ENR’s 2019 Global Best Projects.

w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m

Transform Build Innovate Build New Relationships. Book Your Exhibit Space Today!

December 4 - 6, 2019 Metro Toronto Convention Centre

thebuildingsshow.com

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

9–11 OCT 2019

CONSTRUCT 8-10 OCT 2019

UK Construction Week [ BIRMINGHAM, UK ] 78

Birmingham’s NEC hosts this year’s UK Construction Week, supported by The Construction Innovation Hub a part of the British government’s strategy to transform construction over the next three years. The UK’s largest built environment event welcomes over 650 exhibitors across multiple sections: Build, Building Tech, Civils, Energy & HVAC, Surface & Materials and Timber. Also incorporated in the event is the newly launched Concrete Expo (8-9 October) and Grand Designs Live (9-10 October). CPD accredited seminars will showcase 300 influential speakers.

OCTOBER 2019

[ MARYLAND, US ] CONSTRUCT provides a platform for exploring and refining innovative solutions to solve complex problems facing the AEC industry today. During the three-day educational programme and two-day expo, industry leaders converge with a common goal of educating and inspiring for the betterment of the industry. From emerging professionals to influential industry veterans, AEC professionals can refine their skills and increase their knowledge that will in turn give them a competitive edge in their field. At CONSTRUCT, you can earn continuing education credits, network with peers, and see the latest in products and services from a diverse range of top manufacturers.

16–17 OCT 2019

Digital Construction Week [ LONDON, UK ]

6–8 NOV 2019

tal construction, engineering, design,

Design-Build Institute of America DBIA Conference & Expo

manufacturing and operation. DCW

[ LAS VEGAS, US ]

2019 will feature a two-day exhibition

Collaborate. Educate. Celebrate.

of the latest construction technologies

The annual DBIA Conference focuses

from some of the biggest tech and con-

on the fastest growing and most popular

struction companies changing the face

method used to deliver construction

of the sector. Experience interactive

projects in America. It attracts

hands on demonstrations, free to

thousands of attendees and hundreds

attend seminars, workshops, classes

of exhibitors each year offering unique

and networking events as well as a tick-

opportunities to network with peers –

eted, exclusive leadership conference.

both owners and practitioners – to make

The aim is to help the industry explore

fruitful connections that will create long-

its potential and understand how best

lasting impact. Design-build is the future

to adopt and implement these new

and the DBIA Expo is the perfect place

technologies, tools and processes

for newbies and pros alike to get the

to improve profitability and efficiency,

latest on important design-build trends

creating a smarter and more diverse

and topics with insight from a host

industry.

of seasoned speakers.

Digital Construction Week is the only event series in the UK dedicated to digi-

w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m

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

20–21 NOV 2019

Offsite Construction Show [ LONDON, UK ] The Offsite show is a magnet for senior specifying and purchasing personnel who appreciate the chance to both and network at one location featuring

Greenbuild International Conference & Expo

over 100 exhibiting companies with

[ ATLANTA, US ]

the latest and best offsite construction

Greenbuild is one community

products, services, innovations and

of professionals, advocates and

technology across 100 categories.

practitioners, students and teachers,

It features everything from building

designers and builders, and everything

materials and composite panel

in between. Always in pursuit of what’s

manufacturers to design & consultancy,

next - new technology, new ideas and

engineering & construction consultants,

new ways forward - it’s dedicated to

modular construction, LSF Structures,

transforming the market and changing

hybrid products, precast concrete and

the way people all over the world

timber frame manufacturers. No other

experience buildings. Greenbuild is the

show comes close to offering the ROI

world’s largest conference and expo

for specialist industry suppliers because

dedicated to green building; bringing

everyone in attendance has one thing

together industry leaders and experts

in common, construction.

dedicated to sustainable building.

maintain and expand their supply chains 80

19–22 NOV 2019

OCTOBER 2019

27–28 NOV 2019

London Build

4–6 DEC 2019

The Buildings Show [ TORONTO, CANADA ]

[ LONDON, UK ]

The Buildings Show provides an

London Build has established its

unforgettable experience as North

reputation among the UK’s leading

America’s largest event for products,

construction shows. Free to attend,

services, educational programming

and featuring 500+ speakers, 350+

and professional networking. This

exhibitors and 25,000+ pre-registered

spectacular event for the design,

attendees, it offers a platform for

architecture, construction and real

extensive networking with thousands

estate communities has been a fixture

of buyers, senior decision makers and

for the past 30 years. New for 2019,

influential industry experts. Learn about

the Buildings Show introduces its

the major construction projects across

PropTech expo, Buildings Connect,

the capital and how to get involved.

in the North Building along with

Generate thousands of new contacts

HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo

who have purchasing power and

and the World of Concrete Pavilion.

business to place. Explore the latest

Buildings Connect will be a gathering

innovation, investment opportunities

of great minds for a dynamic showcase

and developments. The event includes

of innovative technology directly

summits on infrastructure, BIM (Building

impacting people, places, properties,

Information Modeling), sustainability

portfolios, energy use and operational

and fire safety.

efficiencies within the built environment.

w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m

Inside Cologixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing data centre expansion WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

OCTOBER 2019

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

COLOGIX CANADA

Sean Maskell, President and General Manager at Cologix Canada, discusses the ongoing data centre revolution and how the company is remaining flexible and interconnected at the hyperscale level

he planet is awash with information. Every day, humans generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reports, selfies, text messages,

high definition videos, infographics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in an (almost 84

equally) staggering number of ways. One of the most remarkable things about this ocean of bits and bytes is that 90% of it was created in the past three years. Our ability to move, scan, parse and store this data is fast becoming essential for the maintenance of a functioning digital society. At the core of this is the data centre, essentially a high-tech storage facility for servers that allow vast quantities of data to be remotely processed, stored and distributed. The data centre industry, predicted to achieve annual market values of around $174bn per year by 2023, according to MarketWatch, has undergone a radical evolution in the past decade, and the pace of change is showing no signs of slowing.Â Having worked in the data centre space since 2004, Sean Maskell, President and General Manager of the Canadian arm of Cologix, Inc, has witnessed OCTOBER 2019

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Why use TIER E/A... Here are some good reasons “We installed all the power cabling for 232 cabinets in one day, that alone makes the system worthwhile.” Daniel Laurin, Cologix

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COLOGIX CANADA

“ When I started in the industry, these were, I would say, not so cool places. That’s evolved and continues to evolve” 88

— Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

OCTOBER 2019

this transformation first hand. “When I started in the industry, these were, I would say, not so cool places,” he recalls. “These were spaces overrun by massive amounts of copper cables, DS3 mux’s, DSX Panels and crusty old Telecom technicians – that’s certainly evolved over the years and continues to evolve even faster. We’re now witnessing sizeable growth in the industry, lead particularly by the hyperscale and Cloud Service providers. Enterprises are heading down the path towards digital transformation in a big way, as

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘COLOGIX LAKELAND / TAMPA DATA CENTER’ 89 they continue to move workloads to

are closer to the end user. This trend

the cloud, and their consumers expect

aligns tightly with the new methodol-

always-on connections with low la-

ogy, which involves multiple intercon-

tency to the internet of things (IoT). To

nected facilities built around central

make this happen, our clients require

carrier and cloud hubs, like spokes

robust interconnection and cloud on-

on a wheel.

ramp locations that push this consum-

“That’s really pushed the providers

able data closer to the edge, meaning

in Canadian and US markets to ensure

closer to the users that are demanding

sites are strategic for carrier and cloud

that information.” The major trend that

interconnection, which is something

Maskell identifies is the industry’s shift

that we’re very conscious of when we

away from the traditional conception of

build or expand our facilities to include

a single large data centre in a technolo-

hyperscale capacity,” Maskell explains.

gy hub like Los Angeles or Chicago, to-

“Our facilities are strategically located

wards capacity in tier two markets that

interconnection hubs, that allow our w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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customers extensive carrier and cloud

tion, cloud on-ramp and colocation

choice within close proximity to their

services organization sees it work with

consumers.” With over 28 interconnec-

some of the largest technology com-

tion hubs and 5 hyperscale capacity

panies in the world. “Our client base

data centres across the US and Cana-

is one of the best,” Maskell enthuses.

da, Cologix is one of the leading tech-

“The five top technology companies

nology agnostic colocation service

in the world are in our facilities.” To at-

providers in the region. We sat down

tract and maintain relationships with

with Maskell to discuss Cologix’s four

that calibre of customer, Cologix has

impressive new data centre projects

become a preeminent source of exper-

across Canada and the US, as well as

tise when providing space, power and

the strategies and trends at the heart

cooling in locations that give clients the

of the company’s vision for success.

maximized opportunities for intercon-

Cologix’s identity as an interconnec-

nection. As an agnostic data service

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sean Maskell Sean Maskell is President General Manager of Cologix Canada and a veteran within the Canadian telecommunications industry. During his 20+ years, Sean has founded and developed two start-up organizations within the ITC industry and merged the Telehouse Canada business with Cologix in 2012. Sean has a broad range of core competencies including; leadership, sales, business development, data centre design, and operation. He has focused and specialized in legacy data centre retrofitting, and innovative future proof designs. Sean has a remarkable history and remains passionate about the Canadian data centre landscape.

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provider, Cologix has reinforced to

Facilities now have to scale to meet

Maskell the importance of accommo-

those challenges and demands in order

dating customer needs as they evolve.

to allow the client’s business to succeed

“One of the biggest lessons I have learned

over three, five or even 10 years. I do not

is to remain agile – that covers agil-

have a crystal ball that can predict what

ity from executive management, and

those changes and demands might be,

sales, but more importantly it’s agility in

but our facilities need to be designed,

terms of operations, construction and

constructed and operated in a way that

design,” he says. “Our industry is alter-

allows us to quickly add, remove and

ing rapidly: deployments are moderniz-

change the capacity for power, cooling,

ing, business plans are being reshaped

interconnection and so on.”

by emerging technologies and new

Embracing the industry-wide

innovative ways of delivering services

movement towards a dispersed and

are continually being rolled out.

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improves client experience and success is central to Cologix’s competitive advantage. “Each core data center in the markets Cologix operates encompasses an important and strategic interconnection site – that’s our focus,” Maskell explains. “But, as these interconnection facilities begin to fill up, we need additional capacity to stay ahead of our clients’ demand. To accomplish this, we construct that additional capacity outside of those interconnection hotels and connect the expansion facility by high-count fibre. This allows our clients seamless, low latency con-

“ Our industry is changing rapidly: deployments are changing, business plans are being reshaped within 18 months by new technologies and new ways of delivering services” — Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

nections, while enabling them to have the carrier and cloud choice that’s critical to our business.” This is the methodology and mindset with which Cologix is building and upgrading new facilities in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ashburn, Virginia. “Cologix is within weeks of releasing an impressive and largest of its kind 40,000sqft, and 5MW of power in Vancouver (VAN3). Then, in Toronto we’ve just brought on-line an additional floor at our 905 King Street West facility (TOR2) – that encompasses 20,000sqft with 4MW of total w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

COLOGIX CANADA

“ Our facilities are strategically located interconnection hubs, that allow our customers extensive carrier and cloud choice within close proximity to their consumers” 96

— Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc. power.” In Montreal, the city where Cologix’s footprint is the largest (10 facilities) following its 2018 acquisition of Colo-D, the company continues to grow its offerings in one of the most favorable data centre climates in Canada. “When you look at our growth in the Montreal market, it in part comes down to a greener power delivery system and ideal weather conditions. The cost of power, which is the lowest in the Canadian market, also helps. This enables Cologix to pass along those savings to our customers,” OCTOBER 2019

Maskell explains. “We’ve just added 15 MW ready for service at our MTL10-H Longueil campus, and acquired an adjacent building to this campus to respond quickly to strong customer demand in the market. Additionally, we began engineering the utility for our MTL8-H Technoparc campus, which will offer 36MW.” The Ashburn project, which will be built on a plot of land at the core of Data Center Alley, will be something of a special project for Cologix. “We’re looking to build a 100MW hyperscale data centre,” says Maskell. Currently, for most companies that aren’t Google or Amazon Web Services, a 100MW data centre is a rare thing. Maskell sees the project as an embodiment of Cologix’s ongoing growth strategy. “It not only strengthens our commitment to the hyperscale market and the business that’s out there, but I think it’s a sign of demand for space that’s growing with it,” he says. Looking to the future, Maskell doesn’t see the pace of data centre evolution slowing any time soon, and is confident Cologix has the right mixture of infrastructure and flexibility in order to rew w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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“ The biggest lesson I’ve learned is flexibility” — Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

spond. “I think one of the biggest shifts I’m seeing is the physical connection between the carrier or cloud provider and customer. This shift has evolved into a software defined network platform (Cologix Access Market Place), where the customer is in control. Clients have access to a robust network of providers and can initiate almost real time changes to their circuits and workloads as they see fit,” he says. As

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101 hyperscale growth continues to accel-

maintain its commanding position in

erate, Maskell believes that the need

the market. “We’ve got one of the best

for increased interconnectedness will

balance sheets in the industry,” en-

only grow with it. “It’s fantastic to have

thuses Maskell. “We’re the number one

a massive state-of-the-art facility with

data centre provider in Canada and

an endless supply of power and cool-

we’re going to continue to protect and

ing, but can it be interconnected? Is

strengthen that position.”

there a way for data to move in or out?” he asks. “It would be similar to building a beautiful five-star resort on a remote island without a ferry service. Regardless of how nice it is, no one’s going to come!” By continuing to expand its capacity and ensuring that capacity is interconnected, Cologix intends to w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

102

Melbourne Water is leading on safety and social procurement to keep the water flowing WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

OCTOBER 2019

103

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

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

Melbourne Water’s commitment to encouraging best practice for safety across all its assets, allied with a strong commitment to social procurement, is helping the Victorian governmentowned statutory authority secure sustainable communities for future generations 104

elbourne Water manages $15bn worth of assets that span the entire water cycle, from waterways and wetlands, drainage

and flood management to water supply and sewerage assets – a unique model compared to most other major cities across Australia. It relies on strong collaboration with Melbourne Water’s retail water sector (for water and sewerage services) and 38 councils (for stormwater management). Melbourne Water looks after all major infrastructure, dams, pipelines and treatment plants on the supply side, and also manages the major treatment works on the sewerage side and the sewerage network down to approximately 300mm pipes. “We then interface with a number of retailers across the Melbourne metropolitan region,” explains Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery at Melbourne Water. “South East Water, City West OCTOBER 2019

Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria

$1.9bn Approximate revenue (AUS)

1891

Founded as Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works

1,200

Nutrient Removal Plant project, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria

Approximate number of employees w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

105

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER’S STRATEGIC DIRECTION’ 107 Water, Yarra Valley Water and Western

paramount. But, in 2015 – when Kelly

Water deal with all the individual,

returned – the business was struggling

residential, and commercial customers.”

to deliver its forecast capital works

Melbourne Water also acts as the

programme. More importantly two of

custodian of protected catchments

the biggest tier-one contractors in the

of natural parkland waterways.

country, CPB Contractors and John

“We manage the closed catchments

Holland Group (JHG), were running

that supply the bulk of Melbourne’s

the highest total recordable injury

drinking water,” confirms Kelly. In total,

frequency rates in their state-wide

we are responsible for the health of

business units under the Melbourne

around 25,000km of waterways

Water Framework.

across the greater Melbourne Region,” confirms Kelly. Across all of its operations Melbourne Water’s commitment to safety is

Melbourne Water’s response was swift and decisive. Kelly spoke with senior leaders at CPB and JHG about what was driving these behaviours and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

Taking care of every drop. Communities depend on safe, easy access to clean water, from breakfast time to bath time, industrial use to irrigation, the efficient capture, storage and management of water helps keep life flowing. Since 2013, the John Holland/KBR joint venture has worked with Melbourne Water to deliver its capital works program. Working together and thinking differently is transforming our approach to safety, wellbeing and social procurement to improve the programs outcomes. We are market leaders in providing solutions in water infrastructure that address the future needs of communities and our customers. Our strong track record of delivering critical water infrastructure is a testament to our commitment to transforming lives.

johnholland.com.au kbr.com

how to fix the problem. “We weren’t just pointing a finger at the contractor to improve safety performance,” explains Kelly. “We wanted feedback to learn what it was about our framework that was causing this.” A number of interventions were designed to collectively fix a number of issues but the main problem was that the commercial model in place was driving the tier one contractors towards a heavily subcontracted model. “We were pushing a lot of risk on the

“ We push each other to achieve zero harm and produce quality projects second to none. Our team is accustomed to the diversity that Melbourne Water projects bring along with the collaborative and inclusive partnership we all feel is a recipe for success” — David Harry, Director, Delcon Civil

subcontractors, and their way of managing that was passing that risk on

109

to their subcontractors,” he explains. “We were seeing a highly transient workforce across all of our projects,

joint venture and Downer/Abergeldie/

with three or four levels of subcontrac-

Stantec (this Safety Focused Perfor-

tors on some of our work sites.

mance joint venture also includes

Basically, you never knew what you

Downer) to deliver the bulk of the

were going to get on site in terms of

framework. “We also switched to a self-

people turning up with the right

performed model on the lower end of

behaviour and mindset in such a

our capital delivery framework for

high-risk environment.”

projects below $2mn,” says Kelly.

Melbourne Water set about changing

“We targeted smaller contractors with

that, which led to retendering the

the means to self-perform to come

framework in 2017 with a view to reduc-

together. AquaMetro Services started

ing subcontracting levels to nominated

off delivering around $20mn in its first

like-minded companies while keeping

year. Last year, it delivered $33mn of

trusted consortia like the JHG-KBR

total work for us. In the first two years w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

“ We switched to a self-performed model on the lower end of our capital delivery framework. In the first two years, we didn’t have one recordable injury” 110

— Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery, Melbourne Water

OCTOBER 2019

we didn’t have one recordable injury, predominantly due to the fact they started small, handpicking the people that they would use to self-perform on their jobs. Get good people on your work sites, build a level of trust and capability in that safety performance, then safety should look after itself. We’re seeing that, even in our major framework. Our safety performance indicators came down from levels up around 15; now they’re at two to three. There’s still room to improve, but we’re in a better place than three years ago.” Mal Shepherd, General Manager Water Services at John Holland adds. “We

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER GENERATIVE SAFETY CULTURE EVENT’ 111 started the generative safety culture

Water. “We role-played what a good

journey with Melbourne Water with the

pre-start meeting should look like,”

purpose of together moving the

adds Kelly. “We gave staff a line in the

dialogue toward a more mature

sand around our expectations, and

approach to how work is planned and

what could happen if they’re not met.

undertaken by the workforce. But,

It was a very powerful tool for our

more importantly, to create an environ-

supervisors on-site so we’re keen

ment of trust where we could learn

to continue that process with our

more deeply from our mistakes.”

construction workers.”

Recent interventions to improve

Melbourne Water is planning further

safety protocols have included staging

initiatives like these to promote a truly

a mock incident, followed up with court

generative safety culture rather than

scenarios featuring professional police

simply focus on the stats: “We can

prosecutors, to further educate staff

learn from others, they can learn from

on what’s expected at Melbourne

us. We need to continue the conversaw w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

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tion, that’s how I think we can get better

feedback is a gift – positive or negative,

as an industry in this safety space, with

it’s a learning opportunity.”

a collaborative approach,” he says,

Delcon Civil (now under the JHG

noting that pushing towards these

consortia) has worked with Melbourne

safety goals at Melbourne Water has

Water for the past 15 years, sharing the

not been without its challenges. “We’ve

same expectations around safety.

had to develop trust around the safety

“We push each other to achieve zero

leadership table to allow open and

harm and produce quality projects

frank two-way feedback. Contractors

second to none,” says Director David

and consultants are always happy to

Harry. “Our team is accustomed to

receive feedback from the client, but

the diversity that Melbourne Water

don’t like biting the hand that feeds

projects bring along with the collabora-

fearing the client could take their

tive and inclusive partnership we all

feedback negatively. One of the

feel is a recipe for success.” Quality

phrases we coined was that all

Site Welding work under the Safety

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Eamonn Kelly A former General Manager of the Infrastructure Group at Melbourne Water, where he previously worked for seven years, Kelly left to pursue challenging infrastructure roles with Connex Melbourne, Black & Veatch and Thiess Services where he was General Manager for Water. Returning to Melbourne Water in 2015, his experience bringing people together to build high performing teams has collaboration at its heart: “I focus on trust, respect, and the ability to give frank and open feedback. If you can do that, you’ll run a successful project.”

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

113

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

Focused Performance consortia and

and building capacity in the workforce

its General Manager Bruce Kerr

to be agile, more risk conscious and

echoes that positivity: “I’m not aware

adapt work plans to suit change in the

of many clients that constantly drive

work environment.”

communication in the safety space like Melbourne Water. It feels inclusive,

procurement, Melbourne Water is also

they want to work with all of their

facilitating a number of initiatives

contractors so everyone can buy into

aligned with the Victorian Govern-

the culture.” This culture was recog-

ments Local Jobs First policy. One

nised with a WorkSafe award for safety

such initiative was started within JHG.

leadership in 2018, and has resulted

The Pathways Program began in

in Melbourne Water being shortlisted

response to Victoria’s infrastructure

once again for 2019.

boom by exploring different avenues

Kelly believes the key to engaging 114

Through its commitment to social

the workforce lies in developing

for the recruitment of talent. “Migrant professionals were a relatively

relationships, and by employing authentic safety leadership in every site interaction. “You can’t do that at one forum with 300 people in a room, you have to get out and about. It’s not about documentation and apportioning blame. We’re always getting new people on site so you can never take your eye off the ball. You have to talk to people, be visible on site and be seen to be taking their safety seriously.” Shepherd adds: “We want to make working safely a habit across the water industry. This requires bridging the gap in our thinking away from more rules and tools, to decluttering our approach OCTOBER 2019

Niru Gosavi, Melbourne Water’s Program Delivery Director (center) is championing the Pathways Program and is pictured here with participants Evelyn Mugisha and Chris Daramola

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER PATHWAYS PROGRAM’ 115 untapped resource,” recalls Kelly. “JHG formed a partnership with Jesuit Social

“ Social responsibility is integrated into our business model. To us it means fulfilling our duties and responsibility towards society, especially the Traditional Owners of the Country Australia” — Marcus Wade, Director, Aqua Metro Services

Services, a not-for-profit social services organisation supporting the migrant workforce entering Australia. Jesuit Social Services used its network to advertise for project and construction engineers, leading to JHG taking on 21 new team members. Glenn Crisp, Regional Construction Manager for JHG says: “The John Holland Pathways Program was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. We know there are benefits in a diverse workplace. It was certainly a positive w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

Leadership Team

Multi-Disciplined, Design and Construct Water Industry Specialists With over 100 years of combined experience, Aqua Metro Services have a significant knowledge bank which enables seamless delivery of our projects through to client handover.

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We utilise our in-house Design, Civil and Mechanical/Electrical Construction teams to provide turnkey D&C solutions for the Australian Water Industry. We work to establish long term relationships with our clients based on outstanding safety records, high performing teams, exceptional stakeholder management, strong social responsibility and an open and honest leadership that promotes safety, trust and transparency.

Melbourne Water: technology Melbourne Water is eager to embrace new solutions to maintain and enhance its infrastructure. Kelly concedes that, like most major infrastructure organisations, there are still challenges to overcome in the adoption of technology and process to support a mature and progressive adoption of digital engineering. “We’re catching up now with 3D design and VR for design reviews,” says Kelly. “We’re focused on leveraging automation and IoT for monitoring, 3D visual representation of our assets and automation, which is much easier now with the use of local monitors, drones and VR. Utilising VR for design reviews is now common practice” he adds. In the construction or built asset space, the corporation is aiming to

implement BIM (Building Information Modelling) “throughout the asset lifecycle” on future projects to improve the efficiency of Melbourne Water’s assets. Meanwhile Melbourne Water is also making use of real-time controls across its drainage network to address potential blockages. “We are the custodians of the waterways so we have to look after both the quality of water and how it’s drained to minimise the impact of f lood” adds Kelly. When heavy rainfall occurs “we have to respond quickly, so we’re utilising IoT devices with the ability to perform real-time monitoring of blockages of our drainage network to enable us to respond quickly to minimise any potential impact on our customers.”

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

117

DELIVERING EXCELLENCE At Delcon Civil we strive to deliver a culture of construction excellence which is underpinned by our focus on safety and quality. Delcon Civil understands the challenges, demands, dynamics and the controls required for delivering diverse infrastructure projects often in complex operating environments.

LEARN MORE

(03) 9770 8300

info@delconcivil.com.au

(03) 9770 8302

www.delconcivil.com.au

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

120 experience for the candidates but the

“ When you build a passion in people that makes them want to come to work, and you look after their wellbeing, they will repay you in spades and your projects will be all the better for it” — Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery, Melbourne Water

energy that these people brought to the workplace was more than I expected. We ended up with some very capable and competent engineers that before this were unable to get an opportunity in the workplace”. Kelly adds: “We’ve just kicked off our first cohort of eight Pathways participants. Some of them had been applying for jobs as civil engineers, for over three years, and never got to interview. The fact they were still applying shows a great level of resilience and tenacity. The energy and passion they now bring into the business is just incredible.”

OCTOBER 2019

ment to bring young indigenous graduates through the system, and – as part of our long-term initiative – hopefully put them through college to give them a future in their chosen discipline within the construction industry, whether that’s civil, electrical or mechanical.” AquaMetro’s Director, Marcus Wade believes that every organisation, regardless of scope, has the power to make a difference to the world around it. “Social responsibility is integrated

Melbourne Water Pathways Program participants

into our business model,” he says. “To us it means fulfilling our duties and responsibility towards society especially

Another progressive social procure-

the Traditional Owners Of the Country

ment initiative is focused on lifting the

Australia. We are deeply invested in the

level of indigenous participation within

financial success and economic

the construction industry. “Due to the

independence of Indigenous Australians.”

pressures of recent history we just

Melbourne Water has incorporated

don’t see enough indigenous workers

a number of social procurement KPIs

in the mainstream workforce,” notes

into its new framework agreements.

Kelly. “We’re trying to promote new

“the more entities that are actually

pathways by supporting AquaMetro

driving in the same direction, the more

Services with the creation of a 100%

successful we’re going to be,” says

indigenous subcontractor. We will

Kelly. “Our contractors realise they

assist with schooling and training to

need to contribute also. It’s proven now

enhance their capabilities so they can

that the more diverse your workforce,

start their own business and operate

the more successful you’re going to be

as an independent contractor. This will

and the more we reflect the make-up

provide a safer, more trusting environ-

of our communities, the more we can w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

121

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

John Holland Group & KBR Promoting Safety & Diversity

122

John Holland Group ( JHG) is among Australia’s leading contractors and plays a key role in helping Melbourne Water deliver an ambitious capital works program. Mal Shepherd, JHG’s General Manager, Water Services praises the efforts made by Melbourne Water to promote a positive safety culture where the workforce is inspired to take ownership of work plan solutions: “We want to make working safely a habit, not only for John Holland but across the water industry. This requires bridging the gap in our thinking away from more rules and tools, to building capacity in

connect with them.” Looking to the future, the JHG-KBR

the workforce to be agile, more risk conscious and adapt work plans to suit change in the work environment.” Addressing the need for diversity in the workforce, Glenn Crisp, JHG’s Regional Construction Manager in Victoria, cites the JHG Pathways Program as among the most rewarding experiences in his professional life: “The energy these people brought to site was more than I expected. We ended up with some very capable and competent engineers that before this were unable to get an opportunity in the workplace.” JHG’s joint venture with KBR has

highly collaborative model within a competitive framework,” explains Kelly.

joint venture and the Safety Focused

“Therefore, in the safety and social

Performance consortia will compete

procurement spaces, you get both

for the bulk of Melbourne Water’s

consortia working together and

capital works program (approximately

sharing ideas because it helps them

$200m/annum). “The model’s interest-

attain their KPIs with us. That’s what

ing because it’s not an alliance but a

we’ve nurtured with them, and they

OCTOBER 2019

there’s a lot of collaboration that works across and underpins that.” Kelly is proud of the initiative which has fostered a high level of trust within thrived with Melbourne Water’s long-term approach, bringing value to customers via a programmatic mode of delivery. “The benefit is realised through continuous improvement, standardisation, consistent development of people, and the supply chain, to deliver innovative solutions,” explains Wayne Nolan, KBR’s Vice President, Infrastructure Services, Australia. “We began providing services to Melbourne Water in 2013 and over this time formed strong and positive relationships with Eamonn Kelly and his team. We look forward to continuing to safely deliver a high standard of customer outcomes.”

the framework. He’s keen to develop long-term partnerships like these to be able to meet the needs of Melbourne’s “overheated” infrastructure boom. “We don’t want to lose their input because when we get it right it becomes an effective self-fulfilling model; one founded on keeping those contractors and subcontractors with an amount of work that makes their business sustainable.” It’s a major reason why the future looks bright for Melbourne Water pledges Kelly: “When you build a passion in people that makes them want to come to work and you look after their wellbeing, they will repay you in spades and your projects will be all the better for it.”

realise that success for the two consortia is very much dependent on the success of their competitor, because if one of the consortia starts outstripping the other, the whole model fails, and we’ll be back out to market. We’re looking for continuous improvement through direct competition, but w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

123

COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL: 124

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO REAL ESTATE WRITTEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPMAN PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

OCTOBER 2019

125

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C O L L I E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

AS SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUES TO DISRUPT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL REVEALS HOW IT IS ADAPTING TO THE CHANGES

“

roject management is part of the end-toend property solutions that Colliers provides,” says Scott Anderson, Manag-

ing Director of Project Leaders at Colliers International Australia. The company’s mission to “maximize the potential of property to accelerate 126

the success of our clients and our people” can be seen throughout its operations, with the advice that it offers and the sustainable routes it takes. With five key values that underline its functions, Colliers aims to be enterprising, collaborate, invest in relationships, be experts and do what’s right. “Our operations start from the feasibility stage, and continue to bidding, concept design, business case, schematic design, design development, contractor engagement, and then commissioning in steady-state hand-over for the client – we offer end-to-end development services,” notes Anderson. Since joining the firm five years ago, Anderson has overseen the completion of AUS5bn’s worth of capital works. With the business averaging $1bn in capital works per annum, last year the Colliers

OCTOBER 2019

AUS$1bn in capital works per annum

1976

Year founded

130+

offices throughout Australia

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

127

C O L L I E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

“ WE’VE NOTICED SUSTAINABILITY AS A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS” — Scott Anderson, Managing Director of Project Leaders, Colliers International Australia

International’s team completed around 120 projects – spanning asset classes in both the private and government sectors. Anderson works with a team of 75 Project Managers who focus on core assets, such as commercial office, retail, industrial, hospitality, hotels, health, education and other social infrastructure. “We provide all project management services, including advisory, development management, project management, program management, procurement and technology solutions for all projects,”

128

he adds. With offices spanning across all the nation’s mainland territories, the team is predominantly based on the Eastern Seaboard but also covers major cities and regional areas in Australia. Providing independence and technological advancements are core values in its operations, and Anderson explains how the firm strives to deliver on its promises. “We focus on operating as an Independent Project Manager, which means providing our clients with that freedom. There is also a strong focus on offering technology solutions, which our technology OCTOBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘DISCOVER WHAT LIFE AT COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL IS LIKE’ 129 solutions team are experts at develop-

about every day. If you look across

ing.” However, despite the importance

the Colliers platform, we have a number

of digital transformation, sustainability

of specialist areas that focus on sustain-

is the latest hot topic that Colliers

ability – whether it be solar, wind or

International is prioritising.

a NABERS Green Star rating,” he says.

Sustainability is a huge priority for

The business works hard to ensure

Colliers International, with Anderson

sustainability is considered during all

highlighting how the global issue is

stages of its operations: “Sustainability

addressed by the business. “We’ve

is fundamental to any business – it’s

noticed sustainability as a fundamental

not one asset class, it’s every asset

shift over the last few years. At a macro

class, no matter what project you’re

level, countries have to meet their

looking at. At the very start of the

targets if we want to see real change

design briefs, we always ask ‘What are

as the timeline shortens. So it’s

all the sustainable admissions that

inevitable, and it’s something we think

we can introduce into this project?’” w w w, c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

C O L L I E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

“ PROJECTS ARE NOT JUST ABOUT INITIALLY SAVING COSTS IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS – WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER THE LONG-TERM OPERATIONS OF THE FACILITY” — Scott Anderson, Managing Director of Project Leaders, Colliers International Australia

5 A Trusted Partnership For over two decades, FDC and Colliers have collaborated on project deliveries valued at over $250M. Colliers have entrusted FDC to build their own offices in multiple states. Together, we have serviced private and public sectors clients across Australia. This enduring relationship is testament to the shared values of service, quality, innovation and reliability. FDC are award winning specialists in construction, fitout, refurbishment and essential services. fdcbuilding.com.au

Colliers corporate offices built across Australia

20+ Years strong working relationship

250+ Million dollars of collaborated projects delivered

The firm has completed a number of projects that meet the NABERS rating, including the Northern Beaches hospital in Sydney. Completed in October 2018, the site features 12 operating theatres, a 50-space emergency department and 488 beds. “It was thoughtfully designed to optimise patient safety and overall experience, and to provide meaningful management and operational efficiencies that benefit everyone,” the hospital claims. The $640mn building is the first hospital in the territory to reach four

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Scott Anderson With a career spanning over 20 years, Scott has built a reputation of managing key stakeholders and delivering world class and complex projects both nationally and internationally. Scott’s wealth of knowledge stems from his experience spanning across the full spectrum of delivering major complex projects from the bid, feasibility and inception stage, through design and construction, to asset handover to the end client. Scott has successfully bid and managed over $5b worth of projects. As Managing Director of Project Leaders, Scott takes a personal and dedicated approach to ensure the needs of the Client are fully understood and delivered.

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

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C O L L I E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

stars by Green Star for its design and construction. “Sustainability is always at the forefront of our project managers’ thinking at the start of any project – the hospital included.” Not only are more sustainable practices reducing climate impact, but Colliers is reaping other benefits from its environment-focused operations. By considering the longevity of its work, the firm is seeing long-term savings. “Projects are not just about initially saving costs in the design and 132

construction process – we must also consider the long-term operations

“ ONE THING WE PUSH IS THAT PROJECT MANAGERS ALWAYS HAVE SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FOREFRONT OF THEIR THINKING AT THE START OF THE PROJECT” — Scott Anderson, Managing Director of Project Leaders, Colliers International Australia

of the facility. We avoid the short-term thinking of finishing a project – the long-term life cycling and maintenance costs must be taken into account. This covers issues such as water and power,” remarks Anderson. The firm is responsible for a lot of major social infrastructure projects in which its customers grow into long-term institutional clients, becoming more than just developers. The projects ensure these businesses adopt such ways of thinking and introduce sustainability to their strategies.

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As the sustainable initiatives and

always have that in the forefront of their

environmentally friendly technology

thinking at the start of the project.

markets continue to grow, Colliers

With regards to our customers, they’re

International expands its offerings

already there, thinking with that

concurrently. “Across the Colliers

sustainability lens. This is not a new

brand, there are a number of solar

conversation – they understand what

initiatives used by some of our major

their shareholders expect, and they

clients, particularly in the retail industry

expect their clients to be at the

where there are opportunities to take

forefront of their initiative, and they

advantage of the technology,” states

expect us, as their project manager

Anderson. “But, like I said, every one

and expert, to provide for them.”

of our projects always features a sustainability element. One thing we push is that project managers w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com

WE ARE

A SOLID FOUNDATION OF TURNING SMALL ACTIONS INTO BIG GAINS

Founded in 1996, we are a construction services company based in Malaysia with over 20 years of operating history and are principally engaged in provision of a wide range of construction services. The group was founded with a mission to pursue sustainable engineering models in a competitive resource-heavy sector. BGMC stand today as a builder of good repute positioned to make our mark beyond Malaysian shores. On the back of a solid trajectory of growth, the Group listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX) on 9 August, 2017. Our successful listing in Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial centre places us at an advantage to leverage the Belt and Road Initiative, paving the way into key Southeast Asian markets for accelerated growth. Concession & Maintenance will be a priority in coming years to sustain long-term cash inflow. Meanwhile, we will be increasing our assets through acquisition of more advanced machinery and technology. We will also be strengthening our portfolio through collaboration, partnership agreements, or merger and acquisition. Ultimately, BGMC stands for a sustainable future where our people, clients, and surrounding communities can thrive for generations to come.

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www.bgmc.asia

THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF WAYS TO BUILD WE ARE JUST GOOD AT FINDING SMARTER AND FASTER WAYS TO DO IT.