WELCOME TO THE FUTURE

To many in the industry, digitally connected assets, autonomous machines, real-time digital fleet management and artificial intelligence systems are still the stuff of science fiction.

The previous generation held a similar opinion on satellite-controlled dozers and excavators, which would somehow receive a 3D paperless site plan from the clouds.

The widespread uptake of GPS machine control systems has demonstrated what new technology can bring to the party, but this is only the start of the digital industrial revolution in our industry.

A host of emerging technologies will play a key role in delivering a safe and efficient earthworks project of the future, and many will be pioneered on large-scale UK publicfunded projects.

The key message is integration, not only having digitally-connected earthmoving equipment all working to the same plan, but the plant, survey and IT departments of the contractor working closely together to successfully deliver the project.

These challenges and more are being tackled by one of the UK’s largest Tier 1 civils contractors, Balfour Beatty. The business is heavily involved in delivering hundreds of projects a year, including HS2 and major National Highways projects such as the recently won £1.2bn Lower Thames Crossing Roads North of the Thames’ package.

For Balfour Beatty’s asset and solutions divisional director, Sean Scarah, the technological change is accelerating: “It’s not all about diggers anymore. It’s about a whole connected site, where 3D machine control and, in the future, autonomous plant help to deliver a project and help us on our journey to net zero.

“This is why we have recently created our Asset and Solutions division to manage this transition, including creating our own survey business. In turn, this has led to a much more integrated approach with our IT department and the roll-out of our own cloud-based project management tools.

Today we mobilise over 500 projects and demobilise a similar amount, working with our supply chain to minimise the time we are onsite, while ensuring we have all the infrastructure we need in place. A big part of this process is connecting each project and asset on our sites using 4G/5G mesh broadband solutions. In doing so we can take full advantage of a connected worksite approach.

“This incorporates surveyors and, in the future, autonomous drones, which now capture data that can be uploaded to our cloud base systems for engineers to turn into 3D models, designed specifically for 3D machine-controlled equipment. These in turn can be sent and downloaded straight into the machines on site through two-way office to site communication.

“Add to this the use of AI camera technology, which powers human recognition that we are already using through the likes of Safety Shield, and you not only have a productive site. Interestingly this technology also helps us to map out our sites better. And this is happening on site now as part of our ongoing digital journey.”

Real Life Benefits

Sean continued, “This journey has also seen us collaborate with key supply chain members like Flannery and Lynch on key projects, including a two year road job with National Highways.

“Here we used mixed fleet machine utilisation data, JCB’s Livelink solution and our platforms to increase machine utilisation by 20% while also reducing idle time by 13%.

“This had a significant impact on the overall project costs and carbon emissions. It also proved the importance of our joint investment with Flannery into the Operator Skills Hub, as we were able to utilise data to support training and upskilling on 3D machine control in particular. Armed with all this data, we can manage projects more effectively, sharing outcomes with clients through our own digital tools.

“In turn, this knowledge supports the development of our own digital and plant standards, as we see the benefit of investing in better equipment and solutions. It is through this approach and our work with the whole industry, including OEMs, our supply chain, customers and peers, that we can drive best practices, support industry-wide standards and ultimately greater adoption of new technologies.

“This is also why we are continually investigating new solutions on the road to autonomy. For example, the Cat Command Station offers a real opportunity to change future site delivery, particularly with an ongoing skills shortage. Put this technology together with autonomous drones and a whole array of sensors, and you have a very exciting connected future.”