CC Sep-Oct -2021

Construction 

Computing 

WWW.CONSTRUCTION-COMPUTING.COM 

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 

VOL 17 NO 05 

Design for Manufacture and Assembly 

Making the Offsite ideal a reality 

Cost Value Reconciliation 

Staying one step ahead with the Access Group 

The Hammers 2021 

The Construction Computing 

Awards are back on site! 

Digital twins: beyond the hype 

Are users onboard with the trend yet? 

Who owns the data? 

Amodal investigate the problems of data ownership 

@CCMagAndAwards

Duke Ellington School of the Arts 

Architect: cox graae + spack architects / LBA Joint Venture 

Photo © Chris Ambridge 

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CONTENTS 

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 

CONTENTS 

THE SOUL OF A BUILDING 10 

"Oh my goodness, we've gotta build this 

thing!" How Cox Graae + Spack modernised 

the Duke Ellington School of the Arts with the 

help of Graphisoft Archicad 

MAKING THE OFFSITE IDEAL REALITY 12 

Duncan Reed at Trimble (UK) explores the 

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) 

approach and how it can help to bring the 

benefits of Offsite to life 

COST VALUE RECONCILIATION 14 

A comprehensive Cost Value Reconciliation 

scheme should enable you to both manage 

and stay one step ahead of our current 

material and labour shortages 

VECTORWORKS 2022 16 

Landscape architects will know what plant 

root balls are, and now they're a feature of the 

latest version of Vectorworks 2022 alongside 

a range of next-gen enhancements, writes 

David Chadwick 

NEWS.................................................INDUSTRY NEWS.......................................................................................................6 

• SIGN UP FOR SKETCHUP FOR IPAD BETA • THE RISING STARS OF FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE 

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS......................RISE OF THE BIMBOT...........................................................................................9 

• AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOT HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO CARRY OUT SPECIFIC TASKS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES 

AWARDS.............................................BACK ON SITE!.................................................................................................18 

• THE FINALISTS OF THE 2021 CONSTRUCTION COMPUTING AWARDS HAVE ARRIVED 

INDUSTRY FOCUS.............................DIGITAL TWINS: BEYOND THE HYPE.................................................................20 

• THE HYPE IS INCREASING ABOUT THE DIGITAL TWIN - BUT ARE USERS ONBOARD WITH THE TREND YET? 

CASE STUDY......................................MADE SMARTER...............................................................................................22 

• A BREAKTHROUGH NEW PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO REVOLUTIONISE THE STEEL REINFORCEMENT SUPPLY CHAIN 

INDUSTRY FOCUS.............................WHO OWNS THE DATA?.....................................................................................24 

• MICHAEL BARBER AT AMODAL INVESTIGATES THE PROBLEMS OF DATA OWNERSHIP IN OUR DIGITAL WORLD 

CASE STUDY.......................................KEEPING COOL IN THE CLASSROOM................................................................26 

• IMPROVING THE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF ESFA SCHOOLS 

INDUSTRY FOCUS.............................GOOD DATA, BAD PRACTICE............................................................................28 

• ARE WE TAKING PROPER ADVANTAGE OF THE HUGE AMOUNT OF DATA WE ARE NOW CREATING? 

CASE STUDY.......................................DOZERS IN THE CLOUD......................................................................................30 

• IMPROVING EARTHWORKS PRODUCTIVITY WITH MACHINE CONTROL USING TRIMBLE WORKSMANAGER 

TRAINING MAP...................................AUTODESK TRAINING.........................................................................................32 

• YOUR GUIDE TO AUTODESK TRAINING 

CASE STUDY......................................ECONCRETE ......................................................................................................34 

• DAVID CHADWICK OUTLINES A NEW WAY TO PROTECT COASTLINES FROM THE INCREASING THREAT OF EROSION 

September/October 2021 3

COMMENT 

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Comment 

Architectural design competitions 

by David Chadwick 

What an absolute pleasure it has 

been to write up the Graphisoft 

case study on the Duke Ellington 

School of the Arts project in Washington DC. 

It is a pure, unalloyed, architectural study 

with no reference whatsoever to Brexit, the 

pandemic, material shortages or anything 

else that has conditioned our current 

predicaments. The subtitle encapsulates the 

whole project: "Oh my goodness, we've 

gotta build this thing!" 

Entering an international design 

competition spurs the creative ambitions of 

architects. When you don't have to think too 

hard about building regulations, construction 

practicalities, financial pressures and 

budgets, you can let your imagination soar 

and create some amazing structures. And 

winning the competition might be a sublime 

moment, until you realise that your plans 

have now got to be put into practice. 

As ambitious as some designs are, the 

primary briefing is delivered, and the winner 

selected by the client and sponsor of the 

competition. They have their own needs and 

aspirations for the building, and the winning 

design must deliver them. The Duke 

Ellington School of the Arts project went 

global in its search for a solution that would 

turn their iconic warren of an old building into 

an inspiring centre for multi-ethnic students 

of the performing arts, citing Washington 

DC's status as a worldwide hub for the arts. 

The competition winners, Cox Graae + 

Spack Architects, went to the school and 

immersed themselves in the culture and 

environment of both the students and the 

existing structure. 

Besides wanting to create an inspirational 

space for the future, the client was also keen 

to preserve elements of the building which 

retained its links to the past. The resulting 

design promised all of this and more, 

creating an interesting juxtaposition of both 

old and new elements and completely 

stripping out a massive area in the centre of 

the building in order to build the uniquely 

shaped structure housing the stage and 

banked seating. 

With some previous experience with 

Graphisoft's Archicad, the whole range of 

the software's design and BIM capabilities 

were mobilised by Cox Graae + Spack, 

including the design of the structural steel 

auditorium, collaboration with a structural 

steel detailer to produce a fabrication 

model, and the use of BIMx to produce 

visualisations and share ideas. 

The software, and the juggling of all of the 

elements to enable them to work together, 

tested the company to the limits. The result 

was expressed succinctly by the client who 

stated that "the architects understood US!". 

I was delighted to write up the story, but am 

happy to review my opinion about the role of 

design competitions in the industry. They are 

an excellent entry point for aspiring young 

architects and a potential source of 

unexpected riches, but they can also be 

unmitigated disasters where flamboyant 

designs beguile unwitting judging panels - 

one of the most famous instances being the 

Sydney Opera House. 

Losing entries can also be surprising 

sources of original architectural progress, 

and projects that might have been built have 

become as influential as those that should 

never have been, such as the Chicago 

Tribune Tower competition in 1922 for the 

most "beautiful and distinctive office building 

in the world", which attracted 260 entries. 

The winning neo-Gothic entry was eclipsed, 

however, by the bulk of the other entries 

which helped to create the new modernism 

which "defined the American Skyline." 

Don't forget, either, the Centre Pompidou in 

Paris, designed by a young Richard Rogers 

and Renzo Piano in 1971. It's a fascinating 

history, and the Duke Ellington School of the 

Arts has added another chapter to it. 

4 September/October 2021

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INDUSTRY news 

A CLEARER VIEW OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS 

Symetri is partnering with 

Oculo, provider of a digital 

construction solution which 

uses AI to provide a single 

source of truth for construction 

projects and on-site 

progress.The partnership 

allows Symetri to offer customers 

greater project visibility, 

with benefits ranging from better 

issue management, easy 

BIM model comparison and 

faster decision-making. It also 

provides a visual as-built 

record that can be referred 

back to post-construction or 

passed on to building owners. 

Oculo does this by transforming 

the footage it gets from 

simple-to-use hard-hat cameras 

into an up-to-date 360° 

"streetview" of the construction 

site that can be viewed and 

navigated through online. This 

allows the user to pick any 

point on the floor plan and 

then see, within a few clicks, 

what the site currently looks 

like. Doing this repeatedly over 

the course of the project then 

gives the ability to look back in 

time to see what work had 

been completed at a specific 

date, or to see what lies 

beneath walls and areas subsequently 

closed up. 

Oculo also integrates with 

Autodesk's BIM 360, which 

allows the Oculo footage to be 

seamlessly embedded into the 

existing issue management 

and snagging workflows that 

teams are already familiar with. 

www.symetri.co.uk 

WHITTLING DOWN WOODS AWARDS SHORTLIST 

Nineteen structures and 

eleven product designs 

have been nominated for the 

Wood Awards 2021. Established 

in 1971, the Wood 

Awards is the UK's premier 

competition for excellence in 

architecture and product 

design in wood. The competition 

is free to enter and aims to 

encourage and promote outstanding 

timber design, craftsmanship 

and installation. 

The independent judging 

panel visits all the shortlisted 

projects in person The Awards 

are split into two main categories: 

Buildings and Furniture 

& Product. The Wood Awards 

shortlist will be on display at 

The Building Centre in London, 

from 25th October until 3rd 

December, as part of the exhibition 

World of Wood. 

www.woodsawards.com 

MODEL COORDINATION UPDATE FOR BIM 360 

SketchUp for iPad (Beta) is 

an accessible bridge for 

architects and designers looking 

to move from paper and 

pencil to creating 3D models 

using an iPad, iPad Air, iPad 

mini, iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, 

mouse and keyboard, or multitouch 

gestures. 

The app leverages 5G connectivity 

and offers a robust, 

native integration with the Trimble 

Connect collaboration platform, 

a cloud-based solution 

that enables file updates in 

real-time. This allows project 

stakeholders to collaborate 

effectively and users to move 

seamlessly between SketchUp 

for iPad, Web and Desktop. 

"The ability to create new 

designs and conceptual ideas 

whenever inspiration strikes 

and review and update 

SketchUp models on the go, 

The September 2021 

Model Coordination 

update for Autodesk BIM 360 

includes support for all IFC, 

NWC and VUE file formats. 

IFC files exported from any 

authoring application, any 

Autodesk Navisworks NWC 

file, and VUE files from Intergraph 

SmartPlant 3D, are 

now supported in Model 

Coordination for aggregation, 

and can be reviewed in any 

combination with other supported 

file formats. 

The Model Coordination 

viewer has also been upgraded 

to increase performance, 

including faster model loading, 

reduced drop-out and 

improved geometry prioritisation 

whilst navigating, and 

reduced memory usage. The 

user's choice of display units 

whilst measuring in Model 

Coordination are now 

retained across sessions. 

www.autodesk.co.uk 

SIGN UP FOR SKETCHUP FOR IPAD BETA 

whether on the jobsite, in a 

coffee shop or while meeting 

with clients, is something our 

professional users are 

requesting. We're excited to 

deliver a solution that fits how 

SketchUp users want to work 

today and into the future," said 

Christopher Cronin, vice president 

and general manager at 

Trimble SketchUp. 

Autoshape, Markup Mode, 

AR model viewing and dozens 

of user interface and workflow 

enhancements are designed 

to fully leverage the unique 

capabilities of iPad devices 

and their respective supported 

accessories. Early access to 

SketchUp for iPad is open to a 

limited number of users and 

granted on a first-come, firstserve 

basis. To sign up, visit: 

https://www.sketchup.com/pro 

ducts/sketchup-for-ipad. 

6 

September/October 2021

INDUSTRY news 

POWERPROJECT COLLABORATION CLOUD 

Elecosoft has launched a 

new monthly subscriptionbased 

software service, Powerproject 

Collaboration Cloud. 

The service empowers construction 

companies to plan, 

track and manage projects in 

one place, collaborating closely 

with team members to deliver 

strong results. As users are 

connected via the cloud, everyone 

involved can share information 

anytime, anywhere – in the 

office or on-site. 

Construction companies that 

subscribe to Powerproject Collaboration 

Cloud will gain 

access to three Elecosoft solutions, 

integrated into one package: 

Powerproject, Site 

Progress Mobile, and Powerproject 

Vision. If you're already 

using Powerproject or another 

piece of Elecosoft technology, 

you can upgrade to Powerproject 

Collaboration Cloud for the 

complete collection. 

www.elecosoft.com 

MAKING 3D MODELS EASIER TO USE WITH AI 

Aerial mapping company 

Bluesky International and 

the University of Leicester are 

using Artificial Intelligence and 

Machine Learning to make 3D 

models easier to use in smart 

city and digital twin applications. 

Using established mathematical 

techniques, the project 

will focus on Bluesky's 

MetroVista mesh models as 

the basis for research into the 

simplification of the data without 

loss of detail or integrity. It 

is hoped the outcomes will 

address many of the barriers 

faced by potential users in the 

insurance, real estate and public 

administration sectors which 

can include processing time, 

data storage costs and energy 

consumption. 

This latest partnership 

between Bluesky and the University 

of Leicester will be funded 

by the £7 million SPRINT 

(SPace Research and Innovation 

Network for Technology) 

programme. The project follows 

a previous collaboration 

to develop a new portfolio of 

geospatial data products for 

the UK insurance sector. 

"With funded access to the 

expert team from the University 

of Leicester's Applied Mathematics 

Group, we aim to make 

the technology more accessible 

and open up to new users," 

commented James Eddy, Technical 

Director at Bluesky International. 

"It's a new product for 

many of the sectors involved in 

smart city and digital twin applications 

so this project will help 

us to accelerate the development 

of the technology and 

encourage people to get 

accustomed to it." 

www.bluesky-world.com 

FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE'S UK RISING STARS 

As part of Bentley's inaugural 

education programme 

the company has announced 

the UK finalist projects that 

have been selected for the 

2021 Future Infrastructure Star 

Challenge. Through the Future 

Infrastructure Star Challenge 

2021, Bentley has invited students 

from around the world 

to submit their thoughts, 

ideas, and innovations that 

they see for the future infrastructure 

industry. 

The winning submission is set 

to receive a cash prize of 

$5,000 and will be announced 

at this year's Year in Infrastructure 

Going Digital Awards, taking 

place virtually on 1-2 

December. The UK finalist projects 

include: 

University of Sheffield: The 

future of green buildings - the 

The new Graphisoft Community 

merges Archicad 

Talk and the English-language 

Help Center into one, easy-tosearch 

resource for users. The 

platform offers fast, efficient 

support and search functions, 

and ensures quick feedback 

from peer users and 

Graphisoft experts. 

A single sign-in using a 

Graphisoft ID gives instant 

damaging effect of greenhouse 

gas emissions in the construction 

industry. 

Swansea University: Achieving 

net zero - producing rapidly 

deployable technology to capture 

carbon emissions in UK 

urban areas. 

University of Westminster: 

Transforming horticulture and 

food supply chains - can the 

UK become fully self-sufficient? 

The three projects represent 

some of the best work submitted 

by college and university 

students as part of the competition, 

with students gaining 

access to Bentley's most popular 

software applications as 

well as learning resources and 

industry experts to help 

inspire them. 

https://yii.bentley.com/en/awards 

STATE-OF-THE-ART GRAPHISOFT COMMUNITY 

access to both Archicad Talk 

and the English-language 

Help Center - multi-language 

support will be rolled out on 

an ongoing basis. Current 

users of Archicad Talk are 

encouraged to migrate their 

accounts to the new Community 

portal as quickly as possible 

to take advantage of the 

new, streamlined portal - their 

previous activities and content 

will move with them. 

Graphisoft Community also 

introduces a fresh, engaging 

approach to knowledge-sharing 

on the portal through 

incentives, badges, rankings, 

challenges, and competitions. 

https://community.graphisoft.com 

8 


TECHNOLOGYfocus 

Rise of the BIMbot 

An autonomous robot has been designed to carry out a number of 

tasks on a construction site, under the control of a 3D BIM model 

Iam sure that it was not the shortage of 

builders on construction sites that 

prompted the development of COSCR, 

the Collaborative On-Site Construction 

Robot, as one of the main benefits put 

forward by its developers was its potential 

to take over some of the high level tasks 

that most frequently lead to accidents. 

COSCR was designed to navigate 

construction sites autonomously and 

carry out specific tasks with improved 

productivity, quality and safety. The robot 

is the result of a UK programme led by 

Skanska, who have been working with a 

consortium of leading technology 

companies to develop a prototype 

robotic platform that can navigate 

construction sites and carry out specific, 

preprogrammed activities. Expertise in 

automation and robotics have been 

supplied by HAL Robotics, ABB and 

InnoTecUK, together with project 

management expertise from BRE, site 

access and productisation experience 

from Skyjack, and construction industry 

insight from Skanska. 

The COSCR platform comprises a 

robust mobile base, site sensing 

technology and BIM-linked software 

systems, and BIM-linked software 

systems enable it to navigate safely and 

accurately around a construction site. It 

uses a laser beam to detect if it is in 

dangerously close proximity to workers or 

its operator, which either sets off the 

alarm or shuts down its operation. 

COSCR can be operated manually or 

autonomously. In manual mode, an 

operator uses a controller to move the 

robot around the site. In autonomous 

mode, the robot uses its onboard 

sensors, as well as maps derived directly 

from BIM data, to navigate itself safely 

around the site and perform tasks that 

have been scheduled by the user. 

The robot has been developed to 

specific size and weight constraints to 

maximise its potential to access the 

tightest corners of any site. The platform 

is tracked, which enhances the 

manoeuvrability, and features a telescopic 

mast fitted with a robotic arm, enabling it 

to reach heights of up to 4.2 metres. 

Sebastian Andreos, director of HAL 

Robotics, who were the lead party in the 

project, explained that the proof of 

concept was to drill and anchor insertion 

fittings in a ceiling, an application which 

was trialled on a live construction site at 

Skanska's Featherstone Building project 

in central London. "The COSCR project 

has combined the expertise of the whole 

consortium to develop a versatile 

platform for on-site automation tasks," 

Sebastian explained. "We firmly believe 

that COSCR platforms, and others like it, 

have a place on construction sites in the 

near future and have worked to ensure 

we understand the standards that must 

be met to allow that to happen. The 

platform itself and the control systems 

around it have been designed in a 

generalisable way to ensure that we can 

operate alternative tasks, such as 

logistics, painting, inspection etc, and 

control multiple robots working on the 

same site with ease." 

COSCR's programme is based on the 

project's 3D BIM Model. After delivering 

the autonomous robot on site, it is placed 

approximately in the location of its 

allotted task. The robot will then fully 

'localise' itself within the model and 

calculate an optimal route for it to 

perform all its tasks. 

The safety aspect was emphasised by 

Jim Waldron, the Product Safety Manager 

at Skyjack - experts, for many years, in 

ensuring the safety of construction 

workers operating at height. he said that 

COSCR is the next step in projects to 

take people away from working. 

"One of the main challenges", Jim said, 

"was in introducing full autonomy into a 

robot: a 'Fire and Forget' philosophy 

where the programme can operate fully 

without further human intervention. To do 

that we have to understand all of the risks 

associated with running an autonomous 

robot on a construction site, working 

alongside other robots and people and 

ensuring that both remain safe." 

Rob Cargill, the Senior Project Engineer 

at Skanska, emphasised the role of 

robots in the industry, explaining that 

they can accomplish tasks several times 

faster than traditional methods, 

providing considerable advantages both 

for the project and for the industry in 

general. He foresees a greater use of 

robots throughout the industry, from 

small 3D scanning devices to large 

earthworking platforms. 

This was echoed by Skanska UK's Head 

of Innovation, Vaibhav Tyagi who said 

that "Advancing the use of robotics in 

construction has the potential to deliver 

huge benefits, both in terms of safety and 

productivity. By automating tasks that are 

repetitive or present some degree of risk, 

such as working at height, we can protect 

our people, while improving the accuracy, 

speed and quality of the task." 

You can watch a video of COSCR in 

action at https://youtu.be/Phrv5GiUBR8. 

www.skanska.com 


CASEstudy 

The soul of a building 

"Oh my goodness, we've gotta build this thing!" 

That was the first thought of 

Christopher Ambridge, Associate 

principal at Cox Graae + Spack 

architects after the firm had just won an 

international competition to turn an old 

school in Washington DC into the new 

Duke Ellington School of the Arts 

building. The old building, listed on 

America's register of Historic Places and 

previously Western High School, has 

been modernised to house a new facility 

for the arts in memory of the pioneering 

American jazz bandleader and 

composer, Edward 'Duke' Ellington. 

The architectural firm, facing stiff 

competition, realised at an early stage 

that turning the old warren of a building 

into a welcoming environment that 

nurtured the talents of its students 

required a deeper appreciation of who 

the students were, what their aspirations 

were and what sort of building would 

allow them to flourish. The design they 

settled on balances the old iconic 

features of the building, which they 

wanted to preserve, with an exciting 

open atrium behind the main façade, 

featuring the curved exterior of the main 

performance theatre and stage. 

A cursory glance at the principal 

features of the design would probably 

have you echoing Christopher's initial 

sentiments, but more of that later. The 

focus of the school's ethos is just as 

interesting. Sandi Logan, the School's 

Principal, explained that the centre was 

created for "students who didn't typically 

have access to the arts." She added 

that when you enter the building you 

now hear music, see dancing, and that 

it just gives you a "sense of spirit." It is 

now a public school that takes kids at 

any academic level as long as they 

have a particular aptitude that they want 

to develop. 

The Duke Ellington School had the 

funds to run the $100 million programme 

that they had in mind, but just didn't 

have a building that gave them the 

freedom they needed and that allowed 

them to create workshops, build studios 

and perform until the Western High 

School building became available. 

Ronald Lee Newman, the Former 

Director of Operations for the school, 

echoed Sandi's remarks, pointing out 

multi-ethnic communities with their 

shared experiences of inequality and 

prejudice, wanted to create a focus for 

their aspirations and found it in the 

School of the Arts. Its location in the 

heart of the capital State of America was 

also significant. "As Global Ambassadors 

to the Arts in Washington," he said, "we 

decided to solicit firms worldwide to 

enter a design competition." 

There were many presentations - some 

of them outstanding - but there was only 

one company that really captured "the 

essence of the people who are here." 

Chris Graae and his team did what 

every architect should do, namely "sit 

back and listen," he added. 

TAKING THE BUILDING APART 

Joanna Schmickel, a Principal at CGS, 

explained what that spirit was. "We 

spent time, experiencing people here," 

She explained how one of the principal 

features. "The theatre, the heart of it, sits 

in a box - and is part of the community." 

Gabe Oliver, the Vice President at CGS 

explained the early steps that needed to 

be taken once the plans had been 

adopted. Having recently been 

renovated the placer had to be ripped 

apart, the gym turned into the dance 

studio and the auditorium become the 

performing arts centre. The building, 

beautiful as it was, didn't allow another 

storey to be added to it. 

AND BUILDING THE DREAM… 

Christopher explained how the project 

was tackled. He explained that he was 

familiar with Archicad, and had done 

some work with 3D elements, but had 

never used it as a BIM workflow. In this 

particular project though, and aware of 

the geometrical complexity of the what 

they were trying to achieve, the 

company decided to run the whole 

10 


CASEstudy 

project as a BIM project on Archicad. 

William Spack, the Founding Principal 

of CGS confirmed this, explaining that 

Archicad was a tool that provided the 

bridge between the roles of everybody 

on the project, using the 3D model to 

solve issues that otherwise would have 

taken months to work out. 

For the theatre, for instance, the 

model was shared out to a steel 

detailer in Minneapolis enabling them 

to visualise what they were looking at, 

see what clearances there were and 

which they could work with, and 

incorporate all of the detailed 

components into the model. They 

provided the details but they didn't 

have to put the model together. 

It was up to Christopher to know what 

the different parties were doing, and to 

put all the work back together again as 

a consolidated, accurate building 

model. "We created the steel model 

then sent it to the steel detailers who 

developed the fabrication model," he 

said. "This was returned to us in IFC 

format and we ported it into our model, 

showing each model in different 

colours, so that we could ensure that 

they fitted together perfectly, or whether 

there were clashes. 

"Then we had to build it - with steel 

erectors who had previously worked in 

2D and were unfamiliar with working with 

3D fabrication models. The illustrations 

featured in this article show the 

complexity of the performing arts 'box'. 

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY 

An important feature of the design was 

the retention of some of the original 

features of the building, in order to 

create links with the past. This 

amounted to keeping some of the 

original windows and the use of the 

original textured brick wall. Behind the 

porticoed entrance, though, they had 

the freedom to design the area as a 

large feature in the centre of the atrium. 

The central, modern part of the 

building was offset slightly from the 

older frontispiece, creating a slight 

sense of separation which added to its 

architectural integrity. The new shell of 

the theatre didn't quite touch the old 

part of the building, creating a tension 

that existed between the new and old. 

"We wanted visual and literal 

connectivity across the building," 

Christopher added. "The atrium was a 

device for that, you could look across 

the atrium and see the visual arts 

department, and you coud look through 

the windows at the students." This was 

echoed by Sandi Logan, who said, "The 

space really does make you feel 

connected, and piano sounds resonate 

through the whole building." 

The excitement of the space was 

matched by the excitement the designers 

felt about the whole project. As Gabe 

said, "You can't go into the building and 

see, anywhere, anything that didn't 

require Herculean collaboration and 

coordination, and the list of things that 

are exciting or challenging you will find in 

every corner of the building. The rubber 

hit the road here." 

Ronald Lee Newman has the final 

words. "There's something in this 

building that helps us push forward, 

seeping through the walls, in the air - 

they did a great job of capturing US!" 

www.graphisoft.com 


TECHNOLOGY focus 

DfMA: making the Offsite ideal a reality 

While Offsite may be proclaimed as the future of the construction industry, if we are to truly 

deliver on this Offsite vision and reap the rewards then we need to change the way we are 

approaching projects. Here, Duncan Reed, Digital Construction Process Manager at Trimble 

(UK) explores the Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach and how it can help 

to bring the benefits of Offsite to life 

Atopic on everyone's lips, it's no 

secret that Offsite is heralded as 

holding the key to the industry's 

modernised, prosperous and efficient 

future. Its benefits are well-known, from 

time and cost savings to better 

construction quality and reduced 

material waste, and the UK Government 

has also delivered a clear push on these 

more modern methods. Featuring heavily 

in its plans to "build better, faster and 

greener", Offsite also dominated the 

2020 Construction Playbook, in which the 

government calls for the adoption of a 

"manufacturing-led approach" and the 

use of "innovation and Modern Methods 

of Construction" in the delivery of public 

works projects. 

However, if we are to truly deliver on this 

Offsite vision and reap its promised 

rewards - of which there are plenty - it 

needs to be considered from the very 

outset of a project. If you take a step 

back, the success and delivery of any 

project will often be determined as early 

on as the initial concept and design 

phase, with each completed stage in turn 

influencing and shaping the next. Clearly 

a change of mindset is required, with the 

Offsite way of thinking and Offsite 

processes required right from the initial 

stages of a project. 

Indeed, despite the title (Offsite 

Construction), the process stretches far 

beyond just the final construction and 

assembly phase. Only if a project is 

designed, modelled and detailed with 

Offsite manufacturing and assembly in 

mind, can the value of these modern 

methods be truly realised. 

This is where Design for Manufacture 

and Assembly (DfMA) comes into play. 

DfMA works to take Offsite further, from 

construction to assembly; with an 

approach that focuses upon driving the 

design process towards creating a 

manufactured solution using 

standardised components, for ease of 

manufacture and efficiency of assembly. 

Structures designed in this way can help 

to push the well-publicised benefits of 

Offsite even further; from a reduced 

construction programme time 

through to 

improved efficiency and productivity 

levels on site. 

Putting it into numbers, a DfMA project 

could result in a: 

20-60% reduction in construction 

programme time 

20-40% reduction in construction 

costs 

70%+ reduction in onsite labour 

Better construction quality 

Reduced waste 

Fewer queries from site 

So, how can you best incorporate DfMA 

principles on your next project? At its 

heart, is correct-first time products and 

components, accurate manufacturing 

and assembly tolerances and a structure 

that is designed to be easily assembled. 

Here, digital technology (such as 3D 

modelling software) is perhaps the 

perfect partner, with the benefits and 

capabilities of BIM aligning with the 

demands and requirements of Offsite. 

Design can be carried out digitally to 

ensure the components are defined and 

detailed in accordance with customer 

requirements, tested for 

manufacture and 

coordinated for 

assembly. 

12 


TECHNOLOGYfocus 

It goes without saying that one of the 

key requirements of both Offsite and 

DfMA is the need for accuracy. With the 

aim for all structural components, 

whether it be a load-bearing light metal 

frame or volumetric pod, to be fabricated 

and assembled off-site, before being 

lifted and fixed into place on site, 

ensuring high levels of precision and 

exact coordination between components 

is critical. Failure to satisfy these tight 

tolerances runs the risk of Offsite's timesaving 

benefits being lost, with the need 

for extensive rework or even 

refabrication. In addition to the 

subsequent delays to the overall project 

delivery, this could also cause costs to 

go up dramatically, as well as resulting in 

material wastage - again going against 

the core of Offsite construction. 

This is where BIM comes into play, 

renowned for its information-rich and 

highly accurate 3D models. Given the 

visualisation enabled by the 3D model, it 

enables you to see the proposed 

structure before you even get to site, to 

build it before you actually build it. In 

turn, this can all provide confidence in 

the structural design, as well as the 

assurance that all components work and 

integrate together correctly. 

This theme of accuracy carries into 

another aspect of BIM, mainly the idea of 

the 3D model acting as the central 

source of information. Once the main 

model is finalised, clash checked and 

approved, all documentation, including 

quantity take-offs, production schedules, 

fabrication drawings and project reports, 

is automatically generated using the 

data stored within the 3D model. This 

integrated flow of accurate and 

information-rich data throughout the 

construction sequence, from detailing 

through to fabrication and on-site 

assembly, can be invaluable, facilitating 

a more streamlined and efficient process 

and, in turn, helping to further push the 

value of Offsite construction. 

Using a DfMA and BIM approach on 

the construction of Vita Student 

Westgate, a large student 

accommodation scheme in Newcastle, 

Intelligent Steel was able to utilise the 

direct link between Tekla Structures and 

its fabrication machinery, increasing the 

speed, efficiency and accuracy of the 

process. Using the 3D model data, the 

steel-framing machines were able to 

accurately place all punching and fixing 

holes, which not only allowed for the 

frames and trusses to be manufactured 

with extreme precision but also enabled 

the frame to be self-locating and jigging, 

reducing the build-time on site. 

Design & Consultancy is another 

business operating within the Light Metal 

Framing sector. Speaking about the use 

of BIM software, Nik Teagle, Director, 

said: "For us, it's all about designing with 

manufacture and assembly in mind. 

Through Tekla, we're able to constantly 

develop the way we detail frames and 

the fixings and connections we use, all 

based off feedback received from 

Frameclad - our framing manufacturer." 

Another example of DfMA in action is 

the construction of the Telford Central 

Footbridge. Here, the bridge span was 

first pre-assembled near to the final site, 

before then being lifted into place during 

a road and rail closure. Using Tekla 

Structures, SH Structures was able to 

plan and deliver a successful assembly, 

as Sales and Marketing Manager, Tim 

Burton, explained: "Prior to commencing 

an installation of this size and complexity, 

we must first produce a plan that 

meticulously details our whole assembly 

method, accompanied by lifting 

assessments and crane layouts, all of 

which we were aided by the Tekla model. 

The software enabled us to extract 

accurate weights of components and the 

centre of gravity of complex assemblies, 

including the bridge structure itself; all 

information that was crucial for optimising 

crane locations and ensuring an efficient 

and safe installation." 

While the topic of Offsite may appear to 

be everywhere, there is still more that 

can be done if we as an industry are to 

truly deliver on this modern construction 

method - starting with a change of 

mindset. Despite the title (Offsite 

construction), the Offsite principles and 

ways of thinking need to be present and 

incorporated at every stage of the 

construction sequence, starting from the 

initial concept and design phase, with 

DfMA a key part of this. 

For more information, download Tekla's 

new E-Book, 'How to win at digital 

construction using a design for 

manufacture and assembly approach', 

here or visit the website, below. 

www.tekla.com/uk 


INDUSTRYfocus 

Cost Value Reconciliation 

A comprehensive Cost Value Reconciliation scheme should enable you to both manage and 

stay one step ahead of our current material and labour shortages 

In the past year we have seen 

building projects being cancelled, 

put on hold, and otherwise disrupted 

by shortages of both materials and 

labour. There are no shortages of 

explanations though, as it has been 

blamed on everything from Brexit to the 

pandemic, not to mention shipping 

problems and material scarcities. But in 

spite of that we are now seeing a steep 

rise in construction demand as various 

lockdowns ease and contractors rush 

back to work. It's a compound problem 

and needs a comprehensive solution. 

Simplifying the issue greatly, Brexit 

problems stem from the 60% of 

imported construction materials that 

come from the EU and the red tape that 

now accompanies them, causing 

mayhem at the docks. And global 

shipping was already in chaos as a 

result of the pandemic causing labour 

shortages at Asia-Pacific docks, 

container shortages, incidents like the 

Suez Canal blockage and rising 

shipping costs. 

Some materials - steel, timber and 

concrete rebar - have risen dramatically 

in price because of international 

demand and rising shipping costs, a 

trend that is beyond the reach of both 

Brexit and COVID and which will be 

with us for years to come. New tenders 

and contracts should reflect this. 

The result is that contractors, who are 

already running on tight margins, are 

going to find them tightening still 

further. Schedules will need to be 

adjusted or workers temporarily laid off 

while they wait for the materials they 

need. This brings with it its own risk, as 

workers may need to go to other 

projects and may not be available 

again when needed. Prices will 

continue to rise and suppliers, who are 

being hit just as hard as builders, will 

be rotated more frequently as 

companies search the market for 

supplies. And, to put the icing on the 

cake, we have a shortage of lorry 

drivers to actually deliver what we 

manage to come up with! 

COMPREHENSIVE CVR 

If you are a contractor of any size, you 

should already be running Cost Value 

Reconciliation (CVR) software, which is 

the basis of statutory accounts. It 

should allow you to calculate the 

retained profit in a contract on a regular 

basis based on what's left after you 

have subtracted costs and retentions 

from its gross certified value. These 

include things like subcontractor's 

costs, materials, human resources and 

labour, plant and other running costs. 

It's normally the job of the contractor's 

Quantity Surveyor (QS), supported by 

the cost clerk to add costs and 

subcontractor's liabilities as they occur, 

covering all on-site disciplines and 

including snagging and defects and the 

costs associated with clearing them. All 

other costs, such as labour, materials 

and plant are normally supplied to the 

contractors QS by the contractor's 

Finance Controller. Integrating both 

sets of data results in the production of 

a final residual value, or profit margin. 

There are, of course, many other 

costs that may not be included in the 

general running costs, but provision 

needs to be made for them as well. 

These include adjustments for 

elements left off the original costing or 

measurements not picked up by the 

clients QS, date adjustments and 

variations or contractual claims not 

agreed by the client's QS, and even the 

possibility of liquidation damages being 

charged by the employer. 

You also need to remember the 

subcontract liability scheme, where 

contractors have to take into account 

a subcontractor's tax status as 

determined by HMRC's construction 

industry scheme (CIS) and deduct that 

portion from payments, less the cost 

of materials. 

In the normal course of events a 

comprehensive CVR solution, like that 

provided by Access Construction, will 

14 


INDUSTRYfocus 

cover all of these eventualities, and 

provide a regular update for 

management with an accurate and upto-date 

final residual value or profit to 

date figure for the project. It should 

allow calculations to be made which 

balance increased material costs 

against delivery dates and work out, for 

example, whether paying more for 

earlier delivery will be cheaper than a 

fortnight's delay which entails laying off 

the workforce for that period. 

EXCEPTIONAL TIMES 

I doubt that we will ever have to go 

through another period like the last 

couple of years, but we should have 

learned valuable lessons from our 

experiences. In substance, that means 

that the CVR software we choose 

should be flexible enough to handle 

any all and changes, react in real-time 

to problems as they occur, provide an 

up-to-date database of suppliers and 

other resources, and to use the 

information to update running costs 

and valuations to calculate a final 

retained value. 

Keeping in mind the legal aspects of 

delays, liabilities and penalties, you 

also need to check existing and future 

tenders and contracts to ensure they 

have provisions to deal with the 

fluctuation of materials, which may 

need completion dates to be put back 

and other hold-ups without incurring 

unnecessary penalties. To avoid 

incurring punishing liquidated 

damages for running behind the 

master program, contractors should 

either renegotiate contracts or seek 

extension of time (EoT). When budgets 

are tight, it is worth remembering that 

just one penalty not covered by the 

provisions in a contract could turn a 

profit into a loss. 

Keeping a tighter rein on CVR also 

gives contractors the ability to 'play the 

game'. As suppliers are themselves 

seeing a much-reduced throughput, 

they will naturally favour preferred 

customers. Some have raised prices to 

maintain their profitability, but the 

majority understand that the whole 

industry is under pressure and are 

willing to work with customers to 

maintain supplies at the right price and 

to maintain their goodwill for the future. 

If you know your current and future 

liabilities you can pay early to 'jump the 

queue' - hardly unethical, just good 

business practice. 

GETTING MORE OUT OF CVR 

If a CVR is run as it should be it will 

give you greater control over 

expenditures and budgets. It should 

also be a straightforward process and 

easy to use, and that is exactly what 

you get with Access ConQuest 

Estimating. Pricing the work in each 

construction element (subcontractors, 

materials, human resources, plant, 

labour, etc.) enables you to track the 

value and costs against your accounts 

and costing system. With an accurate 

budget, broken down under cost centre 

headings, you will be able to purchase 

material and plant and allocate all 

costs associated with a project, 

providing easy and accurate Cost Value 

Reconciliations. 

Budget costs are usually revised 

monthly, based on the remeasured and 

amended internal valuation detailing 

what you should have spent, while the 

costing system calculates what has 

actually been spent. Access ConQuest 

Estimating gives you a number of 

simple ways to bring this information 

together to generate the final cost value 

reconciliation sheet. 

STATUTORY COMPLIANCE 

Cost Value Reconciliation is 

fundamental to a project's statutory 

compliance and subcontractors are 

one of the single biggest areas of cost 

on a project. Access Construction ERP 

software comprises Enterprise 

Resource Planning (ERP) EasyBuild 

and ConQuest Estimating. EasyBuild 

informs you of your subcontractor costs 

and liabilities during each monthly 

reporting period, with both the 

commercial manager and the 

contractor's QS keeping on top of costs 

and identifying variations and 

additional works required. With better 

controls they can ensure that accurate 

information is available to substantiate 

monthly client applications. 

All of the key financial components of 

a project can be accessed from one 

smart dashboard, using information 

from authorised personnel who can 

input and adjust profitability, costs, 

revenues, subcontractor liabilities and 

valuation adjustments in a secure and 

controlled environment. CVR data is, of 

course, maintained for the whole of a 

project's life, and CVR summary data 

can be used from all of a contractor's 

projects to prepare monthly 

management and period end financial 

accounts. 

www.theaccessgroup.com/construction 


SOFTWAREfocus 

Vectorworks 2022 

Landscape architects will know what plant root balls are, and now they're a feature of the latest 

version of Vectorworks 2022 alongside a range of next-gen enhancements, writes David Chadwick 

Waiting for the annual release of 

Vectorworks improvements 

always bring to mind a visit to 

the local pub serving all-you-can-eat 

Sunday lunches - you can’t help but 

sample the whole menu. Which, in 

Vectorworks' case, includes Vectorworks 

Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, 

Fundamentals, Braceworks, ConnectCAD 

and Vision. Unlike my pub lunches I’ll 

show a bit of restraint here however and 

come back for a second helping of the 

new release in our next issue. 

Vectorworks 2022 has plenty of 

interesting enhancements in the 

Architectural version alone, and one of the 

first of these concerns the tools that 

improve BIM workflows. The new release 

provides enlarged and visually improved 

worksheets and improved search facilities, 

making it easier to create material takeoffs, 

reports and schedules. It also includes 

new criteria, new search functions and an 

improved formula bar, making it easier to 

work on more complex models. 

The UI is much improved too, with the 

Attributes palette modernised to provide a 

more efficient layout, delivering accurate 

and immediate previews and removing the 

need to open dialogue boxes. There's also 

a new Status Bar at the bottom of the 

application window which gives quick 

access to cursor settings, snapping 

options and toggle snapping. 

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS 

It's interesting that Vectorworks has also 

highlighted the ability to use Apple's 

NextGen Tech, which makes Vectorworks' 

products faster and more intuitive. 

Besides running directly on Apple Silicon 

processors, it gives Vectorworks access 

to Metal on Mac, and DirectX on 

Windows and a new Direct Link to 

Twinmotion. 

The latter is particularly interesting. 

Models can be created quickly and easily 

in Vectorworks before being uploaded 

directly into Twinnotion using Datasmith's 

Direct Link, found in the Visualisation 

toolset. Model export settings can be set 

low or very high depending on the detail 

you wish to export, and show in 

Twinmotion. Once in Twinmotion, you can 

add its range of animated characters and 

other scene-setting components. If there 

are any changes to the project you can 

return to Vectorworks and make the 

necessary updates, and then use 

Datasmith to upgrade the scene, 

retaining Twinmotion components. This 

results in a fast and easy method of 

creating high quality visual renderings. 

Staying with rendering, the use of the 

new Redshift Render Mode from 

Vectorworks' sister company Maxon, the 

world's first fully GPU-accelerated biased 

renderer, speeds up rendering 

substantially. It's especially useful for 

performance rendering, such as camera 

and volumetric effects, lighting and antialiasing. 

You will need a powerful GPU to 

take advantage of this. 

PER-FACE TEXTURE MAPPING 

Vectorworks users can now map different 

textures to different faces of a solid 

modelled object. The Texture tool located 

in the basic tool palette provides different 

ways of doing this. The first mode allows 

users to add texture to all faces 

simultaneously. Alternatively, you can add 

selected textures to individual faces or 

pick up textures from a face and apply 

the same new texture to all of the faces 

that had the same texture as the first. 

More straightforwardly, you can just 

drag and drop a texture directly from the 

Resource Manager and apply it to a 

sample face or multiple faces using a 

combination of keystrokes. Once applied, 

the Object Info Palette will allow you to 

quickly identify which textures have been 

applied to each face, and then either 

rescale or remap the texture in place. 

Double-clicking on the Texture icon 

results in a view change to modify the 

image with more precision. 

REDESIGNED WALL TOOL 

The Wall tool has been partially 

redesigned to improve control and 

accuracy. Wall components are more 

16 


SOFTWAREfocus 

accurate and turn at door and window 

openings. This leads to more realistic 

models in 2D and 3D and more 

accurate reporting of materials. Round 

walls are now recognised as a single 

'wall' object in Vectorworks, which 

makes reporting much easier, as you 

only have to report 'wall' rather than 

round wall and 'straight wall'. Users 

retain complete control over individual 

wall settings when turning them into 

integrated components. 

DIRECT STAIR EDITING 

I say this every time, but I am amazed 

how each new release of Vectorworks 

manages to enhance its stair settings 

still further. Vectorworks 2022 has Direct 

Stair Editing, which allows users to 

quickly and easily place and edit stairs 

in both 2D and 3D views. Starting from a 

library packed with different stair types, 

users can quickly place them by 

drawing a rectangle, indicating the 

direction of travel, and creating the stair 

path and its height, without having to 

open a dialogue box. You can also 

directly remodel the stairs in 2D by 

selecting one of the smart handles, or in 

3D by selecting a side of the stair and 

pulling it out, or by inserting the desired 

measurements in the heads-up display. 

INTEROPERABILITY 

Vectorworks takes pride in being a 

design hub and continues to invest in 

optimising the most-used file formats, 

supporting value-added partner products 

and ensuring that project teams and BIM 

collaboration remain unrivaled. To this 

end Vectorworks 2022 includes 

improvements to DWG file import to 

support Civil 3D, DWG and GIS 

georeferencing. Additionally, IFC 

import/export capabilities are enhanced 

for improved material takeoffs, schedules 

and reports and GIS workflows. 

LANDSCAPE AND GIS 

Vectorworks Landmark 2022 provides 

developers with purpose-built design 

tools that integrate plot or terrain 

development with architectural design. It 

can be used either as a standalone 

landscape design tool, leveraging GIS, 

or to take a project from the first cut and 

fill to the creation of production 

drawings - with BIM as a common 

element throughout. 

The demand for more sustainability in 

designs has encouraged Vectorworks to 

leverage the immense amount of 

information available from GIS sources, 

specifically Esri. Support for ArcGIS 

Layers in Vectorworks allows users to 

download and incorporate vector 

geometry and data into Vectorworks, 

and export information from Vectorworks 

back to ArcGIS Feature Layers. 

This is another facet of GIS and BIM 

Exchange which allows Vectorworks to 

read the georeferencing data embedded 

in a DWG file, an image or an IFC 

import. This makes it easier to 

collaborate with design team members, 

importing and exporting files without 

losing this data. 

Site Model Components is a 

Landmark feature that lets users either 

import geotechnical survey information 

to define strata thickness or 

subsurface layers, or define the strata 

thicknesses as 'components' of the site 

model. This helps create a realistic 3D 

site model for more accurate 2D 

representation in your drawings, and 

more accurate calculations for things 

like cut and fill analysis. Knowing 

what's under your building or lanscape 

site enables you to accommodate more 

sustainable terrain management 

technologies and create more effective 

planting schemes. 

And speaking of planting schemes, a 

new feature that I particularly liked is the 

Plant Root Zone. The landscape design 

professionals among you will know that, 

when you buy a new shrub, it comes 

with the complete root ball (usually in a 

hessian sack) and the instructions for 

planting it. The Root Zone setting in the 

plant tool in Vectorworks 2022 

introduces all that and more for larger 

scale planting, and even provides the 

cut and fill figures for each excavation, 

along with 2D and 3D representations in 

the Plant Object toolbox. 

www.vectorworks.net 


AWARDS 

Sponsored by: 

Here's your chance to vote for the 

solutions and companies that you 

feel have made the most 

significant contribution to the industry 

during a particularly challenging twelve 

months. This year's Construction 

Computing Awards will once again be 

live rather than virtual - you've probably 

had enough of Zoom and Teams by this 

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR 2021 

4PS 

Access Construction 

Digital Construction Works 

Open ECX 

Revizto 

Symetri Naviate 

XYZ Reality 

ONE TO WATCH COMPANY 2021 

ALICE Technologies 

BIMOne 


Ensign Advanced Systems 

LetsBuild 

Paperless Construction 

Symetri 

point - and will be held at The Royal 

Leonardo Hotel in London on Thursday 

11th of November. Voting to determine 

the winners closes on November the 1st 

and you can cast yours now by visiting 

the awards website below. 

You'll find a full list of the 2021 finalists 

across the next two pages, along with 

details of the finalists in our project 

On Site App 

Access Capture - Integration into 

EasyBuild ERP 

The Digital Construction Works 

Integrations Platform 

WebContractor 

Revizto 5 - Integrated Collaboration 

Platform 

HoloSite 

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT OF THE YEAR 2021 

Esri UK with Sustrans 

ArcGIS Platform - The National Cycle 

Network 

Revizto with KiwiRail 

Revizto Platform - KiwiRail and 

Scaling Up Cities with Next-Gen 

Railway Issue Tracking 

XYZ Reality 

Holosite - Substructure Concrete 

Works 

BIM PROJECT OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo with Canary Wharf Group 

Bond Bryan Digital 

Jonathan Reeves Architects 

Mercury Engineering 

Revizto Revizto 5 

The Hammers 2021 - The finalists 

3D Repo Platform - Wood Wharf, 

Building a City in the Cloud 

Information Hub - Gen Zero 

Vectorworks Architect - Eco Home 

Autodesk BIM 360 - The Digital 

Construction Journey 

Prague Airport Renovation 

COLLABORATION PROJECT OF THE YEAR 2021 

Esri UK with Costain 

ArcGIS PlatformDelivering Cost 

effective, Sustainable Projects 

Revizto Revizto 

Smithsonian National Air and Space 

Museum 

Symetri and Buro Happold 

BIM 360 - Buro Happold with BIM 

360 and Symetri on maximising 

business and operational value 

Viewpoint Construction Software 

and Highland Council 

categories, the winners of which will be 

determined by our judging panel. Good 

luck to all of this year's finalists, we hope 

to see you all at the awards ceremony in 

November for an evening that celebrates 

the best of our industry. The fact that we 

can all meet in person once again is 

cause for some celebration too! 

www.constructioncomputingawards.co.uk 

Viewpoint for Projects - Alness 

Academy 

CLOUD BASED TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR 2021 

4PS 

4PS Construct - 4PS Construct in the 

Cloud 

Access Construction EasyBuild - Access Capture - 

Integration into EasyBuild ERP 

Asite 

Asite - Asite Common Data 

Environment. 




Ensign Advanced Systems Ensign - Ensign 2020 

Glider 

gliderbim Common Data 

Environment - Powering a Data 

Driven Future 

IFS UK&I with Stewart Milne IFS Cloud - Optimising Offsite 

Manufacturing 

LetsBuild 

LetsBuild GenieBelt - Vauxhall 

Bridge Refurbishment 

Open ECX 

WebContractor Delivering Cloud- 

Based Excellence to The 

Construction Industry 

Revizto 

Revizto 5 - The Integrated 

Collaboration Platform 

AUGMENTED REALITY/VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR 2021 

Jonathan Reeves Architecture Vectorworks & Twinmotion Virtual 

Presentations for Leicestershire 

Ecohome 

Trimble/Mace 

Mixed reality portfolio - Trimble Mixed 

Reality Technology for 40 Leadenhall 

Street 

XYZ Reality 

HoloSite - Substructure Concrete 

Works 

TEAM OF THE YEAR 2021 


Foreman Homes Ltd 

Symetri, Wessex Water & Autodesk 

EasyBuild - EasyBuild and 

ConQuest join forces. 

Residential Developments Oakley 

Site Team 

Construction Cloud - Wessex Water 

with Autodesk Construction Cloud & 

Symetri on Keeping Projects 

Operational During the Covid-19 

Pandemic 

18 


AWARDS 

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 

4PS 

4PS Construct 


EasyBuild 

Asite 

Asite 




HEALTH AND SAFETY SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo with HSE, Manchester 

University, Atkins 

SafetiBase Risk Treatment Tool 

Discovering Safety 


EasyBuild - Access Construction: 

Compliance for the Construction 

Industry 

Esri UK 

ArcGIS Platform - Mapping Pavement 

Widths for Social Distancing. 


Paperless Construction H&S 

Paperless Construction - Protecting 

the Workforce 

BIM SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 

3D Repo 

Autodesk 

AEC Collection 

Bentley Systems 

OpenBuildings Designer 

BIMOne 

BIMTrack 

Elecosoft 

Powerproject BIM 

Glider 

gliderbim 

Graphisoft Archicad 25 

Rendra AS 

StreamBIM 

Solibri UK Ltd 

Solibri Office 

Symetri 

Naviate 

Trimble 

Trimble Connect 

Vectorworks Inc. 

Vectorworks Architect 

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 

Autodesk 

AEC Collection 


MicroStation 

Elecosoft 

Framing 



Vectorworks Architect 

COLLABORATION PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 

3D Repo 

Asite 

Common Date Environment 


ProjectWise 

Bluebeam 

Bluebeam Studio 




Graphisoft 

BIMcloud 

LetsBuild 

LetsBuild GenieBelt 

Newforma 

Project Center 

RedSky IT 

Project Connect 

Revizto Revizto 5 

Viewpoint Construction Software Viewpoint for Projects 

DOCUMENT AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 

2021 

Asite 

Common Date Environment 

Newforma 




RedSky IT 


Symetri 

Excitech Docs 

Viewpoint Construction Software Viewpoint for Projects 

ERP SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 


EasyBuild 

Eque2 Limited 

EVision 

IFS UK&I 

IFS Cloud 

RedSky IT 

Summit 

Xpedeon 

Xpedeon 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 

3D Repo 


EasyBuild 

Asite 

Common Data Envirinment 


Synchro 4D 

Bluebeam 

Bluebeam Revu 

Elecosoft 

Powerproject 

Newforma 


PROJECT ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 


EasyBuild 

CLiP IT Solutions 

Construction Industry Accounts 

Cubic Interactive 

Rapport3 

EleVia Software 


Integrity Software 

Evolution Mx 

RedSky IT 

Summit 

ESTIMATION AND VALUATION PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 


ConQuest 

Elecosoft 

Bidcon 



Eque2 Limited 

Evaluate 

esti-mate 

esti-mate 

RedSky IT 

Summit 

RIB Software 

iTWO costX 

CONSTRUCTION FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 

OF THE YEAR 2021 


EasyBuild 


Evolution Mx 



IFS UK&I 

IFS Cloud 

Redsky IT 

Summit 

ASSET MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR 2021 


AssetWise 

BIMOne 

BIMTrack 

Elecosoft 

ShireSystem 

IFS UK&I 

IFS Cloud 

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING APPLICATION OF THE YEAR 2021 

Autodesk 

Revit Structures 


ProStructures 

SCIA 

SCIA Engineer 

StruSoft 

FEM-Design 

Trimble Solutions (UK) Ltd 

Tekla Structural Designer 

GIS/MAPPING PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 


OpenCities Map 

BlueSky 

Aerial Photography and Topographic 

Mapping 

Esri UK 

ArcGIS Platfrom 

Trimble 

Trimble MX50 

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR 2021 


EasyBuild 

Asite 

Adoddle Field for Site 

Causeway Technologies 

Ermeo 

Elecosoft 

Site progress Mobile 

Graphisoft 

BIMx 

LetsBuild 

LetsBuild GenieBelt 


Paperless Construction Mobile 

Platform 

Viewpoint Construction Software Field View 

CHANNEL PARTNER OF THE YEAR 2021 

Cadventure Ltd 

Graitec 

Jonathan Reeves CAD & Real-Time- Rendering 

Symetri 

EDITORS CHOICE 

3D Repo 


Elecosoft 

Esri UK 

Glider 

IFS UK&I 

Trimble 

CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 

3D Repo 


EasyBuild 

Asite 

Project Portfolio Management 

Elecosoft 

Powerproject 

IFS UK&I 

IFS Cloud 


Evolution Mx 

Open ECX 

WebContractor 

Redsky IT 


Revizto 

Revizto V5 

RIB Software 

iTWO costX 




Trimble Connect 

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 

3D Repo 

Autodesk BIM 360 


EasyBuild 

Asite 

Common Data Environment 


OpenBuildings Designer 

Elecosoft 

Powerproject 


IFS UK&I 

IFS Cloud 

Newforma 


RedSky IT 




Symetri 

Naviate 


Tekla Structures 

COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2021 

3D Repo 


Asite 

Autodesk 


Cadventure Ltd 

Elecosoft 

Glider 

Company of the Year 2021 

Graphisoft 

IFS UK&I 


Newforma 

RedSky IT 


Symetri 

Trimble 



INDUSTRYfocus 

Digital twins: beyond the hype 

The hype is increasing in the construction industry around the digital twin - but are users 

onboard with the trend yet? 

Bentley Systems identifies a 

digital twin as a digital 

representation of a physical 

asset, process, or system, which 

includes the engineering information 

that allows us to understand, model, 

and analyse its performance. Its 

relationship to the physical asset and 

its ability to instantaneously reflect any 

changes are where the digital twin 

provides its value. 

This data is only a twin if we continue 

to synchronise and maintain a digital 

chronology over a lifecycle. It is how 

Bentley's users are addressing a digital 

twin: by implementing a continuous 

feedback loop of information from their 

project sources to one singular source 

of information-the digital twin. They can 

easily do this by using an open source 

library that is designed so it can 

integrate with other systems. 

Throughout the lifecycle of a project, 

data has always been the key element 

in keeping things moving forward 

throughout the various design, bid, and 

construction stages to the eventual 

handoff to the owner-operator. 

Digitising the data in the form of a 

digital twin gives project stakeholders a 

competitive advantage by enabling 

them to make quick and informed 

decisions based on real-time data 

accessible at anytime from anywhere. A 

trend being seen across the industry is 

that digital twins are becoming more 

widely accepted and being 

implemented on construction projects. 

Users of Bentley's design and 

construction software are already 

onboard with the digital twin concept, 

with many a few years in to use. In a 

recent development project of an urban 

expressway in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, 

JSTI Group chose to implement 

Bentley's BIM solutions because they 

integrate 3D reality models, GIS, and 

other digital solutions within a single 

construction management platform. 

With a digital twin application and 

real-time rendering simulations, they 

enhanced decision-making and 

increased design efficiency by 15%, 

discovering 56 design errors. They also 

reduced time spent on construction 

planning, coordination, and inspection 

by 30%, eliminating design changes 

and shortening construction time by 

132 days. Overall, they saved CNY 8 

million with digital twin technology. 

You may ask how these project savings 

happen? During the many construction 

stages of a project, a digital twin can 

deliver a constantly updated source of 

information to the entire team. The data 

flow between office and field is stored 

and easily accessed from one location, 

including asset tags, maintenance 

records, inspection records, and work 

planning details. 

Teams can take both design and 

reality models and turn them into 4D or 

5D construction digital twins. This work 

enables the transformation of 

workflows, such as model-based 

planning, with the real-time progress 

tracking from the field. Execution 

workflows, such as machine control 

earthworks, can be automated. Teams 

can leverage the model to access and 

capture real-time compliance and 

performance tasks or data to make 

better, faster decisions that keep 

projects in control in terms of cost, 

schedule, quality, and safety. 

Researchers in the UK have utilised 

ContextCapture reality modeling to 

20 


INDUSTRYfocus 

create a 3D model for the digital twin of 

the University of Cambridge's West 

Cambridge campus. Within the 

construction industry, the use of 

unmanned aerial vehicles has 

increased dramatically around the 

world. They are replacing traditional 

methods, such as LiDAR and laser 

scanning, which requires a lot of 

manual effort. 

Their growing use is also increasing 

the number of data points on a 

construction site due to processing 

aerial footage versus aerial LiDAR. 

People can fly unmanned aerial vehicles 

daily, track progress, and quickly 

compute information, such as earthwork 

volumes or daily site progress. 

With visualisation and reality model 

software, such as Bentley Systems' 

LumenRT, the integration into digital 

twin technology allow visualisation and 

simulation aspects to no longer be a 

separate process. In the past, if you 

wanted a simulation, it was done in a 

different format. Tens of thousands of 

dollars were spent creating a video 

simulation of a snapshot in time that 

could only be sent out as a video. Now, 

reality modeling software reads the 

digital twin and creates interactive 

animations and simulations. 

With LumenRT, these animations are 

tied into the project schedule in the 4D 

model. They are quickly updated as 

the digital twin updates and are now 

part of mainstream workflows. This 

cuts back on the time and human effort 

needed to support a project, while 

getting better quality information. 

Users are quickly seeing the value in 

this software. 

Another new emerging trend for the 

construction space is AI/ML. Some 

construction software companies are 

exploring how these advanced 

capabilities can benefit contractors and 

construction projects. One example is 

the control media indexing service by 

Bentley's SYNCHRO. This service 

leverages AI and machine learning 

(ML) to index the job site photos, 

allowing anyone to find a photo based 

on date or time, location (geospatial 

position), or context (form data and 

photo description). It also provides a 

custom-trained construction AI/ML 

classification of the photo's contents. 

Users can search for any text in a 

photo, such as equipment tag or photo 

objects like cranes, grade stakes, 

traffic cones and utility covers. 

CONCLUSION 

Adoption of digital technology among 

engineers and contractors still has 

plenty of room for growth. Companies 

that are already implementing BIM 

workflows may find it easier to take the 

next step and transition to digital twins. 

Bentley see a lot of excitement around 

the digital twin and the ecosystem that 

feeds information to it, and believe that 

if organisations have yet to embrace it, 

it is important to know that the 

migration toward digital solutions is 

vital and inevitable. 

A recent survey conducted by Dodge 

Data and Analytics showed that less 

than one third of the US civil engineers 

and contractors who responded were 

using reality capture, model-driven 

jobsite automation and digital twins. 

This compares with 50% or more from 

companies outside of the US. It is, 

however, estimated that the global 

digital twin market will grow from USD 

3.1 billion in 2020 to USD 48.2 billion 

by 2026, with an average CAGR of 58% 

in that period, according to a report 

from MarketsandMarkets. 

Bentley Systems see great potential 

for the construction industry to evolveand 

technology is the primary catalyst. 

With the hype continuing to increase 

around the digital twin, and more 

opportunities being realised by the 

construction technology solution 

providers, we believe that digital twins 

will play an integral part in moving the 

industry forward. 

www.bentley.com 


CASE study 

Made Smarter 

3D Repo joins Buro Happold and leading steel fabricators in a project designed to revolutionise 

the steel reinforcement supply chain with a 'game-changing' breakthrough 

Acritical part of Britain's 

construction industry is set to 

trigger a digital revolution in the 

steel reinforcing supply chain, partly 

thanks to government funds designed 

to make sure future buildings are 

'Made Smarter.' 

Robotic fabrication, closer 

collaboration between sector partners 

responsible for sourcing and approving 

rebar, and the digital exchange of 

quality and GreenHouse Gas emissions 

data, are just some of the benefits the 

'Rebar 4.0 Supply Chain Made Smarter' 

project brings to the construction 

industry. Results from the project, part 

funded by the Made Smarter Innovation 

programme and delivered by UK 

Research and Innovation, are a 

potential "game-changer" say industry 

leaders. 

The project is exploring the feasibility 

of sharing digital data from the 

production of reinforcement bar in the 

steel mill, through 3D robotic steel 

fabrication, to live project sites. 

Ultimately, this ground-breaking 'digital 

twin' will feed into Building Information 

Management (BIM) systems, supporting 

the 'golden thread' of safety critical 

construction information. In turn, this 

locks in greater long-term building 

resilience - as data stored at design and 

delivery can be reviewed at any future 

point. For private and public sector 

clients the benefits are greater clarity 

around product assurance, material 

provenance, sustainability data and ontime 

project delivery. 

Lee Brankley, Chief Executive Officer of 

the UK Certification Authority for 

Reinforcing Steels (CARES), welcomed 

the UKRI announcement which confirms 

Innovation Hub funding. CARES is the 

leading independent international 

reinforcing steels product certification 

body which checks safety-critical 

reinforcement products entering the 

construction supply chain. 

It has been supporting users, 

designers, consultants and specifiers 

for four decades, and the organisation's 

data-led inspection and certification 

services have been providing valuable 

transparency into the provenance and 

sustainability characteristics of 

reinforcing steels moving across 

complex supply chains. 

Confirming the support that CARES 

provides for suppliers by enabling them 

to comply with reinforcement standards 

without the need for costly, on-site 

testing, Brankley said "The sector is 

finally on course for a new age of supply 

chain certainty built on digital 

transparency, with the expertise 

provided by our digital partner, Digital 

Construction Solutions, and by 

collaborating with all project partners we 

have designed and mapped out a 

process of how to link the Enabling and 

Core data flows together within this 

complex supply chain. 

"Bringing digital assurance solutions to 

complex projects will transform 

processes across the whole 

construction supply chain, significantly 

improving the flow of information while 

Rebar 4.0 Supply Chain Made Smarter 

22 


CASEstudy 

Digital Twin technology is used for 'smarter' 3D Robotic rebar fabrication 

achieving valuable efficiencies for all our 

stakeholders. This collaboration 

represents an important step towards 

the goals we all share." 

Compliance with regulatory systems 

and product standards is inbuilt with 

CARES approval - and backed up by a 

seamless digital solution, the CARES 

Cloud App, which provides instant 

authentication of a supplier's CARES 

certification and traceability to the origin 

of the reinforcing steel. 

Dr Jozef Dobos, Founder and Chief 

Executive Officer of 3D Repo, said: 

"Workflows in the reinforcing steel 

supply chain are still inherently paperbased. 

This, combined with the 

ongoing pandemic, uncovered a need 

for digital innovation and optimisation. 

Our new solution will digitalise the 

industry by converting 2D paper-based 

processes into fully digital workflows 

driven by 3D BIM from the onset, 

allowing it to benefit from more efficient 

manufacturing processes." Dr Dobos 

paid tribute to the "highly effective 

collaboration" among all partners - as 

well as the key role played by Rebartek 

in seamlessly integrating robotic 

innovation into the reinforcement 

fabrication process. 

Spelling out the wider Innovation Hub 

goals of Made Smarter's £10 million 

total funding for supply chain 

sustainable innovation, Made Smarter's 

Innovation Challenge Director UKRI, 

Chris Courtney, emphasised how digital 

technologies had the power to "radically 

transform how we manufacture and 

deliver the products and services of 

today and the future, delivering a 

productive, sustainable and flexible 

manufacturing sector and enhancing 

the future of work within it." 

This was echoed by Tony Woods, 

Founder and Managing Director of 

Midland Steel who stressed: "Midland 

Steel has been an advocate for BIM, 3D 

engineering and rebar detailing since 

2012. We have identified this project as 

a major step forward in the digitisation 

of the paper-based systems currently 

used in the construction industry, to a 

process that enables information to be 

transferred more efficiently directly from 

3D BIM with full traceability throughout. 

"From detailing to offsite rebar 

manufacturing, to the use of robotics, 

the results from this project will be a 

world's first and an industry gamechanger 

for decades to come - and will 

attract new talent to our industry, which 

is the lifeblood of construction." 

Buro Happold, the leading 

international integrated design and 

engineering practice which is also a 

project partner and powerful advocate 

of collaboration, also welcomed the 

UKRI announcement. 

Dr Al Fisher, Buro Happold Director, 

Head of Computational Development, 

highlighted the project's potential for 

significant efficiency and safety gains. 

He explained: "One of the biggest 

challenges we continue to face as an 

industry is persistent and reliable 

tracking and retrieval of design 

information throughout the entire 

construction process and across all 

parties. 

"This project seeks to address this 

issue, relating design data from the 

very earliest design intent through to 

fabrication and installation information 

on site. In the context of increasingly 

distributed teams and working 

practices, this capability could not be 

more valuable in support of continued 

safe and efficient design and delivery of 

our projects." 

All four project partners: Buro 

Happold, CARES, Midland Steel and 3D 

Repo have reaffirmed their commitment 

to pursue collaborative digital solutions 

in support of construction's elusive 

'golden thread of information' seen as 

mission critical to the sector's long-term 

transformation. 

MADE SMARTER INNOVATION 

Made Smarter Innovation is a national 

programme to help businesses who 

make things capitalise on new digital 

technologies. Its programme supports 

the transformation of UK's 

manufacturing capabilities through the 

development and innovation of 

industrial digital technologies (IDTs) and 

gives UK manufacturers access to a 

digital innovation ecosystem that helps 

prove their ideas, quickly develop them 

with experts and scale them up to full 

production status. The £300 million 

partnership between the government 

and industry provides match-funding, 

specialist advice and results in radical 

manufacturing solutions. The 

programme is being delivered by UK 

Research and Innovation. 

www.3drepo.com 


INDUSTRY focus 

Who owns the data? 

Michael Barber, Director of Amodal, investigates the problems of data ownership in our digital world 

In the construction industry, data has 

to be shared and accessed by many 

people throughout a project and 

asset's lifecycles in order to inform key 

decision-making. The need for 

information to be readily available and 

retrievable is of primary concern in the 

built environment, namely because the 

digital Golden Thread of information is a 

fundamental part of delivering safe 

buildings. There is an argument to be 

had however, in terms of who owns and 

is responsible for asset data. 

Information is playing an increasingly 

principal role in the industry, but can a 

single party own information completely? 

Or is it more nuanced than this? Does 

data ownership change according to 

project and asset's lifecycles? 

In order to really think about how we can 

put change into motion, we have to start 

opening up areas of conversation that will 

alter the way we think and work as an 

industry. The construction industry is 

notoriously resistant to change, and with 

this aversion comes a scepticism for 

anything that would actually improve the 

industry's outdated processes. 

We're in the age of information, which 

means that data is one of the most 

important resources in our modern world. 

The requirement for data is growing 

exponentially, particularly in the 

construction industry where information 

can be leveraged to iron out inefficiencies 

and streamline productivity. 

Data exists everywhere in the 

construction industry, and when mined 

correctly can be pivotal to informing the 

decision-making processes of both 

project delivery and asset maintenance. 

The industry builds and monitors 

everything from information that is 

collected, enabling communication, 

mitigating risk and assuring greater 

clarity in terms of the future. 

DATA'S DEMAND 

The world is becoming more and more 

digital as the appetite for these solutions 

increases. The next generation of 

technology such as IoT (Internet of 

Things) is going to rapidly accelerate and 

will improve connectivity in ways never 

previously thought possible. 

For the built environment, technology 

has the capacity to have a transformative 

effect. The construction industry's digital 

transformation can have different 

meanings and definitions to different 

business cultures, and is dependent on 

a company's digital maturity. Some 

companies are at a lower base than 

others, where digital transformation 

means they just want to find information 

quickly. For others at a more mature 

stage, they may see digital 

transformation as adopting the latest 

technologies to improve processes. On 

the whole, digital transformation totally 

depends on individual aspirations, 

resource and situations. Generally, 

digital transformation is about 

technology being utilised to improve 

construction processes. 

The industry is already realising some 

benefits of going digital, notably in terms 

of managing buildings and improving 

productivity. In recent years, technology 

has been identified as instrumental in the 

delivery of safe buildings - a focus for the 

industry given the effects of Grenfell. 

Access to accurate, up-to-date 

information is the cornerstone of both the 

Golden Thread and the soon-to-be 

Building Safety Bill which will be 

published later on this year. 

As highlighted in the regulation system, 

a building regulator will be responsible 

for implementing and enforcing a more 

stringent regulatory regime for all existing 

and new buildings in scope - residential 

buildings over 18m or 6 storeys - during 

their design, construction, occupation 

and refurbishment. This regulator will 

provide stronger oversight of safety and 

24 


INDUSTRYfocus 

performance of all buildings. Information 

is essential to this learning process to 

determine whether an asset is performing 

as intended. With the demand for data so 

high, it is important for the built 

environment to have control of its data. 

Ownership and integrity are key here. 

INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE 

During the operational stage asset 

owners, engineers, facilities managers 

and the like need access to information 

to inform where, how and why they make 

important decisions regarding building 

performance. 

The information hierarchy is an 

important tool that highlights the 

relationship between data, information, 

knowledge and wisdom; data being the 

lowest and wisdom the highest. This 

block indicates that we must enrich data 

and build on it in order to achieve the 

value we desire to make important, 

informed decisions. Once we reach this 

idyll at the top of the pyramid, we can 

use this 'wisdom' to make our actions. 

Looking at information from an inoperation 

perspective, clients' ultimate 

aspiration is to possess the knowledge to 

manage their portfolio safely and 

sustainably. Clients have legal and 

business obligations to do this, and also 

need to ensure they are conforming to 

statutory compliance, and health and 

safety protocols. Clients define their 

targets depending on the information 

they need to reach those goals. 

Project information requirements (PIR) 

and asset information requirements (AIR) 

highlight the information that is needed to 

manage buildings, and are created in line 

with clients' aspirations and/or strategies. 

WHO OWNS THE DATA? 

Data is the recipe for knowledge, yet its 

ownership is a hotly debated topic in 

the built environment, especially at the 

design stage. Understanding data 

ownership is akin to solving the Rubik's 

cube; there are so many facets to 

consider and things are not black and 

white. This is why it is important to 

break down data ownership into 

smaller increments - in order to reach a 

greater sense of clarity around who is 

responsible for data at any given time. 

At Amodal we take a step-by-step 

approach to information management. 

This agile method enables project 

teams to be more reactive to change, 

to see what is and isn't working. Agile 

moves with the changing tides of a 

business, reflecting its needs as 

opposed to following a fixed path that 

may not be the best route anymore. 

When it comes to data ownership, this 

agile method pays in dividends. 

In December 2020, the Chartered 

Institute of Building (CIOB) published its 

Golden Thread report in collaboration 

with i3PT Certification. This report 

questions whether the built environment 

is ready for the Golden Thread, to which 

85% of participants agreed. 

As part of this report a survey was 

conducted on data ownership. It asks 

the elusive question of 'who owns the 

data?' and divides data ownership into 

project stages across design, build and 

operation. At the operation stage, 75% 

of participants ranked the client as 

responsible for owning the data in this 

period. Although there was confusion 

as to who owns the data during the 

design stage - statistics show 

participants were torn between the 

client, information author and lead 

designer - it is encouraging to see the 

majority believe that during operation, 

the client must own their data. 

However It is worth bearing in mind 

that, although a small number, 15% of 

respondents were either unsure of who 

should own data or listed 'other' during 

operation. This quantitative data makes 

it difficult to assume why, but it could 

indicate that for some data ownership 

at operation is a grey area. 

The report makes a further distinction 

regarding rights versus liability. It 

pinpoints that just because the client 

owns their data, it doesn't make them 

responsible for any liability issues. 

The resounding implication of the 

CIOB's pertinent research is that data 

ownership fluctuates depending on 

where you are in the process. Data is 

never 'owned' exclusively by a single 

party; it isn't static and is consistently 

changing shape. For the sake of clarity 

however, clear signposts are needed to 

highlight when ownership may change 

and whose responsibility it is to 

maintain it. 

During operation, from the CIOB 

study it is conclusive to say the client 

or asset owner 'owns' their data, even 

though they are not responsible for 

rectifying any issues regarding 

products that are listed in their 

documents. Going forward, these 

distinctions will be fundamental to 

make, as the terms 'ownership' and 

'responsibility' have very different 

meanings, even though they are often 

interpreted as the same thing. 

www.wearefabrick.com 


CASEstudy 

Keeping cool in the classroom 

IES, Bowmer + Kirkland and Integrated BMS have been working together to improve the 

operational performance of ESFA schools, using iSCAN and IESVE to define a new process 

The collaboration between IES, 

Bowmer + Kirkland (B+K) and 

Integrated BMS (iBMS), the first of 

its kind between a Main Contractor, 

Building Performance Analysis Consultant 

and BMS Controls Subcontractor, began 

in 2016. The aim was to facilitate more 

effective benchmarking, monitoring and 

performance verification of schools 

delivered by B+K, as an approved 

contractor under the Education and Skills 

Funding Agency's (ESFA) School Building 

Framework. Supported by IES 

technology, the three parties are now 

close to defining a process which could 

finally put an end to the performance gap. 

B+K need to ensure that, once 

operational, their schools are performing 

as efficiently as possible. This is driven 

by ESFA guidelines, which require each 

contractor to monitor and report on the 

energy and water use of each school 

using the ESFA's own monitoring tool, 

iSERV, or equivalent. 

However, B+K ultimately realised the 

data they were seeing through iSERV 

was only a small proportion of what they 

needed to accurately validate 

performance of the schools. After 

consulting with IES, they recognised that 

reporting monthly meter consumption 

was not enough and more granular 

insights were required to fully 

understand the schools' various sensor 

and sub-meter data logs and how these 

could translate into actionable 

intelligence to improve building 

performance. 

Using iSCAN - which enables the 

centralisation and analysis of any timeseries 

data from different sources in one 

platform, while using a combination of 

physics-based simulation, artificial 

intelligence and machine learning to 

synthesise and fill missing data gaps - 

IES performed initial diagnostics on 

some B+K schools. This brought to light 

previously undetected performance 

issues, such as manufacturing and 

commissioning issues with heat 

recovery units, resulting in overheating, 

as well as abnormal use patterns, such 

as radiators being left on while the 

windows were open. 

26 


CASEstudy 

REFINING THE COLLECTION 

PROCESS 

The team began working with controls 

contractor, iBMS, to refine the process of 

collecting and transmitting data from the 

schools. Achieving reliable connectivity 

for this data exchange initially proved 

challenging. However, the project 

partners tested a series of protocols, 

starting by collating the data in a BMS 

controller for each data point at 15- 

minute intervals, exporting to a CSV file 

and importing this into iSCAN daily for 

analysis. Next, they progressed to an 

Open Building Information Exchange 

(OBIX) protocol to automate this process, 

and ultimately transitioned to an MQTT 

protocol to allow direct data upload of 

lighter-weight file sizes. This significantly 

reduced the bandwidth and traffic on 

mobile network routers, whilst providing 

granular (1-min) operational insights on 

the schools in near real-time. 

Next, the team considered how they 

might use that data to create energy 

profiles for the schools which could be 

fed back into the IES Virtual Environment 

(IESVE) building simulation software. The 

ultimate aim was to create calibrated 

simulation models to facilitate 

benchmarking and help close the gap 

between the actual schools in operation 

versus their design intent, as well as 

enabling active monitoring to help each 

school reduce its energy consumption 

and understand when their buildings are 

operating out of tolerance. 

Many projects already use IESVE to 

model the building during the design 

phase, which means much of the 

information on how the buildings should 

be operating is readily available in an 

existing model. This collaboration, and 

the integration of iSCAN, allowed the 

team to close the loop by bringing the 

real world data back into the existing 

model environment for cross comparison 

and validation that the buildings are 

operating as intended. 

A UNIQUE COLLABORATION 

The collaboration is unique as this is the 

first time a Main Contractor, Building 

Performance Analysis Consultant and 

BMS Controls Subcontractor have come 

together to tackle the performance gap 

as part of a truly integrative process. It 

has helped B+K ensure they are 

technically delivering the right solutions 

for their clients, improving the way they 

work with their supply chain and 

evolving end client interactions to help 

educate and provide guidance on their 

energy use through accessible energy 

dashboards. 

iBMS have also gained valuable 

insight on what happens to the 

buildings after they are handed over 

and how they can learn from this to 

improve future installations, while IES 

have been able to further explore the 

performance gap and how their 

technology can prevent modelling 

process inefficiencies and errors. 

The project team won the Collaboration 

Award at the 2020 CIBSE Building 

Performance Awards, with the judges 

commenting on their ability to come 

together to identify and resolve real 

challenges in an important sector and 

that the potential for other applications 

was very strong. 

James Vaux-Anderson, Framework 

Delivery Director, Bowmer + Kirkland 

pointed out the significance of the 

project. "The impact of this project could 

be massive. To benchmark similar types 

of buildings and operate them efficiently 

you need to understand so much and 

understand it at the right time. You need 

granularity of data, the right processes 

and tools". 

"We think we've come up with a way of 

standardising that process of getting the 

data [via iSCAN], putting it into a 

software tool [IESVE]", he added, "and 

outputting the energy profiles. If everyone 

had a guide where they could use a 

piece of software like this and have a 

defined process to follow, we could 

remove the performance gap entirely." 

His comments were echoed by Jason 

Harper, Managing Director of Integrated 

BMS, who said "Big data analytics is 

becoming more at the forefront of the 

industry on the controls and building 

management systems side. To be able to 

feed that analytics engine you need data 

and you need to be able to prove the 

data you're sending into it is good and 

reliable. It's not good enough to say 

we've installed this system, it should be 

fine and we'll see how it's going in 5 

years. It's something that needs to be 

constantly analysed and checked so that 

it is performing to the best of its ability. 

That's where, I believe, iSCAN and the 

processes we are using will really come 

into their own." 

www.iesve.com 


INDUSTRYfocus 

Good data, bad practice 

Are we taking proper advantage of the huge amount of data we are now creating? Autodesk's 

latest industry report has uncovered some decidedly mixed results, writes David Chadwick 

The construction industry is generating 

data at an increasing rate, but are we 

reaching the same stage as the 

advertising industry, where people claim 

that only 50% of their advertising is 

effective, but they don't know which half? 

Autodesk recently conducted a survey 

across Europe of 1,115 industry 

professionals and four contractors to 

understand their challenges in using data. 

The aim was to determine whether it is 

delivering the benefits we expect it to. 

The results of the survey have been 

presented in a report titled 'Harnessing the 

Data Advantage in Construction'. The 

problem appears to be that many 

organisations lack leadership, are too 

resistant to change or don't know where to 

start. The report outlines the reasons 

behind this and comes up with some 

simple steps that every business can take 

to overcome these hurdles and make more 

data-driven decisions. 

First some stats - this is, after all, a report 

about data. Some 82% of responders said 

that they are collecting more data than 

they were 3 years ago, but 39% said that 

less than half of that is usable, with 40% 

stating that the data is inaccurate, 

incomplete, inconsistent - and late! 51% 

admitted that they didn't know what data 

they should be collecting, and 52% 

complained that they didn't know how to 

manage that data effectively. 

We'll take a further look at the statistics 

throughout this article, but it worth noting 

here that the 58% of companies that 

responded stating they had an effective 

process in place also said that they had 

fewer safety incidents, a reduction in 

change orders, fewer missed schedules 

and less rework. 

IS COLLECTING DATA WASTING 

OUR TIME? 

According to the report, "Collecting and 

handling this level of information is taking 

up significant resources," with one 

respondee admitting that "Right now, our 

quality managers in the field and safety 

team capture all of the data we use. They 

give it to our data analytics team, who 

analyse it and build out the reports." On 

average it appears that 49% of project 

management and field supervision staff's 

time is spent collecting, managing and 

analysing project data each week. 

Is the data being collected good, or bad? 

The average view is the 40% of the 

information gathered is bad, putting this 

down to a number of causes split between 

'inaccurate data (23%), duplicate data 

(21%), missing data (20%), wrong data 

(20%) and poor data quality (17%)'. This not 

only makes the data unreliable, but extra 

work is involved in correcting mistakes and 

rechecking data, and basically creates, 

rather than solves problems. 

WHAT MAKES DATA BAD? 

Apart from the sheer amount of data 

coming in, and the prevalence of 

incomplete or missing data, data from 

multiple sources are often difficult to 

combine. Rather than pushing on with 

large-scale data collection, Autodesk 

suggests that taking the time to think 

specifically about the fundamentals and 

putting a strategic data plan into place, 

such as working within a cloud-based 

structure or collecting more data on site 

using modern technology, may help 

businesses to get more from their data. 

The more problems you have with your 

data, though, the poorer the decisions 

made from it. This is probably exacerbated 

by the inexperience of decision makers 

when it comes to working with data, and 

their failure to recognise the impact of their 

decisions on the wider organisation. 

It is not necessarily the data in this case 

that is bad, but the organisation, time and 

personnel factors that contribute to poor 

28 


INDUSTRY focus 

project decision making, with 70% of 

respondents agreeing that factors like 

schedule compression and stakeholder 

requests should allow them, as project 

managers and field supervisors, to have 

greater autonomy to make rapid decisions 

in the field. 

GUT FEELINGS 

There's an alarming section of the report 

that states that professionals often lack 

the data to make project decisions 

effectively, but which then cites statistics 

which state that only 9% of them always 

incorporate project data into their decision 

making - whilst 64% do it sometimes, 

rarely or never. Apparently, however, most 

decisions are made on a 'gut feeling', 

emphasised by a BIM coordinator at a 

German main contractor who said, "The 

level of decision making in the field has 

always been high, but these decisions 

have been made mostly on their 

experience and not analysis," 

The same coordinator noted that the main 

challenge is always communication 

between the ones that collect the data and 

those that use it. Although it is being 

collected, data might not be making it 

through to those who need it - ultimately 

increasing the project manager's reliance 

on instinct. 

WHERE DO WE START? 

Knowing where to start has been a main 

topic of conversation within the industry for 

many years now. 39% have established 

data reporting and monitoring practices at 

the time of collection and use 

and 37% of them, probably in the same 

subset, have structured data in a CDE. 

More important is the percentage of 

companies that have firmly entrenched 

themselves in the process by employing 

someone to just look after their data. 

A very interesting fact is that, whilst 58% of 

construction companies have a formal data 

plan, 9% of professionals confessed that 

they didn't know whether their company 

had one or not! 

Where data plans are in operation, they 

often have different main criteria. For 

instance, 52% of data plans outline the 

sources and collection methods for 

priority data, whilst 45% include the 

identification and description of the 

project data to be collected. 45% include 

quality assurance and control methods 

and 45% have standards for project data 

formatting and processing. 

Importantly, companies with a plan to 

analyse data are seeing better outcomes 

on the ground, because they are able to 

learn from past outcomes. As one main 

contractor in Spain explained, "By 

tracking issues on our construction sites, 

we hope to avoid the same in the future. 

It's not just avoiding project-related 

problems; it's about avoiding legal 

problems as well. It has taken time to 

gather data across many projects, but it 

has been a good investment." 

OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS 

Taking a pessimistic view of the above, it is 

hardly surprising that professionals are 

failing to see how data plans can add value 

to their business. They also point to the 

cost and resources required to develop a 

strategy. Another surprising barrier is stated 

to be a company's limited use of 

construction technology as a main barrier. 

The pitfalls were expressed by one UK 

based manager who said, "we had a 

project that went terribly bad. A couple of 

years later, we had the exact same project. 

But because we did not have ready access 

to any data related to the first project, we 

made the same mistakes all over. 

Everything that went wrong was avoidable if 

we had the lessons learned from the first 

project available to our team." 

LEADERSHIP IS CRUCIAL 

Construction companies are far more used 

to handling technology today, but it is the 

people on the ground that matter - and the 

company culture. Companies need 

employees who are ready and willing to 

use new technologies and are prepared to 

train them up and support them to do so, 

providing formal training in data 

management and analysis. 

And there are some cases where the 

company culture is opposed to change. 

"Some of our people just can't get their 

heads wrapped around the reports - and 

it's not because they don't understand 

them: it's more a culture change and shift 

in what people are used to," stated 

another respondent. 

Here, leadership is critical. An Innovation 

and Quality Manager explained how his 

company responded to one particular 

challenge, where they had to change their 

approach. "One of the early challenges we 

ran into was our approach. "We were giving 

iPads to our field staff for taking photos and 

completing forms. They initially felt like it 

was more work and that we were adding 

stages that were not necessary. We had to 

explain to them why we were doing it and 

how it would save them time - and now 

they are really happy." Leadership is critical. 

Here are three simple steps to get you on 

your way, although I would strongly advise 

you to go online and read the report first at 

the link below: 

Step 1. Start small and begin with data 

selection before data collection, Step 2. 

Focus on buy-in to gain organisational 

support. Step 3. Poor data equals poor 

results, so put quality first. 

https://constructionblog.autodesk.com/ado 

pting-construction-data-strategy-europe/ 


CASE study 

Dozers in the Cloud 

Improving earthworks productivity with machine control using Trimble's Cloud-based 

WorksManager 

Ground Developments Ltd (GDL) is 

one of the UK's leading specialist 

ground engineering contractors, 

offering services that include soil 

stabilisation, ground improvement, deep 

soil mixing, earthworks and vibro piling. To 

improve measuring accuracy, operational 

efficiency and gain a competitive 

advantage, it approached SITECH UK 

and Ireland, a leading distributor of 

Trimble® machine control technology, to 

upgrade its fleet to machine control. 

Nearly ten years later, the partnership is 

still going strong. 

Based in Whitburn, Scotland, GDL works 

with contractors and designers to offer 

complete geotechnical solutions to help 

prepare construction sites for new 

developments and infrastructure. The 

company operates a large plant fleet, 

including excavators of up to 55 tonnes, 

dozers and heavy compaction equipment, 

with control guidance installed by SITECH. 

The company undertakes standalone 

earthworks and soil stabilisation projects 

and it also offers integrated ground 

engineering solutions. 

Back in 2010, GDL noticed that the sites 

it was working on were becoming more 

complex and that the variation in 

topographies was making it difficult to 

mark out sites using traditional stakes and 

pegs. GDL also needed a way of 

controlling the progress of the material it 

placed to ensure that it reached the 

necessary depths while meeting tight 

project deadlines. 

"The type of work we were pursuing, 

and the constraints required in delivery, 

meant that we needed increased 

precision while maintaining and gaining 

efficiency. The original methodology 

wasn't adequate, and this was an issue 

for us," explained Julius Newman, 

Technical Director at Ground 

Developments Ltd. "As our construction 

methods evolved, we needed to obtain 

data quicker. We required real-time 

information at the work face. Accuracy is 

of paramount importance in construction, 

and it has to be delivered quickly, while 

maintaining safety. It had been a 

challenge to monitor machine operations 

quickly enough to ensure the accuracy of 

build was being achieved. 

"We were already aware of Trimble's 

machine control software and we began 

using it as soon as possible - we were one 

of the first companies in Scotland to do 

so," added Wayne Barr, Project Director at 

Ground Developments Ltd. "We originally 

worked with another supplier. However, we 

were looking for a partner that knew about 

soil stabilisation, and who would 

understand us a business. We got in 

touch with Brian Core, who was the 

Technical Sales Consultant at that time, 

and the ball started rolling from there." 

A NEW PARTNER 

"One of the first impressions we had of 

SITECH was that its engineers were highly 

skilled and that they were very 

knowledgeable about earthworks - one of 

our key industries," continued Newman. 

"While we already had some experience of 

Trimble products, SITECH invited a couple 

of our operatives down to Newcastle and 

gave a demonstration of the different 

applications that were on the market. It 

also allowed us to try out some of the 

equipment to get a feel for ourselves." 

"As a supplier, we had previously worked 

with other earthworks businesses and we 

understood why Ground Developments 

wanted to move towards machine 

control," explained Brian Core, Key 

Accounts Manager at SITECH. "Complex 

site designs and topographies can be a 

real barrier to the ground improvement 

services that the company offers. Trimble 

solutions are intuitive and designed with 

the operator in mind. Using machine 

30 


CASEstudy 

control software allowed GDL to visualise 

the grade and have the final levels on its 

machines, meaning its operators could 

dig to the design when bringing soil up to 

a certain level and mixing in the layers," 

he added. 

INVESTING IN INNOVATION 

Following the demonstrations in 

Newcastle, GDL purchased the Trimble 

3D GCS900 Grade Control System, which 

it installed on its Cat® dozers. This 

technology made it easier for the 

company to grade formations as part of 

the stabilisation process because the 

GPS allowed it to accurately delineate 

each level without needing to utilise an 

engineer. 

The company then purchased two 

Trimble Base and Rover systems to 

provide site specific corrections. The 

system also enabled further measuring 

and setting out, calculation and outputs 

while further enhancing the company's 

end product solution. In 2010, this 

technology helped its team quantify soil 

volumetrics on the ground and increase 

the speed of setting out points, area 

delineations and general 3D stringline 

utilisation without relying on traditional 

stakes and pegs. GDL later added to its 

site positioning portfolio by purchasing 

Trimble's SPS930 Robotic Total Station 

which heightened its stakeout and site 

measurement accuracy even further. 

As the relationship with SITECH 

progressed and following successful 

software demonstrations, GDL purchased 

Trimble Busines Center software to assist 

with its geospatial solutions, helping it 

increase efficiency and provide checks to 

help avoid potentially costly errors. The 

software also enables GDL to analyse 

data, create technical geometries, review 

accuracies, and generate numerous 

reports for takeoffs, quantitfaction and 

cost reporting. 

More recently, GDL has added Trimble 

WorksManager to its fleet of technology 

enabled machines. Trimble 

WorksManager is a cloud-based platform 

where engineers or office-based staff can 

connect to excavators, dozers and other 

machines remotely and then sync and 

send data back to office. This allows them 

to manage data and technology assets 

across all projects that they are involved 

in, regardless of work location. 

DELIVERING VALUE 

"Thanks to our partnership with SITECH 

over the last ten years, our productivity 

has increased immeasurably," added Barr. 

"In 2010 we were targeting to move 800 

cubes of modified material a day - now 

we're targeting 1,500 because of our 

improved efficiency. Using Trimble 

solutions has meant that we can also 

monitor and keep a collection of our site 

data to gauge output in a way that we 

couldn't prior to 2010." 

"For us, the results have been about the 

quality of work that we deliver and how 

good the finished projects look," added 

Barr. "In the last three years, we have won 

a lot of repeat business because clients 

are happy with the work we delivered 

previously. Quality, as always, is 

imperative. However, the weather and 

other current influences often impact on 

time available to handover. Therefore, 

getting the work done right the first time is 

absolutely critical. 

"With the Earthworks and GCS site 

positioning systems, machine control 

technology, office software and 

WorksManager cloud system, GDL can 

carry out stabilisation and earthworks 

projects quicker and more accurately," 

continued Core. "It is a more efficient way 

of working, which means it can complete 

projects in shorter timeframes and 

handover to the housebuilder faster than 

other businesses. Over time, this has 

given it a competitive advantage and the 

company is now winning more tenders 

than ever because it can quantify more 

accurately and offer shorter timeframes." 

"We've been working closely with Brian 

for the last eight years and he has been 

an excellent partner," continued Barr. "One 

of the reasons we've remained with 

SITECH for so long is it doesn't just see us 

as a customer, but as a partner in a joint 

SITECH-GDL venture. We speak to the 

team on a weekly basis and, if there's ever 

an issue, we know we can pick up the 

phone and someone will be able to 

provide technical assistance." 

Could Trimble Heavy Construction 

solutions be the answer for your project? 

SITECH has more engineers than any 

machine control supplier in the UK, which 

means there will always been someone 

on hand to provide the technical support 

you need. 

www.sitechukandireland.com 


YOUR GUIDE TO 

5 

7 

2 

4 1 3 

21 

22 

23 

24 20 25 26 

27 

29 

SCOTLAND 

FIFE 1 

GlenCo Development 

Solutions 

Contact: Jack Meldrum 

Tel: 01592 223330 

Fax: 01592 223301 

jackm@glenco.org 

www.glenco.org 

ACMK 

ABERDEENSHIRE 2 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 

info@symetri.co.uk 


ABCDEGHIJKLMNOPQSTX 

ABERDEEN 3 

LARBERT 4 

TMS CADcentre 

Contact: Craig Hamilton 

Tel: 01324-550760 

info@thom-micro.com 

www.tmscadcentre.com 

ACELHO 

30 28 

19 

10/18 

15 11/16 

6 

13 

17 

8 

12/14 

*Location guide 

not 100% accurate 

TMS CADcentre 

Contact: Craig Hamilton 

Tel: 01224 223321 

info@thom-micro.com 

www.tmscadcentre.com 

ACELHO 

IRELAND 

DUBLIN 5 

Paradigm Technology Ltd 

Contact: Des McGrane 

Tel: +353-1-2960155 

Fax: +353-1-2960080 

dmcgrane@paradigm.ie 

www.paradign.it 

ACMGKL 

SOUTHWEST 

NEWBURY 6 

RWTC Ltd 

Contact: Richard Willis 

Tel: 01488 689005 

Fax: 01635 32718 

richard@rwtc.co.uk 

www.rwtc.co.uk 

A M 

N.I 

BELFAST 7 

Pentagon Solutions Ltd 

Contact: Tony Dalton - Training 

Services Manager 

Tel: +44 (0) 2890 455 355 

Fax: +44 (0) 2890 456 355 

tony@pentagonsolutions.com 

www.pentagonsolutions.com 

ACDEGKL 

TRAINING COURSES OFFERED KEY: 

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REVIT: 

VAULT FUNDAMENTALS 

AUTODESK VAULT FOR INVENTOR USERS 

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For further information about authorised CAD training or to advertise on these pages please contact: 

Josh Boulton on 01689 616 000 or email: josh.boulton@btc.co.uk

SOUTH/EAST 

GUILDFORD 8 

Blue Graphics Ltd 

Contact: Matt Allen 

Tel: 01483 467 200 

Fax: 01483 467 201 

matta@bluegfx.com 

www.bluegfx.com 

ADRK 

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 10 

Causeway 

Technologies Ltd 

Contact: Sue Farnfield 

Tel: +44 (0)1628 552134 

Sue.Farnfield@causeway.com 

www.causeway.com 

A C D E K 

BERKSHIRE 11 

Cadpoint 

Contact: Clare Keston 

Tel: 01344 751300 

Fax: 01344 779700 

sales@cadpoint.co.uk 

www.cadpoint.co.uk 

A C D E K 

ENFIELD 12 

TRAINING 

BERKSHIRE 16 

Mass Systems Ltd 

Contact: Luke Bolt 

Tel: 01344 304 000 

Fax: 01344 304 010 

info@mass-plc.com 

www.mass-plc.com 

A E F 

HAMPSHIRE 17 

Universal CAD Ltd 

Contact: Nick Lambden 

Tel: [44] 01256 352700 

Fax: [44] 01256 352927 

sales@universalcad.co.uk 

www.universalcad.co.uk 

A C M E K H 

MILTON KEYNES 18 

Graitec - Milton Keynes 

Contact: David Huke 

Tel: 01908 410026 

david.huke@graitec.co.uk 

www.graitec.co.uk 


CAMBRIDGE 19 

THE NORTH 

MANCHESTER 20 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




NEWCASTLE 21 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




YORKSHIRE 22 

Graitec Bradford 

Contact: Isobel Gillon 

Tel: 01274 532919 

training@graitec.co.uk 



NORTH EAST 23 

Graitec - Durham 


Tel: 0191 374 2020 




LANCASHIRE 24 

QUADRA SOLUTIONS 

Contact: Simon Dobson 

Tel: 01254 301 888 

Fax: 01254 301 323 

training@quadrasol.co.uk 

www.quadrasol.co.uk 

A C M K 

YORKSHIRE 25 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




SOUTH YORKSHIRE 26 

THE JUICE GROUP LTD 

Contact: Sarah Thorpe 

Tel: 0800 018 1501 

Fax: 0114 275 5888 

training@thejuice.co.uk 

www.thejuicetraining.com 

A C D E K R 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




SOUTHHAMPTON 13 

Riverside House, Brunel Road 

Southampton, Hants. SO40 3WX 


Tel: 02380 868 947 




CENTRAL LONDON 14 

Symetri Ltd. 

Tel: 0345 370 1500 




OXFORDSHIRE 15 

MIDLANDS 

NOTTINGHAM 27 

MicroCAD - Nottingham 


Tel: 0115 969 1114 




NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 28 

AIT Spatial Ltd 

Contact: Philip Madeley 

Tel: 01933 303034 

Fax: 01933 303001 

training@aitspatial.co.uk 

www.aitspatial.co.uk 

A C D E F G K L 

CHESHIRE 30 

Excelat CAD Ltd 

Contact: Vaughn Markey 

Tel: 0161 926 3609 

Fax: 0870 051 1537 

Vaughn.markey@ExcelatCAD.com 

www.ExcelatCAD.com 

B N 

BIRMINGHAM 29 

Man and Machine 

Contact: Robert Kenny 

Tel: 01844 263700 

Fax: 01844 216761 

training@manandmachine.co.uk 

www.manandmachine.co.uk 

A D I J M N O P Q X 

Armada Autodesk 

Training Centre 

Contact: Steven Smith 

Tel: 01527 834783 

Fax: 01527 834785 

training@armadaonline.co.uk 

www.armadaonline.co.uk 

A D E M K H

CASE study 

ECOncrete 

As weather patterns increase the erosion of our coastline will speed up, meaning we not only lose land 

but also a diverse natural environment. David Chadwick outlines a new way to protect it 

Along the West Somerset coastline 

we have a number of coastal issues 

- hardly surprising as we have the 

second highest tides in the world. These 

range from coastal erosion at Watchet 

which threatens to wipe out a section of 

road, and the intentional breaching of the 

sea defences at Porlock after deciding that 

it was cheaper than keeping the sea at bay. 

Being a densely populated island and 

having a propensity for building on our 

picturesque coastline, or in vulnerable 

wetland locations, we have similar 

problems all over the country. Hence my 

interest in ECOncrete technology, which 

provides a more environmentally sensitive 

solution to the problem than throwing large 

rocks at it or raising the white flag. 

ECOncrete is an international ecoengineering 

company which provides 

environmentally-sensitive concrete 

infrastructure solutions. In the USA it has 

partnered with the Seaview at Shark River 

Island Homeowners Association, American 

Littoral Society, and Neptune Township to 

stabilise their vulnerable and eroding 

shorelines, reduce flood risk, protect 

critical infrastructure, and expand the 

marsh buffer for a community along Shark 

River Island. The full-scale installation 

follows a two year pilot project that was 

granted approval by local and federal 

regulatory authorities 

In comparison to traditional concrete 

erosion control infrastructure, ECOncrete's 

technology enables a biodiverse 

ecosystem of marine life to grow on 

concrete. This infrastructure provides an 

ecological alternative to traditional 

concrete and constitutes an 

environmentally-sensitive shoreline 

erosion control plan. 

ECOncrete has installed 42 innovative 

marine mattresses at the site, home to a 

community of approximately 200 

townhouses. The ecological concrete 

mattresses will be coupled with two 

additional flooding and erosion control 

structures, a nearshore sill and an upland 

berm to help dissipate wave energy and 

protect the adjacent marsh area. The area 

will be restored and planted by a 

volunteer effort organised by the 

American Littoral Society. 

The contractor for the project, Renova 

Environmental Services is responsible for 

the regrading of the shoreline, placement 

of the marine mattresses, construction of 

the nearshore sill, regrading of the eroding 

marsh and creation of the terrestrial upland 

berm habitat. Construction began in July. 

An initial site visit was performed in the 

spring of 2016 with the president and 

property manager of the Homeowners 

Association, as well as the Neptune 

Township's Director of Engineering and 

Planning, and funding approved by the 

Seaview at Shark River Island 

Homeowners Association for the design 

and construction of the living shoreline. 

To ascertain how well it worked, a twoyear 

pilot project was deployed at the site 

to monitor the performance of the 

mattresses in the intended environmental 

conditions, and positive results were 

submitted to the local state and federal 

permitting agencies who authorised of the 

full installation. The American Littoral 

Society provided support in the forms of 

ecological advice, design support for the 

marsh sills, planting plans, agency 

coordination and logistical support, both 

towards the completion of the restoration 

of the marsh area and landscaping of the 

upland berm area with native vegetation. 

Once established, the native plants will 

help reduce the potential for further 

erosion, and, as we see in this country 

when our coastal regions are threatened, 

the initial marsh re-planting will be 

undertaken and led by volunteers. For the 

US, read the littoral society 

www.littoralsociety.org and for the UK it 

would probably be supported by the 

National Trust www.nationaltrust.org.uk or 

a proliferation of local bodies and 

organisations. 

Post-installation monitoring will have to 

take place over the course of several years 

to evaluate the performance of the overall 

project, with the scientific results being 

paramount towards the future use of 

nature-based infrastructure measures 

throughout the region. 

Andrew Rella, PhD, Technical Director of 

Business Development, ECOncrete Inc., 

said: "We are extremely proud to have 

implemented our pioneering bio-enhanced 

marine mattresses at Shark River Island. 

This is a truly unique partnership, having 

first been approached back in December 

2015. Our aim is to create a hybrid living 

shoreline to prevent the ongoing erosion 

between the marsh and marina bulkhead 

at the northwest corner of the Island and to 

provide an ecological uplift across the site." 

Capt. Alek Modjeski, the Habitat 

Restoration Program Director of the 

American Littoral Society stressed the 

importance of the project. "This area has 

suffered heavy erosion that not only 

impacts nearby residences but also the 

local ecology. The Littoral Society believes 

this hybrid living shoreline will help reduce 

the waves, boat wakes, and currents that 

have affected the marsh and make the 

surrounding area more storm resistant, 

while also providing habitat for a host of 

wildlife. As part of the project, we will be 

planting native grasses in the eroded 

marsh along with native shrubs and 

grasses along the newly created upland 

berm. Our partnership with Stockton 

University has also enabled us to stake 

proper marsh elevations, meaning the 

plants will also have a better chance of 

establishment before storm season." 

Perhaps this project could also serve as 

an example for the constantly evolving 

coastline of the UK. 

https://econcretetech.com 

34 


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