Technology Solutions Provider of the Year

This award recognises and celebrates a technology solutions provider which has demonstrated outstanding services within the construction and civil engineering industry during the previous 18 months.

Alice Technologies

ALICE Technologies is the world’s first Artificial Intelligence-powered construction optioneering software. It leverages AI to analyse a project’s complex building requirements, generate highly efficient building schedules, and adjust those schedules as needed during construction. After entering the UK in 2022, ALICE has continued to expand in Europe this year, working on half a dozen projects including road, rail, bridges, and tunnels. The results are impressive, with projects achieving an average 91% improvement in profit margin, thanks to the software. The largest gain was on a Metro project in the UK, which went from an estimated 4% margin to 10.6%. In the UK, ALICE works with major contractors including Bouygues, Volker Fitzpatrick, Sir Robert McAlpine and Skanska. One of the major projects has been supporting HS2 in the reduction of costs and programme time on key work packages, including the Colne Valley Viaduct, with Align JV, and at Euston, with SCS.

AtkinsRéalis 
Infrastructure

The National Underground Asset Register [NUAR] is a digital innovation that is transforming access to information about the location of buried pipes and cables across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This project will revolutionise how we plan and deliver on-site works, impacting the construction industry across its value chain, from planners and asset protection managers to designers and on-site operatives, improving safety and efficiency.Under a project funded by the Geospatial Commission, AtkinsRéalis has delivered an operational web-based service that allows authorised users to search and view underground assets and utilities within minutes, on any device connected to the internet.The primary driver for NUAR is to improve safety, by reducing injuries and fatalities from accidental service strikes caused by inadequate information. But NUAR will also help to improve UK construction productivity. Overall, NUAR is forecast to generate annual savings of £490m per year for the UK economy.

AtkinsRéalis 
Technology Solutions, Nuclear & Power EMEA

AtkinsRéalis’ Virtual SIte Access (VSA) is the toolset for anyone who needs to manage and visualise a physical site remotely. VSA puts our clients' - and our project data - to work to deliver the information you need to make the right decisions, at the right time from anywhere. Bringing together industry standard tools, technology and techniques alongside innovative bespoke developed applications and leading edge technologies such as quadrupedal robotics and cloud based systems to deliver significant time, cost and carbon savings as well reducing risks and aiding in collaboration and global knowledge transfer. Between Nov 2022 and Oct 2023 saved 14,544 hours of travel, an estimated £872,640 in costs (based on agreed client metrics), 214,412kg of CO2 and radiation dose to personnel of over 3mSv.

Chime Software

Set up in 2016, Chime has now evolved to be the market leading solution for Time & Attendance for Specialist Contractors in the Construction Industry. We truly understand the frustrations and headaches within the day-to-day of running construction companies - from Time and Attendance to H&S, Skills to Equipment Management, and HR Management to Training - they are all crucial and can be time-consuming to manage. We are probably the only piece of software for the construction industry to have been conceived, developed, and tested in a live, operational construction company (and continues to be daily). Not only have we built a software specifically for the construction industry that is innovative and forward thinking, but importantly it is easy-to-use for all our customers and is tangibly changing and improving the way they run their businesses day-to-day. Our customers (mostly Civil Engineering and Groundworks companies) are our biggest sales advocates!

Driven International

In 2022, Driven International were invited by MotorSport Vision (MSV) to design a resurface of the historic Donington Park Circuit. Given the deteriorating state of the 20+ year old track surface, the key to this project was to deliver an exceptionally smooth and high grip surface. To do this, Driven partnered with Topcon, Power Plane and Aggregate Industries, utilising LiDAR scanning to design a millimetre-perfect new surface to then use state of the art variable differential milling across the entire 4.02km circuit. This eradicated bumps, before a specially formulated High Performance Asphalt was laid over 5 days to achieve an incredibly smooth surface with an IRI value of 0.3. All parties upgraded their technology to achieve an exceptional result and took away skills for use on future infrastructure projects. Construction was completed in 22 days during a complete shutdown of a track which is typically busy 350+ days per year.

FYLD

FYLD revolutionises global construction and industrial sectors with its AI-driven work execution platform. Operating across the UK, US, Latin America, and Australia, FYLD ensures real-time data access for enhanced productivity and safety. Integrating AI, including natural language processing and computer vision, the platform analyzes unstructured data to identify risks and enhance on-site activities. FYLD partnered with Colas Ltd to explore the efficacy of AI-based risk assessments and remote work visibility. Results led to an expanded Proof-of-Value initiative, emphasising FYLD's commitment to client partnerships for sustained value delivery. Such collaborations drive FYLD's growth, serving prominent companies like Colas, KIER, and Story Rail, while prioritising safety and operational excellence. This commitment underscores FYLD's mission to continually adapt and innovate, ensuring maximum benefit for its users and the industries it serves.

Hyperion Robotics Oy

Hyperion Robotics offers code-compliant, low-carbon reinforced concrete products to construction companies for infrastructure projects in the energy, utilities, water and civil infrastructure sectors. Thanks to the efficiencies of its automated 3D printing process following Eurocode standards, they have helped clients significantly reduce their carbon emissions, material usage, project delivery time, and costs compared to traditional construction methods.Their latest project for Yorkshire Water’s largest water treatment facility demonstrated the benefits of concrete 3D printing. Hyperion designed, manufactured and supplied four made-to-measure drawpits. Compared to traditional methods, they were able to provide a reduction of embodied carbon by 40%, 50% material savings, 70% lead time reduction, and direct cost savings for its client.Hyperion Robotics have experience incorporating upcycled waste material from different industrial streams. The automated production of optimised concrete elements not only brings sustainability to the construction industry but also generates the possibility for new upskilled labour opportunities.

Qualis Flow

Qflow's technology is user-friendly and easy to deploy across construction teams requiring minimal training. It's as simple as taking a selfie. Qflow is easily scalable, if you need us on more projects, we can happily extend this service in days. Qflow has been delivering successful results with leading clients including Landsec, HS2 and Multiple with improved efficiency, cost savings & enhanced project outcomes. These outcomes are an 85% - 90% reduction in time spent collecting data, 90% - 65% improvement in delivery data, and 406% improvement in waste data quality with real-time tracking of embodied carbon and waste compliance.

Sensat

Sensat's visualisation software recreates the real world within a browser-based platform for civil infrastructure teams. Using this backdrop of reality teams can bring in data that they already have such as constraint maps and designs to get more value from the data they already have. Using this holistic and visual project view, teams can make better decisions from the get-go. Today customers of Sensat’s include National Grid, UKAEA, Severn Trent and HS2.

Trimble

At Trimble, our focus is on connected construction, providing the industry with interconnected solutions, constructible data and streamlined workflows from office to site. We believe that connected, digital solutions can help project teams to better leverage data and implement new processes that help them to build faster, cheaper, greener and safer, while generating a reliable golden thread for asset managers.A great example of this in action is on Hinkley Point C. A project of this scale required digital collaboration, traceability and visibility to deliver the nuclear level quality, with a range of Trimble’s constructible solutions embedded throughout BYLOR’s delivery. From Tekla Structures to detail all complex concrete structures to high levels of constructability and accuracy, with minimal room for error; Trimble Connect to aid effective collaboration and take BIM data from the drawing office to site; and Trimble Field View, to digitise and streamline the reporting and recording processes.

VJ Technology

The secure by design VJ iStore® digital solution brings a warehouse to any construction site in bespoke modular shipping containers to act as vending machines. This enables fast-paced infrastructure projects to be fed a constant supply of their most used products that can be clicked and collected in a matter of minutes, directly on-site at the point of need. Products are available 24/7, which in turn significantly increases site productivity. Items are paid for once they have been collected, positively impacting cashflow. The iStore is replenished once every 10 to 14 days as managed by the active digital stock control system, resulting in an up to 70% reduction in carbon emissions previously caused by daily deliveries to site. Other benefits include reduction in process cost, 24/7 access to products, reduced loss and theft from busy sites, no delivery delays and less issues with site restrictions for deliveries.

Wessex Water

Since NCE last reviewed Wessex Water’s Digital Delivery, preferring Standardised Product arrangements and Off Site Build (OSB) techniques, Wessex Water have been working hard implementing the technological solutions that will support AMP 8 and beyond.https://www.newcivilengineer.com/innovative-thinking/wessex-water-uses-digital-tech-to-aid-offsite-construction-25-03-2022/As engineers we strive to be as efficient as possible, designing tailored solutions to suit every situation, but this is not always the most efficient way of working. Standardising the solution to a range of similar problems removes the need to reinvent the wheel, calculate structural properties, perform hazard checks, and approve the design, more than making up for any loss of bespoke efficiency.Building off site in a controlled environment reduces H&S risks from excavations, movements of materials and vehicles. Sustainability benefits include designing with material sizes in mind to reduce waste and recycling cut material. ACC / BIM 360 provides an engaging platform for developing Standard Products and OSB.