Graham’s re-evaluation and transformation of its digital construction strategy, with a clear people focus, was singled out for acclaim by the judges who gave the company the Contractor of the Year prize – sponsored by Procore – at the Digital Construction Awards last night (4 July).
Graham decided to re-evaluate its digital strategy during 2022 and the outcome is an outstanding example of tech transformation in a construction business.
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The top 20 contractor made a conscious decision to put its site teams at the centre of its thinking and the result was the introduction of its Site Centric Initiative and the Graham Asset Intelligence System.
The new strategy was prompted by a desire to remain agile and innovative in its use of data analytics and on-site digital solutions, while meeting the growing digital requirements of its clients, such as the golden thread, in a more sophisticated way.
SiteCentric aims to improve collaboration, engagement and connectivity for its site workforce. One of its features is a progress tracking solution allowing visualisation of projects including their live status. This means programmed activity can be viewed close to real-time (within 1.5 hours of completion of the activity), compared to a traditional eight-to-10-hour delay in reporting.
Site Centric also included implementation of H&S Cora – a bespoke health and safety solution that allows real-time logging of observations, accidents, disciplinaries and root cause analyses reporting.
‘A practical and well-evidenced approach that has clearly led to some big benefits. A very impressive approach to training and development – clear thought has been given to the most appropriate method and substantial numbers of staff have been trained, with consideration also given to the supply chain’
Graham has engaged and upskilled over 500 people through Site Centric, as well as delivering a second wave of training to clients and its supply chain, leaving a legacy of digital literacy across the organisation and beyond. The contractor’s strategy has resulted in increasing collaboration, improved site connectivity by 40%, and delivery of measurable and repeatable efficiency gains scaled across operations, including reducing site data processing time from hours to minutes.
Graham’s asset Intelligence System is a cradle-to-grave solution covering the full asset lifecycle, overhauling traditional processes for managing reactive repairs and planned preventive maintenance. It adheres to ISO 19650 and golden thread principles and is fully auditable and transparent, allowing all asset information to be visible to clients.
Graham now has the capability to offer full integration with its clients’ CAFM systems. Dashboard reporting enables visibility of large and complex client estates, acting as a window into critical data.
In the last year, Graham has processed over 200,000 requests using the system, through a direct interface with its clients’ asset records, allowing the contractor to mobilise an instant response. Benefits include a 400% reduction in time spent on planned preventative maintenance. Future developments could include the development of artificial intelligence asset models to predict the likelihood of asset failure.
Lorraine Harrison, director of IT services at Graham Construction, said: “Technology is advancing at such a fast pace. For us, it will probably mean more of the same, but also adopting any new technology that comes along. Digital is going to be the driving force of the construction industry to boost efficiency and productivity and bring more value to the sector.”
Her colleague at Graham, Matthew Dawson, digital information manager, added: “We were nominated for three awards, but this is the one we wanted most, we are really happy. I think that, as a main contractor, being Digital Contractor of the Year means a lot.”
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