Standout adoption of cutting-edge technology

Standout adoption of cutting-edge technology

Camberley, 3 August 2022 - The Transpennine Route Upgrade West Alliance has won the Digital Construction Excellence Award at the Construction News Awards 2022. Described as a standout adoption of cutting-edge technology by the judges. The TRU digital construction team used innovative smart construction techniques to deliver the project safely and efficiently, aligning it with the Government’s ‘Construction 2025’ strategy and Digital Built Britain agenda. It really sets the standard for the way digital is deployed on infrastructure projects in the UK, with the CN judges commenting how it provided ‘Productive and quality driven benefits with scalability’.

Raymond Castelyn, Digital Construction Lead, TRU West Alliance, commented: ‘We are incredibly proud to win this award, it truly has been a team effort to achieve this. Innovation doesn’t always have to challenge the status quo or re-invent the wheel. It can build on what we already have and as a team we have proved that incremental changes eventually add up to significant process, efficiency and performance gains.’

Here's what we did … Due to the scale of the project, the number of partners involved, and the sheer scale of the data records produced each year (roughly eight million), the team realised that they needed to make sure that the data was appropriately structured, captured, stored and accessible for later use.

In response, they went beyond a typical 4D programme-linked construction model, which included time linking machine movements and potential clashes, crane position, collapse radii and cab point of view (POV), demarcation of separate work areas, temporary works, exclusion zones, compound positioning and traffic management. They also used gaming engines to visualise the site in AR/VR.

To support these activities across the lifecycle of the project, the team created a collaboration hub known as the Control Room. This comprises a unique six-screen digital Collaboration Hub and 270◦ immersive ‘BIM Cave’, which brings immense volumes of complex construction data to life within a shared digital environment.

The hub and cave enable the client, planners, site managers and engineers to track real-time project performance, allowing them to compare what was planned against what has been delivered, whilst also addressing uncertainties in the complex worksite environment. Teams can collaborate physically or remotely with construction progress streamed live via time-lapse.

To find out more about the TRU visit: https://thetrupgrade.co.uk or www.bamnuttall.co.uk/blogs/reflections-on-TRU-West-August-Blockade to read more about some of BAM’s project delivery to date.