18 | Tees Business
CONSTRUCTING
A GAME
CHANGER?
How Applied Integration and Teesside
University have joined forces for a
scheme that could revolutionise the
construction industry
Teesside team: Applied Integration director
Roy Coleman (centre) with the university’s Prof
Nashwan Dawood and Dr Huda Dawood.
I
t is the home of football. Wembley’s
famous arch is an architectural
masterpiece and a monument to the
ingenuity of the construction industry.
But there is a darker side to the national
stadium.
A series of long delays in the construction
of the 90,000-seat venue resulted in its
planned opening being constantly postponed,
forcing the FA Cup final and concerts by the
Rolling Stones, Take That and Robbie Williams
to be switched to alternative venues.
More seriously, the £900 million
construction costs almost trebled the original
estimates, resulting in contractors suing one
another in a series of angry public disputes
over who was to blame for the frustrating
and costly delays.
At the heart of the problems were claims
that there were at least 11,000 individual
revisions to the scheme’s original drawings.
And yet such frustrations are familiar to all
who have experience of major construction
projects, with a seemingly archaic system of
contractors being reissued with countless
drawings every time changes are made to
the plans.
Construction industry experts have
indicated that 60% of projects finish over
time and over budget, with up to a quarter of
total contract values attributed to additional
costs relating to “re-works and changes in
delivery”.
But the UK’s construction industry could
be revolutionised, saving millions of pounds
and countless man-hours, should an exciting
new system being developed by a Teesside
project management team fulfil its enormous
potential.
Specialising in providing cutting edge
solutions to a wide range of 21st Century
industries, Applied Integration design and
develop the automation and control systems
for customers in the petrochemicals, oil, gas
and defence sectors
Twice shortlisted for Teesside’s Company
of the Year award in recent times, Applied
Integration is currently building state-of-theart, safety-critical control systems for the
Royal Navy’s Astute-class submarines.
But the firm believes a unique software
tool it has developed in-house to accurately
record and track changes to the complex
requirements of its clients could be adapted
for the mechanical and electrical sector of
the UK’s construction industry.
The development of an automated design
and planning platform would enable initial
mechanical and electrical requirements
to be easily captured, with the platform
automatically populating the detailed
electrical schematics and mechanical data,
while all subsequent revisions and updates
would be inputted via the software tool.
Applied Integration director Garry
Lofthouse revealed: “We have to try to
contain our excitement because it is
extremely complex. But we believe it could
be a game changer for the construction
industry.
“We have spoken to construction industry
experts who believe we could sell millions of
pounds of licensing for this if it works as well
as we believe it can.
“Our initial focus is on a small section
of the construction industry but, without
wanting to get too far ahead of ourselves,
there’s no reason why it can’t be rolled out to
the entire industry.”