A groundbreaking new collaboration aimed at transforming the future of the 海角视频’s construction industry has been unveiled.
Hull-based National framework provider Pagabo has forged a research agreement with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), with the joint aim to challenge current methods, and pioneer innovation and embrace new technology.
Joining them in the venture is C4DI, the Hull-based incubator company that promotes growth in tech businesses and Dutch data centre specialist Yondr.
Gerard Toplass, executive chairman of Pagabo, said: “Everyone agrees that construction is a sector that has been left behind in terms of new ways of working and innovation. Many methods in construction have been used for decades.
“What we want to do as a group is to totally shake up the sector – and create real change to drive economic growth and establish the 海角视频 as a global innovator."
The team has already created The Future of Construction campaign, an initiative to drive industry-wide collaboration to shape the sector’s future.
“It’s vital that we think about the industry as a whole and how we can promote new technologies to improve how we do things. The construction sector needs a revolutionary moment – similar to the aerospace industry when it created the ‘black box’.
“This new collaboration will bring the sector together, unify common objectives and drive forward real change. We will be building an enterprise that seeks to leverage new techniques, innovation and automation.
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“We intend to build on the government’s agenda for value, procuring for value and its ‘build, build, build’ initiative. But we also want to foster a new way of doing this that future-proofs the construction sector, secures jobs and builds sustainably – with economic, social and environmental processes in mind.”
The University of Sheffield AMRC is a network of world-leading research and innovation centres that work with manufacturing companies of all sizes around the globe. It has particular strengths in the automotive and aerospace industries, and comes as the university was also revealed as a strategic partner with British Steel in rail R&D.
Its pioneering research is described as developing innovative methods that are of practical use to the manufacturing industry. The organisation transforms industrial and economic performance by making step changes in productivity, increasing competitiveness, developing new products and processes and training new talent and skills.
Steve Foxley, chief executive of the University of Sheffield AMRC, said: “We see construction as a wildly exciting and opportunity-filled industry to benefit from our learnings over the past 20 years.
“We want to work closely with Pagabo to create a real catalyst for change. Pagabo has a unique and important role within the industry as a framework provider and has influence across a wider portion of the industry via its ecosystem of contractors and supply chain partners.
“We will be learning from the automotive and aerospace industries and seeing where we can adapt methods and innovations that would work in the construction sector.
“We want to look at areas like enterprise architecture, the future of buildings in a digital world, and how standards and interfaces will enable the digital world in construction.”
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Lord Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, now non-executive chairman of Pagabo, and helped forge the relationship, aware of the opportunity. He is also a previous chief executive of Sheffield City Council.
“Research and development remains low in construction and there is very little collaboration on this among key players in the industry,” he said. “We want to make a real and transformational difference in construction within the next 10 years.”
He said one of the biggest objectives was to feed into the government’s Levelling Up agenda. “This is a project which sees innovation and development and research in the construction sector happening up north, in Sheffield and in Hull, with a huge focus and drive for economic growth. This new collaboration between Pagabo and the AMRC is hugely powerful.”
John Connolly, managing director of C4DI, pointed to the potential to accelerate new ways of partnering on innovation.
He said: “There are interesting models of innovation happening around the country, but the AMRC is the exemplar of how to bring large industry bodies together. Their experience harnessing the mental horsepower of large academic institutions and collaborating with industry to drive change is incredibly exciting.
“This new research agreement benefits everyone. Leveraging learning and experience from the AMRC, and Pagabo’s connections within construction is a formidable force. The AMRC brought large industry players together to solve their challenges and Pagabo builds on that; this is an exciting next step to extend the work of both organisations through collaboration.”
Major strides are being taken in modular construction across East Yorkshire, with smart city and building modelling expertise also at the fore.
Dave Newitt, chief executive of Yondr, the specialist data centre operator, is involved with Pagabo and its The Future of Construction initiative. “We believe that construction has a great deal to learn from manufacturing,” he said. “We want to look at modularisation and taking works off-site – so, building off site rather than on site. It’s how the manufacturing world operates, and we want to emulate that to improve productivity.”
Professor Rab Scott, head of digital at the AMRC, said vital research into harnessing technology to streamline health and safety methods on construction sites was already underway.
“If we can prevent one accident or one hour’s lost time, it has an immediate benefit, and our work is immediately scalable,” he said.
“The diversity in the team is one of the great things that makes me get up in the morning. We are proud of what we are doing and what we are going to do. It is about meaningful relationships, and this is just the start of the journey.”
The collaborating team is to meet throughout the year to monitor progress. It will announce further steps later this year and is planning a conference in Hull early next year.