Capital’s construction lessons
Ithink we can all agree that Edinburgh is an amazing city. A place that neatly encapsulates the ancient with the modern, commerce with tourism, and – at this time of year – boasts a global reputation for artistic expression and creative freedom.
What is also fascinating about our capital is the immense logistical coordination that supports the two most important entries on Edinburgh’s annual calendar, Christmas and The Edinburgh International Festival.
Around these two key periods of the year, the collaborative efforts of the business community and the council ensure that the city is fully prepared to welcome a vast influx of visitors, with numbers in recent years topping the four million mark for the first time in our history.
From a built environment perspective, this unique level of cooperation sees elements of construction activity paused for up to eight weeks during the festival, and a further two weeks during the Christmas period. What this means in a practical sense is, if you haven’t got your scaffolding up two weeks before the festival, then you won’t be seeing it down until the second week of September at the earliest. If your tower crane is not dismantled at the start of December, then prepare for some serious additional daily costs as it remains on your site until the second week of January.
Perhaps in no other city are contractors so acutely aware of the consequences of delays and ineffective planning – and I’ve come to realise that this forensic focus on our project programme actually helps our entire business coordinate to become better, smarter and more efficient. And this is a very good thing.
Recent data suggests that Edinburgh will need 9,000 additional hotel rooms by 2021 to simply keep pace with rising visitor numbers. As an industry, the construction trade needs to enhance operational efficiencies and find smarter ways of working for our customers to keep pace with this relentless demand. This means a departure from the traditional ways of working and the widespread adoption of modern, innovative technology.
Just a few years ago, an ipad was a luxury, now they are an integral work tool for our site teams, releasing them from the burdens of administrative tasks and unlocking time for those value-added tasks and innovations that delight our customers. The adoption of gaming technology into the construction process means that we can show, rather than explain, how a building will look in a rich and immersive environment, before we’ve even put one foot on site.
The ability to spot design, sequencing and logistical issues at this early stage means that we can make changes quickly and cost effectively. This is the future of construction and I like to think that Edinburgh has played its role in setting us down this path. Andy Mclinden, MD UK Construction Scotland, ISG