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Drones to Transform the Construction Industry

PBC Today | August 28, 2020

Drones are helping construction firms tackle Britain’s housing crisis head-on, according to Robert Garbett, founder of the UK Drone Delivery Group and Drone Major Group Limited. The use of drones presents an increasingly attractive opportunity within the housebuilding and construction industries to reduce costs, mitigate safety risks, increase accuracy and improve decision-making. From social housing to the private rental sector, finding somewhere to live is too often marred by long waiting lists and endless red tape. Developers and the public sector are gradually waking up to this crisis, however, until recently the pace of construction remained one of the key barriers to change. Huge benefits are also being realised by those responsible for the development and maintenance of the nation’s infrastructure. West Sussex County Council, surveying the county’s bridges in partnership with a leading international infrastructure group, is just one example of how drones are improving efficiently, speed of delivery and also reducing costs. Robert Garbett, founder and CEO of Drone Major Group, said: “Drone technology is being used to dramatically reduce planning cycles and save millions on large scale infrastructure and highway projects.

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Altair Expands Digital Engineering Technology with Acquisition of OmniV

PR Newswire | July 28, 2023

Altair, a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI), acquired OmniV, a technology out of XLDyn, a product development software company based in southeast Michigan. OmniV empowers open model-based systems engineering (MBSE) practice across systems, simulation, test, product development, and controls engineering by formalizing the development, integration, and use of models to inform enterprise and program decision making. OmniV eliminates the silos that occur between high-level system modeling and simulation, as well as detailed, domain-specific modeling and simulation. OmniV is vendor agnostic and can connect to various enterprise data stores and verification and validation methods – including those from third-party vendors – to support program goals. OmniV brings together cross-domain product development activities using the MBSE methodology in a fully integrated and easy-to-use tool. With support for systems modeling language (SysML) – a general purpose modeling language for systems engineering applications across a broad range of systems and systems-of-systems – OmniV's SysML compliant diagrams that capture system architecture (structures, requirements, and behavior) can easily be shared and verified with product development teams. This allows the creation of multiple types of digital twins easier and earlier in the product development process, even before CAD models are created. "Historically, organizations have had to wait until they have a physical prototype to see how a product performs. OmniV provides a holistic understanding of how a product functions much earlier in the process," said James R. Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. "Our goal is to connect the dots across the enterprise through an open, flexible, and purpose driven MBSE and digital twin integration. Regardless of what tools you use, OmniV allows customers to have an open architecture MBSE practice that provides a traceable ecosystem to track performance, cost, and mass of a product." The technology will be available via Altair Units, integrated into Altair's digital twin solution set, and accessible via Altair One, Altair's cloud innovation gateway. About Altair Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener, more sustainable future.

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Robotics and Automation, Engineering Tech

Breheny Civil Engineering Build Process Digitalisation Roadmap with FlowForma Process Automation

PR Newswire | August 23, 2023

FlowForma®, the leading provider of enterprise-class process automation tools for Microsoft 365®, is excited to announce that Breheny Civil Engineering are digitalising their business processes to overcome process challenges within their organisation using the award-winning FlowForma Process Automation tool Breheny, a large-scale civil engineering firm, works on a wide range of projects including highways, marine, utilities, and environmental. In what is a highly regulated industry, the company sought a complete end-to-end process automation solution to digitalise its business processes within various departments of the organisation. With an existing SharePoint environment already in place, the team needed a solution which could seamlessly slot into their current software stack. Having already compiled a detailed digitalisation plan with pain point processes ripe for automation, Breheny Civil Engineering soon discovered the 100% no code FlowForma Process Automation tool and knew they had selected the right option to digitalise both complex and simple business processes. Procuring an easy-to-use process automation solution that could also be adopted quickly by employees was key for Breheny Civil Engineering. Featuring forms, workflow, and document generation all in one place, the FlowForma Process Automation tool is preferred by road, rail and highway construction firms for its ease-of-use, BIM compliance support, and unrivalled return on investment as processes are digitalised with speed, with most seeingresults within 6 weeks. The business has taken its first steps on its digital transformation journey with 'Site Checklists,' 'Site Audits,' 'Plant Inspections' and 'Hot Works Permits' already fully automated, with approximately another 100 processes already identified for digitalisation across multiple departments. Additionally, Breheny Civil Engineering are utilising the FlowForma Construction Process Accelerator which empowers users with a wide variety of ready-to-use, fully editable, process templates for digitalising common construction processes. The Construction Accelerator features process templates for addressing tasks such as: 'Field Change Request,' 'Concrete Pre-Pour Check Sheet,' 'Labour Requisition,' 'Materials Requisition,' 'Hot Work Permit,' 'Safety Observation,' and more. "We have a lengthy list of use cases identified across the business for digitalisation. We are working with the FlowForma team on their SureStart onboarding program to help us ramp up quickly and deliver fast results. We are excited to work with FlowForma and the operational efficiencies their tool can provide for our entire organisation. It is a game changer for the business!" said a spokesperson at Breheny Civil Engineering. Processes such as 'Concrete Pour' and 'Permit to Break Ground' have been identified to quickly improve visibility and governance site-wide, with 'Site Diaries' and 'Inspection Reports' processes also in the pipeline for development. As with any large-scale construction organisation, collaboration is a common challenge. Employees are deployed across multiple offices or on-site in disparate locations, often remotely, with little to no connectivity to get work completed. As a result, the FlowForma Mobile App has become a key component in the toolbelt of firms across the industry thanks to its clever offsite capability, allowing processes to be completed and uploaded later when back online. Olivia Bushe, Chief Executive Officer, FlowForma added: "The construction industry is an area where FlowForma is assisting multiple organisations to overcome current challenges such as the labour skills shortage, project over runs, and resiliency across the sector, producing huge results. Going forward, Breheny Civil Engineering will be much more efficient and productive with enhanced visibility of what stage each business process is at. Teams will have much more insight into project timescales and budgetary elements. The complete audit trail will also ensure compliance requirements are met." About Breheny Civil Engineering Established in 1963, Breheny is one of the largest family-owned civil engineering companies in the UK, with over 400 employees and a plant fleet containing over 3,000 items of plant and equipment. Breheny Civil Engineering has developed to provide civil engineering services to almost two-thirds of the UK from its offices in Suffolk, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire. About FlowForma FlowForma, the leading provider of Process Automation tools for Microsoft 365® is revolutionising the construction industry with an innovative approach to developing award-winning products that empower users to create and streamline processes smarter and faster, utilising the familiar SharePoint platform, without any coding. FlowForma is a Microsoft Gold Partner with over 200,000 global users of its product. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in New York, Boston, and London, FlowForma is motivated by its values to innovate, evolve, and achieve with employees, customers, and partners.

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Engineering Tech, Construction

Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering Continues Award-Winning Streak with DBIA-WPR Award for East San Diego County ARCC and Archive Facility

PR Newswire | July 24, 2023

At last month's Design-Build Institute of America Western Pacific Region's (DBIA-WPR's) 17th Annual Design-Build Awards Competition, Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering was honored with a "Design Excellence and Innovation Award" for the East San Diego County Assessor, Recorder and County Clerk (ARCC) Office and Archives Facility. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at the JW Marriott Resort in Anaheim, CA. These awards recognize projects which apply design-build best practices, including early integration of key team members and close coordination between the design and construction teams from inception to completion. Projects must be completed on time, on budget, and without litigation to be eligible for an award. This DBIA-WPR award signifies Latitude 33's outstanding client satisfaction and cooperative approach as part of a design-build team. The East San Diego County ARCC Office and Archives Facility The new East San Diego County ARCC Office and Archives Facility is the first Net Zero Energy archive facility in the United States. The 25,000-square-foot building combines several governmental and administrative departments in one locale, including property records, tax collecting, historical records, and civil wedding ceremonies, to name a few. Key features include a distinctive butterfly roof, a photovoltaic shade structure in the parking lot, and column-free interior spaces. Latitude 33 was involved in the site design, drainage and water quality design, utility design, fire access design, and infrastructure permitted through the County of San Diego, City of Santee, and Santee Fire Department. Matt Semic, PE, President & Principal at Latitude 33, states, "Congratulations to The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP; C.W. Driver Companies; The County of San Diego; and all of the partners on this innovative project! It was an honor to be part of this team that exemplified the kind of collaborative spirit and successful outcomes that the DBIA awards seek to recognize. The first Net Zero Energy archive facility in the U.S. is exciting!" Award-Winning Streak for Public Works Projects The DBIA-WPR "Design Excellence and Innovation Award" for the ARCC Office and Archives Facility is one of five (5) awards that Latitude 33 has received recently for its public works projects. Other recent honors include: The El Centro Library was awarded the "Project of the Year" award from The American Public Works Association (APWA) San Diego & Imperial Counties Chapter (May 2023). The County of San Diego's The Youth Transition Campus (YTC) earned an APWA San Diego & Imperial Counties Chapter "Honor" award (May 2023). The YTC was recognized with a national DBIA "Award of Merit" in the Federal, State, County, Municipal category (November 2022). The YTC also earned a DBIA-WPR "Award of Merit" in the Outstanding Urban or Land Development Project category (August 2022). About Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering Founded in 1993, Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to design. The firm provides public sector planning, land use planning, public outreach, entitlement services, civil engineering design, and surveying/mapping to public agencies, developers, and property owners. The firm's breadth of expertise includes aviation, life sciences, residential, education, healthcare, military, commercial/retail, civic, hospitality, and design-build projects. For more information, visit latitude33.com.

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Engineering Tech

Altair Expands Digital Engineering Technology with Acquisition of OmniV

PR Newswire | July 28, 2023

Altair, a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI), acquired OmniV, a technology out of XLDyn, a product development software company based in southeast Michigan. OmniV empowers open model-based systems engineering (MBSE) practice across systems, simulation, test, product development, and controls engineering by formalizing the development, integration, and use of models to inform enterprise and program decision making. OmniV eliminates the silos that occur between high-level system modeling and simulation, as well as detailed, domain-specific modeling and simulation. OmniV is vendor agnostic and can connect to various enterprise data stores and verification and validation methods – including those from third-party vendors – to support program goals. OmniV brings together cross-domain product development activities using the MBSE methodology in a fully integrated and easy-to-use tool. With support for systems modeling language (SysML) – a general purpose modeling language for systems engineering applications across a broad range of systems and systems-of-systems – OmniV's SysML compliant diagrams that capture system architecture (structures, requirements, and behavior) can easily be shared and verified with product development teams. This allows the creation of multiple types of digital twins easier and earlier in the product development process, even before CAD models are created. "Historically, organizations have had to wait until they have a physical prototype to see how a product performs. OmniV provides a holistic understanding of how a product functions much earlier in the process," said James R. Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. "Our goal is to connect the dots across the enterprise through an open, flexible, and purpose driven MBSE and digital twin integration. Regardless of what tools you use, OmniV allows customers to have an open architecture MBSE practice that provides a traceable ecosystem to track performance, cost, and mass of a product." The technology will be available via Altair Units, integrated into Altair's digital twin solution set, and accessible via Altair One, Altair's cloud innovation gateway. About Altair Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener, more sustainable future.

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Robotics and Automation, Engineering Tech

Breheny Civil Engineering Build Process Digitalisation Roadmap with FlowForma Process Automation

PR Newswire | August 23, 2023

FlowForma®, the leading provider of enterprise-class process automation tools for Microsoft 365®, is excited to announce that Breheny Civil Engineering are digitalising their business processes to overcome process challenges within their organisation using the award-winning FlowForma Process Automation tool Breheny, a large-scale civil engineering firm, works on a wide range of projects including highways, marine, utilities, and environmental. In what is a highly regulated industry, the company sought a complete end-to-end process automation solution to digitalise its business processes within various departments of the organisation. With an existing SharePoint environment already in place, the team needed a solution which could seamlessly slot into their current software stack. Having already compiled a detailed digitalisation plan with pain point processes ripe for automation, Breheny Civil Engineering soon discovered the 100% no code FlowForma Process Automation tool and knew they had selected the right option to digitalise both complex and simple business processes. Procuring an easy-to-use process automation solution that could also be adopted quickly by employees was key for Breheny Civil Engineering. Featuring forms, workflow, and document generation all in one place, the FlowForma Process Automation tool is preferred by road, rail and highway construction firms for its ease-of-use, BIM compliance support, and unrivalled return on investment as processes are digitalised with speed, with most seeingresults within 6 weeks. The business has taken its first steps on its digital transformation journey with 'Site Checklists,' 'Site Audits,' 'Plant Inspections' and 'Hot Works Permits' already fully automated, with approximately another 100 processes already identified for digitalisation across multiple departments. Additionally, Breheny Civil Engineering are utilising the FlowForma Construction Process Accelerator which empowers users with a wide variety of ready-to-use, fully editable, process templates for digitalising common construction processes. The Construction Accelerator features process templates for addressing tasks such as: 'Field Change Request,' 'Concrete Pre-Pour Check Sheet,' 'Labour Requisition,' 'Materials Requisition,' 'Hot Work Permit,' 'Safety Observation,' and more. "We have a lengthy list of use cases identified across the business for digitalisation. We are working with the FlowForma team on their SureStart onboarding program to help us ramp up quickly and deliver fast results. We are excited to work with FlowForma and the operational efficiencies their tool can provide for our entire organisation. It is a game changer for the business!" said a spokesperson at Breheny Civil Engineering. Processes such as 'Concrete Pour' and 'Permit to Break Ground' have been identified to quickly improve visibility and governance site-wide, with 'Site Diaries' and 'Inspection Reports' processes also in the pipeline for development. As with any large-scale construction organisation, collaboration is a common challenge. Employees are deployed across multiple offices or on-site in disparate locations, often remotely, with little to no connectivity to get work completed. As a result, the FlowForma Mobile App has become a key component in the toolbelt of firms across the industry thanks to its clever offsite capability, allowing processes to be completed and uploaded later when back online. Olivia Bushe, Chief Executive Officer, FlowForma added: "The construction industry is an area where FlowForma is assisting multiple organisations to overcome current challenges such as the labour skills shortage, project over runs, and resiliency across the sector, producing huge results. Going forward, Breheny Civil Engineering will be much more efficient and productive with enhanced visibility of what stage each business process is at. Teams will have much more insight into project timescales and budgetary elements. The complete audit trail will also ensure compliance requirements are met." About Breheny Civil Engineering Established in 1963, Breheny is one of the largest family-owned civil engineering companies in the UK, with over 400 employees and a plant fleet containing over 3,000 items of plant and equipment. Breheny Civil Engineering has developed to provide civil engineering services to almost two-thirds of the UK from its offices in Suffolk, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Hampshire, and Oxfordshire. About FlowForma FlowForma, the leading provider of Process Automation tools for Microsoft 365® is revolutionising the construction industry with an innovative approach to developing award-winning products that empower users to create and streamline processes smarter and faster, utilising the familiar SharePoint platform, without any coding. FlowForma is a Microsoft Gold Partner with over 200,000 global users of its product. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in New York, Boston, and London, FlowForma is motivated by its values to innovate, evolve, and achieve with employees, customers, and partners.

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Engineering Tech, Construction

Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering Continues Award-Winning Streak with DBIA-WPR Award for East San Diego County ARCC and Archive Facility

PR Newswire | July 24, 2023

At last month's Design-Build Institute of America Western Pacific Region's (DBIA-WPR's) 17th Annual Design-Build Awards Competition, Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering was honored with a "Design Excellence and Innovation Award" for the East San Diego County Assessor, Recorder and County Clerk (ARCC) Office and Archives Facility. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at the JW Marriott Resort in Anaheim, CA. These awards recognize projects which apply design-build best practices, including early integration of key team members and close coordination between the design and construction teams from inception to completion. Projects must be completed on time, on budget, and without litigation to be eligible for an award. This DBIA-WPR award signifies Latitude 33's outstanding client satisfaction and cooperative approach as part of a design-build team. The East San Diego County ARCC Office and Archives Facility The new East San Diego County ARCC Office and Archives Facility is the first Net Zero Energy archive facility in the United States. The 25,000-square-foot building combines several governmental and administrative departments in one locale, including property records, tax collecting, historical records, and civil wedding ceremonies, to name a few. Key features include a distinctive butterfly roof, a photovoltaic shade structure in the parking lot, and column-free interior spaces. Latitude 33 was involved in the site design, drainage and water quality design, utility design, fire access design, and infrastructure permitted through the County of San Diego, City of Santee, and Santee Fire Department. Matt Semic, PE, President & Principal at Latitude 33, states, "Congratulations to The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP; C.W. Driver Companies; The County of San Diego; and all of the partners on this innovative project! It was an honor to be part of this team that exemplified the kind of collaborative spirit and successful outcomes that the DBIA awards seek to recognize. The first Net Zero Energy archive facility in the U.S. is exciting!" Award-Winning Streak for Public Works Projects The DBIA-WPR "Design Excellence and Innovation Award" for the ARCC Office and Archives Facility is one of five (5) awards that Latitude 33 has received recently for its public works projects. Other recent honors include: The El Centro Library was awarded the "Project of the Year" award from The American Public Works Association (APWA) San Diego & Imperial Counties Chapter (May 2023). The County of San Diego's The Youth Transition Campus (YTC) earned an APWA San Diego & Imperial Counties Chapter "Honor" award (May 2023). The YTC was recognized with a national DBIA "Award of Merit" in the Federal, State, County, Municipal category (November 2022). The YTC also earned a DBIA-WPR "Award of Merit" in the Outstanding Urban or Land Development Project category (August 2022). About Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering Founded in 1993, Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to design. The firm provides public sector planning, land use planning, public outreach, entitlement services, civil engineering design, and surveying/mapping to public agencies, developers, and property owners. The firm's breadth of expertise includes aviation, life sciences, residential, education, healthcare, military, commercial/retail, civic, hospitality, and design-build projects. For more information, visit latitude33.com.

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