For us, digital construction is just as important as physical construction
Digitalisation is not just about technology; it touches almost every facet of the economy. It has to do with innovation, new legal and regulatory frameworks, robotisation and artificial intelligence. At the same time, digitalisation is also about new forms of cooperation, organisational structures and ethical issues. But above all, it is about people. We are increasingly aware of the actual value we can add to our own work processes and for clients and their environment using digitalisation. We collect and use data to more accurately to predict the maintenance of buildings, roads and bridges, but also to develop new propositions and new business models. In addition, we incorporate data from the usage phase right from the design processes. Data enables us to keep improving. This is why it is important that our business areas have a keen eye for maintaining and increasing that added value. Over the past year, the movement has started to bring IT developments within the various departments in the organisation more to the forefront and connected them to each other.
Flexible facilities management
Rather than scheduling maintenance according to a manufacturer’s instructions or reacting to malfunctions in a corrective way, we are increasingly able to use data to determine the optimal time for maintenance and to take proactive action. Given our clients’ increasing performance requirements, the need for efficient deployment of scarce skilled personnel and our clients’ sustainability challenges, the need for adaptive and flexible maintenance is increasing. Data makes this possible. However, the challenge is to unlock that data efficiently and cost-effectively from existing infrastructure, buildings and installations not designed for that purpose.
Thanks to a number of pilot projects, we are now able to unlock relevant data in an effective and safe way. This results in the more efficient deployment of our scarce highly qualified staff and the optimisation of the energy performance of buildings based on current usage. The huge diversity of buildings and installations at the hundreds of Non-residential Services’ clients and the combination of data and craftsmanship provide all the ingredients we need to set up a system landscape in which we can start scaling the knowledge and experience we have gained for all our clients. For instance, we advise clients on scenarios for CO₂ reduction using the dashboard developed by Heijmans in the context of Paris Proof (the aim of making the built environment completely climate-neutral by 2050). This enables us to help realise the short-term and long-term goals for our clients’ building portfolio in a structured and data-driven way. With Beyond Eyes, a successful Heijmans initiative, we unlock information about space usage and use this to optimise building performance and efficient facility services. Beyond Eyes is ISO 27001-certified and thus meets strict information security requirements worldwide. This makes Beyond Eyes a stable foundation on which we can make the connection in data and services for end users, spaces, buildings and building portfolios. We are already putting this into practice at clients such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the new courthouse in Amsterdam. Not only did we build these buildings, but we are also responsible for their maintenance for twenty and thirty years respectively. And this is where we are already fully applying this new way of working. The strong link between the usage phase of a building and the design and construction phase is a key differentiator for Heijmans in the market. Based on the available data, we not only offer insight and advice, we also immediately take the necessary actions. This makes us the accommodation partner that works with our clients to future-proof their buildings by adding maximum value to the property, its facilities and its use. We call this Future-proof value. In 2023, based in part on our Future-proof Value approach, Rabobank entrusted Heijmans Non-residential Services with the management and maintenance of all its locations right across the Netherlands, as well as the task of making these locations more sustainable.
Data-driven maintenance
Right across the country, we manage and maintain infrastructure for public and private clients, such as the Dutch Ministry of Public Works and Water Management, Schiphol Airport, provincial authorities, local councils and port areas. We monitor digital systems such as traffic lights, roadside petrol stations, charging infrastructure and public lighting. We monitor fixed structures such as roads, viaducts, locks, dykes and bridges using sensors. This enables us to continuously assess the condition of almost all the assets under our management and consequently identify critical degradation or failure at an early stage. We also monitor pollution and emission levels.
All this data comes together in Connect. We designed this platform in-house and manage it entirely in-house. The data remain the property of our clients and are collected in Connect and processed to provide our clients with insights and advice. The fact that we own the underlying systems and have them connect to each other increases the stability of this service. What is more, this creates a better overview of our services and the data they generate. As a result, investments are no longer for stand-alone solutions and products, but contribute to the big picture. We are seeing constant innovation in data processing. In addition to trend analysis and threshold monitoring, we develop automated insights into expected system behaviour using artificial intelligence. In this way, we strive for continuous and optimal operation of assets with minimal downtime due to technical failures.
Together with our clients, we explore demands and needs in the field of data-driven management and maintenance. We work towards standard processes and IT solutions such as Connect, in order to apply knowledge and methods as repetitively and uniformly as possible in our work processes. This is how we achieve operational excellence, and efficient and profitable management and maintenance, with maximum value for our clients.
Heijmans Data Depot
In addition to the above-mentioned platforms for sensor data (Connect and Beyond Eyes), Heijmans is also hard at work on the Heijmans Data Platform. This platform collects data from the primary Heijmans systems (including SAP) on a daily basis. This data is further enriched and combined into datasets that we use for both our own reporting and process optimisation and those of our clients. We are seeing more and more applications in which this data is combined with sensor data from buildings and infrastructure. This allows us to deliver even more added value for our clients. A good example of this is the modular client reporting in the Iris dashboard, which is now used in over 25 major service contracts. Iris provides clear insight into service performance, closely monitoring KPIs and faults. Iris also contributes to property value through detailed analysis of property values, including proactive monitoring of maintenance. These near real-time insights into the data of buildings and other assets are making Heijmans’ services both faster and more efficient.
Heijmans Solutions Platform
For several years now, Infra has been using an internal platform that brings together concrete products and/or services. We use this platform to look - from a client perspective - at what problem a service or product solves, how it is applied and what its added value is. By the end of 2023, there were more than two hundred products on the platform. These included the likes of sustainable and circular (road) verge. We are working on the Sustainable and Circular Verge proposition with the aim of making (road) verges 100% circular and increasing biodiversity. We are developing a smart process for this, so that our work is combined with other activities. Another good example is the charging station as an aggregate on construction sites. During construction work, a charging station can be used as a power point to replace a generator, making this a great example of emission-free working. The aim is to continue improving this platform internally, so that we can offer an overview of a large number of solutions based on client needs. This will also enable us to better highlight these solutions in tenders and in talks with clients.
Digital tools
Using digital tools developed in-house, we work continuously on process and quality improvements. Design processes are largely automated; for instance, we are working on apps that will enable us to use parametrical analysis to arrive at efficient, safe and sustainable viaduct designs. By integrating principles such as IFD (Industrial, Flexible, Demountable) and concept building into our digital tools, we create a design that effectively matches the expectations of other disciplines. Building digitally in this way enables us to prepare and realise projects in a smarter, safer and more effective way.
Radar
We use our soil mapping expertise and technology in both infra and property development projects. The Explosives Detection, Geodesy and Geophysics department investigates soil. Using 3D soil radar and other smart and innovative measuring systems for geophysics, they measure what is present in the soil and what is not with extreme accuracy. This is important information to prevent unwanted and unsafe situations during construction or the project, such as unexploded ordnance from WWII. Thanks to this measurement information, we can draw up an exact design (fact-based design) and remove old objects from the ground without danger, preventing interruptions or delays during works. We use the results of the measurements for detailed drawings and 3D visualisations. And because we share the information in a Geographic Information System (GIS), the insights and data are also automatically available for other work and activities. Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence (AI) also made an appearance in 2023, and we are now working in-house on a smart algorithm to speed up soil data processing.