In the dynamic tech industry, where daily challenges and opportunities emerge, the extraordinary dedication of individuals like Mohamed propels us forward. As we navigate the complexities of technological advancements, Mohamed’s outstanding contributions have not just elevated our platform; they’ve exemplified our company’s core values: innovation, teamwork, and market leadership. Through his story, we aim to inspire our team, partners, customers, and the broader tech community, showcasing our unwavering commitment to breaking new ground.

Mohamed’s ability to predict and pre-emptively address challenges places us at the forefront of the industry. His foresight and proactive measures ensure that our platform meets and exceeds expectations, reflecting our deep commitment to innovation. This visionary approach secures our position as market leaders, demonstrating how anticipating the future shapes the present.

Mohamed’s strategies inspire a culture of innovation within our team. He encourages a collaborative environment where forward-thinking is the norm by sharing his insights and methodologies. This ethos is crucial for fostering an atmosphere where every team member feels empowered to contribute ideas that drive technological advancement.

Mohamed’s impact goes beyond his technical achievements. His commitment to fostering a supportive, collaborative work environment encourages teamwork and shared success. His leadership and drive for continuous improvement serve as a beacon for the entire team, pushing us towards greater creativity and innovation.

In recognising Mohamed’s contributions, we celebrate the power of teamwork and the incredible results that can be achieved when we work together towards a common goal. His story reminds us that individual efforts, when aligned with team objectives, can lead to remarkable achievements.

Tim Mutlow, CTO at Operance, had some lovely feedback for Mohamed:

Mohamed is a beacon of pro-active innovation – Tim Mutlow (CTO)

Mohamed’s work vibrantly reflects our company’s goals. His blend of proactive innovation, exceptional problem-solving, customer-focused development, and teamwork leadership exemplifies our core values. Celebrating his contributions honours his achievements and highlights our ongoing dedication to innovation, market leadership, and a culture of continuous improvement.

We reaffirm our commitment to excellence and innovation as we share Mohamed’s story. His journey with us is a compelling illustration of how individual passion and dedication contribute to our collective mission, steering us towards market leadership and technological breakthroughs.

We extend our deepest gratitude to Mohamed for his unwavering dedication and for being an inspiration in our journey of innovation. His path is a testament to the impact that individual excellence can have on our broader aspirations, driving us towards new heights of achievement.

We would like to welcome our new Lead Project Coordinator, Shoughan Dilshad’s, to Operance. We sat down with Shoughan, Operance’s newest Lead Project Coordinator, to learn more about her journey and what drew her to join the Operance family.

Shoughan joined Operance on the 13th of November, and her decision to become a part of Operance is a tale of resilience, networking, and seizing the right opportunity. Her journey began when the company she worked for faced administration in September. The opportunity to work for Operance was shared through her network. Shoughan, having explored various leads, saw this as a chance to continue her work in an area similar to her previous role as a CDE coordinator.

Shoughan’s story highlights the power of networking and how a well-timed opportunity can reshape one’s professional path. Her decision to join Operance wasn’t just about finding a job; it was about aligning her expertise in O&M with a role specifically tailored for the end stage of construction projects.

What drew Shoughan to Operance was a combination of confidence in her skills and a desire for a more focused role. Her wealth of experience in O&Ms from previous roles, coupled with innovative ideas for improving the O&M process, made Operance an ideal fit.

Moreover, Operance offered her the chance to dive into a specific aspect of the construction industry that she was passionate about. It was an opportunity to contribute to the end stage of projects, particularly in the realm of handovers. Shoughan saw Operance not just as a startup, but as a unique platform where she could leverage her knowledge and make a significant impact.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact Shoughan will undoubtedly bring to the Operance team. Welcome aboard!

Shoughan’s role as Lead Project Coordinator is central to ensuring the seamless management of projects on the Operance platform. Her daily responsibilities encompass a range of tasks critical to project success. This includes overseeing user onboarding, ensuring timely assignment of sections within the platform, and actively chasing subcontractors or consultants for outstanding information.

A key facet of her role involves continuous improvement. Shoughan is actively engaged in generating ideas and enhancements for the Operance platform, contributing valuable feedback to the product team. This dual role—balancing project management with a focus on platform evolution—underscores Shoughan’s multifaceted contribution to Operance.

Looking ahead, Shoughan discusses plans to expand the service team. A new Project Coordinator is set to join, with the aim of creating a robust team under Shoughan’s leadership. This strategic move not only aims to optimise workload distribution but also to enhance the overall service quality provided by Operance.

By strengthening the service team, Operance aims not only to meet but exceed client expectations. Shoughan emphasises the importance of aligning sales promises with service delivery, creating a synergy that fosters long-term client satisfaction and loyalty.

In conclusion, Shoughan’s role as Lead Project Coordinator is pivotal in shaping the operational success of Operance. Her blend of project management acumen, commitment to continuous improvement, and strategic team expansion align with Operance’s vision for excellence in project delivery and client service.

When it comes to unwinding, Shoughan reveals a desire for an active and dynamic lifestyle. She discloses herself as a dedicated gym enthusiast, striving to hit the gym a minimum of three times a week and ideally five. This commitment to fitness extends beyond the gym, with activities such as swimming, walks, and hiking finding a place in her routine.

Beyond the world of fitness, Shoughan unveils another facet of her leisure time. She identifies herself as a movie fan, expressing a love for cinema that spans a wide range of genres. With a particular fondness for mystery, sci-fi, and crime, she shares her passion for watching movies and exploring diverse narratives.

As a software and services business providing construction and property information management solutions, we at Operance must regularly review the market and look for anything that could impact us as we grow. Your own organisation no doubt goes through similar exercises.

Listening to or reading the global economic news can often feel like there is a lot of doom and gloom, and understandably so in some respects. But obviously, we dig deeper than this to get a truer picture of what could impact our actual markets, verticals and, therefore, our individual business.

Economic conditions, government policies, and supply and demand dynamics influence the growth of the UK construction and property market. Therefore, after having done the exercise for ourselves, we felt it might be valuable to our audience if we shared this with you too. So here’s an overview of the following:

Despite the global COVID pandemic and the economic downturn, the UK construction market (including was valued at £381.74 billion in 2023, with an expected annual average growth rate (AAGR) of more than 24% between 2023 and 2027 to £476.6 billion (Statista).

This figure includes all construction-related activities, including new construction, repairs and maintenance, and infrastructure.

This growth is expected to be driven by a combination of factors, including increased government investment in housing, education, defence, health and transport infrastructure, a rising demand for new housing, energy, telecommunication and data infrastructure, and the ongoing need for repairs and maintenance of existing buildings.

It’s worth noting that the construction industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to disruptions in supply chains, delays in projects, and reduced demand in some areas. However, as the pandemic continues to be controlled and economic activity resumes, the UK construction market is expected to recover and grow over the coming years.

The market size, measured by revenue, of the Property Management Services industry in itself is £29.2bn in 2023, resulting in an expected increase of 5.5% growth (IBISworld).

Despite COVID, there has been an average 0.3% growth rate per year between 2018 and 2023. The market size increased faster than the economy overall.

This could be as a result of increased costs involved in keeping occupants safe during the pandemic and as a result of more stringent legislation.

Here we delve into the most common known trends across both the UK construction and property industry:

• Increased focus on safety regulations and compliance: Following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire tragedy and many other building safety concerns around the world, there is a growing focus on safety regulations and compliance. Our Operance software solution helps building owners and contractors comply with these regulations and ensure their buildings are safe.
• Growing demand for sustainable buildings: There is a growing demand for sustainable buildings that are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Operance plans to help building owners and contractors design and manage sustainable buildings by collecting and sharing data to hep make better-informed decisions.
• Digitisation of the construction industry: The construction industry is moving towards digitisation at it’s most rapid rate ever. There is a growing demand for software solutions that can help manage the construction process. Our software solution helps streamline the construction process and improve efficiency in terms of building information coordination.
• Increasing demand for building information modelling (BIM) solutions: BIM has become essential for the construction industry, enabling stakeholders to create and manage digital representations of building designs and data. This allows for a more collaborative and efficient approach to building design and construction. With the growing importance of digitalisation in the industry, the demand for BIM solutions is expected to continue to increase, which bodes well for our BIM-ready Operance solution.
• Increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions: The adoption of cloud-based software solutions is growing in the construction industry, enabling stakeholders to access and share information in real-time from anywhere. Our Operance business benefits from this trend by offering cloud-based functionality that will enable users to collaborate and access information on the go.
• Emphasis on facility management: There is a growing emphasis on facility management as building owners and operators look to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of building operations. Our Operance software will provide a comprehensive and single-source-of-truth spanning both construction and facility management needs for building owners, operators, contractors and occupants.

• Increasing demand for affordable housing: There is a growing demand for affordable housing around the world, particularly in the UK, driven by factors such as rising living costs, stagnant wages, and changing demographics. This has put pressure on social housing providers to provide more affordable and accessible housing options.
• Focus on energy efficiency and sustainability: Social housing providers are increasingly focused on energy efficiency and sustainability, driven by factors such as rising energy costs (as a result of global unrest), environmental concerns, cost savings, and regulatory requirements.
• Technological advancements: The social housing sector is increasingly adopting technological advancements, such as digital platforms and smart home technologies, to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance tenant experiences. This also includes the use of mobile apps for communication and payments, cloud-based property management software, and IoT devices for remote monitoring and control of properties and automation. Being the single-source-of-truth for potentially all types of building information, the ability for Operance to integrate with various digital sources to pull data into one environment is a powerful opportunity.
• Growing use of data analytics: Property managers are leveraging data analytics to gain insights into property performance, tenant behaviour, market trends and better understand tenant needs and preferences to improve service delivery. This enables them to make more informed property management strategies, pricing, and marketing decisions. With more users and data being added to our platform daily, Operance could be a valuable source of informative data for users.
• Regulatory changes: The social housing sector is subject to changing regulatory frameworks, such as new housing policies, tenancy laws, new rent control laws and of course, building codes and legislation particularly focussed on building safety (including fire, structural and M&E equipment), which can impact profitability, funding, operations, and service delivery. Our Operance Building Safety product is potentially the world’s first bespoke solution to meet these needs.
• Emphasis on tenant well-being: There is a growing recognition of the importance of tenant well-being in the social housing sector, driven by factors such as mental health concerns, social isolation, and ageing populations. Providers are investing in initiatives to support tenant well-being, such as community events, social programs, and health and wellness services.
• Increased focus on tenant experience: Property managers are placing a greater focus on the tenant experience, recognising the importance of tenant satisfaction, retention and safety. This is particularly important to Operance and our users as we develop a solution to the Residents Voice, a key part of the new Buidling Safety legislative regime. There is also the opportunity for us to combine our building operations and safety products with tenant lifestyle management solutions, as customers also invest in amenities and services that enhance the tenant experience, such as fitness centres, community spaces, and on-site concierge services.

The UK construction and property industry faces a range of challenges, including:

• Compliance: The Building Safety Act aims to improve the safety of higher-risk (residential) buildings (HRBs). It presents a number of challenges for industry, such as:
  • Implementation: The Act sets out a range of new requirements for building safety, particularly the need to produce digital information and a lifecycle audit trail for new and old HRBs. Implementing these changes will require significant resources and investment from both the public and private sectors. This is also relevant to the government itself, with the establishment of a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
  • Funding: The cost of implementing the new safety requirements will be substantial, and it is not yet clear exactly what these costs involve and how these costs will be funded. For more information on this, read our article; The Ultimate Guide to Building Safety Budgets.
  • Capacity: The Building Safety Regulator itself will need to recruit a significant number of staff to oversee the implementation of the new safety requirements. But also, all our Buidling Safety product customers will need to find additional staff and/or external support to help develop their Golden Thread of Information, a central pillar of the new regime. There are concerns that insufficiently skilled professionals may be available to fill these roles. Hence, Operance has teamed up with Morgan Sindall Property Services to help our customers in this respect.
  • Liability: The Act places new responsibilities on building owners and managers to ensure the safety of their buildings. There are concerns that this may increase their liability and expose them to legal action if something goes wrong.
  • Disruption: The Act is likely to cause significant disruption to the construction and property industries as they adjust to the new safety requirements. This may lead to delays and increased costs for new developments. For instance, there is a requirement to introduce a second staircase within tall buildings; this in itself has caused time delays as projects are completely redesigned and will add billions of pounds on top of development costs over the next decade at least.
  • Public Confidence: The Act is designed to improve public confidence in the safety of high-rise residential buildings. However, there are concerns that the Act may not go far enough to address the underlying issues that led to the Grenfell Tower disaster and that public confidence in the industry may be slow to recover.
  • Gateway Management: Gateways are a new requirement of the Building Safety Act; they provide windows of opportunity in which to check information has been provided in line with the prescribed requirements. Obtaining planning permission at Gateway 1 can already be a long and complex process, which can delay the start of projects and increase costs; additional fire safety information requirements could add to this. Not having the correct information at Gateways 2 and 3 could result in the regulator preventing projects from starting on-site and from buildings being handed over. The Operanc platform aims to help with his process and alleviate the risk of non-compliance by helping users define, curate and access the information they need at each Gateway.
• Sustainability: The industry is under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint and adopt sustainable building practices. This requires significant investment in new technology, materials, and processes, which can be expensive.
• Infrastructure: The UK’s infrastructure is under pressure, particularly in urban areas. This can lead to congestion, delays, and increased costs for construction projects.
• Health and Safety: The industry has one of the highest workplace accidents and fatalities rates. Companies need to invest in training and safety measures to improve worker safety.
• Innovation: The industry has been slow to adopt new technologies and processes, which can lead to inefficiencies and higher costs. Companies need to invest in research and development to stay competitive.
• Labour Shortages: The industry is facing a shortage of skilled workers due to an ageing workforce, Brexit, and the pandemic. This has led to delays and increased costs for many projects.
• Cost Inflation: The cost of materials, labour, and land has been increasing rapidly in recent years, putting pressure on profit margins and making it harder to deliver projects within budget.

The UK construction and property industry could benefit from a range of opportunities, including:

• Sustainability: With the increasing focus on environmental sustainability, there is a growing demand for more eco-friendly buildings and infrastructure. The UK construction and property market has the opportunity to take a lead in this area by investing in sustainable materials and methods of construction, as well as retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy-efficient. New growth markets such as this result in a whole raft of new products and information to serve the market.
• Affordable Housing: The UK has a significant shortage of affordable housing, particularly in urban areas. This presents an opportunity for developers to invest in the construction of new affordable housing units and refurbish existing properties to increase their affordability.
• Infrastructure: The UK has an ageing infrastructure that is in need of significant investment. This includes transport infrastructure, such as roads and railways, and utilities such as water and electricity. Investing in infrastructure and in serving the market could boost economic growth.
• Modern Methods of Construction (MMC): Modern methods of construction are gaining popularity as a way to increase efficiency and reduce waste in the construction process. MMC involves the use of offsite manufacturing, modular construction, and other techniques to speed up construction and reduce costs.
• Technology: The construction industry has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, but this is changing. There are many new hardware technologies that could improve efficiencies and safety, such as the use of robots which are used on sites across the country, as is the use of drones and 3D scanning.
• Software: Because of the demand to digitalise an industry that has historically been the bottom of the league in terms of productivity, software solutions to age-old problems are required across the board. Solutions such as golden thread and building information modelling (BIM) tools reduce costs and also increase safety.
• Consultancy: The need for guidance and advice through such a huge transition is crucial. Many businesses looking to invest in new technologies are decades and even centuries old. It can seem like a big jump, and the cost of opportunity can be unclear given they have served and survived for so long without change. Investing in consultants to help understand the benefits and provide a helping hand in taking the first steps could be a great return on investment in the long run and ensure their businesses thrive into the next decade and beyond.

The future of the industry as a whole also looks to be relatively rosey. Yes, there are challenges, our industry is going through perhaps one of the biggest industrial movements in history with the acceptance and move towards digitisation, something that had been needed for a very long time.

Facilities management is a rapidly evolving industry itself, with several key trends and developments shaping this particular market. But overall, overall, the construction and poperty market is undergoing a significant transformation driven by technological advancements, sustainability, data analytics, outsourcing, and workplace transformation. As the market continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see further innovation and disruption in the years ahead.

From a selfish perspective, these trends and developments suggest a bright future for our golden-thread-ready Operance software solution as it helps meet the growing demand for safety, sustainability, digitisation, BIM integration, and facility management in the construction industry.

But why now?

Well, with time, along come new generations. Younger, more expansive minds wish to drive change and create a more sustainable and productive future for themselves. We started our business over 8 years ago now, and if our cofounders received a pound for every time an ‘old-timer’ suggested “BIM, that’ll never happen!”, then they would have probably retired by now!

So age and experience, or the lack of, can greatly affect disruption. But, perhaps the biggest driver of all in this country right now, is a tragedy. Without Grenfell, would we have the new buidling safety regime and all related legislation that we have now? Probably not, and we would probably not be pushing for digital information at the current rate.

So strap in and be ready for what promises to be a defining year for both your construction and property career and your organisation’s business development!

We are thrilled to offer you an opportunity to join our innovative software’s existing early adopter users and receive an exclusive 20% discount on your first pilot project!

As a forward-thinking industry professional, you understand the importance of complying with the Building Safety Act, and we are here to make your job easier. Our software is specifically designed to streamline the compliance process, ensuring that your buildings meet all necessary regulations and are safe for occupancy.

By taking advantage of this limited-time offer, you’ll not only be among the first to benefit from our cutting-edge technology but also a significant discount on your first project. This is an opportunity that is too good to pass up, and we encourage you to act fast to secure your place as an early adopter of our software.

Join the ranks of your fellow industry leaders who are already using our software to achieve compliance, without needing to run an extensive procurement process.

With 20% off your first proof of concept project designed to keep your fee below your organisation’s procurement ceiling and a focus on delivering a golden thread consultancy service; we’ll support you in registering your HRB, and developing your key building information and safety case. That way, there’s no need to run through an extensive IT procurement operation either.

So if you have budget leftover, we can move swiftly and have you set up and invoiced within just 24 hours of you submitting your code!

Contact us today to learn more and take advantage of our exclusive 20% off offer on your first pilot project; just follow the simple instruction below.

Simply click here, in the box asking, ‘What is your enquiry regarding?’, add in the code POC20. Our team will contact you to arrange it. It’s that simple!

With our software, you can be confident that your buildings are safe, compliant, and ready for whatever the future holds.

Operance’s expansion has continued with full force in recent months! We would like to welcome our new UX/UI designer, Emmanuel Ogidi-olu, to Operance. Emmanuel joined the business in February and is already making a strong impact across the brand. Working closely with the rest of our product and development team, Emmanuel is here to ensure that our services continue to evolve whilst retaining current value and providing additional value in future.

We interviewed Emmanuel about his first couple of weeks within the role, have a read of his feedback below.

I joined Operance on the 20th of February. I decided to join Operance because I was looking for an opportunity to help build a new product for the market that presented challenges from a UX/UI point of view. In such a short period of time, I have already learnt so much about the Operance platform, the pain points of the users and how I can help. I love a challenge and am excited to help build an ergonomically friendly, aesthetic platform that solves real-world problems such as building safety.

In my role as a UX/UI designer, I have a multitude of responsibilities that will no doubt grow as the product continues to evolve. UX and UI are different, so my role splits into two parts involving behavioural studies and an eye for efficient design. Combining these skills enables me to understand the user and their behavioural patterns and provide tangible solutions.

I have not had much time lately, but when I get time, my main two priorities are family and football! I have a young daughter full of life, so watching her grow up and enjoy life is exciting. I am an avid Manchester United football fan, so I watch most of their games and play football on the weekends if time allows it. Outside of football and my family, I enjoy a bit of swimming and gaming. 

I am still learning about all of the different use cases for the Operance platform; it’s a fascinating product that looks set to change how buildings are operated and maintained in the future. My goal is to make it as simple as possible for the user and help it evolve into a hassle-free, effective solution for buildings worldwide.

That’s difficult to say! I am most excited about the huge user interface update I have started working on since joining the business. I am excited to help provide a familiar but more efficient interface for users on our platform that allows them to operate and maintain their buildings whilst remaining compliant with the golden thread and other safety acts.

That concludes our interview with Emmanuel! We wish him a warm welcome to the business once again. We look forward to working with him on a long-term basis and are excited to see what the future brings with him on board.

Two weeks ago, the Operance team attended the Housing Digital Awards at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Arena where we were finalists for no less than 5 awards!

As we all work remotely, it was a special occasion for the team because we got the chance to meet some of the Operance family. Our team works from all over the world, including South Africa, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. We also had the pleasure of meeting our Chief Financial Officer, Tajinder Sandhu, for the first time.

Operance has truly embraced the remote working lifestyle, the opportunity to socialise and work together in person was a significant milestone that we will cherish for years to come.

We attended the Housing Digital Awards as a sponsor but also as an award contender. A nomination for any award is an honour, but being nominated for five emphasises the team’s dedication and hard work in making this dream a reality.

Our mission set out by our founders, Ian Yeo, Scott Pilgrim and Tim Mutlow is to ‘manage the world’s building information for safer, harmonious places for everyone’ and we are aiming to do this with the world’s first Golden Thread platform; a single source of truth.

The Housing Digital Awards were full of inspiring businesses and individuals who are doing their part to provide housing to people all over the UK and beyond, improving the lives of those in the most need. One inspiring story from the Housing Digital Awards was that of John Volanthen, the world-record holding British cave diver who found and successfully helped rescue 12 boys from Thailand’s Tham Luang caves. John’s story hit home for the Operance team because of that same dedication to helping save and improve the lives of others.

We want to say a big congratulations to Raven Housing Trust who won our sponsored award “Best Digital Transformation”

Here’s a round-up of the 5 categories we were finalists in…

A major highlight for the Operance team at this year’s Housing Digital Awards was winning the most innovative consultancy award. We create and use O&M data to operate and maintain facilities in one single source of truth, but this would not be possible without the services team who work tirelessly with each client to understand their needs, the data that is required and what the O&M creation process looks like. With our most recent appointment of Dave Peacock as head of BIM delivery, our CEO Ian Yeo and our BIM Manager Eric Lee this award would not have been possible.

We had to demonstrate how we used innovative to create efficiencies for our clients in order to win this award. Over the years, Operance has spent a significant amount of time attending workshops and working groups such as the Housing Asset Data Group led by OSCRE and HACT, and the Golden Thread Initiative, which has resulted in the development of innovative data templates to define the information requirements as a baseline for the Social Residential sector. Our in-house consultants used innovative by working with clients to convert their data templates into smart data within the Operance platform.

To win this award, we had to show how our consultancy differed from others in the industry and what lessons the social housing industry could learn from us. As consultants, we assist people in understanding their problems and provide practical solutions. Because we’ve developed a semi-automated process for collecting and creating useful building information, our BIM consultants charge significantly less than anyone else on the market. What distinguishes Operance from the competition is that we have discovered ways to reduce costs for our clients while focusing on return on investment for them rather than us.

To complete our award application, we had to describe how we intend to innovate in the future. To generate further added value for our clients, we constantly develop our own internal tools in which to create greater efficiencies in the way we deliver our consultancy services. For instance, by developing our own BCF viewer, a tool in which to evaluate clash and coordination issues between designs, we can provide more realistic reports on how many design issues need designing out, in a prioritised and conservative manner. This helps clients and contractors save thousands of pounds on projects by finding issues before they get to the site.

We also strive to be thought leaders at Operance.  We believe that one thing we do well differently is to educate those in the markets we serve. People from social housing organisations and local governments attended the Housing Digital Awards. By breaking down Building and Fire Safety Act responsibilities into small bite-size chunks in both consultations and articles, we hoped to provide value for free and assist social housing associations and local governments in understanding their responsibilities under the Building and Fire Safety Act. We believe it is critical to improve the lives of those around us by volunteering our time and knowledge to make the process easier for those we serve, and we hope that in return, we are contributing to making the lives of owners and occupiers safer and more harmonious for everyone.

What the Judges had to say;

“Operance’s BIM digital toolkit is a welcomed service, benefitting the sector as a whole for free, especially for clients for whom BIM is too unwieldly. An innovative consultancy operating model.”

To discuss how our Services team could help your organisation, arrange a call with our Head of Digital Services Dave Peacock: https://www.operance.app/contact/.

We were overjoyed to be nominated for “Best Fire Safety Innovation,” as the Operance software aspires to be the world’s first purpose-built Golden Thread platform. Our software was developed simultaneously with the building and fire safety acts. It felt great to be recognised for our contributions to fire safety innovation, as well as to know that our software is making a difference in the social housing market by improving fire safety and making homes safer and more harmonious for everyone.

To be nominated in this category, we had to show how innovative our software was. We are developing methods for the fire service to access that information prior to an emergency and educating them on the HRBs in their service area before an emergency. The product is useful not only for the owners of high-rise buildings, their operators, and their occupants but also for the fire safety service by collaborating with fire safety experts.

We also had to highlight the emerging technology that we use to provide high-quality fire protection. One of the biggest problems within the industry now is the physical fire emergency information boxes. They are in such high demand, but those boxes have become very scarce and very high-priced. That’s just one example of how digital can help. So, by providing that information, it should also be updated and instantly accessible all the time rather than printing it out and then sending it to the site, putting it in the box, and replacing the old information. It’s instantly accessible from anywhere.

We’d like to thank the Housing Digital Awards for the nomination and congratulate the winners, ONE Engage.

Arrange a demonstration of our Fire Safety capabilities today: https://www.operance.app/request-a-demo/ .

‘Most Innovative Product (Software)’ was our next category nomination. It was an honour to be nominated for this award because the Operance platform is a software-based solution. By defining, creating, accessing, and maintaining Operation & Maintenance documents, our software aims to manage the world’s building information. This is our unique approach to transforming traditional O&M information methods.

To be considered for this award, we had to demonstrate how the Operance O&M platform meets market needs. Some features we focused on from our software were the Operance Building Safety module prioritises golden thread audit trails, gateway management, HRB Registration, Building Safety Case & Safety Case Reporting, with Mandatory Occurrence Reporting.

We also had to show how the Operance software was used by clients and what the results were. The Operance Digital O&M module was released in November 2021, with contractors and modular builders placing orders for hundreds of projects and a variety of facilities across the Education, Healthcare, Defence and Housing sectors.

In releasing the module to contractors first, Operance was able to test the platform on a project-by-project basis, meaning early bugs and incomplete workflows were quickly found and resolved. It also ensured, along with government funding, that we were able to fund the development of ‘golden thread’ features.

Congratulations to the winner, Voicescape and thank you to Housing Digital for the nomination.

Arrange a demonstration of our software today: https://www.operance.app/request-a-demo/ .

This final category nomination was especially meaningful for the Operance team because we nominated our co-founder, Chief Product Officer, and visionary Scott Pilgrim.

Scott is a council estate-born bricklayer turned construction and property manager turned software entrepreneur. Having lived in higher-risk buildings during childhood and experienced the risks associated with these buildings and in developing building information, Scott has dedicated his life to solving age-old problems with new-age technologies. But he knows it takes more than just experience and passion, it takes a highly motivated team to help do it.

His vision, passion, and experience in the industry, as well as through his company Operance, made him the ideal candidate for Innovation champion, and it was an honour for the team to see his efforts recognised with this nomination.

For Scott to make the shortlist we had to answer some fundamental questions to reflect his innovative spirit. We had to highlight how Scott had shown passion and belief in innovation. Having co-founded the company back in 2016, Scott is still determined to maintain a start-up mentality for as long as possible, emulating Silicon Valley’s fast-paced, innovative mindset.

This mentality encourages the team to develop technology solutions to help the construction and property industry improve the standards and quality of building information, the bedrock of innovating further within the industry. Scott encourages employees to view their week with an 80:20 ratio, with 20% of time dedicated towards innovation, no matter what their role.

We also had to demonstrate how Scott could drive change and achieve buy-in from others; Scott understands that buy-in from customers drives the innovation of the product. But, whilst running any business is about solving problems for customers; you have stakeholders, who expect Operance to develop an innovative solution to a serious problem and make a fair profit along the way.

Scott must therefore balance the buy-in from customers alongside the buy-in from investors and staff. As a co-founder, he knows he can’t make all the key decisions by himself which is why his passion permeates through everyone. Staff are part owners of the company, so everyone has a shared goal of making the construction industry and specifically building information more efficient than it has ever been. This is not just to make money but to save lives.

We were honoured to see our “Chief Visionary” nominated for this award, and we wanted to thank Housing Digital for recognising his efforts through his company Operance to create safer and more harmonious places for everyone. Congratulations to the winner Tom Robins from Switche.

Arrange a chat with our Chief Product Officer Scott Pilgrim today: https://www.operance.app/contact/.

Another outstanding category we had the privilege of being nominated for was ‘Best Use of an Emerging Technology in House Building’. As you can imagine, being a software company developing something that has never been done before, the world’s first Golden Thread platform we had a lot to share with the judges.

The judges asked Operance to demonstrate how technology has enabled us to do things better and more efficiently. The Operance technology was designed in accordance with the government’s soft landings policy, which requires duty holders to have access to information as soon as possible so that they can learn and understand the building. They can provide feedback on the information’s quality, and it can be checked and audited. They use the mobile application while on or off-site to see what information has been automatically assigned to specific equipment such as boilers. If the information is incorrect, they can instantly update and edit it, updating and learning about the building from concept to handover. These are known as phase gates. Our cutting-edge technology allows Facilities Management and Operations and Maintenance data to be stored, accessed, and updated on the same platform, which has never been done before.

Following that, we were asked to provide proof of this technology and explain how it has benefited the industry. The evidence is in the quality of the building information we are providing. The emerging technologies that we used to create it and the information we provide to clients is unlike anything else on the market today. Focusing on the building data, you can use our instantly searchable Google search tool within the app to find information down to the component level. This is powered by keyword searches such as ‘boiler’, and all information about your boiler appears instantly across your entire state. This is possible because we pioneered smart data templates and Artificial Intelligence image classification technology.

The feedback from customers is evidence that our software has improved the efficiency and understanding of registering clients’ High-Rise Buildings in line with the Golden Thread Building Safety acts.

It was an honour to have been nominated for this award and we wanted to thank the sponsor of the award Tricas Construction and the winner Midland Heart.

Arrange a demonstration of our software today: https://www.operance.app/request-a-demo/.

This month was a momentous one for everyone at Operance. We held our first in-person ‘Team Retreat’ in Birmingham to connect and discuss important topics regarding the year ahead. We follow a modern work-from-home protocol which makes these events even more exciting. It is safe to say that it was a brilliant event full of enthusiasm, passion and laughter. We saw 14 people attend out of our total of 23 staff working for the business, 25 next week, with even more recruitment planned throughout 2023. With this in mind, we are already looking forward to the next retreat. Can you imagine how excellent the attendance will be?!

The retreat was well thought out, with many team exercises and activities planned to promote creativity and team building. Culture is essential to Operance because we believe that the right culture breeds performance and results. There is nothing better than a closely-knit team with the common appreciation that happiness brings success. Find out more below.

Taking advantage of everyone being together, our CEO Ian Yeo, delivered a radiant Keynote speech, highlighting our current strengths as a business and how much progress we have made in the last twelve months. It was inspiring to hear about the journey the founders have been on, from initially operating as Bimsense Ltd, a popular BIM consultancy business, to becoming Operance: the world’s first purpose-built golden thread solution. No small feat for anyone in the industry, as I am sure you can imagine!

We discussed the Golden Thread and recent updates surrounding its upcoming legislation, which is one of the most important topics for our business as we are the world’s first purpose-built golden thread solution. Further information on the Golden Thread can be found in our article here.

Furthermore, we also provided an overview of the Building Safety and Fire Safety Acts for all employees who attended because education is invaluable to team progress and overall success. Being topics of utmost importance, we wanted to ensure that our company values and priorities were communicated and understood across all departments. Our motto is straightforward but crucial to helping improve the safety of buildings all around us: We have a vision for managing the World’s Building Information for safer, more harmonious places for everyone.

After discussing the Golden Thread and having some additional time to socialise, we moved straight onto OKRs, to ensure everyone had the same common business goal. Now some of you might be wondering, what is an OKR? An OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results, where we focus on ambitious goals and measurable results that cascade across departments and individuals. These help us track progress as a business, create alignment, and encourage engagement and are an excellent asset for any business with a remote-working structure.

Setting our objectives and key results across departments and then continuing to break these down into individual objectives with relativity in mind was an excellent method of ensuring synchronicity as a business and assisted in creating an accurate level of forecasting.

Looking forwards and into the future of Operance, we discussed our business roadmap! Our roadmap splits into our two modules: Building OPERATIONS and Building SAFETY.

The operations side of our business includes O&M manuals, H&S files, Building User Guides, Building Log Books and more. The safety side of our business focuses on the Golden Thread of Information, HRB Registration, Safety Case, Safety Case Reports, Competent Persons Register, Resident’s Voice, Mandatory Reporting and more.

With all of these different qualities to bring to the industry, it was essential to look at the roadmap and make changes when needed so that we could maintain an agile and dynamic approach, evolving with legislation and compliance.

Overall, our roadmap review was a great session and helped make the most of having everyone in the same room simultaneously.

As this was the first time we could all get together in one location as a business, we wanted to make the most of it with a Q&A session!

During this session, everyone had the opportunity to be open and honest with each other, diving deep into a discussion about current projects and future ideas. It was great to see everyone open and transparent, leaving no stone unturned.

As a business, we found this time invaluable in formulating new ideas and finding solutions to problems. It was a great teambuilding exercise, and we look forward to doing more Q&A’s in the future… maybe even a public user one too!

After a brilliant period of discussion at the retreat, we decided that it would benefit all teams to separate into their individual departments and focus on their OKRs, projects and opportunities moving forward. It was also the perfect opportunity to consider all the different milestones we have achieved in such a short period of time. We plan to break these down into further detail in a separate article, but the list was impressive, to say the least!

All departments were encouraged to do SWOT analysis and then provide any ideas moving forwards, no matter how big or small. Everyone had their chance to have a say and continue getting to know each other, comparing ideas and sharing similar perspectives.

After a year of rapid growth as a business, it was almost mind-bending to imagine what we could and will achieve in the coming twelve months. All this hard work couldn’t go without some great food, and whilst we were out on that adventure, we even got a picture with the famous Birmingham Bull.

And that brings us to the end of the Operance Birmingham Retreat 2023! Wow, what a fantastic event filled with great vibes and great people. We are already penciling dates for our next retreat; if you look at how far we have come in such a short period of time, it’s exciting to think how far we will have progressed by this time next year.

For anyone reading this article and wondering how they can optimise their remote-working business, we advise developing a strong and positive culture because skillsets, experience and education can always be improved with the right mindset. These attributes enable us to deliver the world’s first purpose-built Golden Thread platform.

We want to take this opportunity to all those who contributed to the success of the retreat and special thanks to Scott Pilgrim, Ian Yeo, Tim Mutlow and Charlie Yeo, for arranging the event and bringing everyone together.

Bring on the next Operance Retreat!

We would like to welcome our new Head of Digital Services, Dave Peacock, to Operance. Dave joined the business in December and is already making a strong impact across the brand. Working closely with the rest of our board team, Dave is here to ensure that our services continue to evolve whilst retaining current value and providing additional value in future.

We interviewed Dave about his first couple of weeks within the role, have a read of his feedback below.

I started in December 2022 after many chats with Scott and later Ian Y to define the role, which seemed an excellent fit for my knowledge and experience. I have been aware of BIMSense and Operance since they started around five years ago; the organisation is seen as one of the leading forces related to AEC BIM & Digital for both the O&M/FM/Golden Thread platform and the BIM, Digital and Information Management services. I was eager to join the team when Scott mentioned it; I have watched from afar as the business and number of clients have grown.

My role is Head of Digital Services, and I am responsible for managing the team, the clients and the projects related to that part of the organisation. I am initially involved in discussions with the clients regarding their information requirements (use cases), then collating our proposal, resourcing the projects, ongoing talks and ensuring the final deliverables are as required to meet the client’s requirements.

I’m showing my age, but I have played league badminton for over 25 years. I am not as fit as I used to be, but experience and long arms help keep me going on the court! It’s great at the weekends and holidays to spend time with my wife and daughters, either eating out, going to the cinema, shopping or visiting friends and family. Having four teenage daughters keeps me on my toes; dad’s taxi is very busy nowadays!

I bring 25 years in the Construction industry, including 15 years of BIM/Digital experience, so that knowledge will allow me to define what the client wants or needs to meet industry standards or best practices and how best to deliver on those requirements. I have been part of Nima (formerly UK BIM Alliance) for around five years now in a range of roles, and I am also involved in discipline-specific groups within the Housing and Nuclear sectors, which allow me to input and gain early insight into the next evolution of BIM, Digital and Information Management within the Construction industry.

The new Building Safety module is an excellent addition to the platform; this helps to guide housing associations, local authorities and other parties involved with High-Risk Buildings (HRB). This module is a step-by-step guide to define, curate, access and maintain the information about High-Risk Buildings in line with the latest Building Safety and Fire Safety legislation. This includes the HRB registration, which comes into effect in April 2023 and requires all HRBs to be registered by October 2023.

That concludes our interview with Dave! We wish him a warm welcome to the business once again. We look forward to working with him on a long-term basis and are excited to see what the future brings with him on board.

We would like to welcome our new Chief Sales Officer, Ian Hetherington, to Operance. Ian joined the business in November and is already making a strong impact across the brand. Working closely with the rest of our board team, Ian is here to ensure that our sales process continues to evolve whilst retaining current value and providing additional value in future.

We interviewed Ian about his first couple of weeks within the role, have a read of his feedback below.

I joined Operance at the end of November after getting to know the business and team for a couple of months beforehand. I joined for three key reasons: The product, the market and the people involved. I also have an extensive background in software sales and specifically the construction market, so I like that I can continue to develop these areas.

When I first discovered Operance and the product itself, I knew it was an exciting opportunity that provided real value to the industry. Not only does the product bring value to the industry, but it also helps improve the safety of commercial and higher-risk buildings for everyone who uses them frequently or even resides in them full-time. Aside from the product, the people at any business are also important; and it’s great to see that everyone at Operance sits on the same page with the same overall common goal, building safety.

My role is Chief Sales Officer, so my overall responsibility is to ensure that Operance can provide its products and services whilst maintaining enough revenue to enable growth and development. There is also a lot more to the role than that, such as making sure that customers get what they paid for and can maximise the value they get from using our product.

I am a very family-orientated man. I have a wife and children and enjoy spending most of my spare time with them. We love to go on holiday and enjoy experiencing the world together. I am also very sporty and currently play Golf. I also play football, badly I must admit, and look forward to seeing England win the world cup this year… I hope!

Good question! I think ultimately, the sales department is at the forefront of communication, having frequent conversations with existing and future customers. I am a big fan of having two ears and one mouth, so listening to customers and understanding what they need and how we can help them is going to be an essential part of our growth moving forwards. The great thing about SaaS is that it is constantly evolving, especially when the software has been written in-house with a team of developers on hand at any time to help out as it has been at Operance. With this in mind, I am also looking forward to helping shape the product as it continues to develop, using customer feedback and insight to help move the industry forwards.

I am still new to Operance, but I have already heard of so many new features and updates on their way! Exciting! I think overall, I am excited to see the level of adoption continue to happen at the rate it is and for our platform to continue developing into a one-stop safety solution for all building developers, contractors, owners and more.

That concludes our interview with Ian! We would like to once again wish him a warm welcome to the business. We look forward to working with him on a long-term basis and are excited to see what the future brings with him on board.