The construction industry isn’t known for being a beacon of innovation. I’m sure they would forgive us for saying that.

But there’s always room for new technology and we know one local company leading the way.

Operance, founded by Ian Yeo and Scott Pilgrim, are a software and consultancy provider specialising in Building Information Modelling or BIM as it’s commonly known.

We spoke to Ian about how tech like theirs is changing how buildings are built everywhere. It has the potential to save lives and increases efficiency throughout the construction process.

They’re a C4DI success story and to top it off they make a pretty good claim to having one of the best offices in the building.

Before we go any further, you’re probably wondering, what exactly is it that Operance (formally known as Bimsense) do?

Well, in Ian’s own words, “BIM is an acronym for Building Information Modelling. This has quite a few components. So, a 3D model created by an architect or an engineer, is one part of BIM. It’s a real central core part of BIM. But it’s also about information and making that information digital, throughout the construction process.”

“So, you will have an architect’s model. But you can also have, say, an Excel spreadsheet that becomes part of that overall model of a building.”

Thanks Ian. BIM has the potential to be a complete digital footprint of a building, its components, uses, specifications and more.

Operance don’t just do BIM – they offer other services too. They originally formed as a consultancy service for contractors and large estate owners, which is still part of what they do, but they also have an increasing range of software tackling facilities management, operations, and maintenance.

Tying it all together is an exciting concept known as the Golden Thread.

Simply put the Golden Thread is ‘the ability to track decisions throughout the life of a project.’ In other words, Operance empowers users by ‘identifying a thread all the way through design, construction, and the use of the building to know what’s happening to the material of the building and the products.’

The category for Best Use of Tech in Property looks for companies who are embracing, investing, and creating new technologies to improve efficiency, speed up production and bring sector-wide benefits. 

With a bold vision for organising the world’s building information to enable the creation of more efficient environments for everyone, Operance is fusing award-winning industry building information modelling expertise with ground-breaking technology. 

“We’ve been developing our own pioneering software to define, curate, audit and maintain building operations and maintenance (O&M) information,” says Scott Pilgrim, Chief Product Officer at Operance.  

“Our vision to create a digital ‘golden thread’ of lifecycle information is completely aligned to that of new building and fire safety legislation aimed at preventing another disaster like Grenfell, it’s imperative leading industry professionals come together in this way to drive fundamental and lasting change.”

Tom Oulton and Scott Pilgrim (Photo: Shaun Flannery)

Operance’s new information management platform, Operance O&M, is a purpose-built desktop application designed to help estates teams, developers and operators request operations and maintenance information to help manage new facilities and assets. It enables designers, contractors and project managers to semi-automate the coordination and checking of the data, making it easier to hand over. End-users can then search, share, edit and update the information from the palm of their hand thanks to their Operance FM mobile application.  

The solution provides an immutable ‘quantum ledger’, built on blockchain technology, to produce a secure lifecycle record of high-quality building safety and asset information, the ‘golden thread’. 

Operance’s Digital Transformation Lead, Tom Oulton, one of the country’s leading BIM professionals said: “We’re on the cusp of revolutionary change to the design, construction and management of our built environment. 

“Following Grenfell, we must take this opportunity to work collectively to ensure it’s never repeated. This is a chance to affect change that we must not let pass us by.” 

“The whole team is thrilled to be shortlisted for Best Use of Tech in Property by Insider Yorkshire,” Scott adds. 

“We can’t wait to celebrate with all those shortlisted across the various categories in September, they are some of the most exciting property companies in our region.” 

Insider Yorkshire Property Industry Awards 2021 takes place on Thursday 30 September 2021 at New Dock Hall, Leeds.  

To arrange a demo of the Operance O&M software, call Tom Oulton on 07735 123166 or drop him an email at tom.oulton@operance.app. 

Tim Mutlow is Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at Operance; he oversees everything to do with technology at Operance – from software development to security and making sure we have the best technology there is to serve our customers. 

We caught up with Tim to find out more about his background and vision for the future of construction tech.  

Chief Technology Officer is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. It covers every aspect of technology in the company.  

My main role is software development, but as we’ve grown, there are other areas I’m responsible for, such as cybersecurity, infrastructure and general IT.  

We have a growing software development team and we’re looking for a Senior Developer to take on some of the work I am doing so I can concentrate on other areas of the business.  

Recently, we’ve been working with two interns, which has been fantastic – it’s our ambition to develop our people and we regularly work with universities and colleges to find and develop the best talent. 

We’re a small and growing company so I’m wearing a lot of hats at the moment, but it’s great to be in a role where I can bring everything I enjoy under one umbrella.  

I have broad experience in technology and digital in lots of industries. For example, one of my first roles was in a banking environment – I helped developed internet banking, web services and secure mobile apps for two big international banks. It was a wide-ranging role, and I believe this has given me a good foundation working in construction when it is becoming more regulated and digitised.   

I’ve also had experience running a small business – I founded Happy Goon with a friend based in New York – and even lived overseas for a time. Happy Goon merged Augmented Reality (AR) and greetings cards, which on the surface sounds vastly different from what we’re doing at Operance. However, AR has a lot of scope in the construction industry – overlaying data on real-world objects.   

It was around this time when I started freelancing – web development and any software that touches the internet. I began working with Operance CEO Ian Yeo and CPO Scott Pilgrim, and this led to a full-time position as my role grew and grew.  

Ian Yeo (CEO), Scott Pilgrim (CPO) and Tim Mutlow (CTO). Photo: Shaun Flannery

Construction is already undergoing a digital transformation – Building Information Modelling (BIM) makes the design and construction process a lot more efficient, saving companies a lot of money.  

At Operance, we’re taking this to the next level and also focusing on building safety.  

There’s an incredible amount of data required in Operations and Maintenance files before a building’s handover. However, this information is rarely looked at again beyond handover. We’re building a product around this problem, making sure people have the confidence in O&M information – creating something trackable, searchable, useable and enforceable.  

As I mentioned, the industry is becoming more regulated and more compliance is required by building owners, contractors and designers. For example, the new Building Safety Bill requires a Golden Thread of information that spans the entire lifecycle of a building.  

It shouldn’t be a stick to hit people with; instead, we’re creating something that unlocks a lot of potential for a building – more insights into your data = operations efficiencies, cost savings and a reduction in environmental impact.  

The fact that I can put my stamp on everything. It’s been a totally blank canvas and that’s been great.  

On top of this, there are so many bits to enjoy – the data transparency we’re trying to create is good for the environment, for tenants, communities and for landlords and builders.

Get in touch with Tim via tim.mutlow@operance.app or via LinkedIn.

Over the last nine months, Nigel has offered his wealth of experience and expertise and supported us to get us where we are today – launching a brand new piece of software to help improve the safety of buildings across the UK. 

We caught up with Nigel to find out more about his background and vision for the future of construction. 

Being Chairman of the Board means that I’m responsible for assisting and giving guidance to the board of directors at Operance, as well as holding them to account to their shareholders. 

With my experience in management consultancy and digital transformation, I support the team, providing them with advice during a monthly board meeting.

My degree is in Computer Science and Maths – I went to the University of Glasgow. During the summer holidays, I worked for a firm of building contractors, which led me to create a 3D simulation of a building for my third-year project. 

This was around the late 1980s when 3D modelling in construction was quite new. 

After graduating, my career went down the Management Consultancy route, where I worked with various tech, computing and software organisations. 

Around the year 2000, I got involved in some smaller companies, including one we successfully turned around and successfully floated on AIM on the London Stock Exchange. At this point, I also started investing in companies and became Chairman of several organisations in Scotland, such as Administrate. 

Two years ago, I moved back to where I was born – Northumberland. I wanted to get involved in local companies and use my expertise to help businesses in the region. This led to being introduced to Bimsense and Operance through Mercia, who I’d known for a long time.

 CEO Ian Yeo, CPO Scott Pilgrim, Chairman Nigel Hedley, CTO Tim Mutlow

I realised there’s a huge opportunity for the industry here – the progress the construction industry has made since the Second World War is very slow compared to other sectors. 

I also get along very well with the Directors Ian, Scott and Tim and think the work they’re doing to bring digital to construction is essential.

There are many different reasons, but the main one’s centre around productivity, environment and safety. 

Safety is, of course, a huge factor – not only during construction but also throughout the entire lifecycle of the building. 

If you look at the tragic events of Grenfell, you can see real change is needed. We are working closely with the Golden Thread initiative to help developers and social housing associations digitise their records and define, curate, audit and maintain information about a building from design to occupation.

Modern methods of construction and modern materials require technology to construct buildings to more exacting measures. Meanwhile, technology can also help reduce emissions and pollution during both the construction and lifespan of the building.

It’s been a tough year for many businesses, and within Bimsense and Operance, we’ve had our ups and downs. However, it’s been rewarding as Chairman to see the team working hard to overcome challenges – they’ve never hidden their heads in the sand and always dealt with issues head-on. 

It’s a pleasure to be working with Ian, Scott and Tim.

To speak to one of the team for more information, call 0800 464 3316

The government has published its Construction Playbook, setting out key policies and guidance for how public works projects and programmes should be assessed, procured, and delivered.

Crucially it advocates accelerating the digitisation of construction, promoting the further development of building information modelling (BIM), and embedding technologies such as digital twins and the UK BIM Framework.

Building on the government’s Construction 2025 Strategy and the National Infrastructure Strategy, the Playbook has seven key aims:

1. Set clear and appropriate outcome-based specifications
2. Favour longer-term contracting across portfolios
3. Standardise designs, components and interfaces
4. Drive innovation and modern methods of construction
5. Create sustainable, contracting arrangements for better outcomes
6. Strengthen financial assessment of suppliers just in case things go wrong
7. Increase project and programme delivery.

Sounds brilliant – but how do we do it? Setting out these aims is one thing, delivering them is quite another. Handily, the Construction Playbook provides 14 specific policies for improvement, which I’ve reviewed and rated:

1. Commercial pipelines – details of future projects and programmes published 3 to 5 years ahead of requirement. Awesome. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Market health and capability assessments – fantastic idea, but tricky to achieve. It requires buy-in not just from industry but from education too. Who is going to provide the new skills being called for? Schools, colleges and universities need to play along too – please don’t just launch another STEM initiative! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Portfolios and longer-term contracting – standardising elements of design to support investment in MMC is a fantastic idea! Aligned to a transparent pipeline, this could really help the industry justify inward investment, though there’s the concern longer-term contracts could freeze out innovative solutions from agile SMEs and start-ups. As long as innovation isn’t stifled, this could be of benefit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Harmonise, digitise and rationalise demand – excellent! This is all about using digital tools to aid collaboration, interoperability, cross-sector cooperation and just generally being better! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Further embed digital technologies – BOOM! Advocating BIM and the Centre for Digital Built Britain as starting points to head into the exciting world of digital twins and empowered data use. More of this please! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. Early supply chain involvement – err… yes. Of course. Advocating certainty in project procurement and delivery just makes sense. Why wait to the last minute? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Outcome-based approach – focusing on the wider themes of “why” rather than the traditional, transactional “what” is definitely the way forward. It fits in with the Flourishing Systems ethos and makes us consider the benefits delivered by a project, not just the finished product. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Delivery model assessments – the document provides a well-articulated six-point plan to determine the best delivery model, then lays out five strategic approaches that are designed to deliver the best client outcome in each scenario. Having this clear process in place can only support the Playbook in achieving its desired outcomes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. Benchmarking and Should Cost Models – I won’t lie, “Should Cost Model” is a new one on me. It’s the anticipated whole-life cost of the project but robust benchmarking against centralised data to support decision making is just common sense. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
10. Effective contracting – there are no big changes or innovative insights into contracts. NEC, JCT and PPC2000 are all advocated with the usual add-on clauses. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. Risk allocation – risk should not be distributed to the supply chain without consideration, as it often flows downhill. With a good explanation of risk in the commercial lifecycle, the Playbook advocates active risk management to avoid inappropriate allocation of risk. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
12. Payment mechanism and pricing approach – taking a holistic approach to procurement to focus on outcomes and value is advised. There is a list of ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ which seem obvious but, by their inclusion, obviously aren’t. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
13. Assessing the economic and financial standing of suppliers – prompt and digital payment processes are advocated but the document stops short of detailing terms. Financial due diligence during the selection process is advised – no one wants to see another Carillion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
14. Resolution planning – with Carillion in mind, there’s a whole section on mitigating the impact of a major insolvency. Sadly, in the current climate, this section is worth having. Project Bank Accounts are advocated unless there are compelling reasons not to use them. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Construction Playbook goes on to describe some key points for good contract management and advocates building and maintaining supply chain relationships, all of which will be music to the ears of the SMEs who make up the bulk of our industry.

Last, but by no means least, there’s a chapter describing the transition to operation – advocating early preparation and adoption of a government soft landings approach, as well as transparent evaluation of projects and programmes success. This chapter could almost be the Playbook for Operance.

I’m aware I’ve just written a fluffy love-in of a piece about the Construction Playbook but I’m fine with that. I’m sure there will be Eeyore’s waiting in the wings, ready to undermine the vision laid out, and yes, there could have been more on carbon but hopefully, even the naysayers will see the benefits of the document.

The Construction Playbook puts digital construction front and centre for our industry and provides a solid foundation on which we can build our future.

Scott Pilgrim   scott.pilgrim@bimsense.co.uk   0113 3281282   Twitter   LinkedIn