Engineering & Construction: Powering Connected Construction With No-Code

The engineering and construction industry began 2020 by adding “ . . . more than $900 billion to the US economy in the first quarter of 2020—its highest level since the 2008 recession,” (Deloitte). And, although impacted by COVID-19, E&C is weathering the storm better than many other industries.

Having said that, the E&C industry still faces its fair share of challenges, resulting in pressure to increase digital transformation efforts. COVID aside, the industry faces ongoing low profitability and slim margins, decreasing natural resources, and dangerous working environments, among other challenges. The difference between E&C enterprises that are able to tackle these challenges and thrive, and those that aren’t, will rest greatly on the investment and focus companies dedicate to adopting innovative digital solutions and strategies.

It’s no secret that construction sites pose a certain level of risk. According to Safety & Health Magazine, "During a 45-year career, there is a 1 in 200 chance that a construction worker will die from a work-related incident." We don't mean to sound bleak, but the facts are important; they show where improvements are needed. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that using innovative technological solutions to help eliminate the fatal four "would save 591 workers' lives in America every year."

Many engineering and construction companies are still using Excel- or paper-based processes to report safety issues. As well as being time-consuming, such processes are highly error-prone. This is an area in which tech-savvy organizations in the industry are using automation in order to reduce the number of errors and therefore reduce risk.

Let's look at some ways in which the E&C industry is using new technology to improve safety and collaboration during projects:

As we’ve mentioned, Excel- and paper-based processes certainly don’t help matters when it comes to ensuring a safe working environment in the E&C sector. So to help improve safety across the board, leading E&C organizations and clients have joined forces with eX:plain. Together, they established the Safety in Construction Governance Code with a clear goal: to standardize safety instructions when entering construction sites.

In establishing the Safety in Construction Governance Code, eX:plain recognized that employees of subcontractors and suppliers were having to follow different safety instructions for different construction sites. As you can imagine, this lack of consistency can lead to confusion as to what the instructions actually are, which in turn can lead to dangerous situations. To solve this problem, eX:plain worked with Betty Blocks to develop the Generic Gateway Instruction (GPI) application.

The new application increases safety awareness at every construction site in the Netherlands by standardizing gate instructions. eX:plain developed a system that allows users to easily follow multiple instructions in 17 different languages. Thanks to this digitization process, the affiliated organizations immediately save time and money on administrative processes.

Because the application is developed on the Betty Blocks platform, eX:plain is self-reliant and has control over the development and management of port instructions without the need to manually write code.