Sisk achieving 98% faster reporting with Speckle

John Sisk and Son Ltd is an international engineering and construction company recognized by the industry for its BIM and Engineering capabilities. They work mainly in Europe and the UK, offering a lifecycle approach to construction across diverse sectors.

Innovation is at the heart of the business, as it continuously explores new technologies to foster a visionary mentality by challenging itself and its supply chains to be creative and build a better world.

“What global pressures do we need to respond to? What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind?” Aaron challenges the audience to think about these questions and introduces the following components:

• Interconnected network. This is a vital component to connect people, products, and data. This allows for human connectivity and concrete offerings, with collaboration having no limits and collective potential. Exchanging ideas and expertise is important for delivering better designs and buildings.
• A sustainable construction ecosystem. Such a system is not merely a collection of structures. It also cultivates the notion of conscientious management. It enhances the quality of the built world by embodying commitments and minimizing environmental impact.
• Improved connectivity. The construction process merges with the efficiency of operations management, not just a switch integration, but a strategic alliance. The exchange between multidisciplinary teams is a relay of knowledge that leads to consistent improvement, where operational insights feed back into the construction methodology, creating a feedback loop.

The John Sisk & Son team is continuously working towards these principles to shape the future of construction.

Project Spotlight: Wembley Park

Image taken from Construction News

Sisk is slashing embodied carbon and optimizing off-site-manufactured components in its latest job at Wembley Park. This project is the team’s first development on the northeast side of Wembley Stadium, where they have already completed 9 projects. Each project has been delivered on time and within budget, thanks to the knowledge and learning that have been shared and circulated.

The approach described in this video unlocked many opportunities to continuously reduce waste and transportation emissions.

The Challenge: Off-Site Monitoring

“We faced a challenge: How could we effectively monitor 1,700 precast panels with data from different suppliers?”

Everything was happening off-site: engineers, site managers, and project managers would spend a lot of time establishing and updating trackers in siloes. It was a time-consuming task that resulted in many Excel trackers (which took days to complete) and required going to the manufacturing location and getting word-of-mouth updates.

This process was inefficient, and the team wanted to move away from a horizontal reporting structure (with information scattered across different locations) towards a more vertical structure (with data flowing into a central hub). This is where Speckle stepped in.

By integrating field data and standardizing the Quality Assurance (QA) process to align with the production process, the team achieved higher efficiency and productivity.

Enabling automation steps with Sisk and Speckle

Harnessing an object-based version-control system for 3D data enabled the team to track changes within the 3D model and Speckle connectors, especially using Power BI.

This allowed them to think outside the box when reporting their BIM data. This level of data connectivity enabled the production of a dashboard that monitors the progress of off-site construction, delivery, and installation.

Sisk's Power BI Dashboard

Other data, such as carbon measurements and life-cycle assessment (LCA), have also been collected, prompting the team to ask questions about carbon output and internal efficiencies using real-time data.

Speckle enabled the John Sisk & Son team to access comprehensive updates of the facade progress by turning data into intelligence.

The work done has been awarded an Excellence in the BIM and Digital Construction by London Build and a shortlist nomination to the London National Building & Construction award.

The Sisk Team at London Build (LinkedIn post)

Using Speckle as part of the project yielded tangible benefits:

• 72% faster configuration in comparison to traditional methodology
• 98% faster reporting by harnessing BIM data for automated task reporting

“Taking a report time from days to mere minutes by automating tedious, consuming tasks and thinking about connecting our data differently, we’ve seen great benefits in cost savings, reduction in risks, and enhancement of visibility and decision-making. Accessing these tools and real-time insights enables us to do a better job,” says Aaron.

This project enabled Sisk to examine trends, delve into its BIM data, understand the challenges it faces, and learn lessons for driving value.

So, where is the construction industry going? Speckle enables Sisk to unlock data, establish a more connected network, and move toward a sustainable construction ecosystem.

“Speckle opened the doors for us to use more of the information that we generate through our projects to unlock modern processes that align with our modern methods of construction,” says Aaron.