Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
UK-Based Procurement Company Saves Interserve £10million
The pioneering procurement software company Market Dojo has saved international support, construction and equipment services company, Interserve, £10 million with the use of its software. Market Dojo provided software which enabled Interserve to run an eAuction on fire and security services alongside Per Angusta, which delivered remarkable results.
With a gross revenue of £3.7billion and a workforce of circa 75,000 worldwide, Interserve is a leader in innovative and sustainable outcomes for its clients and is one of the world’s foremost construction equipment and services companies.
The team at www.MarketDojo.com were approached by Interserve representatives at an international procurement event, here they purchased a single £500 monthly licence with Market Dojo to run an eAuction on Fire and Security Services.
Following their early success with the tool, Market Dojo, alongside 30 other competitive solutions were invited to a major tender to compete in providing an enterprise solution that would be easy to adopt at all levels across the Interserve organisation. Interserve landed on the decision to place their trust in Market Dojo following the tender and a speedy start-up meant that the international company saw near-immediate results from the plan implemented by the MD team, in co-operation with Per Angusta.
Foregoing a traditional “Full-Suite” approach, Interserve instead elected that the team at Market Dojo would take charge of e-Sourcing and category planning, with Per Angusta providing Pipeline and Savings tracking respectively.
As a result, Interserve now has in excess of 80 active users on Market Dojo and has saved over £10 million in the first 18 months since using the procurement software company’s services. Post-implementation, the business has been able to host a variety of Facilities Management tenders, including maintenance, public displays and Health & Safety.
The solutions have negated the need for users to enter information multiple times in more than one place and, due to their intuitive user interface, very few training or skills materials were needed, cutting down on wasted time.
Rob Barlow, procurement systems and process manager for Interserve commented:
“Market Dojo, in collaboration with Per Angusta, has exceeded our expectations, with a strong customer focus, continuous innovation and proactive communication. We have already seen a number of enhancements to both platforms in line with our needs, completing such projects within a matter of months. We continue to have regular workshops and review sessions and have already seen numerous success stories across the business.”
Nick Drewe, Co-founder for www.MarketDojo.com commented:
“Interserve is such a fantastic business and we were ecstatic the results and return on investment were very evident. It has been great working alongside them. We (alongside Per Angusta) managed to implement a plan that was highly effective with a quick turnaround. We are incredibly proud of the results we have seen and truly think they prove how impactful our service can be.”
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Construction Connectivity – Getting Back to Basics
The European construction industry is continuing to demonstrate encouraging growth, with Deloitte forecasting that the market is on track to grow at a steady rate of 2.5 per cent a year to 2022. With this continued growth, firms face increasing pressure to deliver against rising demand, but it’s widely recognised that the construction industry has a reputation for often delivering projects later than expected and significantly over-budget. Large scale projects in particular can typically take 20 per cent longer to complete than planned and can be up to 80 per cent over budget – so how can the industry adapt to fulfil these ever-expanding expectations when current efficiency levels often leave a lot to be desired?
The adoption of new technology and smarter processes can deliver tangible benefits for construction firms, but there remains a fundamental stumbling block for those organisations looking to capitalise on new innovation – a frequent lack of high speed, portable and reliable Internet connectivity. It is therefore imperative that the industry addresses these key issues as a matter of urgency so that firms can gain access to the connectivity they need at new sites from day one.
The construction site of the future
With rapid advances in technology and the advent of cloud based solutions, the way we work and interact has drastically changed. Technology innovation has led industries to continually strive to be more efficient, productive and cost effective. Yet, when it comes to the world of construction, investment in IT has remained low in comparison to other industries. The market has been hampered by technical challenges relating to projects that can be large, complex and geographically dispersed. Combined with varying proficiency and maturity levels of smaller subcontractors, advancing at scale has been difficult and has subsequently led to the slow progress of the digitisation of the construction industry.
Despite these challenges, the available technology in construction has advanced rapidly and we are now starting to see examples of how advents in digital technology can deliver efficiency and productivity opportunities at the start of all projects – truly revolutionising the construction sites of the past. Drones, robotics, 3D printing and augmented reality are no longer works of fiction but can be adopted by forward thinking firms looking to capitalise on the benefits that embracing innovation can bring to the construction site.
Connectivity is essential
Connectivity is a necessity for businesses in virtually every industry and construction is no exception. Crucially, this is still one fundamental hurdle that the industry must overcome if it is to create a solid foundation for all new innovation.
Technology that is crucial for the industry to innovate and keep up with demand, cannot function without high speed, portable and reliable internet connection, but gaining access to connectivity can be a challenge for new sites, particularly those that are located in a Green or Brownfield location where there is typically no existing connection. Often, a fixed line is simply not an option and the reliability of 4G is still patchy, even as talk around the possibilities of 5G continue to dominate the headlines.
Conclusion
The construction industry cannot continue to utilise outdated processes and management methods but instead must embrace digital advances and adopt smarter processes and technology to stay competitive. But there is no way that the construction sites of the future will ever become a reality unless the industry can conquer the basics of connectivity.
So, how can construction firms ensure that a strong and stable connection is established quickly at a new site to ensure lack of connectivity does not negatively impact on projects? By working with an ecosystem of experienced and trusted providers who can supply the connectivity and IoT services that sites require. The industry will then be able to continually benefit from the opportunities that the latest advances in innovation present. The potential rewards to firms that capitalise on digitisation will be instantaneous.
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Monday, April 29, 2019
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Friday, April 26, 2019
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Why a career in construction could be the next step for ex-military
Last year, the number of people employed in the British Armed Forces numbered nearly 150,000. Of those, over 80,000 employed in the British Army and over 30,000 in the Royal Navy.
However, over 14,000 people leave the military every year. This has become somewhat of a blessing for the construction industry, as it has created a sea of potential employees. Over 200,000 extra workers are needed before 2020 and ex-military personnel have highly transferrable skillsets and the potential to reach the top of the industry.
Ryan Latham, Senior Marketing Executive for 3B Training, has experienced firsthand how businesses can benefit from hiring ex-military personnel.
“Construction as an industry is growing, but it’s also is experiencing a gap in skills. An excellent way to fill in the hole for personnel with leadership, project management and teamwork skills is to investigate the pool of military leavers available. These transferable attributes are a valuable resource for the construction industry to help bring in skilled young workers.
Other industries appear to ignore Armed Forces leavers as potential employees, so much so that some leave their service history from their CV. Little do they know that they are missing out on a range of positive personality traits such as courage, discipline, selflessness and respect for others”.
Below, we take a closer look at what it’s like working in the military, what motivates members of the Armed Forces and why transitioning to a career in construction is the ideal next step for a leaver.
Why do people leave the military?
To understand why many people choose to leave the service, we’ve examined data from the 2018 UK Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey Results which look at the impact of decisions affecting personnel.
Life in the Armed Forces requires specific demands that aren’t found in civilian jobs. When deployed, military personnel can find themselves away from their families for long periods of time, often in dangerous situations. Yet despite this, we found that the most common reasons for military personnel to seek a new career path are down to more familiar concerns:
- Job satisfaction — Only 55% of military personnel claimed they were generally satisfied with their job.
- Pay satisfaction — There has been a consistent drop in pay satisfaction since 2010, with only 31% currently admitting to being happy with their salary.
- Life satisfaction — When questioning their happiness and how worthwhile they feel the things they do in life are, at least one in five members of the military rate them as low.
Since 2005, the Royal Marines have also seen a large decrease in the levels of satisfaction with opportunities for professional and personal development. It seems then, that much like civilian jobs, careers in the military are more motivated by personal growth and satisfaction.
This has led to a staggering 42% of military personnel actively searching for a new career outside of the Armed Forces over the past 12 months.
Why choose construction?
The construction industry is currently suffering from a skills shortage, resulting in a need for over 200,000 more workers by 2020. According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the lack of skilled workers in the UK is the highest level since 2007, meaning the government’s initiative to build 300,000 new homes each year looks optimistic at best.
Former military personnel have a great opportunity to fill the construction skills gap. There are many sectors in the Armed Forces which provide their personnel with a number of highly transferrable skills, whether that’s engineering, mechanics or electronic.
A number of companies recognise the potential of military leavers and provide specialist training programmes to help them adjust to civilian life and a new career in construction. There are specialist courses available that provide Enhanced Learning Credits to enable lifelong learning to ex-members of the military or those looking to leave. These credits cover 80% of course fees and are available to anyone who has served a minimum of 6 years.
Working in construction allows leavers to put their experience to good use in a number of potential opportunities. The industry is not only in desperate need of construction workers but also manager positions, which is perfect for ex-officers who have experience leading teams and getting results in difficult situations.
What makes ex-military personnel a desirable workforce?
When working in the armed forces, you receive a level of training that simply isn’t available in other career paths. Regardless of their previous role, leavers are all highly disciplined and have fantastic teamwork skills.
- According to the Armed Forces survey results, 82% agree that they have confidence in themselves as a team, plus, 78% believe their team know exactly what their responsibilities are and that their team can be relied upon to help when their job gets difficult. A strong team that can work well together and keep their cool under pressure is exactly what the construction industry needs.
- Many working in the military are proud of the work they do, with 50% of the Royal Marines claiming that their service inspires them to do the best in their job. With the construction industry looking for a dedicated new workforce, finding employees who take pride in their work is crucial.
- Leavers are not just job applicants to the construction industry, they’re assets. Due to their experiences in the Armed Forces, they can pick up skills much faster than most people in civilian professions and can help quickly fill the large skills gap. A team of highly trained, dedicated workers and authoritative, respected managers is the solution the industry has been looking for.
Samantha Gregory, Training Coordinator at 3B Training and former Vehicle Mechanic in the REME, knows firsthand what ex-military can offer the construction industry.
“The work ethic for military leavers is completely different from civilians. It is embedded in us to turn up on time (5 minutes before 5 minutes early) and to just get the job done.
Leavers are great at working under pressure and are taught to work through problems ourselves and come up with practical solutions. They can work with anyone and take instruction well.
Plus, if you’re looking for a manager you’re in the right place, as working in the Armed Forces gives leavers some of the best training in some of the worst environments”.
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