“The National Digital Twin Programme is essentially a detailed and elaborate ‘system of systems’, which at its core, is creating ‘cross-pollinated’ value for all stakeholders, by fusing together ‘people, process and data’; in a structured, meaningful and measurable way ….”
Dr Bola Abisogun OBE [October 2024]
So, what is ‘social value’ and why is it such an important ‘contract deliverable’ when considering and procuring the ‘traditional’ construction process?
…. as defined, by Social Value UK
“Social Value is a broader understanding of value. It moves beyond using money as the main indicator of value, instead putting the emphasis on engaging people to understand the impact of decisions on their lives. The people’s perspective is critical.
Organisations will always create good and bad experiences, but on balance should aim to create a net positive impact in the present and for a sustainable future. They should measure their impacts and use this understanding to make better decisions for people”
Our client, the McConnell Group, an established Main Contractor, has been around for a while and although relatively new to the South-East, the business is led by a forward-thinking and progressive Executive Team, that remains committed to the pursuit of ‘value-based’ outcomes; predominantly relating to their people and the communities in which they work.
Measuring what is important to people, beyond profit
For some people, social value stems from their experiences at home or at work. It may be related to satisfaction from the time they spend with family or feeling refreshed after they take in deep breaths of fresh air during a stroll in the countryside.
If you use a country lane each day to work, the lane has social value to you and others. Should an organisation then choose to build near it or on it, it would have an impact on you if you were not able to enjoy your walk to work or to get to work as easily, and if you were made to feel less safe or more stressed because of this.
All of these aspects of our lives, things that we experience day to day, have an impact on our overall wellbeing. Our wellbeing is impacted by things like our health, our relationships, what we do for work, where we live, our personal finances, our education and skills, our natural world, economic changes, how we govern our societies, and our own understanding of how we are.
Social value measurement tries to understand and record the relative importance we place on the wellbeing changes we experience. It helps to inform better decision-making to increase positive change, and decrease the negative.
Source: Social Value UK _ https://socialvalueuk.org
My first and official, digital twin ‘use-case’ was presented and published at an online event with a global audience, supported by the University of Cambridge / Centre for Digital Built Britain ‘CDBB’ and hosted by Tech UK on the 25th February 2021; you can watch the YouTube video from 39:15; https://www.techuk.org/resource/rewind-techuk-publishes-landmark-unlocking-value-across-the-uk-s-digital-twin-ecosystem-report.html
Credit: https://www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk
It was at that ‘milestone and career defining event’ where I first articulated and made reference to my ‘Social Value’ Digital Twin solution, aka ‘SVDT’ which pretty much encapsulated my previous and primary activity, as a small builder, between 2003-2017. Recognised by the late HMQEII in the 2019 New Year Honours and awarded an OBE ‘for Services to Diversity & to Young People in the Construction Industry’ [see here; https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3176430 ] my whole ‘commercial’ offer to the public sector, back then, was simply to deliver the social value ‘contract’ deliverables for any or all of the appointed Tier 1 contractors.
Whilst it was something of a great idea with a noble #CSR business case (commercially, ticking a lot of boxes, both for the commissioner and the Tier 1 Contractor) my real ‘purpose’ was literally to drive ‘social value and impact’ through ‘actual’ public sector construction spend; which we would leverage and demonstrate via our various subcontract award(s). For some 15years, my small ‘local’ teams across London, successfully delivered R&M [repairs and maintenance] work, tinged with social value, in almost every borough.
Credit: Dr Bola Abisogun OBE via X
A random but timely invitation from another industry ally, Marc Baines, CEO of SEC ensured that, along with our Deputy CEO [NessaA], we passed through their Summer Party Event enroute to another Summer Party being held at RICS HQ – it was clearly going to be a very busy July evening.
However, in hindsight, I was grateful for the invitation and equally glad that I made the effort to attend, because that is where I was afforded the opportunity to rekindle a valued relationship, that had broken down, due in part, to my crashing out of the construction industry, back in 2017.
By choosing to deliver ‘grassroot’ social impact across London, my team and I were able to ‘influence & facilitate’ greater ‘ethnic’ diversity and (simultaneously) address both the age and gender challenge(s) too, complete with socio-economic outcomes being capable of ‘real’ and tangible measurement. My over-arching objective was to move ‘local’ people from unemployment / under-employment or ‘economic inactivity’ into full and/or sustainable, part-time employment …….. and in the context of the Building Safety Act, that key objective is still relevant today.
However, in order to do that well, you will always need a willing, able and empathetic client; just like my dear friend Chris Doyle, with whom I was fortunate to have met at the SEC Summer Party on the 11th July 2024.
Notably, the team at Social Value UK provide support, training and assurance for developing approaches to measuring and understanding social value, so organisations can make better-informed decisions to improve wellbeing for all materially affected peoples.
“A business can understand the impact of its choices and a local authority can assess the pros and cons of a proposed idea or contract. It becomes easier to assess different risks and opportunities. It is important to avoid tick boxing when it comes to social value. For true social value, we must involve people, from customers/services users, employees, to the wider community who are affected. We must listen to them, believe them, and be accountable for responding to what we hear. Using rich data is the only way to truly reflect social value, because a tick box exercise can be easily manipulated. In short, social value measurement goes beyond financial or economic value and tries to capture social impact in the round.”
…….. through my own work, and working closely with Young People Services and YOT’s, local Job Centres and Employability Services across most, if not all London boroughs, I was ‘constantly’ able to map and evidence the ‘social value’ that I was creating in ‘real time’ and the positive impact(s) that my business [even as a simple subcontractor] was ‘actually’ making across a typical local footprint of operational R&M activity. This visibility afforded me the opportunity to see where we were actually making a positive impact with the young people that were seeking to engage with.
Credit: Digital Twin Hub, London
Introduced following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, receiving Royal Assent on 28th April 2022, the Building Safety Act aka ‘BSA’, has heralded in ‘generational reform’ and (since the 6th April 2024) the UK construction sector has an additional, though perfectly natural extension, to its traditional capability to deliver construction projects. The introduction of a new ‘data-driven’ legal requirement commonly referred to as the Golden Thread has literally opened up the market for a new product / service, typically called ‘digital’ construction, and with this paradigm-shift, beckons the intrinsic and wide scale adoption of the digital twin.
My pro-bono contributions to date, via CDBB and the DT Hub, have along with my small (but growing) team at the DTSA, led me to revert ‘back to basics’ deploying the contents of the very first document that I read, back in 2019 [the Gemini Principles]. My support to the then CDBB, was reflected in the follow-on documents that I was privileged to co-author – the Digital Twin Toolkit and finally the Gemini Papers. Both documents will feature within our very first ‘Introduction to Digital Twins’ Microcredential [supported by the Digital Twin Hub and endorsed by OCN London].
Credit: CITB via YouTube Channel
Recently privileged to have been approached by the Senior Management Team at the CITB to support their campaign for greater awareness of Building Safety, my first-hand experience of life as a ‘small builder’, which is the case for a large majority of construction firms, meant that I could easily articulate the ‘business case’ on their behalf. The fact is, a better equipped, competent and skilled workforce, will yield ‘many benefits’ to the wider UK economy, and at the DTSA, we are keen to ensure that every able and willing participant (and business) has achieved the requisite level of documented competence to successfully, carry out and deliver their work / contracted obligations. Social value can be measured across the whole piece, from procurement to enforcement during and beyond construction, into decommissioning, spanning the whole life cycle.
Credit: CITB via LinkeIn page
Fundamentally, the new regulatory ‘BSA’ regime gives residents and homeowners more rights, powers, and protections, whilst simultaneously imposing an obligation on the industry to ‘do better’. At the DTSA, we are committed to embracing the ‘spirit of the Act’ and ensuring that the UK construction sector, with approximately three million individual contributors, adheres to a ‘digitally enabled’, chronological, evidence-based process of continuous improvement. This same process must be capable of withstanding ‘third party’ scrutiny, including any ask of the newly created Building Safety Regulator.At the DTSA, we advocate for a ‘digital first’ information management approach, as standard practice across the industry. Notwithstanding, the primary barrier to achieving any meaningful and sustainable success is, predominantly cultural, but the lack of skilled personnel has also presented itself as an opportunity, one that we are willing to support the CITB to deliver upon. Given that better regulatory compliance is more of a ‘people (not process) challenge’, we remain empathetic and culturally competent towards our key stakeholder groups, reflecting our ‘people-centric’ values into our mission, as we maintain and expand our competitive advantage.
Credit: Digital Twin Hub, London
Much of the DT Hub activities and wider commercial ambitions are extremely admirable, but in many ways such ‘high profile’ projects and ambitions are far too lofty for many of our ‘day-to-day’ stakeholders. At the DTSA, I am / we are grounded and very humble in our approach to sustainability, where by default, we remain Servant leaders choosing to speak to the wider (and in many ways, pressing) needs of society. My own personal desire, both as the Chief Excitement Officer and as a member for the DT Hub Advisory Group / Sector Lead on the Digital Skills and Building Capability Working Group, is to address ‘societal’ issues that affect the masses, much of which the privileged amongst us will never relate to, or even experience.
Social impact has become ‘commercial’ currency in its own right and increasingly seen as an ‘investable’ product, to which the DTSA is completely aligned; whilst we remain determined to both lead, influence and capitalise upon this new form of invesment.
Earlier this year I had the good fortune to reconnect with another long-standing ally and industry leader, Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders aka the FMB. Founded in 1941, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is the largest trade association in the UK construction industry representing the interests of micro, small and medium-sized building companies. The FMB is independent and non-profit making, lobbying for members’ interests at both national and local level. As a previous member of the FMB who themselves, remain a keen source of knowledge, professional advice, and support to its members, I remain determined to see how the DTSA can help provide a positive contribution towards their growing range of modern and relevant business building services, helping FMB members succeed.
Conveniently for us at the DTSA, the issue of the Golden Thread arose in conversation and has now been identified as an area of keen interest; reflected at the recent FMB Annual Conference in September 2024. Notwithstanding, the support from CITB London, led by Stephen Cole and Carl Licorish has been sincerely appreciated and I am hopeful that a tangible and scalable solution will be created for all CITB levy paying contractors to draw upon, in the not-too-distant future.
Credit: Digital Twin Hub, London
The key individuals [seen above] at the DT Hub are [as previously stated] at the helm of an eco-system of ideas and economic opportunity and should be both recognised and seen as a formidable team. At the DTSA, we are grateful for their continued recognition of our mission-led objectives and we remain keen to progress a closer more strategic working relationship with them.
Our core mission at the DTSA is to educate, empower, enable and equip the next generation [with a 'targetted and unapologetic' focus on those 16-25yrs] helping them to consider a ‘greener’ career in digital construction, whilst recognising the plethora of ‘new and emerging’ data-centric, career pathways. Greater adoption of digital twins will ensure that these roles will be the most 'promising careers' in an industry, currently undergoing massive reinvention, driven by the arrival and 'mainstream' use of #AI technologies.
The aforementioned roles have all been referenced for consideration by the reader and will go some way towards ensuring that a data-driven, digital first approach to delivering the ‘Golden Thread’ for any project, becomes the norm, irrespective of its asset class.
Credit: R&R with 'Doyley' _ as we plan to create more #SocialValue - but differently ...
Following that chance meeting at the SEC Summer event, I was invited to lunch with my old client and now best buddy (Chris Doyle) to consider the future of their new business approach and presence in the South East; naturally we discussed digital twins and the ‘unique’ approach and value proposition that the DTSA has to offer …
Another invitation was received late September, this time it was an offer to network with the McConnell Group and some of their clients over a ‘Full English’ breakfast. However, on arrival my invitation soon included an impromptu – last minute request from the host (Chris Doyle) – to join a panel discussion with specific reference to the challenges of preparing to submit a Gateway 2 Application(s). The new three (3) tier Gateway system has presented a timely challenge to the entire sector, and one that will ultimately demand much more collaboration and ensure that ‘digital-first’ ways of working, become the norm. Early client/contractor engagement, is a particular strength of the PPC2000 form of contract, which has been identified as a key instrument in the transition of the sector towards better compliance with the BSA generally and specific project based outcomes, regarding the Golden Thread.
By all accounts, the event was a resounding success …. and was further captured in the form of a post on LinkedIn …….
Having presented on the Gateway 2 panel conversation at the McConnell breakfast event, I was subsequently invited to share a summary insight to our work at the DTSA at the successive Trowers & Hamlins LLP _ 5thMini Conference on Building Safety, which took place on 10th October 2024. Along with Ismail Alsayed from Clarion Housing Group, I was offered a speaking slot on Day 2, just ahead of the final Keynote delivered by Dame Judith Hackitt.
The presentation slides and all videos, across both days can be seen here: https://www.trowers.com/insights/2024/october/building-safety-annual-mini-conference
Credit: Trowers and Hamlins via LinkedIn
The opportunity for me (via the DTSA) to participate alongside such senior industry talent was extremely humbling and a timely ‘platform opportunity’ to draw attention to the ‘lack of urgency’ amidst wider industry paralysis, and pitifully low digital maturity, awareness and implementation. The sector has run out of time to prepare and get ready, now we just have to start!
Given the above, it has become absolutely clear that the construction industry / housing sector cannot wait for the ‘much needed clarity from government’. The fact that one of the ‘most significant’ of the 58 recommendations, contained in the ‘final’ Phase 2 / Grenfell Tower Report – has suggested that the UK Government redefine ‘a higher risk building’ [HRB] ur to potentially include ‘all’ buildings.
“We therefore recommend that the definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act be reviewed urgently” _ (on pg 32 / 113.7 refers); an interesting point to stay abreast of.
This recommendation could also suggest that the Building Safety Regulator should also recognise that EVERY building that provides residential accommodation to people must be safe, not just the ‘high rise’ assets, considered to be ‘in scope’ following Grenfell.
At the DTSA our ‘Social Value Digital Twin’ aims to protect all parties and our ‘resident engagement strategy’ is both inclusive and culturally competent; with one key objective. We aim to empower all stakeholders (including the Accountable Person(s)) through continuous education, using immersive technologies as and where required; such an approach is commonly referred to as #EdTech
Credit: Dr Bola Abisogun OBE via X
After a truly busy and engaging couple of months with the team at McConnell, my fellow Director at AI-QS (Patrick King) and I were invited to demonstrate our new platform at their St/Albans office. This platform has been a work in progress since 2003 and is designed to measure a number of construction related project risks and ‘mission’ critical metrics, including ‘social value’. Our platform is an aggregator of ‘live-data’ and was (originally) designed to be the 'Co-Pilot' for the UK Quantity Surveyor; more recently, we have pivoted towards the ‘intelligent’ Client.
Credit: AI-QS Limited via #PQS2030
The AI-QS platform is presented as a series of ‘dashboards’ that can be constructed and configured to reflect the project' 'actual / nett' position, based upon the specific ‘use-case’, using live data extrapolated from a variety of sources, including a project's CDE [i.e. the Common Data Environment].
One of the most important areas of measurement for us at the DTSA are those metrics and KPI’s associated with Social Value, and within that ‘Community Development’. We are keen to demonstrate leadership in this space in the context of ‘digital’ construction processes and information management workflows, specifically noting the adoption of digital twins in the delivery of both professional services and ‘traditional’ construction delivery.
Credit: the DTSA led McConnell Group _ #SocialValue #DigitalTwin [aka SVDT]
Last week, and following a very intense process of recruitment, the #TeamDTSA was happy to achieve (and celebrate) our very first ‘recruitment’ milestone regarding our ‘site-based’ Information Management team. Our very first cohort has now been accepted by our client, McConnell Group and is led by Beth McMorrow, Quality Management Lead [under the stewardship of Pat Sweeney, Divisional Director]. As they look forward to the challenge of delivering the Golden Thread across Gateway 3, we will be integrating our people into their site management teams, across a number of secured projects.
Spread across three London boroughs, we have growing ambitions to be a market leader in the provision of digital-workflow (information management) solutions that bring project specific benefits, including ‘place-based’ positive outcomes for local young people. We are particularly passionate about engaging with and supporting those individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are keen to break into digital construction.
Credit: SAIFEE Events _ 2nd Annual Digital Twin Summit 2024 / #PQS2030
As a previous panel speaker, I have also been approached by the organisers (SAIFEE) of the 2nd Annual Digital Twin Summit in London to (1) moderate a panel discussion on Day 1 / 30th October 2024 and (2) deliver a 2hr workshop on Day 2 / 31st October 2024.
On both days, the conversations will revolve around the critically important and operational challenges of delivering ‘construction’ phase [Gateway 3] digital twins.
Summary:
When Sir Martin Moore-Bick, sat there at 11am on 4th September 2024, and delivered his ‘final’ statement following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, I actually, shed a tear for two reasons;
(1) I actually heard the pain and clear disappointment in Sr Martin's voice as he literally affirmed my entire body of work [i.e. the need for more SVDT’s that capture: people, process and data] amidst my true and well documented 'lived experience' in the UK construction industry’s social housing sector; and
(2) because due to ‘the lack of urgency’ even up until oday the industry now needs to fix itself and be capable of evidencing its attempt to do so [in a collaborative, digital format!]; the details of which have now ‘officially’ been set out in the 58 recommendations.
With the above in mind, our pan-London #SocialValue #DigitalTwin #DreamTeam is now taking up the challenge, boldly set by Government & Dame Judith Hackitt …….. so watch this space as we prepare to deliver London’s very first ‘evidence based’ social value digital twin / SVDT; putting people and residents at the core of everything we do.
Posted: 29th October 2024 / #BlackHistoryMonth2024_ #ReclaimingMyNarrative
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