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CASEstudy Paving the way to paperless Hanson Contracting is adopting a new paperless mobile workforce management solution from Causeway If you live in West Somerset and use the roads around Bridgwater and Cannington, you will be familiar with the steady stream of Hanson Contracting lorries heading in and out of Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station, symbolic of the huge scope of the development. Hanson are a contractor on the Hinkley Point project and are now synonymous with any largescale infrastructure development, and it is inevitable that they have taken steps to improve the efficiency of their operation. The road to that efficiency - no pun intended - is to scrap the inefficient paperbased systems that were prevalent just a few years ago in order to go digital. In short, to go paperless. To this end, Hanson Contracting has begun rolling out Causeway Ermeo to help manage its mobile workforce, further enhancing their digital capabilities by replacing paper forms and workflows. This is part of the wider digitalisation happening at all levels across Hanson's national road surfacing business. The aim is to positively impact how the company works, collaborates, and interacts with customers - and ultimately to improve the way the company does business. Hanson wanted to make this digitalisation process as easy as possible for its field teams, which meant finding a construction-specific tool that let them focus on their job instead of filling out paperwork. Causeway Ermeo is a mobile workforce management solution that achieves this goal by connecting the site and office through digital workflows, with easy to use reporting functions, converting all paper forms into digital documents. Its additional functionality streamlines this process even further. Hanson plans to use Causeway Ermeo for timesheets, risk assessments, plant inspections, holiday requests, and other manual processes. The list is still growing. Chris Harrison, Business Manager, Hanson Contracting, said: "There is a lot of excitement from our business improvement team for Causeway Ermeo. We are always looking for any efficiencies and lean improvements to make in the business, and we see this solution as a key one. "It's also the back-end reporting," he added. "It is simple from the end user point of view, which is what we wanted. Basically, we can use it within the business itself to make us more agile and flexible." Causeway Ermeo fits within Hanson's intention to become the first "industrial tech company" in the sector and it has three distinct workstreams to drive it towards that goal. Central to this is to enable customers to make better, data backed decisions, and then act upon those decisions in a fully selfservice environment. The three workstreams are: HCONNECT Hanson's digital workplace which helps employees work more efficiently, stay in touch, and streamline processes whether on location or with home working. Meanwhile its OnSite app puts the sites teams at the forefront, giving them access to their data all in one place. HPRODUCE Through energy calculators and dashboard planners, the company's cement plants are also going digital and will transform its product lines and operations. Hanson will get more data than ever before and provide this to customers. HSERVICE Procurement teams can browse service e- catalogues, create contracts directly from offers, and send order confirmations directly to customers. The data collected via the forms is automatically sent from the mobile app in the field or on site, into the cloud, and onto the platform, creating realtime information flows and giving users full visibility of their data. Additionally. with its API integration, the Causeway Ermeo solution interfaces directly with the IT ecosystem. "We want data and technology to be at the heart of everything that we do. It gives us better operational and commercial performance on site and also aligns us with our key customer's vision for the future, such as National Highways Digital Roads strategy," added Chris Harrison. Causeway Ermeo has a "no code" editing studio that allows Hanson Contracting to create customisable forms with ease. When field workers open the digital document, they will find the relevant information prepopulated. They cannot submit the form until all fields are complete. Ermeo can also be used to digitise any paper-based process, including asset inspections work orders, H&S forms and site diaries, and is estimated to increase the efficiency on a job by 20%. It also provides automatic reporting and project compliance - and the trend towards the elimination of paper-based systems is another step in the battle to reduce our carbon footprints. Causeway Technologies and Hanson Contracting share a longstanding relationship that dates back to 2008. The highways specialists plan to integrate this platform with its current Causeway solutions and external systems, such as its asphalt ticketing system. Chris added: "I see this as the start of the journey. We've been working with Causeway for several years now and we're keen to kick on and see where else in the industry we can make improvements." www.causeway.com 24 November/December 2021
TECHNOLOGYfocus A space shuttle for the streets The Darwin Innovation Group is trialling an autonomous shuttle in Oxford's hi-tech campus with ESA and the UK Space Agency Afully autonomous passenger shuttle service has begun trials on UK roads, Science Minister George Freeman has announced. The new service is being trialled by Darwin Innovation Group, with support from ESA and the UK Space Agency. An autonomous shuttle will transport passengers around Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, which is home to some of the UK's most innovative companies and research organisations. The shuttle, created by Navya, uses LiDAR sensors cameras and ultrasound sensors to navigate safely around any obstacles. It also features a satellite (GNSS) antenna for positioning. There is no steering wheel, but it does have safety controls, which will be managed by an on-board operator throughout the trial. Darwin will maintain and monitor the service, tracking the shuttle's location and gathering information about its operation as it travels. Telematics data will be transmitted from the shuttle in real time using Hispasat's satellite communication channels and O2's 4G and 5G networks. The use of satellite communications in this trial is significant. In previous trials, autonomous vehicles have relied on terrestrial Wi-Fi to stay connected. By making use of satellites in addition to 4G and 5G, autonomous vehicles can operate even in rural or remote areas that may not yet have complete terrestrial coverage. Science Minister George Freeman said: "Until now autonomous vehicles have relied on terrestrial Wi-Fi which means they can struggle to operate in remote and rural areas. By unlocking the power of space and satellite technology, these new shuttles can stay connected all the time. "Our National Space Strategy promises to put space technology at the heart of our efforts to make the UK a science and innovation superpower. Autonomous vehicle technology has huge applications in key industries and the UK is committed to lead in adoption as well as technological innovation." This shuttle service will help demonstrate the potential of self-driving vehicles to operate in a real-world setting, serving as a step towards the wider use of this technology in the UK. Similar Navya shuttles have been used in an urban setting in Switzerland and have safely transported tens of thousands of passengers. The shuttle, which is battery powered, shows that the future of public transportation can be green as well as autonomous. The potential to transport passengers while emitting zero carbon, if put in place more widely, could help the UK towards its emission targets. The shuttle service has already created new jobs at the campus: shuttle safety operators and shuttle mechanics. The people working with the shuttle will be able to share their experience with technology colleges and help improve the available courses. In addition to Darwin, Navya, ESA and UK Space Agency, a range of organisations have supported the new shuttle service. Mobile operator O2 and satellite operator Hispasat have aided Darwin in its research into connectivity, and the shuttle will make use of their networks as it travels around the campus. O2 also provides added investment to Darwin, as well as supporting with patent development. Harwell Science Campus and STFC are hosting the service, and AWS is providing storage for the data produced by the shuttle. The shuttle is insured by Aviva, which will use the trial and resulting data to better understand the evolving mobility market. With this information, Aviva will be able to create innovative insurance products to cater for this fast-changing market, including autonomous vehicles and associated technologies. The autonomous shuttle service operates at Harwell Science Campus during weekdays, morning to evening. It travels two routes, one along Fermi Avenue and one along Eighth Avenue, with the ESA building being the central stop for both routes. There is no cost to ride the shuttle, which is currently available to campus pass-holders and registered guests of pass-holders. Daniela Petrovic, Delivery Director at Darwin, said: "We're thrilled to play a part in demonstrating the real-world potential of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars are no longer theoretical, and we believe that CAV trials can help move the UK towards greener, more efficient and more accessible modes of transport." José Luis Serrano, Head of Innovation at Hispasat added, "We believe this trial will be a major step forward in combining satellite technology with 4G and 5G environments to ensure that autonomous driving can be performed reliably and resiliently regardless of geographic location." https://darwincav.com November/December 2021 25
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