New cross industry collaboration joins forces to
create OpenBuilt, based on Red Hat OpenShift and IBM Cloud
to help build faster and more cost-effectively, while
helping to control risk
ARMONK, N.Y. and LONDON, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- IBM [NYSE: IBM], Red Hat and Cobuilder today announced
a global collaboration to co-develop OpenBuilt, a new platform
designed to help securely connect fragmented construction industry
supply chains. Built on Red Hat OpenShift and running on IBM Cloud,
OpenBuilt will offer new digital solutions to help innovate and
drive more efficient, sustainable and safer construction
projects.
A cross-industry ecosystem of five partners will play a vital
role in the development process together with IBM, Red Hat and
Cobuilder, including Cemex, EDIN Network, Backe, Sol Services and
Element.
The construction industry has long been challenged with project
delays, cost overages as well as wasted materials often caused by
disconnected processes and poorly coordinated activities and
resources. Companies across the built environment including
architects, building material suppliers, manufacturers,
construction and engineering firms are now looking to innovate and
speed up the expansion of their digital strategy. By moving away
from largely manual processes, the industry will be able to explore
more effective ways of working.
OpenBuilt is designed to allow companies across the global built
environment and construction industry to securely connect their
current technology platforms and digital solutions to partners,
suppliers or subcontractors in their supply chain via a single
integration hub. With a foundation on Red Hat OpenShift running on
IBM Cloud, the industry's most secure and open cloud for business,
OpenBuilt aims to help improve communication and securely exchange
data across the supply chain. Companies will then have access to
the latest applications and services from technology providers to
expand their digital platforms without complex, bespoke software
development.
Mark Farmer, CEO of Cast
Consultancy and Independent Champion for Modern Methods of
Construction in Homebuilding for UK Government, commented:
"In pursuing the broad goal of construction industry
transformation, there is a critical need to break down the deep
silos and fragmentation that exists in how we organise and operate
design, manufacture, construction and operation processes. This is
equally true in the emerging digitalisation challenge.
To create more strategic and scalable intelligent workflows we
need data and software to be part of a fully connected ecosystem.
The concept of digital platforms is nothing new but if construction
is ever going to realise the full potential of some of the
technology solutions that are now proliferating and if those
solutions are ever going to be given the chance to scale to
maturity then there is a need for market leadership in creating a
unifying platform that can host these solutions and enables
interoperability.
What IBM and partners are offering through Open Built is the
opportunity to act as a digital integrator at an international and
industry wide level, gluing together what is becoming an
increasingly fragmented digital market place for construction
technology solutions. This is an important step forward which has
great potential to make our industry more efficient."
"The global construction landscape is evolving and requires a
new approach towards industry-wide technology platforms with new
levels of openness, innovation and collaboration. Together with our
partners we are creating OpenBuilt to empower the construction
industry to break down its silos with intelligent workflows and
play an active role in designing and driving its own
transformation. Successful companies across the construction supply
chain are coming together to embrace a digital future, harnessing
the power of an open hybrid cloud approach and adopting new
technologies to gain a real competitive advantage. We want to
inspire other companies to join us and accelerate the march towards
a truly digital construction industry," said Jon O'Donnell, Managing Partner, IBM Global
Business Services EMEA.
Collaborative development will initially focus on three key
areas:
1. Establishing OpenBuilt using Red Hat OpenShift running on IBM
Cloud to enable construction companies to adopt a hybrid cloud
approach and connect their supply chain. Then gain access to a wide
library of pre-integrated applications from trusted companies and
solution providers operating in the built environment. This
foundation of open-source software, security leadership, and
enterprise grade infrastructure is designed to support companies
hosting mission-critical workloads such as ERP systems - on the
platform. To maintain consistent technical language,
OpenBuilt will use Cobuilder's Data Templates to structure all data
in a way that allows for machine-readability and interoperability
with existing and future systems. Users can build and deploy
intelligent workflows via an intuitive drag and drop interface,
making application development far more accessible to the
industry.
2. Integration of Independent Software Vendors to make an array
of software and services accessible. IBM solutions including
Watson, Maximo, TRIRIGA, next
generation KITT dictionary and IBM Blockchain in addition to
Salesforce open APIs will be integrated into the platform during
the development to enable users to build functionality into their
intelligent workflows. Industry integrations can be developed
ranging from Building Information Modeling and Digital Twins
solutions with 3D Repo, digital project management solutions with
Asite, data-driven building operations and maintenance services
with Facilio and finding and researching building products for
specification with SpecifiedBy and artificial
intelligence-powered health and safety advice from Intuety.
3. Development of new flagship applications including a solution
that will enable organisations to search, filter and sort building
product technical data. This can allow companies to quickly find
materials with the right specification to design, build or maintain
buildings that meet industry guidelines such as functional, safety
and environmental performance requirements. Cobuilder's data
dictionary solution Define will be among the fundamental
technologies enabling the use of a common language within the
initial OpenBuilt flagship applications.
"Interoperability and standardisation of data exchange
lie at the core of Cobuilder's services. We are thrilled to see the
industry coming together and truly believe that OpenBuilt will
bring the connectivity and common language needed to bring
construction to the next level of digital transformation" said Lars
Fredenlund, CEO, Cobuilder.
Driven by an Ecosystem
Ecosystems are crucial to driving digital transformation.
Alongside IBM Global Business Services (GBS), Red Hat and
Cobuilder, the cross industry ecosystem of five partners has come
together to actively shape the direction of OpenBuilt with the aim
of transforming the construction industry. This includes all
forms of buildings (residential, industrial, commercial, hospitals,
schools), all economic infrastructure (civil engineering
infrastructure, above and below ground) and the urban space and
landscape between and around buildings and infrastructure.
Representing areas across the global construction industry, the
ecosystem can use its experience and insight to develop a range of
ways companies can tap into the power of OpenBuilt:
CEMEX: a global building materials company that provides
cutting-edge digital solutions, high-quality products and
industry-leading services to satisfy customers' construction needs
around the world. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the
well-being of those it serves through innovative building
solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a
sustainable future. CEMEX is strategically positioned across the
Americas, the Caribbean,
Europe, Africa, the Middle
East, and Asia.
"This collaboration is a strategic initiative that will enable
greater productivity and open up new opportunities to increase our
customers satisfaction", said Fernando A.
Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX. "We continue to lead the digital
transformation in the industry with the support of leading
partners, leveraging on their expertise, innovation, and advanced
IT services to deliver game-changing solutions."
EDIN Network: EDIN is a global network of merchants,
manufacturers and service providers that helps its members find new
customers, reduce customer acquisition costs and exploit future
trends through their events, workshops and technology incubator.
Since its inception in 2016, the Edin network has rapidly grown to
become one of the largest alliances to discuss trends and stimulate
transformation in the construction industry, representing members
with a combined turnover of €23bn.
"We are convinced that OpenBuilt will drive interoperability,
facilitate data exchange and enable businesses to automate their
processes without the need for complex and bespoke software
development. This will unleash a wave of innovation in the
industry, enabling new business models and transforming
productivity. It will enable members using our OpenBuilt-powered
incubator to explore new ways to gain control of their data,
monetize their data and engage customers in new ways, without
having to start from scratch. We are incredibly excited about the
forthcoming era of transformation and our central role in shaping
it" said Philippe Hardt, Founder,
EDIN Network.
Sol Services: formed in 2003, Sol Services has
steadily grown from its origins as a regional mechanical,
electrical and fit out specialist. Under the forward-thinking
leadership of Directors Nigel
Burdett and Andrew Gordge,
the company has expanded across London and the UK with overseas capability in
Europe, providing a full range of
construction, refurbishment and maintenance solutions. Through its
extensive portfolio of projects across the public and private
sector, it has built a reputation for delivering safe, reliable and
high-quality projects.
"We saw the opportunity, and recognised the need for a
technology platform to pull the construction world together. And
with the organisations involved in the development of this product,
I have total confidence it will be the direction of construction
for the future" said Nigel Burdett,
Director, Sol Services Ltd.
Backe: Backe is a family-owned construction and
property development company with operations throughout
Norway. Backe is committed to
reducing emissions in the Norwegian construction and building
industry and invests in technology to ensure sustainable operations
throughout its value chain. With more than 70 years' experience in
the Norwegian market, Backe delivers projects to the public and
private sector. The company employs about 800 people and reported
revenues at NOK 4.5 billion for
2020.
"We are proud to partner with IBM and other leading brands to
explore a global digital platform for the construction industry
that will allow us to analyse, use and share data in new ways. The
OpenBuilt platform will facilitate collaboration among suppliers
and partners, improve productivity and help us meet coming
regulations for documentation of the carbon footprint along the
entire value chain. Backlogs in the industry are affected by market
uncertainty due to covid-19 effects. Going forward, digitalisation
and smarter ways of working will be keys to ensuring cost
efficiency, sustainability as well as attractiveness among
prospective employees", says Eirik
Gjelsvik, CEO of Backe.
Element Materials Technology: one of the world's
leading global providers of testing, inspection and certification
services for a diverse range of materials, products and
technologies in advanced industrial supply chains. Element
delivers an extensive range of solutions to customers in the
construction industry and recently launched Element Digital
Engineering, a new business focused on engineering simulation,
modelling, data science and artificial intelligence to solve
complex industrial challenges.
Jo Wetz, CEO Element Materials
Technology, commented "Element is delighted to be a founding
partner of OpenBuilt, a digital market place for the construction
industry with quality at its core. OpenBuilt will enable greater
transparency for all stakeholders involved in a building's life
cycle; increase confidence in the procurement of services for the
built environment; and help ensure that the testing and
certification of materials and products is central to the digital
transformation of the sector."
Notes to editors:
About OpenBuilt:
OpenBuilt is an independent company
owned and led by a consortium of industry partners. To date, the
EDIN Network, CEMEX, AS Backe, Sol Services and Element Materials
Technology have signed up as founding partners to own and steer the
development of the platform. IBM, Red Hat and Cobuilder are
providing technology and services to OpenBuilt and leading the
creation of the platform.
For more information on OpenBuilt and how you can be part
of the initiative, log onto www.openbuilt.io and check out the Get
Involved page.
About IBM:
For further information about IBM Global
Business Services
visit: https://www.ibm.com/services
About Cobuilder:
Cobuilder offers an IT platform that
employs all relevant international standards for data management to
help construction industry actors exploit the potential of product
data. Fit-for-purpose and accurate product data improves quality of
service, time to market and reduces time, cost and environmental
footprint.
Cobuilder is a privately-owned international business with more
than 120 employees distributed at HQ in Oslo and wholly owned subsidiaries in
England, France and Bulgaria. The company is a major driver for
the digitization in Construction and is a strategic contributor to
ISO, buildingSMART, CEN and CENELEC.
About Salesforce:
Salesforce, and others are among the
trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.
Media Contacts:
Marisa
Conway
IBM External Relations
conwaym@us.ibm.com
Lucy Linthwaite
IBM External Relations, UKI
lucy.linthwaite@uk.ibm.com
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