Skanska and Fira Smart have been collaborating in technology development since last year. Now, the collaboration is about to result in a digital application that helps all parties in the construction industry get the most out of takt production, from schedule planning to production control and daily construction site management.

Takt production is a fast-spreading production method in the construction industry, and its benefits are widely known. Clear work management at sites, significantly shorter production lead times, improved productivity, and better building quality are worth pursuing in all construction projects. Still, the full potential of takt production remains too often unlocked in the daily reality of jobsites.

Skanska and Fira Smart place the digitalization of takt production especially from the construction sites’ perspective at the center of the collaboration. Digitalization doesn’t mean only bringing digital solutions to the construction sites, but instead, the technology and the daily construction work are designed as an entity, supporting one another. This way, data springs from the daily work directly into a digital form. What’s more is this data, say, on how the works are progressing, can be directly made available for all those who need it.

Sites-first approach to the digital development

The collaboration started from a shared recognition that there’s a need for a solution that combines technological know-how with core construction know-how, as both Skanska and Fira Group strongly believe that the transformation needed in the industry can only come from within the industry. From the beginning, the development has been shared with a core team that consists of professionals not only from both companies but also from both process development and construction site roles.

For the first time I see a digital application that is actually beneficial for the construction site.

A site manager from the test group for the takt production application

The development has been design-based and it’s focused on creating an easy-to-use application especially for the construction sites. Already in the idea phase, the insights and current challenges of the sites were mapped with thorough research. Based on the research, the first wireframes or prototypes of the application were created, and the software development then started on their basis with continuous iteration rounds especially in the light of suitability to the jobsite reality. In late summer 2021, the development will progress to a piloting phase where the nearly completed application is tested on construction sites both at Skanska and Fira Construction. The feedback gathered from the pilot is then used to finalize and further develop the application.

Adaptive takt application

The takt application in development is based on the Fira Sitedrive scheduling software, which is already available in the market by Fira Smart. Once completed, the new takt add-on application allows creating and managing takt schedules in addition to the current traditional schedules.

The takt application clearly guides the scheduling according to the takt production methodology. A takt schedule consists of work packages which are defined into repeating entities, work sequences. Takt areas and teams are defined for the project, after which it’s possible to duplicate the work packages to takt areas and assign them to the preferred teams visually by dragging in each schedule in the project.

The sites have been positively surprised by how easy the application is to use. For example, a new takt schedule was created on a test site in an hour, something that the site management before would have believed impossible.

Next, the extended piloting at the end of the summer lets construction sites both from Skanska and Fira Construction to test the application in the reality of the daily site management, and the expectations are high. The efficient change management and data flow will help the site supervision. In addition, the application takes managing the preconditions for starting works to a whole new level, as the work packages can contain different, easily manageable sub-tasks.

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Information about starting and finishing works, as well as possible roadblocks, flows seamlessly between various devices and various people. In the big picture, notably, it’s very important that the information passes throughout the entire production phase, enabling modern leading with data. Thanks to this, managing construction projects becomes clearer, there’s less wasted work time, and projects are completed both faster and in better quality.

Aiming at a thousand construction sites

The takt application has been developed first for the use of construction sites at Skanska and Fira Construction, but in the beginning of next year, the plan is to offer it for all industry parties to benefit from. The goal is to spread both the takt production methods and the co-developed application to at least a thousand construction sites to use already in the near future.

This application is very impressive especially in how it simplifies complicated processes.

A technology leader in a presentation of the takt application

The collaboration of Skanska and Fira Smart is based on the thought that an application that truly meets the needs of the construction industry can only be developed together, with a sites-first approach. The digitalization of takt production, or the industry transformation in all, can’t be done by any party alone. Therefore, the aim is at continuing the shared development work together with various partners also in the future.

Let’s create the change – together.