Robert Merry contemplates an increasingly digital future as he looks forward to the Stone Digital conference on 22/23 February.

On the theme of change and revolution in the way we live and work, a good starting point this month is Stone Digital – Shaping a Sustainable Future on 22 & 23 February – no doubt you’ve read about it on the pages of this publication and on social media. Two days of talks and panel discussions on the impact of digitization and sustainability of stone.

Construction as a whole has some key questions to answer if it is to continue to grow and survive as an industry. It has been estimated that the global demand for construction projects will have grown 85% by 2030 – that equates to 200million additional jobs worldwide.

This will demand a huge drive to attract people to work in the industry. For that to happen we need an industry that the next generation want to work in, which means digitalization, and values of equality and diversity.

But we need to embrace this new technology for other, more fundamental reasons as well, particularly in the UK where productivity has only increased by 1% in the past 20 years on construction sites. Reports suggest 10% less efficiency results in 5% less profit. We have to increase efficiency and productivity to be able to reinvest and grow. Currently only a quarter of projects finish within 10% of the programme deadline. That means 75% are late.

Artificial intelligence must be the route to this promised land. Robots will not replace workers entirely. It is even argued we will need to increase the number of operatives on-site – more highly skilled to operate the robots and integrate with other digital systems.

But we need to build better if we are to succeed. Otherwise robots will be spending their time on idle, waiting for clarification because the digital room template they are working to is not what is in front of them.

We spend too much time doing this already. Builders need to build better and more accurately. And, more importantly, check their work!

We have already seen a revolution in design digitalization – from pen and pencil to AutoCad in less than a generation.

When I began in this industry, piles and piles of printed drawings weighed the postman down , not to mention the number of felled trees it took to produce them. Now a shared cloud space replaces all that wasted energy (some would say with more wasted energy searching through the damn cloud) but it is progress... promise.

It sometimes feels like we are dealing with two extremes of an evolution still working side by side: digital real-time changes and updates posted in seconds bumping up against the enormous mountain of virtual paperwork and sign off procedures required for the actual change to be built.

Is this because contracts are written as confrontational documents used to attack and defend our positions?

Contractors talk about collaboration as a key element of their relationship with

sub-contractors, often making it a selling point to their clients. But everyone spends enormous amounts of energy recording their position in defence of their actions; demanding instructions because we all live in fear we will never get paid.

This has to change. We have to take the confrontation out of contracting. And we will need a very large sledge hammer to crack that particular nut.

There are robots already deployed on building sites – look at www.bostondynamics.com to see Spot, Boston Dynamics’ survey robot. Slightly unsettling or soon to be man’s best friend? At least you don’t end up carrying a warm plastic bag around with you.

There is also the Okibo decorating robot, the Hilti overhead drilling robot, and various bricklaying and 3D printing robots.

With the average building site having more than 80 trades working on it in multiple rooms under multiple contracts, co-ordination will be key. Construction sites are complicated environments. But we can… we must change the culture, manage the technology, educate and skill the workforce, digitalize the process and increase productivity to produce a more resilient industry and deliver better built buildings. Yes, that’s what we need – better built buildings!

• Robert is giving a presentation titled 'On-site digital transformation' at 3.25pm on 23 February as part of the Stone Digital – Shaping a Sustainable Future conference.

https://www.stoneconsultants.co.uk

SigmaRoc, the quarried materials group quoted on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM), has completed the acquisition of Johnston Quarry Group Ltd (JQG) and Guiting Quarry Ltd, operating eight quarries in the South of England, that it told its shareholders about in January (read about that here).

SigmaRoc says that, together with G D Harries, which was bought by SigmaRoc in 2020 and has six quarries in Wales providing stone, concrete and tarmac for construction and highway maintenance projects as well as polished and decorative aggregates for domestic customers, JQG will expand SigmaRoc’s offering of construction materials and agricultural lime to service customers in England and Wales.

SigmaRoc says the expansion of the product offering and geographical reach will benefit both companies, as well as SigmaRocs Precast Products Group (PPG) platform.

Max Vermorken, CEO of SigmaRoc, says: “We are pleased to close the acquisition of Johnston Quarry Group and to formally welcome its 69 staff to the SigmaRoc Group. As with every business we have bought to date, we aim to see it flourish, by respecting its history, its people and building on its strengths.

"The expanded offering across Southern England and Wales and interaction with the Group’s PPG platform will deliver further synergies and growth.”

Carlyle Europe Partners IV (CEP IV), a buyout fund that in 2016 bought a majority stake in international roofing and cladding slate company Cupa Group, the parent of the UK’s Burton Roofing, has sold its share of Cupa to Brookfield Asset Management. During Carlyle’s ownership Burton Roofing expanded from 10 to 37 branches.

“To rebuild trust we must deliver buildings that are safe.” So said Dame Judith Hackitt at an online national building safety conference presented by the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET).

Dame Judith stressed the need for competency, accountability, and responsibility to be at the heart of the new building safety system in order to rebuild the public’s trust in providing safe homes for people to live in.

Dame Judith is an engineer who previously chaired the Health & Safety Executive and now chairs the manufacturing trade body Make UK (formerly the Engineering Employers Federation). She headed the Independent Review of Building Regulations & Fire Safety that followed the Grenfell Tower fire.

As keynote speaker at the first session of the IET National Conference for Electrotechnical & Building Safety Competence (to give it its full title) on 31 January, Dame Judith also reiterated the importance of a culture change in the whole built environment sector ahead of regulatory change.

She said good building practices need to be incentivised by using disciplinary sanctions for those who exploit the system.

She explained how legislation will incentivise the take up of professional registration, which in turn will help to demonstrate competency. She stressed how the focus must be on delivering quality buildings that are safe, with genuine engagement with residents being essential to rebuild trust.

Currently there is a fragmented way of looking at buildings – walls, electrics, foundations, and so on – when in fact for them to work successfully as a whole building they should be considered together and linked by competency and quality assurance.

Dame Judith: “It is not good enough for people to simply say ‘my bit’s ok, it’s the other people who got it wrong, not me’. We need to start getting people to work together, to collaborate, and recognise that it is the overall outcome that matters.”

She added: “What matters is that everyone should be able to feel safe in their home. That is everyone’s right, irrespective of the type of dwelling they live in. That’s why we need to have this risk-based approach, and why competence and quality assurance must become part of the new culture across the whole of construction.”

The IET National Conference for Electrotechnical & Building Safety Competence, which is being delivered virtually across two dates, aims to bring experts together, working with or within the electrotechnical sector and in building services/safety related roles, with a key focus on individual competence, accountability and continuing professional development.

Sir Julian Young, IET President, says: “Professional registration is an important milestone for any engineer or technician, as it demonstrates professionalism, competence and personal commitment to the engineering and technology sectors.

“I encourage all our members and beyond to adhere to our Knowledge Network and Rules of Conduct, which provide guidance and informational sources to support people to make good decisions and act ethically.

“I assure you that the IET is working with appropriate trade associations and trades unions to help bring about a step-change in the level of relevant training, upskilling and professionalism of those working in the industry.

“It will not be easy or quick, but we are determined to make a positive difference and, ultimately, to raise the status of engineers and technicians across the UK.”

The second part of this conference is taking place, again online, on 21 February, starting at 10am.

Italian stone machinery manufacturer GMM has taken a controlling share in Bavelloni SpA, creating a group with a turnover exceeding €100million. 

The deal giving GMM 52% of Bavelloni’s shares was concluded on Monday (31 January).

GMM, with sales worldwide and represented in the UK by Roccia Machinery, is based in Gravellona Toce in Italy. It is a leading manufacturer of machinery for stone cutting, milling, and polishing.

Founded in 1993 by three engineers, GMM began by designing and manufacturing bridge saws for the stone industry. It has developed into a world leader in the production of traditional and numerically controlled sawing and milling cutters. These days it also makes edge polishers as a result of the acquisition of Cemar in 2009, and waterjet cutters as a result of the acquisition of the Australian Techni Waterjet in 2018.

In the past five years GMM’s turnover has grown from €36million to €70million, 85% of which is generated outside Italy.

For Bavelloni SpA, based in Lentate sul Seveso, also in Italy, joining with GMM represents an opportunity to continue a strategic development plan started in 2015, which has resulted in the company increasing turnover by 75%, expanding its sales network through three of its own subsidiaries abroad and integrating a tools business into its product range.

GMM and Bavelloni Spa will together employ 400 people and operate six production plants and eight direct subsidiaries. The two companies will integrate their respective technologies into an annual production of over 800 machines for three main business sectors: Stone with the GMM brand; Glass with the Bavelloni brand; Fabrication Materials under the Techni Waterjet brand.

For Bavelloni, the partnership with GMM opens a new opportunity to develop the stone side of its business in the machinery and tooling sectors. Bavelloni has concentrated on the glass industry and its machines are distributed in the UK by Glass Machinery Solutions. Nevertheless, the stone versions of its robust, fast CNC workcentres are favoured by some in the stone industry. Its NRG series are its stone sector flagships, available in three, four and five axes versions.

The two companies say their machinery is fully complementary without overlap, which will allow them to continue to develop their full product ranges, although the similarities between the machines will allow for rationalization of components and production processes.

The Bavelloni SpA Board of Directors – Federico Bassi, Roberto Califano and Sergio Valsecchi – retain 48% of Bavelloni shares and will continue to manage the company.

GMM was assisted by Lincoln International as advisor of the transaction, by the law firm Ughi e Nunziante for the contractual aspects, by KPMG for the accounting due diligence and by Russo De Rosa & Associati for the fiscal and legal aspects. Bavelloni shareholders were assisted by Studio Advant Nctm.

Stone Federation Great Britain is making 'The Case for Stone' in the first of a series of webinars from 3.30pm on 17 February. 

The Case for Stone events will be part of the Federation’s efforts to raise awareness of natural stone and its credentials for sustainability.

This ongoing online conversation will explore how natural stone can help deliver a more sustainably built environment.

This first conversation will be hosted by Ulrike Knox, founder of Knox McConnell Architects, one of the judges of Stone Federation’s Natural Stone Awards.

Speakers are Amin Taha, of Groupwork, and Steve Webb, of Webb Yates Engineers, who worked together on 15 Clerkenwell Close, where they demonstrated that using natural stone can reduce a building’s whole life carbon impact. The project was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize last year.

They will be joined by Zac Tudor of Arup, who, in a previous role as principal landscape architect for Sheffield City Council, delivered a number of natural stone projects in the city. He is a key proponent of the use of stone for sustainable city landscapes.

The webinars are free, but you have to register - go to bit.ly/CFStone22.

Grade I listed Exeter Cathedral is planning on recreating a cloister gallery demolished nearly 400 years ago and is looking for a heritage company to carry out the work. 

It was given planning permission for the project just before Christmas and is now inviting submissions before 17 February from heritage masonry companies that would like to be considered for the project to create a new covered cloister that will be used as a gallery and event space.

The aim is to shortlist no more than six companies that will be invited to tender. If you are interested, email Exeter Cathedral Architect Camilla Finlay, a Partner of Acanthus Clews, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on camilla@acanthusclews.co.uk.

Work, largely funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is due to start in July and is expected to take about a year, with the £2.3million project also including a toilet extension to a 19^th century library building designed by John Loughborough Pearson, a Victorian Gothic revivalist.

The aim is to make it easier to use the Cloister to the south of the Cathedral that contains the Chapter House, Chapel of the Holy Ghost, the Pearson Library, and the WCs.

Using this area is currently awkward because the 13^th century gallery that originally connected the Chapter House, which has a particularly attractive ceiling, to the Norman Cathedral through the 12^th century Bishop Brewer doorway was demolished during the Civil War in the 17^th century.

The proposal is to re-establish the link and extend it to the Pearson Library.

The original medieval stonework is Salcombe sandstone from East Devon quarries that have long since closed. Acanthus Clews staff are currently looking for stones they can use to match the original.