Skanska has secured a £680,000 grant from Innovate UK to trial a new method of collating and visualising infrastructure and community data.

The 'Visualise' project is being delivered by a consortium led by Skanska. It aims to collate and overlay information from main buildings and infrastructure assets, including schools, hospitals, roads and railways as well as gas and water works, then combine it with community based data, from environmental to social media information.

Sam Stacey, Director of Innovation and Business Improvement at Skanska UK, said using this technique could help reduce risks and find new ways to deliver projects "more efficiently and effectively".

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"Through seeing the bigger picture, we could work better together so project delivery is more coordinated. This will optimise the use of equipment and resources, while minimising disruption to local people," he said.

"We're looking forward to working with our customers to see what data can be shared. It will help support more informed decision-making and delivery of the targets in the Construction 2025 industrial strategy – 50% faster delivery, 50% lower emissions and 33% lower costs."

The 18-month project costs just over £1m and is set to start this month.

Project partners include:

• Building Research Establishment – building science centre that works to improve the built environment through research and knowledge generation

• 3D Repo – develops 3D cloud based Building Information Modelling (BIM)

• CartoConsult – experts in capturing, analysing and visualising geospatial data through open GIS software

• Unit9 – production studio that focuses on virtual reality, digital and gaming

(LM/MH)