Connecting construction sites to build £1.2m of business
Smart Mobile Data Case Study
Industry
Construction
Location
United Kingdom
Solution
FlexConnect and OneConnect
Setting the scene
The Construction industry is vital to the UK economy, employing 9% of the entire workforce and accounting for around 7% of GDP. Fast-moving, competitive and agile, the industry has complex connectivity needs, with pop-up and moveable infrastructure needed at multiple sites, often in rural, hard-to-reach locations.
Time is money and construction companies simply can’t afford costly downtime. Therefore, key issues are network reliability and resilience, as well as having the ability to minimise or respond quickly to breakdowns in plant and machinery.
There are also two other important factors which are mission critical:
- Data security. It’s vital that construction companies can protect the integrity of key information, even when operating on the move or in remote locations.
- Efficiency. Construction workers need fast, reliable connectivity to share data and optimise productivity, reducing the risk of cost and time overruns.
The challenge
To get their customers’ worksites online and keep valuable tools safe, our partner needed to deploy a connectivity solution that was as fast and flexible as the construction industry itself. The task was to deliver as much or as little intelligent mobile data needed by each site, with totally effortless deployments.
Often in out-of-the-way places, construction sites have to be set up and removed speedily with minimum effort. Therefore, a fixed line broadband solution was out of the question. The answer had to be mobile.
It wasn’t just about giving the on-site workers fast, reliable internet access. It was also about protecting their heavy-duty construction gear, including power tools, generators, cement mixers and excavators.
If these tools break down on the job, it’s a major problem. The site may have to shut down for hours or days to wait for replacement parts or equipment. Plus there’s the cost of repairs, which can be substantial, not to mention the risk of workers unknowingly using damaged tools and getting injured.
The Solution
The partner used Smart Mobile data to build a highly effective solution which helped to drive commercial efficiency and support budget management.
The final product was a flexible Mobile WAN environment, enabling construction workers to unpack their pop-up offices anywhere. It delivered all the IT capabilities of their home office, plus IoT tool tracking and predictive maintenance alerts for tools that need maintenance or are close to breaking.
The solution included a batch of FlexConnect multi-network SIMs for locations with many mobile networks. These are exceptionally reliable, secure and resilient, keeping the sites and works fully connected.
A batch of single-network SIMs were also available for locations with one clear network provider.
An aggregated data pool was provided, shared across 500 worksites throughout the UK.
Finally, everything was secured using public static IPs, so that rental tools could swap sites and still connect instantly.
Customers were moved onto the FlexConnect tariff, which offers un-steered 4G switching between the major networks. Each customer’s Smart Mobile Data account can be easily managed by the partner via a user-friendly online portal.
The results
Over 500 construction sites are now using Smart Mobile Data to connect their workers. With a standard configuration and shared data pool, setting up new sites is a breeze for the partner. In addition, end customers know exactly when to recall and refurbish tools, reducing the risk of breakdowns and avoiding excessive repair or maintenance costs.
So far, the partner has generated £1.2m in revenue from connecting the sites.
- Construction sites connected
500+ - Savings in maintenance costs
£50-100k / month - Revenue
£1.2m
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