The "Uber Eats" of Construction

When Veyor’s co-founder, Rich Fifita, came up with the idea for Veyor, he knew it was going to be a game changer and revolutionise the industry.

Fast-forward a few years and Veyor has been dubbed the “Uber Eats” of the construction industry due its slick supplier tracking feature, and is fast becoming the must-have app on construction sites.

With a growing global footprint, Veyor has cemented itself in the local market and has produced serious benefits on major projects such as the Sydney Metro project.

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Managing logistics on complex work sites is a stress known all-too-well by project managers and engineers on large infrastructure projects across Australia. Clashes and delays are common and cause ripple effects that are felt across vast supply chains.

Juggling and tracking hundreds of deliveries per day, using a whiteboard and a spreadsheet, only to have them cancelled or rescheduled can cause major project delays in construction.

When Lendlease began work on Sydney Metro, Australia’s biggest public transport project, Andrew Smith, SMMP Senior Project Engineer, knew that success would hinge on management of logistics and the coordination of the number of heavy vehicles heading into the city centre. The Sydney Metro Martin Place project needed a streamlined process across its three sites, reducing the risk of costly delays and implementing crucial safety standards for heavy vehicles.

As the design and construction partner for the new Sydney Metro Martin Place Station and over-station buildings, Lendlease found the solution in Veyor, a live platform that eliminates the need for manual scheduling that provides end-to-end coverage, including driver access. The platform also has a tracking capability to live track logistics and safety aspects.

“When we engaged Veyor, we knew they would have a clear understanding of industry needs and the app proved us right,” said Mr Smith.

Supply chain and scheduling challenges

When Sydney Metro began, the group of contractors responsible for its delivery wanted to ensure the project was run in the most efficient way possible. One of the biggest challenges was to streamline communication across the vast supply chain and the multiple project interfaces. For example, thousands of trucks per day would be moving across the extensive rail network access points, multiple station sites and the above station developments.

“Just as Coles and Woolworths are only as successful as their ability to deliver goods to retail stores; our success is made or broken on our ability to supply goods to our many construction sites,” said Matt Budrodeen, Inventory Controller at Systems Connect for the Sydney Metro City & Southwest tunnels project.

Systems Connect is a joint venture between CPB Contractors and UGL that will deliver the Line-wide works package for Sydney Metro.

“One of our biggest challenges is logistics. Our loading zone at Martin Place North is 40 metres long and houses two tower cranes. Once we have two trucks within the loading zone, we are full and if deliveries arrive unscheduled, sending a truck around the heart of Sydney’s CBD to look for a parking spot is not an option,” added Mr Smith.

The “Uber Eats” of construction

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Improving transportation and delivery time of materials is of paramount importance. When Sydney Metro was going through the excavation phase, there were many trucks on the road every day for each site.

Before using the Veyor app, on-site teams would typically meet once a day to request deliveries and co-ordinate scheduling.

“The app makes the co-ordination process a live conversation throughout the day which means we can book in equipment periodically and you don’t have to wait for a face-to-face meeting. You can just jump on your phone, find a free slot and book it in. Nine times out of ten that booking never moves,” said Mr Smith.

“The co-ordination has been the most important result for us. We no longer have arguments in crane board meetings and those meetings that used to take up to a few hours now take 10 minutes.”

Systems Connect also use Veyor’s booking schedule capabilities. “It provides our site teams with a live delivery board that can be used to plan and track scheduled deliveries in a manner similar to Uber Eats,” said Matt Budrodeen.

“This allows teams to use resources such as plant, personnel and storage efficiently, replacing traditional methods of whiteboards, spreadsheets and countless emails.”

Further flow-on effects are felt across the supply chain, with a reduction in idle trucks providing savings to suppliers, and a reduction in truck movements across the inner city and residential areas, alleviating congestion and improving safety.

Meeting safety requirements

With thousands of deliveries happening across all sites each day, Sydney Metro contractors need to ensure each driver, builder and person receiving deliveries meets all compliance requirements.

It is also important for Lendlease and Systems Connect to know which drivers are inducted for sites and which drivers have completed safety requirements before they arrive – a process typically undertaken through time-consuming paperwork and spreadsheets. Veyor is used as a tool to meet its Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) obligations to Sydney Metro.

“Veyor delivers value by recording information such as driver, vehicle and route details that can be audited and provided to Sydney Metro upon request. This replaces the traditional method of paperwork and spreadsheets,” added Mr Budrodeen.

“Veyor helps us ensure that all trucks on the road for this project are compliant to the Sydney Metro Chain of Responsibility standard – which upgrades the trucks to have a level of navigation, tracking and safety features. The app helps us determine whether a truck is compliant and if it has gone through safety checks by the supplier,” said Mr Smith.

Moving away from the whiteboard

“Once we implemented the app, it only took two weeks until we completely disregarded the whiteboard due to its simple user interface. Veyor has been quick and responsive to any questions or issues we have had which makes implementation a whole lot easier for all staff. I am not going back to the whiteboard,” added Mr Smith.

“I firmly believe Logistics and Supply Chain Management can add plenty of value to construction projects; especially large, geographically challenging projects such as the Sydney Metro. Personally, I think Veyor is a great tool with plenty of potential, and I’m keen to see its growth in the construction sector,” said Mr Budrodeen.

Original article published online via Construction Advisor.

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