technology

UK Construction Receives Tech Boost

PlanRadar, the web-based application for construction and real estate projects, has launched in the UK to continue its global expansion. For Britain, this launch has the potential to take the country out of its 20-year long productivity slump where over a third of construction projects overrun on time (40%) or

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Scaffolding Software Advantages and Disadvantages

Advances in AI-assisted 3D modelling have yielded numerous inexpensive scaffolding design software applications, which are changing scaffolding design methods in numerous ways. Scaffolding design software ranges from simple, free to use products to top of the range CAD applications. Most of them are generic 3D and 2D modelling platforms with

Read More »

How important will programming skills be to future builders

As with most industries, evolving technology is changing the way that the construction industry operates.  With engineers increasingly using software for architectural purposes, could we also see other roles within the industry change too e.g. robots performing manual tasks, or building design via virtual reality (VR)?   In this article,

Read More »

The Rise of the Smart Home

There is no cap on the impact or capabilities of technology. From phones to laptops, from satnav to Google Earth, the boundaries of what the latest devices and gadgets can do are constantly being pushed forward. Now, the home itself is starting to evolve with the times too, being redefined

Read More »

App Launched to Manage Protected Wildlife

Members of the construction industry benefit now from a newly launched app that offers practical advice on how to manage a range of protected species commonly encountered on construction sites. The Working with Wildlife app includes information on species like badgers, bats, birds, dormice, great crested newts, otters, reptiles and

Read More »

PropTech Trends That Are Reshaping Real Estate

Advances in AI applications are already causing revolutionary changes in the commercial real estate field, and we’ll continue to see a shift in the way real estate professionals do business in the years to come. With PropTech start-ups increasingly offering technologically innovative products and business strategies for the real estate

Read More »

Cambdrige Continues to Attract Science and Tech Firms

Bidwells’ latest analysis indicates Cambridgeshire remains a magnet for science and technology companies that are looking beyond the current Brexit uncertainty. Their analysis of the Cambridge office and laboratory market finds that 0.6 million sq ft of new space will be complete during the first half of 2019. This is the

Read More »

Award-Winning Website for Property Developer

Based in the heart of the Middle Eastern region, luxury property developer Eagle Hills has partnered with independent global creative agency Crowd to transform its website to a more SEO and user-friendly digital platform. Eagle Hills asked Crowd to develop a fully content managed solution that provides the best usability

Read More »

App for the Construction Industry Launched

Construction workers can now benefit from a free app that has just been launched to help provide mental health information and advice for those in need. The Construction Industry Helpline is a new collaboration between Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, construction software firm ‘COINS’ and ‘Building Mental Health’. “The app is

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Latest Issue
Issue 324 : Jan 2025

technology

UK Construction Receives Tech Boost

PlanRadar, the web-based application for construction and real estate projects, has launched in the UK to continue its global expansion. For Britain, this launch has the potential to take the country out of its 20-year long productivity slump where over a third of construction projects overrun on time (40%) or budget (35%). With its SaaS solution, the ConTech firm provides the construction industry with digital construction documentation, defect and task management throughout the lifecycle of construction and real estate projects. Using a smartphone or tablet, even when offline, the platform allows construction workers to automate the entire documentation process with interactive blueprints and floorplans, saving an average of seven working hours per week in admin time and averting errors. More than 3,500 customers already use PlanRadar worldwide to manage construction projects and real estate processes. This new London office will support increased productivity, cost efficiency and time savings for UK Construction. “We will not let Brexit get in the way of our mission to digitise the construction and real estate industry in the UK,” explained Ibrahim Imam, managing director and co-founder of PlanRadar. “Risks around bottlenecks in the supply of construction materials and tradespeople can be mitigated with platforms like PlanRadar; digitised processes can raise their efficiency potential against the competition, improve quality control and deliver 900 per cent ROI.” In the last twelve months, PlanRadar has increased sales by 300 per cent and expanded its workforce to 57 employees. “In light of our rapid growth in the past year and the positive international business outlook for 2019, we have moved our head office to a much larger facility in central Vienna to support the increased demand,” added Imam. As part of this European growth, PlanRadar is boosting its Board with industry heavyweight Colin Smith, founder of the ConTech pioneer BIW Technologies. Smith says: “There’s a lot of interest in ConTech right now, but it doesn’t just mean modular housing and 3D printing. It means simple but effective innovation across the entire supply-chain. PlanRadar has developed an intuitive platform that has revolutionised how Europe manages the documentation and communication process of the asset lifecycle – now it’s time for the UK to benefit.” Regarding his involvement with PlanRadar, Smith says “It’s exciting to join the company during such a fierce expansion process with ambitious growth plans in place. I get asked to work with a lot of ConTech businesses, but PlanRadar has technology that can be rapidly adopted – it just works. I’m really looking forward to seeing the impact this platform is going to have on the UK’s construction sector and the difference it will make.” On Smith’s appointment, Imam, says: “With over three decades of experience at the leading-edge of construction technology and a respected industry figure, we are delighted to welcome Colin to the Board. It’s a testament to the exciting vision we have for the business. I look forward to working with him to help PlanRadar in the next phase of its growth”.

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How Strategic HR Is Turning People Analytics into Business Outcomes

The function of HR is going through a rapid change. As with all industries and internal business functions, the advent of technology has boosted abilities and allowed for the once intangible to become tangible through the capture and analysis of data. In the past 20 years, its function has gone from submitting absenteeism reports to reporting on turnover and other employee numbers, to today delivering tangible business outcomes. While HR professionals have long cared about business strategy, the challenge has always been the ability to forecast, to prove with some degree of certainty what their actions would deliver for the business – what retention really meant. With the inability to predict outcomes, HR historically battled a disconnect when requesting budgets, knowing that their actions would have positive impacts, but not always being able to say exactly what that meant for the bottom line. The shift has begun; HR Managers or Directors are now becoming HR Business Partners, a sign that the function of HR is transitioning towards something more strategic, aligning with the goals of the business and driving outcomes that can be measured in a way business leaders understand and therefore demonstrating ROI. What is strategic HR? Strategic HR includes all of the typical HR components, including hiring, discipline, and payroll, but through the use of technology, HR can now also work with the business to boost retention, improve the quality of the work experience, and maximise the mutual benefit of employment for both the employee and the employer. HR departments today collect massive amounts of people data which can fulfil business goals and be presented to management in a more impactful way. Utilising business intelligence tools, HR teams can now forecast the ROI of their initiatives to prescribe the most effective course of action, whether for attracting new employees, retaining existing employees, or running initiatives internally to boost morale and drive sales. If the business wants to lower internal costs, HR teams can implement goals that back this up by employing increasingly effective strategies to retain more talent, thus lowering recruitment costs. Informed insight means informed decisions With the state of this technology as it is today, a proper HR analytics tool requires no major overhaul for a business. These tools simply pair with the best of breed systems an organisation already has and then creates a warehouse of data. No painful starting point. No need to be a data scientist. It is ‘drag and drop’ level easy with the massive upside of giving HR professionals unprecedented insight into the minds of their employees and thus the heart of their organisation. Workforce analytics tools help businesses to make better decisions, find hot spots, identify managers that are failing or excelling, identify employees to try and replicate, define programs that boost morale, and quickly quash initiatives, policies or other internal situations that are harming the happiness of the people. What can be uncovered with these tools is innumerable, but the simplest and most powerful outcome is preventing the loss of employees by leveraging employee data to make smart retention plans. After all, the largest unnecessary expense for a business is to lose good employees. If a company spends, on average, $100 per employee on retention, it makes sense that they would want to know who is actually most likely to quit, and who is most worth focussing the investment and time on retaining. This critical information helps to create and sharpen retention and engagement plans and forecast what costs could be saved as a result. Modern HR is backed up to the business HR teams now have the ability to be right there to back up business goals, attracting and retaining the best talent and consulting with the business on the best initiatives for employee satisfaction, even down to which policies could be replaced to retain more employees. Additionally, people analytics strategies allow HR departments to align measurable goals with business goals, provide actionable analytics to the right roles, suggest actions to improve the future, measure the impact of these actions, and report outcomes to the business. The benefit for the business is obvious; clear, predictive analytics to show the measurable business outcomes that can come from HR initiatives. For HR professionals, these tools not only allow them to work with more efficiency, but it also brings them into a new era where HR can stand as a strategic business partner, with tangible evidence to back up what they have known all along: happy people drive business forward. Brad Winsor, VP Workforce Analytics, SplashBI

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Scaffolding Software Advantages and Disadvantages

Advances in AI-assisted 3D modelling have yielded numerous inexpensive scaffolding design software applications, which are changing scaffolding design methods in numerous ways. Scaffolding design software ranges from simple, free to use products to top of the range CAD applications. Most of them are generic 3D and 2D modelling platforms with added features to enable scaffolding design. Others are entirely dedicated to scaffold design and incorporate particular functions unique to scaffolding. Advantages Of Using Scaffold Design Software Many building contractors are turning to computer-aided design applications to draw up their scaffolding plans. Here’s why: Design applications are readily available and easy to use. Some of them don’t cost even a penny; several online platforms can instantly design a scaffolding plan for free given specific parameters. For contractors looking for a quick, simple solution, these applications come in handy. A majority of design applications feature a user-friendly interface and intuitive functions developed to prioritise ease of use. You don’t have to be a tech guru or a design expert to find your way around the programme’s features to create a working model. Disadvantages Of Using Scaffold Design Software Solely using CAD applications to design scaffolding has its downsides. Regardless of how dependable and precise the software is, you still need a human touch. For one, the design software can only handle so much intricate detailing and scale. It’s not designed to take over the entire project but rather guide the user on some of the key aspects and create a basic model for the design. Even the most advanced software is limited to a narrow range of simple designs that are often insufficient for challenging projects. This lack of flexibility and inability to scale leaves design software struggling in large projects. Hiring Professionals Outsourcing scaffolding design to experienced professionals saves you the trouble of having to deal with frustrating computer-generated designs that don’t fit your project. Design applications are great at solving predictable problems, but they cannot match up to the adaptive judgement and problem-solving skills of a design expert. A designer will give thought to your needs and develop a suitable plan that is fully compliant with health and safety regulations while still being practical and economical. From experience, the designer can also offer you guidance and suggestions to steer your project in a more productive direction. At Access Design & Safety. We have years of experience in designing and inspecting scaffolding for construction and other projects. We supplement our professional expertise with the latest CAD solutions to deliver modern designs that are fully compliant with the newest safety codes. Don’t get frustrated over flawed, non-insured, non-compliant DIY designs – get in touch with us for a stress-free scaffolding design specifically for you.

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How important will programming skills be to future builders

As with most industries, evolving technology is changing the way that the construction industry operates.  With engineers increasingly using software for architectural purposes, could we also see other roles within the industry change too e.g. robots performing manual tasks, or building design via virtual reality (VR)?   In this article, structure design software specialists, Oasys, investigate potential changes that could be on the way with regard to both builders and construction workers, as our world becomes more advanced with technology.     Will jobs be under threat? This is a common question that is asked in the workplace, but the answer is never a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Technology will not steal our jobs, but just replace us as we shift roles. But how will this impact the construction industry? To understand, we need to have an oversight on statistics that have been released regarding this issue.   Boston Consulting Group has said that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by smart software or robots. This includes a range of professions, from factory workers to doctors, and even journalists. However, a study carried out by Oxford University has said that 35% of existing jobs in Britain are at risk of automation in the next 20 years.   In terms of reduction in physical workers, there is a lot of uncertainty. However, this can be challenged if we start preparing early and encourage current and future workers to adapt to the changes. This could include advancing their own skillset with a focus on how they can do their job better with the use of technology.   Evolving technology, evolving roles? With news that implies technology will replace physical workers, it is often forgotten that people need to manage this technology and make sure that it is operating correctly. It’s also left unmentioned that workers will need to use technology, and that leads us to the decision that in the construction industry, builders of the future will become programmers.   Over the years, we have seen constant changes in the way we work, and the construction sector has been very accepting to new and innovative methods to make jobs easier. From hammers to nail guns, shovels to diggers — and now practical labour to programming.   However, this cannot be achieved overnight. Programming is a topic that schools around the UK should be looking to implement into their curriculums as a core subject to keep up with the demand of jobs and to keep up with the constant changes in technology. If we’re teaching young people old ways, they will be useless when it comes to doing the work and there might not even be jobs available that match their skillsets. With the constant growth in technology surrounding construction, young people need to be prepared with the skills and this shouldn’t be up for debate. Like the studies discussed earlier, more jobs are at risk of being lost due to smart software and robots. Workers need to be as good as the technology.   When it comes to a common piece of software that is used in construction, Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an element that can be beneficial, as it allows the appropriate people to access all of the information about a project in one place. It can look at key stages of a project across the lifecycle of a job and provide the information that is needed. This can save both time and money for any construction company and allows builders to have a clear oversight. BIM can help illustrate the entire building, from starting processes to its demolition, and can even show how materials can be reused.   This suggests that technology is taking over, and if people want to remain in the loop of having a career and developing personally with the changes, it’s best to start sooner rather than later.   Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33327659 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/19/robot-based-economy-san-francisco

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The Rise of the Smart Home

There is no cap on the impact or capabilities of technology. From phones to laptops, from satnav to Google Earth, the boundaries of what the latest devices and gadgets can do are constantly being pushed forward. Now, the home itself is starting to evolve with the times too, being redefined into what’s now commonly known as a smart home. Moreover, these kinds of households are absolutely on the rise. In fact, it’s been reported that 23% of Britons now own at least one smart home device, and that number is expected to grow exponentially in the near future too. It’s exciting and intriguing, signalling greater changes on the horizon. Consequently, let’s briefly chronicle what’s sparking the rise of the smart home.   Consumer Driven The smart home is amassing more and more popularity with every passing day. Technology is making life easier, and safer, for a lot of people, to the point now that it’s being regularly integrated into the very core of people’s homes. Few people go for more than a few hours without a glance at social media or playing a games console; the demand for ease, efficiency and entertainment is higher than ever. Ultimately, this is principally what made smart home technology possible. The UK is following in the footsteps of the US here, which is the most advanced smart home market at the time of writing. Whether its people wanting the latest toys at their disposal or greater disability access in their homes, the smart home industry is undoubtedly consumer driven. It’s a wide market indeed, and it caters to literally every homeowner in some capacity.   Increasing Property Values What’s new is also, usually, expensive. Therefore, it’s the consensus that smart homes do in fact add significant amounts of value to any given property that utilises them. Supplying the home with unique and quirky gadgets that truly enhance the property is something that many people are becoming interested in – particularly if they’re looking to sell property and attract buyers. Ultimately, this leads to a further facilitation of smart home appeal. It’s that extra draw and incentive to take the plunge and move to a new area, where before buyers would be cautious and apprehensive. It gives the entire market a bit of a much needed kick and a shot of vigour, causing speedier transactions and quicker moves.   Construction Changes Gradually, the construction industry will likely understand the influence, and demand, the smart home industry is attracting. Retrofitting to implement these changes is still the most common way of integrating smart home technologies into a domestic setting. That said, some building businesses will probably begin to outfit these kinds of homes from the outset, with all the latest technological bells and whistles too. Building smart homes instead of eventually retrofitting common homes will undoubtedly slash costs and save time. It’s a simpler way forward that streamlines the entire process, allowing the nifty products to be made available right away. Of course, this will then lead to a further rise in the appeal of the smart home; it’s less legwork to buy a smart home upfront, than to laboriously make alterations and adjustments as time goes on.

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App Launched to Manage Protected Wildlife

Members of the construction industry benefit now from a newly launched app that offers practical advice on how to manage a range of protected species commonly encountered on construction sites. The Working with Wildlife app includes information on species like badgers, bats, birds, dormice, great crested newts, otters, reptiles and water voles. Moreover, the app also details information on how to recognise these species and what signs to look for on site, allowing decisions to be made on whether works can continue or whether they need to stop whilst further advice is sought. As well as species information, it also contains an introduction to the key aspects of current legislation, a gallery of photographs to help identify species, signs of their presence and habitats, a glossary of some of the terms used, plus references and further reading. “The adaptation of the Working With Wildlife guidance into app form enables construction companies to easily share our guidance and puts it directly into the hands of their on-site employees. This will be invaluable in helping developers meet legislation requirements and encourage an understanding of the issues around wildlife conservation that their projects may come up against,” said John Newton, Founder and Strategic Advisor, Ecology Consultancy. The app was introduced by CIRIA and The Ecology Consultancy in order to allow contractors and construction workers to easily access key information about species on the go. “This new resource further enhances CIRIA’s commitment to champion biodiversity in the built environment. Alongside the BIG Biodiversity Challenge and Awards, we hope that this app will enable construction professionals to ensure that industry can be even more widely proactive in ensuring the future of our endangered species,” added Leanne Clowting, Executive Director, CIRIA. Working with Wildlife is available for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.

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PropTech Trends That Are Reshaping Real Estate

Advances in AI applications are already causing revolutionary changes in the commercial real estate field, and we’ll continue to see a shift in the way real estate professionals do business in the years to come. With PropTech start-ups increasingly offering technologically innovative products and business strategies for the real estate market, Instant Offices looks at some of the top predicted AI trends that PropTech companies will be bringing into the real estate market in the next two years: Augmented and virtual reality ·         Applications: VR can be used to provide customers with virtual tours, allowing prospective tenants and buyers to view properties on the other side of the globe, or even to get a look inside properties that haven’t been built yet. Augmented reality, which overlays virtual objects on top of a real-world environment, can help agents to enrich their in-person property tours. ·         Benefits: This technology makes it easier for agents to sell to clients anywhere in the world and gives clients confidenceto make a decision knowing exactly what they are buying or letting. ·         Insight: According to a 2018 VR survey, real estate will be one of the top drivers of investment in virtual and augmented reality technologies in the coming year. Biometrics ·         Applications: Technologies like voice commands and facial recognition are being used to improve the security in commercial buildings. ·         Benefits: Biometric technologies offer better safety and security for clients, which is especially useful for those who work with sensitive information. Bots ·         Applications: AI applications like chatbots can be made available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This helps commercial real estate agencies to provide clients around the world with readily available support, any time of the day or night. ·         Benefits: Using bots helps agents to provide customers with better accessibility, irrespective of their schedule or the customer’s time zone. Cryptocurrency and blockchain ·         Applications: Blockchain-based smart contracts are set to become more widely used in the world of commercial real estate. ·         Benefits: Blockchain can negate the need for any third-parties in a real estate transaction, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are also gaining traction, reducing the need for notaries, lawyers and title holders. Data analysis ·         Applications: AI can analyse huge amounts of data to help agents match the right properties to the right customers in a short space of time. ·         Benefits: Data analysis helps providers offer more targeted marketing and tailored solutions to their customers. ·         Insight: According to a 2016 Gartner report, at least 30% of companies globally will be using AI in at least part of their sales processes by 2020. Data visual tech ·          Applications: Drones can be used to capture footage of properties and their surroundings for use in virtual tours, and to produce videos of areas that are undergoing development or upgrades. ·         Benefits: Using visual data technologies, agents can provide customers with an in-depth look at potential properties and locations. Geolocation tech ·          Applications: AI draws critical data about properties from maps of their location. This data can be analysed and used to predict future changes and trends. For example, AI can use data about development plans in a geographical area to predict the price of property in that area. ·         Benefits: Geolocation tech can give agencies valuable insights into up-and-coming areas as well as trends in their prospective clients’ preferences. Internet of Things ·          Applications: IoT is everywhere, with more and more real-world items being equipped with sensors that can be read by Internet applications and translated into data. This applies to buildings too. ·         Benefits: IoT makes it possible to build “smarter” properties, which are tailored to the needs of those occupying them. ·         Insight: The Edge in Amsterdam is a 15-storey office building embedded with 28,000 sensors. It is widely regarded as the smartest building in the world. In a nutshell, AI helps to make real estate sales and rentals quicker and easier for customers and providers. The right AI application can save a lot of time and hassle all around by making the process more targeted and efficient, and by providing virtual support. Real-World Examples Here are some examples of how some companies around the world are using AI to transform commercial real estate: CityBldr, Seattle: CityBldr uses an AI platform to locate deals and rank properties based on their development potential. The AI can also estimate the anticipated return on investment of each property. BioConnect, Toronto: This company uses biometrics to improve and personalise building security. The platform identifies users based on unique physical qualities such as their face, eyes, heartbeat and fingerprints. It also offers a product that combines a dual-factor fingerprint and card lock system for data centre server cabinets. Skyline AI, Tel Aviv: Skyline is partnering with Greystone Labs to analyse key industry insights, which they plan to use to improve deal performance and the loan underwriting process. According to Research and Markets, AI revenue will reach $38.8 billion by the year 2025. With so many innovative applications helping to improve, customise and automate everyday business processes, it’s no wonder AI in real estate will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

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Cambdrige Continues to Attract Science and Tech Firms

Bidwells’ latest analysis indicates Cambridgeshire remains a magnet for science and technology companies that are looking beyond the current Brexit uncertainty. Their analysis of the Cambridge office and laboratory market finds that 0.6 million sq ft of new space will be complete during the first half of 2019. This is the highest level of new supply in over a decade. This perhaps sounds alarm bells given the apparent slowdown in demand for labs and offices combined to 1.154 million sq ft at the end of 2018. However, despite Brexit fears, the UK’s BioTech sector continues to thrive and Cambridge has been at the centre of growth in the UK’s BioTech sector over the past five years. Investment in the city continued to flood into industry, with £1.6bn raised in the first eight months of 2018, already 33% ahead of the figure raised over the whole of 2017. University of Cambridge tops the list of capital raised by spin out companies as research undertaken by Global University Venturing has revealed that the University of Cambridge has raised the greatest capital investment from its spinout companies amongst the world’s universities. Between 2013-17, spinouts from the University of Cambridge raised £1.75bn, 20% more than the second place Stanford University £1.43bn. University of Cambridge Enterprise reported a further £300m investment to 16 spinouts in 2018, although the final year figure is expected to be in excess of this figure. New Digital Strategy for Cambridge funded by CPCA Cambridge & Peterborough Combined Authority has provided initial funding to Cambridge Wireless and Anglia Ruskin University to develop an integrated and impartial digital strategy, helping to promote the region’s strong technology sector. Cambridge already has a significant representation in the growing Artificial Intelligence sector, with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, ARM and Samsung all having AI research teams based in the city. According to Bidwells’ data, 85% of space is pre-let or already under offer. This, in theory, leaves a total of 91,000 sq ft available during 2019 with an expectation of more than 50% of space to be let shortly after practical completion. This pre-letting activity, combined with a slight increase in take-up in 2018 compared with 2017, underpinned a further increase in rents. During the second half of 2018 the prime office rent rose to £41.50 psf, with increases also seen for all grades of second hand space. The prime rent for laboratory space also rose in 2018 to £34.50 psf. These latest lettings figures are consistent with the findings of research undertaken by Bidwells on the location and property requirements of major R&D companies. The research, undertaken by YouGov on their behalf, underlines the importance of location. The ability to recruit highly skilled staff, combined with the requirement to be near the centre of research ideas and innovation are the determinants of location for such businesses. With a global outlook these companies will consider location from an international perspective and therefore are compelled to be exacting in their requirements.

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Award-Winning Website for Property Developer

Based in the heart of the Middle Eastern region, luxury property developer Eagle Hills has partnered with independent global creative agency Crowd to transform its website to a more SEO and user-friendly digital platform. Eagle Hills asked Crowd to develop a fully content managed solution that provides the best usability for users to navigate, explore and register their interests. The website is a robust, sales funnel that generates leads. “The new website had to act as a hub for Eagle Hills’ development projects throughout the world – showcasing plans and rendered photography of in-development properties,” said Tom Berne, Studio Director at Crowd Dubai. “Our challenge was to showcase the developer’s leading iconic destinations in a confident way that speaks to an ‘inner-directed’ consumer who appreciates great design. Eagle Hills wanted a direct approach, so we kept the website clean and simple to communicate a positive message to the appropriate demographic,” Tom added. A comprehensive content management system allows Eagle Hills to manage every aspect of their site and seamlessly integrate into their existing CRM system. Key design details include luxury and modern photography to reflect the developer’s brand message and services. Eagle Hills’ vision is to become the world’s most-admired real estate company by developing integrated communities that provide smart innovation, high-quality products, and services. It is one of the few developers that have adopted an e-commerce approach with their innovative thinking and showcase their passion for modern living through a dynamic digital platform. Since the launch of the new website, there has been a steady increase in traffic because of the optimisation activities added to the site. The website has won three CSS Design Awards in the Best Innovation, Best UI and Best UX Design categories. It has also been listed on the professional web design and development competition body – Awwwards.

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App for the Construction Industry Launched

Construction workers can now benefit from a free app that has just been launched to help provide mental health information and advice for those in need. The Construction Industry Helpline is a new collaboration between Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, construction software firm ‘COINS’ and ‘Building Mental Health’. “The app is aimed at construction workers and their families and complements our 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline. We recognise that not everyone feels comfortable talking about their feelings or personal situation, so the ‘Construction Industry Helpline’ app is aimed at people who would like to find out more information about how they can perhaps help themselves or if necessary, take the next step in seeking professional help. It is a preventative tool and aims to provide support at the initial stages of a situation so that the problem does not reach a life critical stage,” said Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Club charity. The Construction Industry Helpline will offer guidance on topics such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger and suicidal thoughts. “Collaborating with the Lighthouse Club in building this important app to help support construction workers and their families has been a privilege. It is great way for COINS to give something back to the construction industry and we look forward to seeing its widespread availability and hope that it will be a great help to both construction workers and their families when they need it the most,” added COINS CEO, Robert Brown. The app was officially launched by Lighthouse at its annual Christmas Lunch at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London and it is available for free on the App Store or Google Play.

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