Digitalisation and innovation
STRABAG aspires to be the leading technology partner for the construction of tomorrow. To achieve this goal, we are pursuing specific digitalisation targets. At the same time, the sorts of social and environmental challenges that the European Union is addressing with the Green Deal require innovative responses from business and industry. The digital transformation enables us to create comfortable living space at low cost, manage infrastructure intelligently, use resources effectively and reduce emissions.
The expansion of the digital infrastructure within the Group does increase the risk of cyberattacks and unauthorised data access. To counter this risk, STRABAG is continuing to expand its existing IT security infrastructure and carries out regular awareness campaigns throughout the Group to improve our digital capabilities and establish a security-focused data culture.
Rules, responsibilities and due diligence
Separate entity for innovation and digitalisation
Since the establishment of the central division STRABAG Innovation & Digitalisation, the Group has had its own organisational entity dedicated exclusively to innovation and digitalisation topics. SID leads the way in initiating developments, providing expert support while establishing a comprehensive overview of the corporate-wide innovation activities. We are also working on robotics and automated applications to increase our productivity.
A key account management system has been set up to align SID’s activities with the strategic needs of the divisions and central divisions. Digital tools and technologies are to be provided quickly so they can fulfil their role as enablers of sustainable construction activities. An internal key account network meeting was held in the 2023 reporting year to strengthen the ties between the digitalisation officers from the divisions and central divisions and to promote the exchange of expertise. With the establishment of the SID2Site function, the aim is to bring digital developments and innovations from SID to the construction sites and so create greater acceptance for innovations within the construction site teams.
Reporting directly to the CEO, the SID management team aims to ensure intense internal communication within the Group, with strategically important topics brought directly to the Management Board. Fundamental strategies, processes and objectives are jointly defined and continuously developed. These include the overarching strategies on digitalisation and sustainability, as well as topics such as data, robotics, BIM and geographic information systems (GIS). The rules and responsibilities as well as the organisational structure and workflow management were further strengthened and consolidated to promote the necessary STRABAG innovation and digitalisation initiatives in the long term. At the same time, the specifications that were defined for the systematic evaluation, prioritisation, coordination and processing of ideas and projects were refined and enhanced.
Strategy 2030
The strategies for sustainability and digitalisation are also anchored in our Strategy 2030 adopted in 2023 under the heading of “People. Planet. Progress.” The Group’s strengths in digitalisation and innovation make a particular contribution to all three cornerstones of the strategy.
Objectives and indicators
Digikennzahlen
Promoting the digital transformation in construction
STRABAG is actively driving forward the digital transformation of the construction industry. The aim is to increasingly support our processes and our workflows with digital methods. Another focus is on the further development of efficient and collaborative, digitally supported working methods with customers and partner companies. At the same time, we are investing in the continuous qualification of our employees and are strengthening our teams with the right specialists.
Further objectives include:
- BIM 5D® workstations: STRABAG is gradually upgrading its CAD workstations for use with BIM 5D® technology in building construction and civil engineering as well as in transportation and infrastructure projects. The number of BIM-capable workstations has been growing continually and in 2023 reached 2,643 (2022: 2,435). That corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 9%.
Objective: double-digit growth - Expenditure on research, development and innovation activities: approx. € 17 million (2022: approx. € 16 million)
Objective: maintain at least the previous year’s level - Number of development projects with funding: 32
Objective: maintain the funding rate at the previous year’s level
Projects and initiatives
The SID central division helped realise over 200 development projects covering the entire value chain throughout the STRABAG Group in 2023. The following sections present an excerpt of individual innovative projects. Further projects can be viewed at any time on STRABAG’s Work On Progress website.
The Eigenrieden Quarry in Thuringia has been part of the STRABAG Group since 2009. The limestone quarry has served as the setting for various pilot projects and trials to gather experience and insights into the climate-neutral operation of our extraction operations.
Applying an end-to-end view of the quarry and using innovative technologies, the aim is to create a forward-looking, climate-neutral opencast mine. This is also the main goal of the ELMAR research project, of which STRABAG Mineral Baustoffe GmbH is involved as part of a consortium. Alongside measures aimed at restructuring the internal transport, the project also aims to set up a fully electric processing plant. The new facility was successfully put into (trial) operation in 2023 following a total construction period of just 13 months. A large-scale photovoltaic installation with energy storage to ensure the quarry’s power supply is scheduled to go into operation in 2024.
The potential for reducing carbon emissions and costs is greatest in the design and planning phase. Using an interactive design tool, the CO2 emissions and costs of building construction projects along the entire life cycle are examined and evaluated already during the early concept phase in order to present the clients with a number of different building variants. The analysis compares different building systems, such as timber versus reinforced concrete, as well as corresponding carbon emission and cost values. The consultants can either configure the building manually or display optimised variants using evolutionary algorithms.
In order to utilise the high potential of generative design (GD) to transform the construction industry, it is also important to use interfaces and synergies with other design methods such as BIM. Experts from the two central divisions SID and Zentrale Technik in November received the BIM Award from the BIM Cluster Baden-Württemberg for their article “BIM Meets GD. Making BIM smarter with Generative Design”.
Generative design is currently being used in the Z2 construction project at the ZÜBLIN campus in Stuttgart, among other places. The refurbishment of the existing building offers numerous opportunities for using digital tools. The building was parametrically modelled and its energy efficiency assessed even before construction work began. The building’s potential PV yield was also generated using the stored geographical data (GIS) and compared with the primary energy specifications in accordance with the Buildings Energy Act.
BIM has emerged as a key method in the construction industry for exploiting the potential of circularity in general and the principle of resource efficiency in particular. BIM2be was launched as an extension of this method. The project follows STRABAG’s BIM strategy and forms the foundation for future BIM developments with the aim of improving data integration in BIM projects. The tools and products developed during the BIM2be subprojects are to be integrated into existing processes to support BIM managers. In 2023, the existing technology was further developed using various third-party models and piloted at several of our organisational entities. The aim in 2024 is to increase the maturity of BIM2be products, expand their use and increase their acceptance within the Group.
The gradual roll-out of ideas@strabag enables new ideas, improvements and innovative solutions to be centrally and transparently bundled, evaluated, refined and ultimately implemented. On the one hand, the degree of problem solving is used as an evaluation criterion, and on the other hand, the ideas are checked for economic viability. The further establishment of the ideas management platform will enable the corporate-wide exchange of ideas. The aim is to facilitate an increased exchange between the corporate entities, to avoid redundancies and to give employees the opportunity to contribute their ideas and solutions to the Group as a way of promoting promotes innovation and increasing our future viability.
The Strategic Innovation Management project was initiated on the basis of ideas@strabag in 2023. The focus of the project is on the improved allocation of resources for innovation projects and an optimised innovation process that takes into account the phases from idea generation to market launch. Another goal is to clearly define the roles and responsibilities involved in the process.
The first step in 2023 was to define the innovation process along with the roles and responsibilities. At the same time, the right software was chosen to carry out the process.
The aim of the adASTRA intrapreneurship programme is to promote entrepreneurial thinking and action among our employees, to meet future challenges with new business models and to support start-ups from within the company. A special focus is placed on sustainable business models. For this reason, the Carbon Free OSB and Ennagy business ideas were taken to the next level in 2023 in order to reach market maturity. Carbon Free OSB uses hemp as a renewable, environmentally friendly alternative to wood in the production of oriented strand boards (OSB). Ennagy aims to develop a multi-sided trading platform for green energy offering decentralised renewable energy production as a peer-to-peer model without any major cost risks.
Outlook
The innovation process defined in the Strategic Innovation Management project is to be launched in the coming year to further strengthen STRABAG’s capacity for innovation. This will restructure the innovation process. The project also comprises the development of new KPIs to better manage our innovation, sustainability and digitalisation activities.
Strategy 2030 places an even stronger focus on innovation and sustainability. The path to achieving the strategy’s goals involves making investments, and an internal Group funding model was developed for this purpose in 2023. By combining internally provided funds with external funding, the aim is to realise as many projects as possible, including development projects, pilot projects and investments. To assess a project’s eligibility for funding, our Group experts examine the degree of innovation, external eligibility for funding and eligibility for industrial property rights as well as the fulfilment of the ESG criteria of the respective project.
The establishment of external networks and partnerships with universities, think tanks and research institutes as well as the successful continuation of research and development projects such as BIM2be remain important milestones on our way to becoming a technology leader in the construction industry.