Lendlease joins $28m bid for smart construction CRC

Lendlease has formed a coalition with the University of Melbourne and Monash University to make a joint $28 million bid to host a smart construction Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

Along with the Australian branch of construction technology firm Donovan Group, the Building 4.0 CRC aims to use digital solutions to drive efficiency in the building industry.

“R&D carried out in the CRC will demonstrate that the building industry can come together to solve the big challenges of our times, delivering buildings that are more efficient, cheaper and sustainable, without sacrificing quality,” Monash University’s Professor Mathew Aitchison, interim CEO of Building 4.0 CRC, said in a statement.

Aitchison believes digitally enhanced collaboration capabilities will be central to the CRC’s work.

Bill Ruh, Lendlease’s chief executive of digital, agreed, saying the CRC program “is a great opportunity for us to not only test and use technology to develop new ways of working, but to find ways of working collaboratively with the broader industry”.

Other efficiencies will be driven by data science and artificial intelligence, coupled with robotics being used to optimise all stages of the building process from development and design through to prouction, assembly, operation, maintenance and end-of-life.

Some of the ambitious outcomes the group hopes to achieve through the CRC program include:

• 37.5 per cent reduction in project costs through digital technology and off-site manufacturing
• 40 per cent reduction in project delays
• 80 per cent reduction in construction waste
• 50 per cent reduction in Co2 emissions for more sustainable buildings.

It also hopes to facilitate over 30 PhD research projects, 1000 masters students, and training for 7000 apprentices.

Other backers for the project include the likes of BlueScope Steel, Master Builders Association of Victoria, Salesforce, and Standards Australia.

The outcome of the CRC bid will be announced in December this year.