Laing O'Rourke
- Leading construction company Laing O'Rourke has been at the cutting edge of building innovation for decades.
- Its partnership with Lenovo enables the company to build "digitally first" for the best results.
- Digital transformation is crucial for the future of the industry, with augmented reality predicted to be important on-site and off.
Construction company Laing O'Rourke is delivering some of the world's most complex and challenging building and infrastructure projects. Its projects range from hospitals to schools, railways to power stations, data centers to defense and science and research facilities, across the UK, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
"At Laing O'Rourke, our people have always been motivated by a desire to ensure our projects benefit the communities they serve. Today, we define our purpose as being to push the boundaries of what's possible in service of humanity," said Joel Morris, the company's head of corporate affairs for Europe.
Leading construction innovation
For decades, Laing O'Rourke has invested in technology and innovation. It is the only contractor to operate its own UK manufacturing facilities, an integral part of its unique, manufacturing-led operating model.
Laing O'Rourke calls it "DfMA 70:60:30." DfMA stands for Design for Manufacture and Assembly, and by manufacturing 70% of a project in a factory, the company can improve productivity by 60% and achieve a 30% reduction in program.
By working closely with clients and design, delivery, and academic partners, Laing O'Rourke has pioneered the advance of modern methods of construction and continues to drive innovation within the construction industry. The company has invested £200 million in its manufacturing facility, the Laing O'Rourke Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction, in Nottinghamshire, which is Europe's most advanced concrete manufacturing facility.
Excellence in healthcare, science, and research building construction
Laing O'Rourke was the principal contractor for the award-winning Grange University Hospital, in Cwmbran, Wales. This £350 million, 560-bed critical care hospital was delivered four months ahead of schedule in November 2020, and with zero defects at practical completion. "This was made possible by a bold client who engaged us early on the design. This enabled us to maximize off-site manufacturing during construction, and our team harnessed their experience and smart technology to build the hospital digitally, before building it physically. This saved time, improved safety and quality, and gave the client certainty," said Morris.
Laing O'Rourke has a strong track record when it comes to science and research buildings, delivering multifaceted and innovative projects. When the company was appointed to build the Henry Royce Institute — the UK's National Institute for advanced materials research and innovation — in Manchester, it adopted a one-team approach with its construction partners to harness off-site manufacturing and a "just-in-time" delivery operation model. This was necessary to deliver a complex project in a tight, logistically constrained city-center location.
Laing O'Rourke has a longstanding relationship with the University of Oxford, and is currently delivering its 12th project for the university. In 2021, it completed the 26,000-square-meter Biochemistry Building, which is now home to the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery. The building is used by 400 students, faculty, and research staff. Manufacturing off-site helped to avoid disturbing students and staff, and also contributed to a COVID-19-secure work environment while restrictions were still in place.
The company is also deeply committed to creating social value with its projects. 650 jobs were created on site at the Grange University Hospital: 38% of the construction team were local, 117 people who worked on the project were previously unemployed, and Laing O'Rourke created 39 apprenticeships. "Our goal is simple: to maximize the socioeconomic benefits of our projects and so help people thrive," Morris said.
The role of technology and the art of the possible
Lenovo, one of Laing O'Rourke's key technology partners, has a similar philosophy, with its "human-centered approach." Lenovo puts this into practice with its products by helping people feel safer or more secure through their use of technology, improving their wellbeing or health, and making their lives easier. Lenovo's supercomputers, for example, are used by scientists to research cancer treatments and detect diseases earlier, while its sponsorship of the Silver Snipers, a team of older gamers, helps combat loneliness.
Lenovo's technology was a critical enabler for many of the Laing O'Rourke projects above. "On our projects we always consider the 'art of the possible,'" said Sam Ward, program leader for EU R&D at Laing O'Rourke. This involves working out the optimal delivery approach to a project, made possible by end-to-end digital processes. The company builds "digitally first" which helps clients visualize outcomes at the very outset and to finalize design ahead of contracting.
Laing O'Rourke uses cutting-edge technology from Lenovo, making the most of a full range of products, from its ThinkStation P500 workstations that enable large and complex modeling to take place, to its powerful ThinkPad P Series mobile workstations, which are robust and dependable — crucial for those working on a live project site.
The company uses Lenovo's ThinkPad T Series laptops, which are slim as well as tough, meaning project teams can rely on them while working from different locations. "We are also enabling our workforce to engage with technology: We make use of the Lenovo Tab P11 tablet to quickly and easily access information and model data remotely," Ward said. This modeling might include creating detailed construction animations or using computer-generated images to visualize data.
Digital transformation is a focus for many sectors, and Ward expects the value of virtual and augmented reality to grow at all stages of the construction process, from engaging stakeholders before projects get on site, to maintenance once buildings are completed.
"Our product is as tangible as its creation process. This makes the application of immersive technology in our sector especially relevant," Ward said. To this end, Laing O'Rourke has also invested in Lenovo's ThinkReality and Mirage headsets.
"In connecting design, manufacture, and onsite construction, Lenovo is helping is transform how we deliver projects for our clients and stimulate transformation across the construction sector," said Ward. In the not too distant future, more, better and quicker data, and technologies like AI and robotics, will inform and change every stage of construction — and having an innovative tech partner will be critical.
Find out more about smarter technology for all with Lenovo.
This post was created by Insider Studios with Lenovo.