An era of change in engineering and project delivery
John BrophyGroup Head of Business Development
A member of PM Group’s Executive Leadership team, John is responsible for BD, Sales and Marketing across the global business.
From increased demand for decarbonisation and digitalisation to less greenfield sites, we are seeing a number of new trends emerging in our markets.
“Project delivery for the industrial sector is inherently complex with many factors influencing major change. However, for engineering led projects, the secret to the future, according to John Brophy, is flexibility.
Flexibility
“If you’re looking for a recent trend, it’s definitely flexibility. The future will be less about building new greenfield sites. So we need to design now with flexibility to ensure the facility and its systems meet future needs," said John.
“More and more we are starting projects for clients who don’t have the precise characteristics of their final product but need to build ahead of demand. The result is that treatments get to market and to patients in the fastest possible time. Covid showed us that — just how fast the pharma industry has to be able to react and innovate to meet the needs of society.”
Other major trends include decarbonisation and digitalisation. However, there are significant gaps in where organisations are in their journeys.
The need to transform
“Large manufacturing sites tend to have high demands on utilities such as power, water and waste treatment. Right now, clients are looking to us for innovative solutions to allow them to transform and change to more efficient, renewable, and less intensive energy sources. One solution we have pioneered is a carbon neutral cleanroom.
It is reducing the energy use for one of the most important spaces in a pharma or medical device facility. All of our multi-national clients are already looking to achieve carbon-neutral and eventually, net-zero facilities. It can be difficult for companies to know where to start. Our dedicated environment and sustainability team have developed models for clients to evaluate solutions and programme investments to deliver on their carbon commitments.”
Digitalization
Another area where clients are being bombarded by services and solutions is in the digitalization of projects, facilities and systems.
There can often be a temptation to try to do everything in one go.
“There is a lot of pressure to implement digital solutions that potentially reduce cost and deliver faster to a higher quality. The opportunities are very exciting, however because of the complexity of high tech facilities, it is not a one-size fits all approach.
Explore 4.0
To make it manageable and cost-effective, implementation has to be phased. In response to this, we developed an Industry 4.0 assessment application called Explore 4.0 to empower clients to make critical decisions. Having the right advice from the outset, from organisations with a track record for designing and building these facilities is essential,” said John.
At the heart of engineering and project delivery is a continued focus on finding solutions, making them better, leaner and more efficient.
“PM Group’s story of growth over 50 years mirrors the journey of our clients’ growth. What we’re bringing them now is an ethos of making big building projects flexible enough so that they have a longer life. That makes them more sustainable and empowers our clients to better respond to whatever happens next. 50 years on, that’s why it’s such an interesting industry to be a part of,” John concluded.
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