Balfour Beatty has recently announced Jacobs as their new partner for strategic construction design as they aim to improve health and safety, sustainability, and social value in the company
Jacobs, a prominent design, engineering, and project management consultant, have been added to Balfour Beatty’s designated strategic construction design team. This collaboration aims to consolidate the industry’s top design and engineering expertise under one umbrella.
Jacobs have a workforce of over 60,000 people, generating an annual revenue of around $15bn. They offer a range of professional services, including technical solutions, scientific expertise, and project delivery for governmental and private entities.
How collaboration can improve strategic construction design
The Strategic Design Partnership was formed in 2017 and aims to redefine the relationship between designers and contractors. The partnership’s goal is to offer Balfour Beatty’s customers early access to a synchronised and cooperative design and construction team.
The partnership will focus on designing solutions for construction and infrastructure projects through collaboration. An emphasis will be placed on crucial such as health and safety, sustainability, social value, and the implementation of modern methods of construction.
The announcement builds on the success of the Strategic Design Partnership, which secured the IS044001 accreditation for collaboration in 2018.
Jacobs joins Atkins and Mott MacDonald
“We are delighted to welcome Jacobs to our strategic construction design team, joining together with Atkins and Mott MacDonald as we continue to re-frame the designer-contractor relationship and drive enhanced collaboration and innovation across the construction and infrastructure industry,” said Stephen Tarr, Balfour Beatty’s CEO for major projects transport, energy and power.
“At Balfour Beatty, we truly believe that collaborative partnerships such as the Strategic Design Partnership have the opportunity to revolutionise our industry and must be considered as the vehicle of choice to ensure that projects are procured, designed and delivered safer, faster, better and greener,” he continued.
Jacobs has recently announced a number of exciting new projects, including a collaboration with the University of Manchester to build a new cutting-edge robotics research centre.
The facility, known as the Centre for Robotic Autonomy in Demanding and Long-lasting Environments (CRADLE), will serve sectors such as space, nuclear decommissioning, energy generation, and urban infrastructure.
The project will receive $11m of funding over the next five years from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Prosperity Partnerships programme.
“The Strategic Design Partnership enables closer integration of our collective expertise to drive efficiencies and co-create value-focused solutions for long-term transformation,” said Bruce Chalmers, vice President of Jacobs.
“This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of UK infrastructure delivery, putting sustainability and different ways of working at the heart to build better outcomes for society and the environment,” he concluded.
