More collaboration will make outcomes better

Collaboration is one of those words that is often overused and misunderstood. It's defined in numerous ways, but essentially, it's about businesses working together to create or achieve the same thing.

At the Futureworx show, Peter Haddock caught up with Lynch Director Steven Sutch to discuss the topic and its positive impact on the business. 

Steven: "The industry has been changing a lot over the last few years, with new machines and technologies transforming the way we work. So, it's now more important than ever for the sector to work more closely together and share ideas. For me, it's all about understanding how the sector can better integrate services, share best practices and understand the scope of work our customers have to deal with.

"Only then can you understand the type of equipment and technology they need and marry this to your planning and investment strategies. For example, with the wider introduction of Stage V engines, our investment this year will be circa £120m, which is more than our sales revenue forecast. But we made this investment because we recognised that delivering the environmental, sustainability and digital cloud-based goals our customers were asking for was essential. 

"It's also reflective of the growth our customers have seen thanks to HS2 and larger commercial projects, which have, in turn, led to a greater level of support they need. What has also been very evident is how the sector is moving to greater levels of early engagement at a project's tender stage.

"This allows for a better understanding of the skills levels and digital support needed to deliver a project. On the back of this, we have invested more in our Eco Driver training programmes and technical support.

For example, machines we now deliver to a project using 3D machine control will have the likes of Trimble and Leica Geosystems solutions on board, with the site model already loaded onto them. Equally, each machine will need to communicate with the project engineers as clients increasingly demand as-built models. 

"In practical terms, this means as soon as a machine is driven off a low loader, it is ready to work, and if the customer wants an operated solution, each machine will come with a fully trained Lynch operator. We also support the upskilling of operators as customers now want to see information on fuel burn and idle times through our dashboard solution.

“On a recent project, taking this approach, we decreased idle time from 46% to 26%, a saving that goes straight to the bottom line, with a much bigger impact now we have the change over from red to white diesel."

Lynch has not only made big investments in technology and equipment it also continues to take a leadership position on safety, with its thumbs-up training onsite becoming a recognised gesture used by all. And this gesture is also being digitised in an industry-first collaboration between Lynch and Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialist Safety Shield. 

Steven: "We have a very strong safety culture at Lynch and recognise the continued importance of education and training in this area. Working with our customers and Safety Shield, we are now trialling two AI led innovations, with autonomous braking and a very visual thumbs up solution. This lights up a shield with a green thumbs up symbol when the driver has recognised the presence and a hand thumbs-up signal from an operative on site.

“The button press action taken to do this also makes the equipment safe for an operative to approach if necessary. It's a great step forward for us that we hope will combine with the autonomous breaking customer trials to support our operator community and make for a safer site environment for everyone."

Steven concludes: "Collaboration for me is all about delivering value at the end of the day, but you can't do that without working much more closely with customers throughout the earthworks process. This means getting involved from the tender stage to a finished, and in some cases, 3D mapped earthworks site."

When you look at all of these different elements, it's much easier to see how businesses like Lynch can work together with customers and benefit all, including the environment.