WHY DIGITAL ENGINEERING AT SES

Digital Engineering and BIM allows us to embrace technology, innovation, integrated project delivery, collaborative working and distributed leadership.

SES’ goal is to continue to be industry leaders in adopting digital engineering and BIM into our operations and business processes – creating value and efficiency and driving down costs and time. We continue to build on our strategy of ‘Input Once – Use Many Times’ to ensure that maximum benefit is delivered to SES, our stakeholders and our customers using digital procedures to influence cultural and procedural change within the wider construction industry.

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM)

SES has been an early adopter of BIM, using 3D modelling on projects for over 15 years and embedding data into models since 2010.

Back in 2016, SES was delighted to become the first Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing contractor (MEP) to achieve BRE BIM Level 2 business certification. This accreditation enables us to lead our peers into the critical industry changes and develop the industries skilled workforce to learn, understand and adopt these new developments as the industry grows. SES was also proud to have achieved reaccreditation for the third time in June 2019.

OUR SPECIALIST SERVICES

We have a dedicated team of BIM specialists working with design teams to develop building design in accordance with Level 2 BIM where appropriate. Our in-house BIM department will take the lead in developing the centrally held BIM model and designing directly into it. SES strives to share knowledge and experience in BIM with our customers ensuring that there is a one team ethos through pre-construction to post completion.

The services we offer cover the complete built environment lifecycle and are encapsulated within a BIM framework from engineering services, prefabrication, installation and commissioning, bringing value to our business and clients in a number of sectors.

Our accreditation supports the SES brand, our strategy and our reputation for technical authority. BIM is a major strand of our strategic differentiation and is key in our approach to bringing innovation and intelligence to all our proposals.

VIRTUAL REALITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) for business use has been growing recently and with its ability to create accurate and interactive content, VR is increasingly being used in the design and construction spheres. Over the last 12 months SES has invested heavily in VR technology allowing customers to immerse themselves into a new, digitally constructed reality, which resembles real life. The true benefit of this tool is that it provides customers an opportunity to step inside a project while it’s still in the design phase before spending months, if not years, constructing it.

Design efficiency is a clear benefit of VR technology. Making changes once a building is under construction is extremely expensive and time-consuming. VR gives the opportunity to reduce costs by making decisions earlier in the project life, to refine the design and test factors and features without having to build first, and to eliminate errors and identify any problems early in the design process.

SES has been trialling VR with its customers, most recently with a global pharmaceutical company where they are currently delivering a £94m aseptic manufacturing facility in Durham. Feedback from the customer has been extremely positive.

Bespoke VR experiences are made on a project-to-project basis using the live BIM model, allowing teams to potentially make real time changes. Users can immerse themselves into a project and gain insight and awareness, detecting clashes and issues before ground has even been broken. The video below provides an overview of what users could visualise within a recent VR experience for a key High-Tech sector project.

In 2020, SES hosted events at Leeds Digital Festival as well as for the Chartered Institute of Building in the North East showcasing how VR is used in the Construction Industry.

BUILDING PHYSICS

As a 21^st Century MEP Contractor SES has a pivotal role in the performance of the buildings and environments which we help create:

WE CARE

About the environment and acknowledge that the places and communities we create must be done so in a way to reduce and mitigate the harmful impacts of construction.

SUSTAINABLE

A balance of low energy demands, zero carbon emissions, natural building materials, renewable technologies and economical solutions.

PROGRESSIVE

By embracing the changes from revised legislation and regulations we will drive change and allow us to perform better.

WE LOOK FOR A BETTER WAY

Through the application of Building Physics Engineering to digitally create better places and communities for tomorrow, before we build them.

CIBSE Low Carbon Energy Assessors

Our in-house building physics engineering team are CIBSE Low Carbon Energy Assessors, complemented by our CIBSE Low Carbon Consultants and digital engineering team giving us strength in depth. Through collaboration – driven by a culture of performance excellence – we seek to understand our customers goals, engineer in granular detail from the outset and take a holistic approach to ensure that our designs and installations create tangible value.

Our Low Carbon Energy Assessors utilise a combination of services from both CIBSE and Stroma Certification to access a wider knowledge base and an extended range of CPD activities.

Building Physics provides Digital Engineering with an opportunity to play an even greater role within the construction industry and the benefits available need to be recognised by those involved in the decision-making process to encourage early uptake.

As Building Physics deliverables often fall within the M&E Contractors scope, the appointment of a Building Physics Consultant on behalf of the Contractor offers validation, risk and opportunity.

SES HAS BEEN BY FAR OUR MOST COLLABORATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNER

“With regards to digital construction delivery they have prioritised improved communication with the wider team which is essential to collaborative working.

They have also established model authoring techniques that feed into offsite modular construction in their offsite manufacturing facility, Prism.”

Andy Boutle, EngTech LCIBSE, BIM CP

Head of BIM, Building UK

Case Studies

Sandwell Aquatics Centre

The Sandwell Aquatics Centre was initially constructed to host one of the most significant international sporting events of 2022

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West New Build Police Headquarters

SES Engineering Services (SES) working collaboratively with principal contractor Willmott Dixon created a new, state-of-the-art headquarters for Lancashire Constabulary’s West Division in Blackpool.

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