Driving visibility, transparency and accountability with Meldrum and Oculo
Dave Meldrum, Meldrum Group CEO, found himself using the tools to support discussions with the client and with trades. Having access to all of his sites at his fingertips is a real game changer, allowing him to collaborate more actively with the teams from anywhere:
Dave Meldrum, Meldrum Group CEO
“I can see, and demonstrate, exactly what had been done when. Once everybody knows what the tool can do, the whole mindset shifts to become more collaborative and transparent.”
Introduction
Meldrum Construction Services Group Ltd (Meldrum Group) are a leading contractor based in the North East of England who have always been at the forefront of adopting innovative solutions. Known for 'building solutions with integrity', their growth, primarily driven by repeat business and referrals, is a testament to their commitment to maintaining high standards. Giles Johnston, Group Quality and Systems Director at Meldrum, was on the lookout for a technology partner that could uphold their reputation for delivering quality results, whilst scaling up their portfolio. The potential value of Oculo, a passive 360 reality capture solution, was huge - the ability to easily record comprehensive visual data through all phases of a project just by walking the site with a hard hat mounted camera, and to have instant access to that project data from anywhere at any time. For Giles, finding a solution that was simple and easy to pick up by the site teams was crucial - considered the primary success criteria for evaluation during the pilot projects. After the success of this 2 project pilot, with glowing feedback from the site teams involved, Meldrum and Oculo have now entered into an enterprise partnership, working together to increase visibility and evidence, whilst saving time and money, across their full portfolio of construction projects.
Giles Johnston, Group Quality and Systems Director
The Pilot: Yarm School & Magdalene Court
To confirm the versatility and robustness of the system, Oculo was put to the test in two diverse projects - Magdalene Court and Yarm School. The former, comprising a combination of townhouses and apartments, benefitted from Oculo's ability to capture multiple levels and buildings in a single scan, meaning site operatives did not need to walk fixed routes, or interrupt their stride to interact with the 360 camera - making evidence capture quick and seamless. For the latter, a working school environment, both Meldrum and the client team had to be confident that surrounding areas were safe, and disruptions for the students and the public were minimised. Through regular scans of site boundaries and pathways, these areas could be checked regularly and remotely.
The Value Added
Oculo brought to the table more than just efficiency; it was a step change in site documentation.
TIME SAVINGS
Rather than site operatives having to take hundreds of photos, then tag, upload and organise these, there was significant time saved by using Oculo - the data capture was incorporated within the daily site walks, then processed and organised just by uploading the video.
IMPROVED OVERSIGHT
The management team were provided with improved oversight, by having instant access to a virtual site walkthrough from any device - being able to ‘visit’ all projects in an afternoon, rather than spend a day travelling in person for each, reducing travel and saving time and money.
ENHANCED CUSTOMER COLLABORATION
Another real game-changer was the enhanced customer collaboration and transparency that having this single source of truth fostered, and the confidence in knowing that this evidence is available in a few clicks at any time in the future. As Andrew Widdowson, Site Manager for Yarm School, puts it, “the side by side evidence presented to clients was really phenomenal, you can show the clear difference within weeks and give confidence in progress.”
On the Ground Experiences
Site managers like Paul and Andrew initially had their reservations.
"I was a bit sceptical at first, but once I saw how easy it was to use and how valuable the data being captured was, I was sold." - Paul Houghton, Senior Site Manager.
The ease of use, and the tangible value of the data captured quickly turned scepticism into endorsement. Andrew noted how incorporating scans into his routine site walks seamlessly created valuable documentation, dispelling initial scepticism:
“Scanning is quick and easy... it was reassuring to know that these records would be available at any point should they be needed."
During the pilot projects, Oculo was also used to support monthly CVR (Cost Value Reconciliation) meetings with the leadership team - with dedicated scans done in advance of the sessions, and a virtual flythrough provided to kick off the meeting and align everybody to current status. By having the virtual site on screen in these meetings, you can clearly see and discuss value delivered to date. Having seen the tool in action during the pilots, Simon Bissell, Meldrum Group Finance Director, advocated for expanding to all projects.
Beyond the pilots
Meldrum's satisfaction with Oculo wasn't just a one-off success story; it was the beginning of a long-term partnership. Integrating Oculo across their portfolio and embedding it into standard processes, Meldrum continues to expand the use cases and value that Oculo brings. Meldrum has also joined the Customer Advisory Board, shaping the future Oculo roadmap to meet real-world needs and usability.