Speaking from our office in Cape Town, South Africa, he tells the story of the evolution of the global digital construction team, with specialists working on projects across Europe and the UK.  

Paul has hand-selected more than 20 BIM (Building Information Modelling) specialists from varied and diverse backgrounds – ship building, architecture, steelwork, shop fabrication, aviation, reverse engineering and MEPF– as part of the expansion of our team. According to Paul, this diversity of thought is ‘the key to the team’s innovation and success’.

With more than 100 specialists globally, Paul explains, “We are able to approach problems from a wide range of angles and perspectives, and alongside our project engineers, we will often spot and solve any issues well before the project gets to site.”

Paul joined Kirby two years ago, flying into Ireland to undertake leadership training with the Irish Management Institute (IMI) as part of his induction. He’s embraced Kirby’s high-performance culture, throwing himself into Kirby’s Keep Fit Challenges and the Kirby Way Cycling event. “I signed up to the virtual fitness challenges and got the bug. A team 10k run hosted in Green Point, Cape Town, followed and I haven’t looked back. I’ve since completed a half marathon and training for the Cape Town marathon in October,” he says.

With a background in construction engineering, within the petrochemical industry, Paul built his career in South Africa working with family-owned engineering firms before establishing his own company in 2018.  “When the opportunity came along to work for Kirby in 2022, it was too good to pass up. The European market is at the forefront of digital construction technology and application, working to ISO 19650 standards, with state-of-the-art software and scanning capabilities utilised by Kirby. It was the opportunity to work at the cutting edge.”

Taking advantage of the time difference between Europe and South Africa, which can be up to two hours, depending on the time of year, Paul says, “We work as one team, collaboratively across cloud models with colleagues across the global team. We’ll often hand over to one another to get a head start on a project before the day begins.”

“ISO 19650 is an international standard for managing information over the whole life cycle of a built asset using Building Information Modelling (BIM).”

Paul and the team at Kirby use 3D scanning hardware and software to cloud scan projects to create models within a submillimetre of accuracy, alongside specialist software providers and artificial intelligence, to push the boundaries of digital construction.

With our new Portlaoise off-site manufacturing facility, the team has been able to significantly reduce the preconstruction lead times and delivery schedules across our projects.

“Across the data centre and pharmaceutical industries, we see clients expanding at pace to meet global demand. With digital construction our clients have accurate, as-built virtual models, rather than architectural plans and operation and maintenance (O&M) manuals. This can unlock the second phase of projects at pace.”

Paul gives the example of a pharmaceutical project in Ireland. “The preconstruction on the first phase took six months; for the second, we were able to get it down to one month with the aid of digital construction. Through the models, we are eliminating the guesswork and ensuring critical infrastructure projects can start at pace.”

The team is also now looking at how they can use AI to predict project outcomes with the help of the digital model.

Prefabrication, modularisation, and digital construction are employed on most of our projects to drive efficiency throughout the build process. With Paul and the team working on projects from the tender stage, through delivery, handover, and aftercare.

There are three Digital Construction Managers at Kirby working with Mark Danaher, Associate Director – BIM/ Technical Services.

We ask Paul what his day-to-day looks like, “Together, we look at the strategy for the department, the allocation of workload, and aided by Power BI, explore innovations and efficiencies that we can implement to develop the department.”

“My door is open to the team, and I also have a key project assigned to me.”

“Solid communication, trust and empowerment are key to the success of the department, and Kirby is unique in that regard. It trusts, values, and appreciates its employees.”

“It still feels like a dream come true to learn, grow, and develop in an organisation like Kirby. Even after two years, I am excited to go to work every day.”