This project develops an electronic service to improve the procurement and logistics processes and data transfer in trade in the construction sector. The service will help to reduce the high costs in the construction sector in Finland.

What kind of problem is the project trying to solve?

Compared with the other EU countries, the costs in the construction sector in Finland and the other Nordic countries are extremely high. The building product sales in Finland amount to EUR 3.6 billion.

The costs of building can be reduced by an estimated sum of EUR 200 million by electrifying the procurement and logistics processes and by standardising the information exchanged by the parties of the construction project during construction.

The pilot project of Building Information investigates and tests how standardisation enables limited electronic trade transactions in the Nordic countries. If realised, the service will open up new opportunities for Finnish organisations in the Nordic and European construction markets.

Objective: to develop a pilot electronic service for trade in the construction sector

The project develops a trial version of an electronic service testing how product information in the construction sector can be integrated in the data transfer of organisations and how an electronic service enhances the procurement and delivery process during the construction project. Communication between contractors, logistics and product suppliers takes place electronically through the service and the service platform.

Companies can manage their construction projects in the service. In practice, the timetables, procurement, logistics and materials of construction projects are managed in the service. This means that contractors set up a construction project, including the schedules, in the service portal and enter the planned materials and price lists that have been agreed with the product suppliers. The project schedule is updated in the service and the updates directly affect the product deliveries to the project construction site. The transfer of information between the parties engaged in the project takes place electronically in the service. A similar service set up by the BEAst.se organisation is already used in Sweden.

Furthermore, the service must allow the identification and allocation of product information for reporting. The trial version uses standardised product information from the services of Building Information and the service platform complies with the European PEPPOL architecture (Pan European Public eProcurement On-Line).  The core of the service platform is the data transmission network that business partners can use to link their own IT resources together to enable a secure and reliable electronic exchange of business documents.

The starting point for developing the new service is that it must be easy to use and suitable for supporting both large and small construction sector organisations in the digitalisation of electronic trade and processes.

Expected results?

The project will produce a customer-oriented requirement specification of the service features and a technical platform that will be used in the development of the actual service.

The results will be published and used in the TEHO committee consisting of the central construction sector operators from trade, product manufacturing and the construction industry.

Who benefits?

Companies in the construction sector, constructors, people responsible for logistics and product suppliers.