Mainbrace’s Data Revolution

Years ago, Mainbrace embarked on a transformative journey into the world of data. Today, our commitment to data-driven decision-making is helping change the face of retail construction. We challenge conventional project design, reduce costs, and enhance price forecasting accuracy, all thanks to the power of reliable data.

Truth be told, we weren’t sure of the end game, but we recognised the potential that reliable data can deliver. We analyse and leverage the data we’ve collected to create shared value and empower our clients to make better, more informed, data-driven property and construction decisions.

For example, is your building overweight?

Roof steel is one of the most expensive elements of a retail build. The install price (per tonne of structural steel) has increased >45% since 2019. Now more than ever, it’s important to quickly bring to light the tonnage of structural steel in your roof design – is it overweight?

How would you know?  Amongst many others, we put a spotlight on this metric, benchmarking it against hundreds of similar builds, identifying where your building could and should be sitting in relation to others.

When we talk data, we talk about all the data points that go into every construction project. We collect more everyday – millions of validated data points every year. These numbers are based on real figuress, as recent as last week. This data is live, and not waiting for a published index.

Ultimately, our goal is to use data analysis to help our clients and consultants deliver a cost effective project design to suit their specific end need and purpose. It can inform everything from site selection, to procurement planning and construction workflow. It helps eliminate or minimise the need for re-design. Embedding data analysis in the Early Contractor Involvement stage can also increases price forecasting accuracy, which we know is a pain point in the current climate.

So, what is the future of our data? We see the possibilities as limitless. Analysing supply chain data and market trends to help clients anticipate material availability and prices. Environmental data on energy, emissions and waste to enable our clients to assess and minimise project footprints. Predictive analytics allows us to model and plan for different scenarios.

Now, our data approach is going global. This month, Mainbrace Head of Data, Technology & Systems, Angus Greenwood, went to Chicago to deliver a keynote on data at Procore’s Groundbreak construction conference. We’re proud to be in a position to share what we’ve learned with an international audience, and there’ll be plenty more lessons in the future.