As construction projects grow in complexity and scale, digital capability has become a crucial lever for cost control and competitive advantage and as such, is embedded into all aspects of service delivery at Turner & Townsend.
To support this vision, the company developed The Hive, its proprietary digital platform designed to bring clarity and control to complex project environments. Built in-house by delivery experts, The Hive integrates tools, methodologies, data, and reporting into a single, unified system.
Processing millions of data points, The Hive enables project lifecycle tracking and management, to support early identification of anomalies before they become risks. Decisions and remedial action can then be undertaken to keep performance on track and compare progress across different portfolios.
By connecting disparate data sources, The Hive transforms raw information into actionable insight. This allows teams to understand not only what is happening across a project, but why, and what action is needed.
Elevating cost planning
In the development of The Hive, Turner & Townsend identified a critical need to strengthen its cost planning capabilities. The firm required comprehensive, structured, and accessible cost data that could integrate seamlessly into its proprietary tools and systems.
“Traditional approaches to cost planning can be fragmented, with measurement happening in one system and then being costed in Excel. Our cost planning app extracts our quantities and cost from our CostX workbook onto the Hive.
Through doing this Turner & Townsend is able to maintain consistency in its approach to Cost Planning and crucially collect the data on the Hive to drive insight on cost performance data.” comments Edwin Chomer, Digital Transformation Programme Lead, Real Estate Cost Management at Turner & Townsend.
“We needed a solution that would provide structured, high-quality data and enable visibility and meaningful analysis from which to support improved decision-making across the project lifecycle.”
To achieve this, Turner & Townsend turned to RIB Software’s CostX as the enterprise cost planning foundation for The Hive, based on its reputation, deep construction industry functionality, and integration capabilities.
“We have been using CostX consistently in the business for nearly a decade.” Edwin adds. “We have a long-established relationship with RIB Software, so when we developed the cost planning app we naturally used CostX as the platform to support the integration. This is used globally and we have various methods of measurement that are reflected in our standard workbook templates on CostX that align with our cost planning app.”
Integrating CostX into The Hive
By integrating CostX into The Hive, Turner & Townsend established a powerful digital ecosystem where cost data is not only captured, but actively used to inform decisions, support cost management and drive better outcomes, from quantity take-off to data integration. This standardisation across projects and regions underpins visibility of the entire project lifecycle, expediting performance and mitigating bottlenecks and risk.
We have developed bespoke CostX templates aligned with internationally recognised methods of measurement, including NRM, POMI and Uniformat, enabling us to undertake measurement in the most appropriate standard and seamlessly integrate the outputs into the Hive to support our wider service approach.
“The integration of CostX with the Hive has already delivered significant value across Turner & Townsend’s project portfolio, ensuring all systems and tools are connected, and that we have a robust model from which to support future projects,” Edwin adds.
Key benefits of The Hive include:
1. Visibility and accuracy
The availability of comprehensive, contextualised data allows teams to monitor project performance in real time. Structured data ensures that anomalies and risks can be quickly identified and addressed.
2. Improved decision-making
With clearer insights and better-quality data, project teams can make informed decisions earlier in the lifecycle. For example, changes can be made during the design phase, rather than the costing one, when adjustments can become costly and complex to implement.
3. Tighter cost control
By integrating CostX into The Hive, Turner & Townsend has established a robust foundation for cost management. This reduces the likelihood of unexpected overruns and supports more predictable outcomes. In an industry where uncertainty is the norm, and predictability the goal, this brings real-world ROI.
4. Compliance and governance
Consistent, structured data makes it easier to track patterns, ensure compliance, and maintain governance standards across projects and portfolios.
5. Integration
The ability to connect multiple tools and systems into a single platform has been a major advantage, fostering standardisation, addressing fragmentation and improving collaboration across teams.
Boosting project outcomes
Now fully deployed and integrated, The Hive, enhanced by CostX, is delivering certainty and control, with customers endorsing its intuitive design, accessibility, and impact on efficiency.
Playing a digital advantage
“Beyond operational improvements, The Hive is reinforcing a strategic differentiator for Turner & Townsend,” Edwin concludes. “By embedding digital capability at the heart of its services and integrating advanced cost planning through CostX, the company has created a unique value proposition.
“As construction projects continue to evolve, the ability to harness data effectively will be critical. Through its partnership with RIB Software and the integration of CostX, Turner & Townsend is not only leveraging digital to keep pace with industry change but capitalising on it to deploy first mover advantage and take the lead. In turn this means delivering projects underpinned by better decisions, better performance, and ultimately, better outcomes for our clients.”
