A start-up is different from a conventional company. To be worth the name, it needs to be exceptionally innovative. ProperGate is one of them. The company manages just-in-time deliveries to construction sites. By optimising this „building logistics” you can save a lot of time and… money.
Every day, dozens or even hundreds of trucks transporting concrete, steel, formwork sheets, many different materials and equipment arrive at large construction sites. In addition, there is the export of waste for disposal or return of used items or machines previously rented.
It takes a lot of time to organise it. Everything is managed by phone, sometimes written down in Excel sheets. Despite the effort, the activities often lack proper coordination and control. And what are the consequences? Well, sometimes there are obvious „collisions” in the schedules, there are no cranes or other machines, no room to unload deliveries, there are elevator obstructions, as well as „jamming” the surrounding streets by trucks waiting for entry, loading or unloading. It’s also not uncommon to have difficulties in “locating” the materials already brought in and unloaded. Experience shows that in some cases it takes more than half of their time for the employees to control such chaos.
ProperGate experts have decided to change this. They have created an app to increase the internal logistics efficiency on skyscraper construction sites.
The manual, inefficient process has been replaced by the digital, automated one with quick access to information.
With digitalising the logistics processes on a construction site, we increase the effectiveness of daily operations by 15-25 times, thus reducing the costs of the project. Better construction site deliveries management helps us meet the deadlines and minimise the risk of delays. And all of this thanks to an application that allows you to organise just-in-time deliveries and their effective scheduling — explained Robert Grudzień from ProperGate in an interview with mambiznes.pl.
The app enables contractors to regain control over materials that are delivered in a predictable time, are efficiently unloaded and easily located, and you know everything about them at any time and on the spot.
ProperGate is a Polish start-up established by: Robert Grudzień and Rafał Grudzień, Anna Walkowska, Stanislav Frnka and Grzegorz Strutyński.
The idea to design a logistics management system for a construction site was born out of our first partner’s needs — HB Reavis. When implementing the Varso Place project in the very centre of Warsaw, efficient just-in-time delivery management in accordance with the Lean Construction methodology was required — the start-up founders said in PropertyDesign.
In a recent interview with PropertyNews.pl Grudzień highlighted that the company is currently gaining experience in Warsaw, Luxembourg, Rabat and Dubai. He also reminded them how a Polish start-up “became an apprentice” of the BESIX Group construction company known for such projects as Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in the world. He also announced that for the next two years ProperGate would be focusing on building skyscrapers.
The ProperGate managers believe that the foreign companies’ interest in cooperation with start-ups on commercial terms is much higher than in Poland for the time being.
Due to the size of the skyscraper market in Canada and the United States, the solution will also be tested by several customers in Toronto, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
The application is to be further developed. The start-up managers emphasize that they are analysing subsequent areas of logistics activities on the construction site at different stages and will propose how to optimise them and what effects such optimization can bring. The result is to enrich the platform with new functionalities. The aim is not only to improve the logistics itself, but also to support the planning of construction sites. In Warsaw discussions with investors about prospect cooperation are underway in order to reduce traffic nearby construction sites.
Innovative start-ups and projects that can change the future of logistics will be presented during the hyperLOG conference held in Łódź on 24th of October. This is an opportunity to see authentic product demos. For more details and a list of companies that will be making their appearance during the event please refer to the event’s website.
Photo: Pixabay