mySiniat - Providing the building blocks of a compliant build
Innovation overview and development
An overview of the digital innovation
With the implementation of the Building Safety Act and a mandated requirement to provide and maintain a ‘golden thread’ of performance data, Siniat devised an innovative tool to ensure its customers and partners could access all required technical performance data for any project, from anywhere.
The team developed a new platform entitled mySiniat. mySiniat provides a space for architects and specifiers to digitally explore, learn and plan drylining packages using the manufacturer’s extensive range of products and systems, while also being able to benefit from the combined reassurance of the technical team’s expertise.
Using mySiniat gives partners and suppliers exclusive access to technical content not currently available on the manufacturer’s website. This includes CAD files, fire and acoustic reports, datasheets and more in a virtual library. This means that all resources are readily-accessible for users in just a number of clicks.
The platform also enables users to access Siniat’s expertise and product data in a format that means systems can be designed, created and specified, online to the point where they are ready to be assembled. This forms a foundation that supports success, designs out risk, and ensures compliance with the legislation laid out in the Building Safety Act.
How the digital innovation was developed, including effective collaboration, knowledge transfer and partnership along the project team
Effective collaboration was critical to the success of mySiniat. While the build of the online platform was, first and foremost, a task that the digital marketing team would need to lead upon, the platform’s main purpose is to provide technical specification information and product data, as well as fire classification reports, to support the golden thread of information.
Therefore, the Siniat team needed to ensure that those working on the specification of a project that incorporated Siniat systems would have access to all the information they would need – in a way that made sense to them.
With that in mind, the commercial specification, sales, technical, and marketing teams worked closely on acquiring the content and presenting it in a format that would resonate with the audiences. The content hosted on the platform also needed to be fully up-to-date and combine all of the performance data required for users to provide a golden thread of information, as stated in the Building Safety Act.
With all of this in mind, the development of the platform centred upon cross-department collaboration.
Firstly, the technical team played a critical role in acquiring and collating the performance data (including CAD files, specification clauses, acoustics and fire performance data, as well as classification reports) of its portfolio of systems to ensure that any data users would require would be readily accessible.
However, to ensure that this data was not just technically accurate but also digestible to the relevant audiences, the commercial and sales teams utilised FAQs and insights from their conversations with customers to ensure that the content would be easy to digest.
The marketing team then worked alongside the technical, specification and commercial teams to ensure that the data and content was tailored to meet the needs of the audience, as well ensuring that it would be easy to access 24/7. The digital marketing team then also worked with the other departments to ensure that product data could be updated in real-time to give users the most up-to-date specification information possible.
This cross-department collaboration was further supported by external teamwork including Siniat’s long-term partnership with NBS. This is because the up-to-date information on mySiniat has been designed to feed through to NBS platforms to ensure data on the platforms is also updated in real-time – making specification writing easier and more efficient than ever before.
In addition to this, the team at Siniat have worked closely with the supply chain to ensure that the platform supports their needs. During the initial build phase, the Siniat team consulted architects and main contractors to understand the pain points of the specification process and where they needed support to develop the platform in accordance with these discussions. Since then, the team have also been working alongside subcontractors to adapt the platform to support their differing needs. This element of mySiniat is set to launch in 2024.
Give details on the measurable commercial results
– Customer feedback been extremely positive
– Increased comms with customers – people are using it
– Pipeline created in NBS
– Hits and downloads – impressive figures
– 200 active users
– Over 400 downloads
– Project packs soon to be added too
– More detail to be added
How does this innovation improve processes
Put simply, mySiniat puts specifiers in control – it ensures every project is armed with the building blocks of a compliant and successful build by giving users access to up-to-date CAD files, fire classification reports, acoustic substantiation and specification clauses – all in one 24/7 portal.
While specifications and system designs have always played a critical role in the construction of any building, in decades past, specifiers, designers, and engineers have been required to source products and download .pdf specifications to their desktops. Not only is this laborious and time consuming, but it can lead to the poor storing, and loss, of critical performance information.
Furthermore, in instances where a project has been revisited months later, some of the product information, classifications, CAD files and system detailing may have been updated. This means that the .pdf originally downloaded could include data that is out of date posing a risk to the safety of the building, but also negatively impacting efficiencies due to the fact that specifiers/contractors/engineers may have to re-source product information and recreate a specification or drawing.
Using mySiniat means that specification information is available in one platform 24 hours a day. Its ability to update product data, classification reports and CAD files in real time means that whenever a user needs to revisit – or build upon – an existing project, they will not need to worry that the performance information is out of date, or that they will need to re-source a product – and subsequent product data – to ensure a building will be safe.
In addition, the platform is also regularly updated with system detailing, including bespoke details for more complex projects. This means that users have enhanced access to system detailing and technical drawings helping to minimise the drawing time required for users when working on specifications for their projects.
As the mySiniat platform updates technical product data in real-time, and is accessible from anywhere, at any time, Siniat colleagues are also able to utilise the system in their roles. They, like Siniat partners, can easily access fully up-to-date technical data to support customers through the specification of Siniat systems. This means that the system has not only helped to streamline the process for Siniat partners externally but for internal colleagues, too.
How might this innovation influence the specification
Following the largest set of changes to the building Regulations in over a decade, specifiers, engineers, main contractors, subcontractors, and architects are all under increasing pressure to ensure that the specifications they are working to are fully compliant with latest regulations.
By containing all product information data in one easily accessible platform, users will be able to rest assured that the products they are specifying fit the project requirements. But, in addition to this, they will be able to ensure that products are compliant with current regulations and – imperatively – that they can provide a golden thread of performance data for the projects they are building and specifying for, with ease.
The in-depth information accessible to users means specifiers can access CAD files that include information such as geometric data, manufacturing data, material properties, and other product/process data enabling them to pull together full specifications more quickly.
On top of this, updates to Approved Document B legislating the use of third party EXAP classification reports for systems used for fire safety, sparked confusion amongst many in the industry. Siniat has been investing in the acquisition of third-party fire classification reports since 2019 and they have been available to customers in project packs, as standard, since February 2023. However, mySiniat ensures that compliance is even easier for users by making classification reports readily available on the platform – taking responsibility away from specifiers, whilst also ensuring full compliance.
The platform also allows specifiers to mass download specification packs and product detailing – knowing that, should they need to access it later, it will be fully up-to-date without the need for them to return to the source and cross-reference product data via manufacturer’s websites. Additionally, all CAD files, fire and acoustic reports, datasheets and other records will be safely stored on the mySiniat platform meaning that should users need to refer back to revisit a project or specific detail, they will easily be able to.
As the platform itself has only recently been launched, it is a continued work in progress with the Siniat team consistently adding data, files, classification reports, and drawings to the platform making life increasingly easy for those specifying for a build.
All of these elements not only influence specification decisions but have a huge impact on efficiencies – transforming previous specification processes that have been incredibly complex and laborious into streamlined processes with well-stored data. The platform allows users to rest assured that their specifications are safe, compliant, provide a golden thread of performance data, and that – critically – there will be no liability issues later down the line.
Creation of novel internal systems to produce eco-innovation
With updates to building regulations and new legislation, such as the Building Safety Act, coming into force to enhance the safety and sustainability credentials of buildings, performance data will play a central role in how we design and construct buildings.
While the main motivation for the development of mySiniat centres upon building safety and compliance, by doing so, it is helping to shift mindsets by exemplifying that acquiring, and updating, a golden thread of performance data does not need to be a gruelling task. Instead, manufacturers can collaborate with partners to create and adopt streamlined processes that increase efficiencies and support the wider construction eco-system by encouraging others to construct buildings that are designed with their entire lifecycle in mind.
The easy-to-access performance data, CAD files, design details, specification clauses and acoustic substantiations mean that users can pull together specifications that, at their core, will stand the test of time both in terms of safety and performance.
The access and usage of in-depth performance data assures users that the materials specified in a project will enhance structural performance and, therefore, extend the building’s life. This supports the industry in creating a step change in the way that buildings are constructed and reduces the need for remediation works, refurbishment, and replacement materials in the long term.
Specifying materials that last is an innately sustainable choice. When buildings are designed to be durable, and steps are made to increase the lifespan of a design, the need for replacements is reduced which simultaneously decreases the need for constant production and resource extraction, curbing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Thanks to innovations such as mySiniat, buildings will be increasingly designed with end-of-life in mind, meaning they are created to last. Therefore, from the outset, we are designing for safe and sustainable deconstruction rather than simply building to meet budgetary requirements and demand – which can cause buildings to become unsafe, be demolished at end of life and, at the end of life, ultimately be disposed of as waste. In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases in which the latter has been true, meaning that the acquisition of adequate performance data is now the only way that the industry can futureproof buildings, design out risk, and rebuild public trust.
Furthermore, by innovating to provide platforms, such as mySiniat, the industry can enhance efficiencies, streamline processes and enable readily available access to critical data. This ensures that internal, specification, and project management costs are reduced and that, in tandem, energy and resources can be used more efficiently.
When considering the wider social pillars of eco-innovation, the above features also have huge benefits to the workforce. With the construction sector experiencing industry-wide skills shortages, innovations that increase efficiencies, address liability concerns and positively impact construction professionals’ day-to-day lives will help us to not only support the existing workforce but to attract new talent, too.