Industry informers

"A year ago everyone seemed to view the internet as a land grab," says Alistair Mellon, the director of strategy and development at Asite. "Now the froth has gone, people realise credibility is needed. It's all about delivery." When it launches to its partners this month, Asite will become the latest internet company to throw its hat into the crowded construction portals market. And although it has not been the speediest website to launch, Mellon insists this is because of its emphasis on quality, not quantity.

"We are not in the business of signing up thousands of suppliers and having a huge database for people to search through," says Mellon. "All the best work in construction over the last few years has been done around the idea of partnering. We want to help those relationships to continue. If someone always buys their steel from Corus, we want them to continue to do that. We will work with them and Corus to make their transactions more efficient by putting them online and cutting out paperwork. But it's not about searching thousands of suppliers for the lowest price, its about buying from those who you know are good quality."

Microsoft backing
Mellon, a civil engineer by trade and still an employee of property developer Stanhope, is keen to emphasise the importance of quality in the operations of Asite and its partners. And few internet businesses come more highly recommended than by computing giant Microsoft, which, together with Stanhope, is backing Asite.

Mellon says that Stanhope's experience as a construction client explains the Asite approach. "Stanhope saw that the construction industry was very fragmented, with no one organisation getting an overview of what was going on in the industry. Any efficiencies that could be gained through, for example, clever use of logistics were being lost because everything is done on a site-by-site basis. Asite attempts to give that overview so those efficiencies can be gained." It sounds very altruistic, but having a real client to focus on gives Asite its own reasons for raising the standards of the construction industry. "Stanhope is already very efficient in its practices," says Mellon, "but it can only be as efficient as its partners in a project. By promoting best practice in construction and reducing inefficiencies, we make life better for ourselves." And Mellon is under no illusions as to how Asite can encourage the construction industry to aspire to its lofty ideals. "Getting rid of these inefficiencies will be in people's economic self-interest," he says. "We get initiative fatigue in this industry, we've got one for every day of the week, but they don't really change behaviour. Economics is what changes behaviour. You have to link change to self-interest." Asite launches this month to its partners, with the full public launch scheduled for the summer. It will be a subscription service on a project-by-project basis, cost depending on time and duration of the project, and will offer four basic services: collaboration, procurement, a knowledge management database and a news and jobs page.

Mellon says Asite is in talks with three top collaboration tool providers to offer the service on the site. "Rather than reinvent what is already out there, we decided we would license the best of what is already available." The procurement service will be more a case of putting existing relationships between contractors and suppliers online, rather than a huge database of suppliers, though there will be a search facility available. Forward and reverse auctions will also be available, as will an electronic tendering service.

A key part of reducing inefficiencies in construction is the smooth transfer of information, says Mellon. "We want to get the information flowing between sites so we can see where the possible savings to be made are." Asite intends to do this through a knowledge management database, which will capture best practice from all the sites using Asite, analyse it and feed back relevant information on how inefficient practice can be eliminated. The knowledge database will also help Asite to run its logistics service. Asite will collect delivery information from sites, collate it and give the data to one of its logistics providers. The provider will then use this information to co-ordinate deliveries around the country to prevent, wherever possible, empty lorries on the roads. "This is another way of eliminating inefficiencies in construction" says Mellon, "but it also helps the environment and the construction industry be more sustainable."

Hand-held computers
Future developments will include making Asite available on hand-held computers, using Microsoft technology, so customers will be able to log in remotely.

Asite is just coming to the end of an extensive testing period, in which contractors Bovis Lend Lease and Mace have been involved. The CIOB's Building Manager of the Year 2000, Ian Eggers, was so impressed by Asite that he is now on full-time secondment from Mace with the company. "Ian has been with us since June," says Mellon. "He was very keen to be part of Asite, and it is important for us to have people such as him involved, people who are of high quality and well respected in the industry." And for Mellon, quality and efficiency are what count. "At the moment the construction industry is like a game of Chinese whispers. As information gets passed down the supply chain it alters a little bit every time. Information is increasingly becoming the most valuable commodity Britain produces, and we want to provide reliable information across hundreds of projects so the whole industry can become more efficient."