DPS Group Global

Facilities construction for high-tech industries such as biotech, pharmaceutical, and cleantech presents unique challenges to designers and builders today. Due to the innate complexity of systems, various factors need to be considered, such as health and safety requirements, long-term flexibility and adaptability, energy efficiency, and environmental impact during construction. Helping them to build facilities responsive to present needs and future demands is Dublin-based DPS Group Global. Leveraging deep expertise acquired from 44 years in the industry, the company delivers full engineering services including Project and Programme Management, Procurement, Design, Construction Management, Environmental Health & Safety Management, Commissioning, Qualification and Start-up. This allows them to provide entire project needs from project inception to project handover as part of one integrated solution increasing productivity. “We utilise innovative Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) methodologies together with the latest BIM technologies to deliver value to our clients on their projects,” says Jimmy Boylan, BIM and VDC Manager of DPS Group Global.

DPS implements VDC for modelling design, process, and organisation through seamless collaboration between project teams. In the early stages of the project, the company uses VR technology as a tool to help communicate the design intent to all the project stakeholders for understanding the design better before construction. Clients can comment on solid maintenance, access, and offer operational issues and requirements.

Further, contractors are engaged early to ensure constructability is built into the design and optimised for off-site manufacture making the whole supply chain productive. “This allows us to incorporate all maintenance, operations, and constructability considerations into our designs early, which ultimately delivers a better facility to our clients,” remarks Boylan. Also, during the construction phase, DPS delivers technologies such as the cloud-based common data environment (CDE), 4D schedule management, and 5D cost management for better planning and sequencing of the work.

DPS undertakes a unique approach of integrating people, technology, and business processes with lean principles to harness the talents of individuals involved in the project. With continuous improvement as the core value, the company offers various programs utilising lean for structure and tools such as Direct Observation and the Last Planner System. “Clients compliment us for our commitment to continuous improvement and implementation of the Plan-Do-Check-Act process,” states Boylan.

DPS believes that business is personal and adopts a client-focused approach while offering its high-value services. The company strives to develop a long-term relationship with clients, and this distinct philosophy has consistently secured 85 per cent of the work from repeat business for DPS. “Working as partners with our clients is where everything starts and ends. Clients consider us as the trusted advisor for our agility, original thinking, sound judgement, and high-calibre people,” asserts Boylan.

DPS proactively delivers tailored solutions to fit specific client needs rather than imposing standard off-the-shelf solutions. Highlighting the same, Boylan cites an instance where the company helped a client with all the VDC activities for semiconductor retrofit. Through a unique integration of BIM and 3D scanning functions, DPS facilitated single-source management of multiple stakeholders within the design, cost control, schedule, and procurement functions. The company delivered BIM on more than 1500 manufacturing equipment with over 3,00,000 fabrication drawings. DPS also employed Project Management Control System developed in-house to integrate the entire project life cycle. This resulted in tremendous cost reduction for the client. The cost of field clashes reduced by 83 per cent leading to $12.6 m in savings and the drawing iterations reduced by 70 per cent leading to $4m in savings.

DPS is exploring generative design as a solution to optimise equipment layout and pipe routing in high tech facilities and machine learning to analyse issue logs for enhancing design risk management. The company is also piloting the utilisation of AR technology to support the right-first-time installation on-site per the model, minimising clashes and rework on site.