Loads of savings for HS2

13 November 2023

A partnership between HS2 and plant manufacturer Finning using digital technology is reported to have begun yielding multi-million-pound savings.

The EKFB join venture’s DIGital Graphical Earthworks Reporting programme, also known as Digger, makes extensive use of data from 700 earthmoving machines, which are fitted with electronic weight sensors to monitor the millions of cubic metres of earth moved across the line’s 50-mile central section.

The line, running between the northern edge of the Chiltern Hills and the east of Leamington Spa, is engineered with a series of embankments and cuttings to blend the new railway into the landscape.

To realise the design, some 53 million cubic metres of rock and earth must be moved, with more than 27 million cubic metres shifted to date.

Utilising the Finning Cubiq digital platform, the system delivers real-time insights derived from telematics data from the machines. If the live data shows an excavator to be idling with a load because it is waiting for a dump truck to arrive, the EKFB team can divert another machine so it can continue to operate. 

EKFB’s Earthworks Director, Mark Harrington, said: “By providing data that enables us to identify where inefficiencies are occurring in real time, we can implement immediate improvement measures to ensure we maintain optimum efficiency across our operations. This has meant that we’ve been able to reduce costs by around £25 million. 

“A significant slice of that saving comes from reduced fuel consumption, so it’s enabled a cut in carbon emissions, too.”

EKFB is a joint vesture between Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall.