High performance, strong purpose, and the ‘Golden Thread’
I3PT Certification is the leading building certification firm in Ireland and is growing its market share in Britain also. The company has two core business units; building certification services and project collaboration software
‘Our company’s purpose is all about delivering better buildings and making communities safer”, said Eoin Leonard, chief executive, i3PT. “Given that the construction industry is an increasingly complex and technical environment, it helps us to have a clear and simple purpose which cuts through the noise”.
I3PT Certification is the leading building certification firm in Ireland and is growing its market share in Britain also. The company has two core business units; building certification services and project collaboration software. The certification business works with major multinationals, government agencies and private sector funds to ensure quality during the design and construction process. Recent building failures have brought this topic into the public consciousness more than ever.
“Our process for building certification is designed to anticipate and remove the likelihood of building defects. This is delivered via design review and site inspection, but we have also developed digital construction tools which assist with this quality management process”, said Conall Finn, chief technical officer. “i3PT’s culture is all about putting building occupants at the heart of the process. This ensures that our people look beyond building regulations and technical data (which can often be contradictory) and ask themselves ‘Is this the right thing to do?’. This simple message can have a deep impact on construction projects.”
The firm has seen considerable growth in recent years and is currently working on construction projects with a combined construction value exceeding €7 billion.
The “digital construction tool” which Finn refers to is CertCentral®, i3PT’s project collaboration software. i3PT initially created the application to help it manage and track quality on projects and to reduce unnecessary administration, but eventually opened the software up to all project users, including builders and sub-contractors.
“The software was initially entirely focused on quality, documentation and defect management, but over time our colleagues and clients kept asking us to build tools to track other key project data” said Leonard. “We kept investing in the system, using our own team of construction professionals to design new tools and workflows. Today, CertCentral® does everything from tracking defect close-outs and capturing inspection reports, to design management and health and safety. It’s a great tool which has benefits for all project stakeholders, from the lead designer or PM, to the sub-contractor installing the heating systems.”
The software operates on a SaaS platform and the company is seeing huge demand for the tool in both Ireland and Britain.
“People may underestimate the value of effective communications and collaboration when trying to improve quality in construction. The recently published Hackett Report in Britain referred to the need for a ‘Golden Thread’ which would track and manage the design and construction process. CertCentral® is exactly that.”
