Construction Hubs for smart construction logistics
Fewer trips to the construction site, lower transport costs, fewer C02 and nitrogen emissions and faster construction time. These are the proven benefits of the BouwHub, VolkerWessels' new construction logistics standard.
The BouwHub is a location on the outskirts of the city to which all necessary construction materials are brought. From the BouwHub, the entire construction supply chain logistics process (from supplier to construction site) is monitored and coordinated. Suppliers are unloaded without waiting times, deliveries are consolidated into daily packages and are transported to construction projects in the inner cities in the smartest way possible. This involves the use of open data. Products are also prefabricated at the BouwHub. Also, the BouwHub serves as a parking lot from which construction site workers are transported to the construction site. Workers can get straight to work as everything is ready for them at their workplace. The vans take waste from the construction site on the way back to the BouwHub.
In Utrecht, various VolkerWessels companies, fellow contractors and subcontractors have been working successfully with the BouwHub for years.
TNO study shows effectiveness of BouwHub
Together with TNO, much research has been done on the positive effects of the BouwHub. By working with the BouwHub, significant savings in sustainability, labor productivity, the number of freight movements, load factor and waiting times have been realized.
But the success of the BouwHub is not only in the numbers. Construction logistics is also about chain cooperation. The better we work together in the chain, the less inconvenience we cause the inner city and the cleaner and smarter we can build. We therefore foresee that, following the example of Utrecht, the need for construction logistics hubs on the outskirts of large cities will only increase.
Circular Construction Hub Amsterdam
The success of the VolkerWessels BouwHub in Utrecht tastes like more. Following this, VolkerWessels and Beelen have set up the first circular BouwHub in the Western Docklands of Amsterdam. It is now a white label concept which means that all parties, builders and suppliers, will use the facilities. The site is water-linked, which also allows transportation of materials, equipment and people by water. This offers opportunities for the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to sustainably optimize its inner-city logistics and reduce its carbon footprint. Thanks to the circular BouwHub and the on-site processing of released waste streams into new building material, the distance material travels is minimized.
At the BouwHub in Amsterdam, a workshop has also been set up to reintegrate people distanced from the labor market into the employment process. We hope to enrich more BouwHubs with such a 'TalentHub' in the future.
In the coming years, VolkerWessels will invest in the development and realization of more BouwHubs in the Netherlands. Our ambition is to roll out the BouwHubs in all urban areas where there is a positive business case.
