Aecom is improving its project controls with the help of Nodes & Links and its AI-powered schedule management platform.
Nodes & Links’ flagship platform integrates siloed data, automates reporting, and provides real-time insights to help teams proactively manage largescale projects. By predicting risks and instantly highlighting critical information, the platform allows project managers to focus on solving challenges rather than sifting through data, the startup claims.
Aecom head of risk and integrated controls, Richard Newey, highlighted the reporting challenge construction has always faced. He said: “We used to operate on monthly cycles, with lock weeks where data couldn’t move, and reports were already outdated by the time they were read. With Nodes & Links, Aecom is no longer making decisions on information that is four or six weeks old. AI and automation are transforming how we deliver projects. This technology isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about redefining how we approach decision-making.
“We can’t predict exactly what will happen on every project, but what we can do is ensure project teams have the right data at the right time to make the best possible decisions. AI allows us to do that at a scale and speed we’ve never seen before.”
The relationship is reciprocal, with the startup able to improve its platform by learning from Aecom’s use of it. Greg Lawton, CEO of Nodes & Links, said: “The future doesn’t just happen – you have to forcefully create it. AI in project management is only inevitable if we make it happen. We needed a partner delivering daily, guiding us on what’s needed to make AI genuinely useful to everyone.”
Carbon as well as cost and time
Aecom is not only tracking cost and time with Nodes & Links, but also carbon. Nina Palmieri, Aecom project director, said: “Aecom is transforming how clients manage carbon. Real-time AI-driven insights help them make sustainable decisions at the right time, not months too late. Partnering with Nodes & Links has made sustainability an actionable priority, not just a goal.”
Six weeks ago, Nodes & Links secured $12m in Series B funding. Nodes & Links customers include Turner & Townsend, Galliford Try Highways and BAM.
In 2022, Nodes & Links was one of two UK startups among 10 chosen by Vinci to receive support from its Catalyst programme. It also featured on the Cemex Ventures’ Top 50 ConTech Startups list for 2021.
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