Perth’s BuildSort and Best Bar form Partnership to boost Construction Productivity Worldwide

Perth, WA, 27 SEPTEMBER 2018 – Perth based blockchain startup, BuildSort, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Best Bar Reinforcements, Australia’s second largest supplier of steel reinforcement.

The partnership is the first step towards a deep collaboration between the companies to develop a blockchain-powered construction data marketplace to enable unprecedented just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing for the building industry.

Excited by its enormous potential, BuildSort CEO and Co-Founder, Chris Dorian expresses that “our partnership with Best Bar will help us develop features which will remove administration-heavy processes for material suppliers, and give builders and contractors the facility to instantaneously order materials and receive them just as they’re needed.”

BuildSort users, including architects, engineers and builders, will be able to easily contribute and collaborate on projects to effectively utilise resources and reduce waste by an order of magnitude.

Building information models (BIM) and data of projects managed on the BuildSort platform will be securely traded with other parties so that they can provide a specific benefit.

In the case of a material supplier, information like a project’s material take-offs will be automatically used for instant material ordering - or of similar value, BuildSort will aggregate industry-wide data to provide an accurate real-time view of material demand.

The enabling of JIT manufacturing can allow material suppliers to reduce inventory costs significantly. For perspective, one study found that over a five-year period, American firms that introduced JIT gained a 70% reduction in inventory, a 50% reduction in labour costs and an 80% reduction in requirements¹.

“It’s our mission,” Chris Dorian said,” that the vast impact of these savings will be felt by both consumers building a new home, and commercial developers building a new school or hospital.”

Concrete reinforcement supply is on the critical path for all construction projects. It is a crucial structural system and having a leading reinforcement supplier like Best Bar as a partner validates our market for material demand data and other benefits of the BuildSort platform.”

Gavin Futcher, Best Bar’s Australian General Manager, expresses that “it's very exciting to partner with BuildSort on blockchain based JIT business processes. Best Bar remains at the forefront of technology in the reinforcing steel industry with our ReoSend & ReoNet applications. These apps add more value for our customers and help project delivery to be on time, in budget and within spec while also easing the life of a busy project manager. Working with BuildSort is a natural next step and a great fit for Best Bar in our effort to remain the best value service offering in the marketplace.“

“We have always focused on innovation with our customers in mind,” Dominic Da Silva said, Best Bar’s Technology Manager, “creating an environment with customer-centric tools. We believe that BuildSort will extend what Best Bar already has, creating a seamless customer experience which will deliver real, measurable project savings.”

BuildSort is not Chris Dorian’s first startup, “BuildSort is a natural evolution of our successful and profitable Builders E-Commerce application which streamlines the approvals process.”

“We are proud to have developed this important relationship with Best Bar on the road to achieving our mission of boosting construction efficiency and productivity worldwide.”

Chris Dorian and Gavin Futcher made their connection through the Blockchain Perth network and appreciate its ongoing support of its leaders and members.

About Best Bar Reinforcements

Best Bar offers a full range of concrete reinforcement solutions tailored to the civil, commercial and residential sectors in the construction industry.

Best Bar’s fully integrated JIT systems have been well supported by a reliable local and international supply chain sourcing competitive, quality, accredited and fully traceable material for over 20 years.

ReoNet is the industry leading online platform enhancing the customer experience by providing transparency with direct access to important information supporting day to day activities to help meet demanding construction programs.

ReoNet has been successfully adapted and integrated in other manufacturing businesses requiring material scheduling and production platforms, replacing outdated systems, with full after-sales back-up and IT support provided from Australia.

Best Bar also provides B2B solutions and has direct data integration with many construction companies. Their proven technology is now preparing for global commercial roll-out.

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About BuildSort

BuildSort is a collaboration and big data platform for the construction industry.

BuildSort facilitates openness, transparency and trust amongst all stakeholders in the construction supply chain. Using blockchain and smart contract technologies, our platform empowers builders, government & regulatory agencies to streamline the planning and building process.

McKinsey and Company estimates that innovations such as advanced analytics, 5D BIM and digital-project controls can see a cost reduction of 45% on a project. The sophisticated system and features behind BuildSort enable many of these.

References:

¹The Economist, “Just-In-Time”, July 2009, https://econ.st/2t4cwDb

²McKinsey & Company, “Navigating the digital future: The disruption of capital projects”, October 2017, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/navigating-the-digital-future-the-disruption-of-capital-projects