Ballast Nedam accelerates digitalisation through DEC collaboration

The DEC is an initiative of Ballast Nedam, BAM Infra Nederland and Heijmans. Boskalis Nederland, Dura Vermeer, Mobilis, Van Oord, VIKTOR and VolkerWessels have also recently become part of the collaboration. Within this open community, various parties are developing applications that automate standard actions. By collaborating and bundling knowledge, we reinvent the wheel together. Futhermore, financing the (engineering) process is easier and we get to offer supported, high-quality solutions.

First applications

A total of 23 applications are planned. The first four of these are currently being developed. These are applications for soil bodies, pile foundations, asphalt and civil engineering modules. Trust is key and every company is free to participate or not to participate in a development. The way to participate can consist of providing usable existing code, making available an experienced programmer or by making a financial contribution. Expansion of the DEC with other companies is an obvious step.

"Technicians know that settlement calculations are not sensitive to competition. We all benefit from an app that can do this faster and has more computing power," says Paulus Eckhardt, Director Digital Transformation & Innovation at Ballast Nedam. "Working together saves time and money. It enables us to have the specialists from all DEC companies together."