How a Simplified Tech Stack Improved Efficiency at John Holland Group by 15%

Australia’s John Holland Group has been transforming its operations to manage and deliver a growing portfolio of projects. Using Autodesk Construction Cloud as a key platform, the company has streamlined its processes, gained efficiencies, and boosted collaboration.

Fostering Change across Australia with Autodesk Construction Cloud

Established in 1949, John Holland Group has a long history of delivering transformational change across innovative and award-winning projects, including rail systems, tunnels, bridges, hospitals, stadiums, campuses, and airports.

The company is well known for these projects – particularly rail, its ‘bread and butter’ – but its project DNA also includes water infrastructure, as evidenced by its work on stage 1 of Sydney’s desalination plant.

As Matt Drake, Senior Digital Engineering Manager, says, “Water is very much a big part of our future, as well as energy and renewables. There's a big shift in the market at the moment.” 

The company’s water project portfolio continues to grow, presenting unique challenges, such as working with partners who have not yet embedded digital platforms like Autodesk Construction Cloud into their operations. 

As John Holland Group undergoes its digital transformation with Autodesk Construction Cloud, this change has a broader influence on its partners and industry, fostering transformational change.

The Impetus for a New Digital Approach

The force behind this shift is multifaceted, driven by the desire to grow its competitive advantage, streamline project processes to increase ROI, and preserve institutional  knowledge as professionals move around the industry.

As Matt says, “People move around a lot. Chop and change between companies. So, people bring knowledge in and take knowledge out. Digitalising this knowledge helps retain it.”

Ultimately, one of the leading inspirations behind John Holland Group’s digital change is a focus on efficiency. 

“I think really what it comes down to is efficiency and getting more ROI on our projects,” says Matt. “Why use ten tools when you can use one?” he asks, highlighting the power of a unified platform like Autodesk Construction Cloud with one simple question.

How a Single Common Platform Consolidates Siloed Workflows

Whilst John Holland Group’s history with Autodesk Construction Cloud dates back to 2020, their relationship with Autodesk dates back much further, leveraging tools such as Navisworks, Revit, and Civil 3D. Today, the company applies Autodesk Construction Cloud on a per-project basis, aiming to expand the use of data throughout a project’s lifecycle.

“What’s important is that the data goes beyond design, but downstream into the construction process,” says Matt. “In the past, we've been challenged by the fact that our designers have been well ahead in toolsets and desktop products. But that would stop at the end of design. We've traditionally struggled to move that information downstream into the construction process and handing it over into things like assets, maintenance, and operations.” 

John Holland Group uses Autodesk Construction Cloud to streamline workflows and eliminate unnecessary tools. “Autodesk products are helping us overcome those challenges by streamlining data transfer,” says Matt.

These changes at John Holland Group have also positively impacted their customers, influencing their ways of working and inspiring their own changes. They’ve brought their clients along on the Autodesk Construction Cloud journey, fostering greater collaboration and information sharing. 

“We've brought them in, and we've shown them how you can actually view a model, how you can comment on a model after we publish it, and bring everything into one environment. The uptake on that has been really good, really positive,” says Matt.

How a Common Data Environment has Benefitted John Holland Group and its Partners

Using a single platform to manage data has significantly impacted John Holland Group in multiple projects, including the delivery of three key water infrastructure projects worth $2.5 billion: Belmont Desalination Plant in the Hunter Valley, Cairns Water Security Project, and Sydney Water’s Advanced Water Recycling Centre (AWRC) at Kemps Creek. 

While the challenges of each project vary slightly, including working with organisations still in the early stages of digital adoption and yet to fully integrate platforms like Autodesk Construction Cloud, John Holland Group is seeing positive results. 

By centralising data, the company has streamlined its operations and increased efficiency, leading to more effective resource management.  

Additionally, sharing knowledge about their digital transformation journey has fostered deeper collaboration and strengthened relationships inside and outside the company.

A particularly notable achievement is the financial savings realised by shelving desktop products, which have led to cost reductions of up to $50,000 per month, depending on the project’s value. This move has not only saved money but also improved efficiency, as the reduced technology stack and phasing out of desktop products have cut the time spent searching for information by up to 15%.

 Moreover, adopting cloud-based technology has further reduced costs, particularly regarding hardware, as the need for expensive physical equipment has been minimised. Overall, these efforts have driven substantial improvements in both the operational and financial aspects of the John Holland Group.

A Future of Greater Collaboration, Investment, and Sustainability

The positive results John Holland Group enjoys are born from the right tech and data, partnerships, and people. The company looks forward to ongoing collaboration. 

“Autodesk has helped design our workflows, educated us about the tools, run training sessions, and taken a keen interest in helping us get the most out of Autodesk Construction Cloud. This support has enabled us to run the project properly, with more efficiency. It’s a win-win,” says Matt.

Furthering the message of partnership and collaboration, John Holland Group sees further potential in investing in tech and people. Matt believes that the right combination of tech and people can help set you up for success. Matt has this advice: “You need the right tools, and you need the right people as well.”

Finally, Matt is excited for the future at John Holland Group, with great potential for using Autodesk Construction Cloud to further sustainability. 

“John Holland are very much positioning themselves in the world of renewables and energy,” Matt says. A topic highly important in a country like Australia, the world’s driest inhabited continent.

The platform has helped the company measure the carbon footprints of its materials, optimise the different materials they use, reduce the amount of earth extracted from construction sites, and even reduce the amount of cement required.

This shows that Autodesk Construction Cloud has improved processes, provided efficiencies, and boosted collaboration for John Holland Group. It also assists with sustainability. The common data environment has far reaching benefits. 

As Matt outlines, “Being able to centralise the data into ACC and extract it directly is very powerful.”