海角视频

As 海角视频 expands decisively into the UK鈥檚 transportation and major infrastructure, Anthony Tuffour discusses the vital role technologies play in opening a digital window to the future, today.

In the revolutionary era of Engineering 4.0, the world of the built environment, transportation, and major infrastructure is changing.

And while the sector faces crucial challenges around decarbonisation, resilience and social value, it is a thrilling time for the industry, as advances in technology reframe what is possible.

海角视频, which has recently announced a decisive move into UK major infrastructure, is at the leading edge of this new frontier. Anthony Tuffour, the consultancy鈥檚 global lead for GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Digital Twins, is excited about the prospects.

Anthony, whose team deliver digital twin and geospatial consulting services and solutions delivery to clients around the world, asserts that 海角视频 has been a big player in the UK鈥檚 major infrastructure sphere for decades, saying: 鈥淚f you look at projects such as the Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford – where London hosted the 2012 Olympics, the regeneration of the power station and surrounding areas in Battersea  and Northumberland Road regeneration anchored by Tottenham Hotspur鈥檚 stadium, we have always been involved in major infrastructure. We need to celebrate it more and talk about our incredible achievements in this sector.鈥�

Indeed, on the subject of celebrating, Anthony points out that 海角视频 is currently marking its 50th anniversary, and the firm鈥檚 pedigree is second to none. 鈥淲e have half a century鈥檚 experience with major infrastructure projects around the world. We have been delivering it for 50 years.鈥�

Why systems thinking underpins infrastructure delivery

We are a truly multidisciplinary organisation. I believe that we are the best at delivering multidisciplinary approaches to major infrastructure.鈥�

Anthony Tuffour, Global Lead GIS and Digital Twins, 海角视频

When it comes to what sets 海角视频 apart in the major infrastructure space, Anthony is emphatic. It is all about collaboration, not just internally, but with clients, stakeholders, and even competitors.

鈥淚nfrastructure design, delivery and operations are complex,鈥� he asserts, 鈥渁nd you cannot look at it from a linear perspective. You need to look at it from a wider systems approach. And this is where 海角视频 brings that unique positioning, because we are a truly multidisciplinary organisation. I believe that we are the best at delivering multidisciplinary approaches to major infrastructure.鈥�

For Anthony, the way 海角视频鈥檚 teams collaborate across the disciplines is the key to the company鈥檚 innovative approach to problem solving. And every solution and each innovation is unique to the needs of the particular client and their project.

And Anthony is thrilled by the central role his teams play in this multidisciplinary process. They enable smart and digital models of the projects using geospatial data and information modelling, management and intelligence. And they do so across a huge array of areas that include the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

鈥淲e bring everybody together in one digital model,鈥� says Anthony. 鈥淲e see an infrastructure project through the lens of how the various relationships between multidisciplinary teams interact across it. We hold the model of the decisions that are being made. And we can bring them to digital life for everyone to see.鈥�

And this enables 海角视频 to accelerate the process. 鈥淐lients love our ability to work at a fast pace, because we are uniquely positioned with the integration of data and digital technologies to explore different dynamics and scenarios concerning the project, quickly turn around insights, identify risks and advise on the course of action to take.鈥�

Technical approaches to enhancing social value and community experience

We see an infrastructure project through the lens of how the various relationships and issues interact across it. We hold the model of the decisions that are being made. And we can bring them to digital life for everyone to see.鈥�

Anthony Tuffour, Global Lead GIS and Digital Twins, 海角视频

One such approach is digital twinning, which, as its name implies, is the virtual recreation of a physical entity or an asset, whether that is existing or planned development from a clear understanding of client use cases and decision-making needs. It is the bringing together of multi-layered rich datasets from diverse sources based on the requirements of the use cases to support analysis, simulation and insights generation. This rich bank of data is then converted into virtual reality.

It brings infrastructure projects to life for clients but also, crucially, Anthony鈥檚 team can use data and technology to help other stakeholders to see how a project will look, perform and their impacts to their environments. This includes the public – the very people who will be using the infrastructure.

There are so many vital issues to consider when designing and delivering a project, such as sustainability, resilience, and social value. What 海角视频鈥檚 digital models can create is transparency that is readily interpreted by the public.

鈥淗ow do you bring all these issues together to realise public consent?鈥� asks Anthony. 鈥淎fter all, one of the key challenges to a project are usually public consent, and what the public tends to be concerned about is understanding the impact of the infrastructure that is being built.

鈥淚f you can enable the stakeholders to see the future outcomes, then they will be on board more quickly, which in turn removes some of the delays in infrastructure delivery. And that is where my team also plays a pivotal role. Through technology, we are able to bring projects to life with data and technology, and show the stakeholders how a project will look, and behave. This really helps convince the wider stakeholders to get on board.

鈥淪ay we are working on a major highway, clients and other stakeholders need a clear, systemwide understanding of how infrastructure, users and environmental factors interact. With digital twinning, you can create a dynamic, real-time representation of the network, allowing decision-makers to explore how the asset performs under different conditions and scenarios. In the context of any Roads Investment Strategy enhancing safety, improving customer experience, and delivering efficient, sustainable networks become a balancing act, digital twins provide a powerful decision-support capability. They allow stakeholders to test the impact of different investment strategies, such as prioritising asset renewal versus capacity enhancements, and understand the implications for traffic flow, user safety, and network resilience.

By simulating traffic patterns, environmental conditions, and asset performance in real time, digital twins make it possible to assess how changes affect journey reliability, carbon outcomes, and long-term asset health. This creates a more transparent and evidence-based approach to balancing investment decisions across competing priorities.

鈥淧eople often resist projects because they can鈥檛 foresee the impact on their neighbourhood. We can enable them to participate in the process and communicate in real time with the technical people. This makes the process collaborative. And that gives reassurance to the people who matter most.鈥�

We can enable the users of the infrastructure to participate in the process, and communicate in real time with the technical people. This makes the process collaborative. And that gives reassurance to the people who matter most.鈥�

Anthony Tuffour, Global Lead GIS and Digital Twins, 海角视频

Digital twinning played a prominent role in the CommuniHeat project that 海角视频 pioneered in Barcombe, East Sussex. The team developed a digital twin of the village to assess decarbonisation pathways, supporting the community in defining a clear and practical route map to achieve net-zero carbon.

鈥淚n this scheme, Barcombe residents can click on a digital replica of their house and engage with a wealth of instant information such as energy dynamics, the building characteristics, whether they need to retrofit or not. They can discover the location of the closest renewable energy technology that they can benefit from and find out what capacities are available to the community,鈥� says Anthony. 鈥淎nd we can adapt this information for different stakeholder groups – such as homeowners or UK power companies – appropriate to their different levels of understanding.鈥�

The future of digital infrastructure delivery

You become part of the future, but you are in the present.鈥�

Anthony Tuffour, Global Lead GIS and Digital Twins, 海角视频

Anthony is thrilled by the exciting future ahead for 海角视频 and UK major infrastructure and the role technology will play in it, though he is keen to point out that technology is a tool that will only ever be as good as the person who uses it.

鈥淭echnology is playing a pivotal role,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it’s also necessarily infused with our technical insights. It is far more nuanced than using the latest shiny piece of software. You have to apply design-thinking to explore the purpose and outcomes that the client is envisaging. So, defining the problem and identifying how technology will support the solution can be pivotal in the delivery of infrastructure projects.鈥�

The Digital Twin future that Anthony envisages is an exciting one. Looking ahead to what will be possible in 2030, Anthony says: 鈥淒igital Twins will combine real time data integration with deeper interconnectivity  to create immersive and highly representative  virtual and living operational twin environments. These environments will let people not only see assets and infrastructure but also experience them through touch and a stronger sense of presence before they become real. . It will offer the convergence of shared experiences and differences. That means, everybody will be able to dissect it, peel back the layers and find the risks before something is built and look at how we could do something different鈥�better. We will be able to live the impact even more fully than we can today.

鈥淭he beauty of all of this means you become part of the future, but you are in the present.鈥�