My Contribution

On the Balfour Beatty Living Places Southampton contract, road repairs previously required multiple visits: fixing the defect, rebooking traffic management, and bringing in external contractors to replace road markings. This extended timelines, increased costs and created unnecessary disruption for residents.

Site Supervisors Jake Greenaway and Brenton Mclean proposed a new solution through My Contribution: enabling our own teams to reinstate markings using heat-applied thermoplastic lining during the initial repair visit.

Following an initial trial in Southampton, the team has seen some amazing benefits, from a reduction in the time taken to reopen roads and a better experience for the local community, to operatives learning new skills in thermoplastic application. The idea is projected to save an incredible £30,000 for the contract annually and it has inspired other teams to explore how they could implement it too. It’s a shining example of how a small operational idea can deliver a meaningful difference for customers, communities and our teams. 

At our Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick Off Site Solutions facility in Birkenhead, welding heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) duct sections traditionally required two operatives: one to control the torch and another to hold a trailing shield supplying argon gas. Any misalignment between the two risked 'coking', where carbon builds up and weakens the weld, often resulting in rework and wasted time.

Sheet Metal Worker Sean Johns, identified a better approach. Noting that products on the market didn’t meet the team’s needs, he designed and built bespoke purge boxes that clamp securely to the duct, creating a consistent seal around the weld. Supported by the leadership team, he developed multiple prototypes for the varied shapes the team works on.

The results have been transformative: boosting efficiency, quality, and productivity across the project. A task once requiring two people can now be safely completed by one, saving an estimated 450 hours a year. And the improved sealing from the purge boxes has also led to less argon gas waste, while significantly reducing coking too!

Preconstruction for major aviation projects has long relied on manual calculations, extensive spreadsheets and time‑consuming redesign cycles. Balfour Beatty in the US is advancing cost certainty and collaboration through Join, a digital project delivery platform that provides real‑time cost data and a single source of truth for project teams.

Lead Estimator Jorge Vargas discovered Join at an industry conference and immediately recognised its potential to improve efficiency and decision‑making. With strong support via our My Contribution platform from regional leadership, Join was adopted for the $140 million Sacramento Airport Pedestrian Walkway project.

The platform proved transformative, enabling rapid comparison of design options, clear visualisation of cost implications and fully aligned decision‑making. From structural revisions to multiple ceiling redesigns, Join helped identify meaningful savings – including a $358,000 reduction achieved through the selected “destination lift” ceiling concept. At guaranteed maximum price, the project was delivered $4,000 under budget.

On a tenant improvement project in Charlotte, North Carolina, Superintendent Paul Distante applied more than 40 years of field experience to transform a standard core drilling process – improving efficiency, reducing cost and waste, whilst also strengthening collaboration with our trade partners.

The project required nearly 800 core holes to support new data, power and AV systems. Traditionally, this work demands the removal and reinstatement of carpeting – a time‑intensive and material‑heavy process. Paul proposed a smarter solution: using clear carpet protector to shield flooring during drilling. This allowed the team to safely mark locations, scan for obstructions and complete drilling without lifting or damaging carpet.

The results were immediate. The team eliminated weeks of flooring labour, avoided carpet waste and improved workflow efficiency. Paul shared the innovation through our My Contribution programme, enabling wider adoption across special projects in the Carolinas.