Project control rooms will be fed with streaming real-time digital data to allow construction managers to track project progress at the press of a button.

A feedback loop will enable predictive analytics such as early risk warnings, benchmarking across different portfolio projects and continuous 4D planning.

All information will be set out clearly in both physical and digital space so that different teams involved can collaborate remotely.

Mace hopes the ‘mission control’ set-up will allow contractors to be more efficient and proactive rather than reactive.

It has teamed up researchers at University College London and Imperial College London, as well as private sector support from 3D Repo, Mission Room and eviFile.

The research project is receiving £1.6m in Government funding from Innovate UK and is one of nine to receive funding through the Government’s Construction Sector Deal.

Mace and its team aim to create a scalable and repeatable ‘plug-and-play’ construction management and reporting platform that will be tested on three major infrastructure projects.

Mark Reynolds, Mace chief executive, said: “The Construction Sector Deal was designed to help the sector deliver transformative innovation, improving productivity and helping us deliver projects more effectively. This is a fantastic example of innovation funding doing exactly that.

“The project control room concept has the potential to improve decision-making through real-time visibility of data while delivering complex projects, something that could be transformative in the future.

“I look forward to working with our fantastic partners over the next two years to bring this concept to life.”