Costain advocates production thinking as a means to deliver best-in-class infrastructure solutions in the road, rail, integrated transport, energy, water, and defence and nuclear energy sectors.

Find out more about production thinking and how it differs from traditional methods of construction. 

What is production thinking?

Production thinking combines modern methods of construction (MMC) with new technologies and materials, lean techniques, digital tools and smart decision-making to boost productivity and efficiency across Costain’s infrastructure projects, supporting a more prosperous, resilient, and decarbonised UK.

It is embedded in Costain’s approach to best-in-class infrastructure delivery, and more than 1,300 of our people have been trained in production thinking to standardise behaviours across our design and delivery teams.

The approach is split into three broad pillars that cover all stages of a project:

1. Pre-manufacturing – boosting offsite and modular construction and embedding principles of established methodologies such as design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA).
2. Operational efficiencies - utilising new technologies and materials and applying lean management principles to reduce waste and maximise customer value.
3. Automation – the adoption of robotics and AI.

The benefits of production thinking

• It drives a better understanding of productivity within infrastructure projects, helping to ensure more accurate delivery timelines.
• It enables the use of modularisation and standardisation principles, which help to identify cost and time efficiencies for our customers.
• It is implemented throughout our supply chain, encouraging a more productive and collaborative relationship in the delivery of large-scale projects.

Production thinking in action

Across our sectors we have implemented a range of production thinking solutions, including:

Extending the life of a London flyover by more than 50 years

Production thinking helped us complete a critical upgrade on London’s road network.

Working with TfL, we replaced seven expansion joints on the A40 Westway by using bespoke, temporary bridging cover plates.

Offsite manufacturing of the replacement joints and the modular cover plates ensured the works were completed with minimal disruption to the road network and the 96,000 vehicles that use the road each day.

Read more about the solution here.

Using production thinking to support predictable, best-in class delivery for Severn Trent Water

We used production thinking to deliver essential upgrades to Severn Trent Water's Spernal wastewater treatment plant quicker and cheaper than using traditional methods.

The best-in-class solution saw the installation of a tertiary treatment system to improve resilience, water quality and create a sustainable future, with 675 litres of water a second now treated to reduce ammonia and phosphorus levels.

Read more about the benefits here.

Pioneering concrete sensor technology to reduce formwork time

Across our projects in road, rail and water, we have used new concrete sensor technology to track the strength and temperature of setting concrete.

Gaia 200 sensors, developed by technology firm Maturix, send real-time temperature and strength data wirelessly to project teams during concrete pours, informing the teams when to remove the formwork (the temporary structure used to mould concrete to required dimensions). 

As a result, it has reduced the average length of time that formwork is in place by a third, with one Costain project using the sensors for more than 80 different pours and structures. 

Read more about the technology here.

Applying lean management principles to the London Underground

Working with TfL, we provided design, buildability and construction advice for the upgrade of the Piccadilly Line. 

We used a range of production thinking principles on the project, including implementing a smart workflow management tool to manage and track project tasks. It facilitated collaboration at each stage of the design and also avoided duplications and costly rework. Alongside this, we developed a standard toolkit which can be rapidly deployed across the London Underground network to accelerate design, procurement and assurance.  

As a result, we delivered cost savings of more than 25% and reduced the duration of the programme by more than 15%. 

Read more about the project here.

Supporting National Highways with 3D printing technology

We led the use of 3D printing in a UK road building project for the first time on our completed upgrade of the A30.

Instead of using traditional pre-cast concrete, we used 3D printing to build a headwall structure for a wildlife corridor.

The project, supported by our partner, Versarien, used a bespoke, curved shape for the headwall enabled by the 3D printing, giving greater structural efficiency than traditional rectangular headwalls. It also allowed for the use of fibre reinforcement to replace traditional steel rebar, providing further material savings.

Read more about the technology here.