Universities of applied sciences involved in the future of construction – using Finnish digital innovations
Fluent Progress, a Finnish software company, has begun cooperation with Turku University of Applied Sciences, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and Karelia University of Applied Sciences. Fluent Progress has developed and launched its new Fluent Construction application suite, which enables real-time production control, scheduling and monitoring of construction site work, data collection on mobile devices and data transfer between different systems. The programs make it easy to combine and document data from different construction phases in the cloud. Universities of applied sciences are deploying the applications in the training of construction engineers.
The construction industry is increasingly making use of new digital tools. Educational establishments are also involved in bringing state-of-the-art technology to construction sites by incorporating applications developed by Fluent Progress to improve efficiency. Turku University of Applied Sciences and Turku Vocational Institute are collaborating on teaching work, and among their partners are the construction companies Skanska and YIT.
“We have been using the Fluent Construction applications since the autumn of 2018 in our building production management courses. The applications are very practically oriented, and we have found them useful in our courses on construction site planning and construction methods,” says Janne Väätäinen, a construction engineering student councellor at Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
Use of modern technologies on teaching sites
Construction manager students and construction engineering students at Turku University of Applied Sciences, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and Karelia University of Applied Sciences use the Fluent Progress in their work. At Turku University of Applied Sciences, the applications have been used in a thesis project to plan the construction site schedule for Turku Vocational Institute. This plan is being used as the basis for managing and monitoring the construction process. The Turku Vocational Institute construction students do their own construction work as part of their training.
At Turku University of Applied Sciences, the applications are being used as part of the 6Aika project on smart learning environments of the future. This project makes use of intelligent physical and virtual services, products and technologies related to education. 6Aika is a large-scale undertaking and is part of a broader European Union project in which solutions are developed by various means, such as by a digital tools team, and using innovative solutions for companies that are developing new technologies.
– “In the spring of 2019, we used the Fluent Planner app in our collaboration with Turku Vocational Institute on the Yli-Maaria teaching site, and it went very well. We used the application for creating schedule plans for the site. Plans are underway to develop the best ways to make more extensive use of the Fluent Construction applications, including in production planning and control, and task planning and scheduling phases of construction work. We want to use applications for student project work at the practical level,” says lecturer Tapio Keiramo of Turku University of Applied Sciences. The database platform on which the Fluent Construction programs operate makes data management very convenient. This is especially useful when it comes to educational use. For one thing, there is no need to create different files that are used on multiple platforms. With Fluent Construction, all the instructors have to do is sign in to the student training site and inspect the students’ work directly in the app,” Keiramo continues.
At Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, in the Helsinki metropolitan area, the Fluent Construction applications are used in the construction engineering studies course.
– “Fluent Progress held a comprehensive three-day workshop for us in the spring of 2019. We will be holding the practically oriented workshop again, at the beginning of the next semester,” says Mika Lindholm, who is principal lecturer in the construction and real estate department at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with educational institutions. This is a great example of how businesses and educational institutions can work together in creating the digital future,” says Fluent Progress CEO Marjo Danielsson.
Fluent Construction is a cloud-based service consisting of three integrated applications: Fluent Planner, Fluent Go! and Fluent Fix.
Further information
Marjo Danielsson, CEO, Fluent Progress
+358 50 499 9531
marjo.danielsson@fluentprogress.fi
Tapio Keiramo, lecturer in construction technology, Turku University of Applied Sciences
+358 50 598 5724
tapio.keiramo@turkuamk.fi
Janne Väätäinen, student councellor in construction technology, Karelia University of Applied Sciences
+358 50 403 3139
janne.vaatainen@karelia.fi
Mika Lindholm, principal lecturer, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
+358 50 341 2246
mika.lindholm@metropolia.fi