Trendspek, Infracorr and University of Sydney partnered to deliver digital-led condition assessments of 110 buildings at Camperdown campus.
A database of 3D models enabled 13,000 virtual inspections to be completed 80% faster with minimal disruption, promoting a future-ready digital engineering approach to managing educational infrastructure.
We spoke to Martin Ayres, Head of Strategic Asset Management and Bill Chant, Senior Engineer.
For more information: sydney.edu.au
“With Trendspek we have documented evidence of the whole fabric of the assets. We now have more data, and better geolocated data, so we can make more informed decisions to reduce future risk.”
Martin Ayres, Head of Strategic Asset Management
University of Sydney
Following some significant rain events in 2019/2020 that resulted in some serious damage to internal spaces within university buildings, Martin Ayres, Head of Strategic Asset Management at the University of Sydney, started leading a shift to a digital solution.
"Faced with some potentially serious lifecycle issues in the building fabric, as well as the effects of significant weather events over the last few years, we set out on a mission to create an inspection program to document defects and areas requiring repair or restoration," he says.
"We took a considered approach to the program, looking to equip ourselves with the right tools and partners to do the job most effectively now, and in the future."
"Piloting technology solutions over 12–18 months, as well as the traditional abseiling and photography method, together with expert consultants, we identified Trendspek as our solution of choice and presented our recommendations to the executive."
"We broke the project up into phases, and over 15 months we captured more than 100 buildings that had never been fully inspected before. With Trendspek, we have documented evidence of the whole fabric of the assets – we have more data and better geolocated data, so we can now make more informed decisions to reduce future risk."
"While we had done some inspection before, it was more spot inspection, as opposed to 80–90% coverage of the asset facade, and the ropes approach we employed was nowhere near as efficient as drone capture and 3D modeling. We chose Trendspek as it was intuitive and easy-to-use, as well as its ability to enable markups and simplified sharing with contractors."
"Though we tried some other options with concepts similar to Trendspek, we landed on it because we could mark-up the model and share access to the platform with others, and it gave us the ability to capture change over time really comprehensively."
"We can have 80,000 people here a day, from staff to students, so there is a lot of risk that we need to manage. This tool is helping us with that, and feeds nicely into our shift from a reactive to a more proactive asset management approach."
Following initial capture, a fully integrated workflow of templated risk classification, repair scoping and remediation planning enabled scalable lifecycle management.
The Technology: Drone surveys and Trendspek’s 3D cloud-based platform modelled each building exterior into a mm-accurate photogrammetry model.
The Engineers: Infracorr conducted detailed virtual inspections to annotate defects and repair timeframes, enabling targeted site investigations for areas of concern.
The Asset Owner: The University integrated insights into planning and tenders. Engineers, facilities teams and asset managers adopted the platform to accelerate repair works and inform long-term strategies.
This digital approach transformed labour-intensive workflows into a proactive, data-driven system that improved safety, sustainability and cost-efficiency.
A total of 13,591 virtual inspections and over 11,000 defect annotations were completed via millimetre-accurate 3D models, enabling risk ratings and repair timelines to be mapped directly into the University's facilities management system.
According to Bill Chant, Senior Engineer - Asset Management & Operations, University of Sydney:
"This digital approach has been used in many ways on a daily basis at the University, and has provided an efficient pathway for the remediation phases to proceed next year. The result has been long-term use of the data for condition ratings, material-based forecasts, and portfolio-wide risk modelling, with vast options for how the data will be used going forward to manage campus assets.”
Overall, the project demonstrated digital engineering innovations, setting a repeatable standard for educational precincts across Australia.
"The result has been long-term use of the data for condition ratings, material-based forecasts, and portfolio-wide risk modelling, with vast options for how the data will be used going forward to manage campus assets."
Bill Chant, Senior Engineer, Asset Management & Operations
University of Sydney
"Our thinking has changed, our executive’s thinking has changed, and we are looking to more broadly change the thinking around this space so we can take this to the next level."
Martin Ayres
Head of Strategic Asset Management
University of Sydney
"We will also now develop an asset management policy for the University, as well as a roadmap and lifecycle program, and deliver capital projections well into the future – we’re aiming for 25 years – all guided by the detailed data now available to us."
Martin Ayres, Head of Strategic Asset Management
University of Sydney
In addition to better managing risk, the feedback from the project team was that they found the quality "impressive", and the platform easy to use.
"Different buildings are going to need to be inspected at different intervals due to their age, condition, heritage status and other factors, and the data we’ve captured will help guide that program of ongoing work. Some assets will be recaptured and inspected as often as each year, while others can be inspected every five or even 10 years," says Martin.
The University of Sydney’s delivery team also had regular meetings with Trendspek to receive guidance, develop an issues registrar, and monitor timelines.
"Off the back of the capture, modeling and inspection, we’ve engaged a consultant to develop our very first strategic asset management plan, with full endorsement from our executive. This is something we haven’t been able to get in the past, as we didn’t have the information and insights to build our case."
"We will also now develop an asset management policy for the University, as well as a roadmap and lifecycle program, and deliver capital projections well into the future – we’re aiming for 25 years – all guided by the detailed data now available to us."
"Our thinking has changed, our executive’s thinking has changed, and we are looking to more broadly change the thinking around this space so we can take this to the next level."
"Overall, Trendspek provided a really transparent and collaborative process, and they were also very open to suggestions of possible future features."
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