A big warm welcome to James Gregory who joins the 3D Repo team as our new Strategic Business Manager!
James will help shape, develop, and deliver our value proposition. Working with new and existing clients, he will also demonstrate how our solutions improve efficiency and reduce risk on complex construction projects.
James has a wealth of industry experience and is excited to get stuck into his new role. We interviewed James to learn what he’s most excited about in his new role at 3D Repo and what he likes to do outside of work – read the full interview below.
Can you describe your new role and why you decided to join 3D Repo?
My decision to join the team became an easy one following initial conversations with the senior leadership team here at 3D Repo. It was clear right from the start of these conversations that there was synergy in our thinking and that our combined experiences could pave the way for great success in the future.
My role here at 3D Repo is to work across the different verticals within the construction industry to articulate the 3D Repo value proposition at an enterprise level and demonstrate how 3D Repo can deliver solutions to improve efficiency and reduce risk across large organisations and complex projects in construction.
After only a short time working with the team I have been extremely impressed with the hard work and dedication that has gone into building the 3D Repo platform, a platform that the industry is now ready for and one that I am looking forward to introducing to my networks.
What excites you most about your new role and the 3D Repo platform technology-wise?
I’m excited to be taking the 3D Repo platform out to the market to introduce the capabilities of the organisation and our solutions to organisations that are looking to improve how risks and issues that come with complex projects are tracked and managed. Our capabilities with both 3D and 4D data, and within Health and Safety, look fantastic and having been introduced to some of the companies we are already working with demonstrates we are solving the right problems in the industry today.
You obviously have a lot of industry experience in Contech and particularly the BIM space, what trends are currently exciting you and where do you see the industry headed?
Having spent the early part of my career working within the manufacturing industry, I’m really keen to see how offsite manufacturing and modular construction will change the industry to improve onsite efficiencies, reduce waste and increase sustainability. Many construction sites are still very traditional and haven’t changed much over the years. The introduction of more efficient methods to build and deliver complex projects will no doubt have a positive impact on the world we live in and the world future generations will live in. Although there are huge differences from say building a car where there are lots of opportunities to refine the design and build processes to improve quality over time, to say building a large mixed-use scheme in the Centre of London, there are no doubt lessons that can be learnt.
Having recently purchased a new build house on a development with multiple house building contractors, it’s been very interesting to see the different construction methods being used and the difference in time it takes to build a single-story dwelling using both traditional and modular methods. The modular approach has been far more efficient onsite, however, it would have been very interesting to know how much additional time was spent offsite and the difference in construction costs to really compare the two approaches. It would also be interesting to know if the modular approach reduced the number of snags that then needed to be retrospectively resolved once the occupants had taken ownership. Our traditional brick built house had a fair few that’s for sure!
What drives you in this industry and what can our clients expect from you when working together?
Like most people in the industry, I genuinely enjoy learning about and contributing to how buildings and infrastructure projects are designed and delivered. The complexities that come with large scale projects present interesting challenges that drive innovation and new ideas. It’s these innovations and new ideas that I believe has propelled 3D Repo to be one of the most exciting platforms in Contech today.
With that in mind, I feel 3D Repo’s clients will see my passion and dedication for solving the industries inefficiencies, and my ‘customer first’ approach to be both genuine and refreshing. In some of my previous roles, relationships that I have helped to build over many years are still providing value to all parties. I firmly believe these relationships have stood the test of time through trust and my desire to support clients long after their initial purchase or implementation.
Finally, construction technology and BIM is a big passion of yours but what do you enjoy outside of work?
Outside of work my main motivators are my two girls and my wife to be. I’m lucky enough to have the support of my family who understand that late nights at the laptop are all part of the process of helping to provide the best opportunities for us all to enjoy. My weekends are therefore very much taken up by making up for any time lost in the week.
I like to keep fit and try to exercise most days before getting online and I am an avid follower of Aston Villa Football Club, although with two young children it’s much harder to get to as many games as I used to. Those that know me or have worked with me in the past will know I’m always up for a good chat about the weekend’s football results and controversy.
As a family, we have recently taken to caravaning so I would like to take this opportunity to apologise now if anyone reading this gets stuck behind us as we travel up and down the country! Being based in the Midlands does however give us great access to most of the country so we have been extremely lucky to have had lots of opportunities to get away over the past 18 months during the pandemic. Something we are very thankful for.
