Brisbane Tech Firm Makes On-Site Training a Reality

A tech-led transformation to change the way education is handed down on construction sites globally is under way with the rapid shift to cloud computing and the adoption of wearable devices opening up new possibilities.

Championing the shift away from traditional learning environments towards a digitised, real-time knowledge exchange is Brisbane-based proptech company HINDSITE Industries.

HINDSITE Industries’s knowledge management platform—delivered via wearable, speech-driven technologies—enables users to participate in live remote mentoring and access transferrable micro-learnings.

HINDSITE founder and chief executive Doug Hastings said the inspiration behind the idea, to be able to insert knowledge at the right time and for the right reason, was inspired after seeing the film The Matrix more than two decades ago.

“Fast forward to a number of years later, I was working on site at Snowy Hydro and I saw first-hand the difficulties and inefficiencies between engineers trying to discuss—at distance and through two-way radios—complex and critical issues.

“Those trying conversations would normally result in a physical call-out to site in order to assist and upskill others, at great expense and timelines to those overseeing operations.

“After years of refinement, experiments with different hardware providers and crucial firmware updates, that two-decade-old initial idea is now a commercialised reality.

“Our platform can now capture intrinsic tribal knowledge, preserve biometric data of hands-on skills and enable new starters or that next generation of worker to be on the job working faster, smarter and safer.”

The company has gone from strength to strength since launching at Brisbane’s Myriad Festival in 2017, now in operation across a number of disciplines including construction, utilities, manufacturing, healthcare and field services.

HINDSITE booked its most profitable year in 2020, onboarding a slew of businesses, particularly in mining and construction services.

HINDSITE recently signed on non-bank lender Broad Peak Funds Management (BPFM), which heavily interacts with developers, other financiers, asset managers, valuers, quantity surveyors and building companies.

BPFM, known for its rapid technology adoption as well as its investment and institutional lending experience, had been actively searching for a platform to give its clients a competitive edge.

The lender quickly identified HINDSITE as the correct solution, based on its strong utility across the full spectrum of the property sector.

“We have found immediate and practical benefits using Hindsite’s technology within the construction and development sector,” BPFM director Paul Brown said.

“The time and cost benefit leverages our business structure to provide efficiency in compliance, record keeping and accountability.”

The company’s acceleration and adoption also led to it being recognised as a finalist in the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards for ‘fast growing startup’.

It has also joined a newly established initiative being driven by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency (Brisbane EDA).

Under the Brisbane EDA PropTech Initiative, emerging local proptech companies are able to incubate, network and scale, while being bridged with connections to potential property industry partnerships.

In order to deliver HINDSITE’s remote mentoring platform, the company has partnered with smart eyewear provider RealWear to record and capture data as well as initiating SWIS calling.

“RealWear’s Rugged Eyes headset has taken our software offering to another level,” Hastings said.

“Its tough hands-free headset is shockproof, and designed to handle water and dust, while offering wearers intrinsic safety.”

“For those on site, the hardware is incredibly intuitive and can be picked up and fully operational within five to 10 minutes.”

HINDSITE has also become a certified Google partner, in order to offer the ‘best-in-market’ Google Glass headset to its users, delivering a more tactical, non-ruggedised option.

“We have seen immediate value from the use of our product for large scale, heavy asset owners, looking for one solution that offers audit-ability, governance and the centralisation of all future training,” Hastings said.

“Since the onset of Covid-19 new users have begun to utilise the full breadth of the product offering, onboarding and digitising standard operating procedure and in turn standardising practice and working conditions across their business.”

The company recently added IT manufacturing specialist Redflex Traffic Systems to its growing client list.

The Melbourne-based company has rolled out HINDSITE across its operations in the US and UK in order to manage its vast network of traffic cameras.

HINDSITE is also now standard practice across a number of state government-led authorities, including Urban Utilities Brisbane and Melbourne Water, using the technology to train staff overseeing water management systems.

HINDSITE chief operating officer Liam Scanlan said the business had been able to rapidly onboard new partners across a number of existing and emerging verticals, thanks in part to its partnership with Brisbane EDA.

“What Brisbane EDA is doing right now is shining a light on a lot of hard work being undertaken by a number of local proptech initiatives,” Scanlan said.

“It is a win-win for us. The company is scaling quickly and we are very much a Brisbane-based company.

“Brisbane EDA has leveraged their network of potential customers to advance all those within its initiative and every warm lead being presented to us is invaluable.”

To learn more about HINDSITE Industries, click here.

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