YTL Construction UK delivers flexible, standardised planning across one of the UK’s largest brownfield developments with Asta Powerproject
As part of the globally recognised YTL Group, Bristol-based YTL Construction UK provides fully integrated services to infrastructure, residential, education, commercial, industrial, energy and environmental sectors. With a forward work programme of approximately £3 billion and more than 600 highly skilled staff, YTL Construction UK is poised for rapid growth.
The company is currently delivering Brabazon, the transformation of the 400-acre former Filton Airfield in North Bristol into a thriving new town. This landmark project, recognised by the UK Government as one of 12 flagship new towns, represents the biggest brownfield redevelopment in the southwest, with planning approval for over 6,500 homes (expanding to 10,000+), three schools, commercial spaces, hotels, student accommodation, and the 20,000-capacity YTL Arena Bristol, driving the creation of 30,000 new jobs and contributing £5 billion social and economic value to the region.
Key benefits for YTL Construction UK
- Standardised planning processes across growing teams ensures consistency and efficiency
- Rapid adaptability to market changes through automated rescheduling/linked task management
- User-friendly interface enables organisation-wide adoption
- Enhanced collaboration through integrated programmes feeding into a master programme
- Accessible viewing capabilities for non-planners supports transparency
The challenge – complexity and change at scale
As a multi-use development spanning 400 acres with a decades-long timeline, Brabazon presents unique planning challenges. “As a multi-use development, there’s lots of changes. So the biggest challenge we’ve got is keeping ahead of those changes and being able to be flexible,” explained Mike Stone, Head of Pre-Construction at YTL Construction UK.
The company’s ability to respond quickly to market conditions is both a strength and a challenge. When interest rates dropped and the residential market slowed, YTL Construction UK needed to rapidly pivot from apartment construction to a 1,500-bed student accommodation scheme. This agility requires planning tools that can accommodate substantial programme changes without excessive manual rework.
As the team expanded to five planners managing diverse projects across the development, another challenge emerged: standardisation.
“The real challenge was how do we standardise what we’re doing as a team and make sure that everybody’s becoming more efficient and working generally to the same set of standards,” Mike said.
With construction already underway – 300 homes occupied and lived in – and ambitious expansion plans ahead, YTL Construction UK needed a planning solution that could support both strategic programme development and day-to-day project management while ensuring consistency across the entire team.
Solution: Asta Powerproject
YTL Construction UK has used Asta Powerproject as its core planning tool for eight years, with the software now embedded as a fundamental requirement for all planning roles. “That’s one of the key things; we’re all using Asta specifically because we don’t want to be having a variety of planning software,” Mike said.
Asta Powerproject supports two distinct planning levels at YTL Construction UK. Mike uses the software for strategic programme development, maintaining a five-to-ten-year look ahead for the overall Brabazon development. “I use Asta to capture everything, even if it’s at a high level, and I do regular five-year look aheads and see where I need to make changes.” he said.
The software’s automated rescheduling capability has been particularly valuable given the project’s complexity and frequent changes. “Asta Powerproject is an intuitive and user-friendly project management tool ideally suited to the range of construction projects at Brabazon. We are able to tailor use of the software from a great level of detail for live projects down to a summarised illustration of the overall masterplan. Using the range of features available saves a lot of manual work and using filters, codes and annotations allows us to tailor what each of our stakeholders see,” Mike noted.
To extend planning visibility beyond the core team, YTL Construction UK leverages Asta’s free online viewer, allowing non-planners across the business to view programmes without editing rights. “You’ve got Powerproject, and you’ve got Easyplan. You’ve got the free online viewer – there’s quite a few people within the business that have got access to this – it helps them to view our teams’ programmes,” Mike said.
This approach maintains data integrity while promoting transparency.
“Asta Powerproject is an intuitive and user-friendly project management tool ideally suited to the range of construction projects at Brabazon. We are able to tailor use of the software from a great level of detail for live projects down to a summarised illustration of the overall masterplan. Using the range of features available saves a lot of manual work and using filters, codes and annotations allows us to tailor what each of our stakeholders see.” – Mike Stone, Head of Pre-Construction
Standardised for growth and efficiency
The move to standardised Asta-based planning processes has transformed how YTL Construction UK’s growing team collaborates. “We don’t want to be using various planning platforms. We made sure everybody’s using the same platform where everything can feed back into the to the master programme,” Mike explained.
“This standardisation is supported by internal expertise. Mike described his senior planners as “wizards on the software,” serving as a go-to resource for the rest of the team. “If anybody has a question, they go directly to them because they live and breathe the software,” he said.
The user-friendly nature of Asta Powerproject has facilitated rapid adoption across the team, reducing training requirements and enabling planners to focus on delivery rather than software mastery. “It certainly makes it [delivery] a lot easier and user friendly, when you have a tool like Powerproject,” Mike noted.
YTL Construction UK’s planning team has also benefited from responsive technical support provided by the Asta team at Elecosoft. “Your support team is always there. Everyone knows they can just ring up if they’ve got an issue and nine times out of 10 it gets sorted promptly,” Mike said.
Adapting to market conditions with confidence
Asta Powerproject’s capabilities have proven essential as YTL Construction UK navigates changing market conditions. The company’s recent pivot from residential apartments to student accommodation – driven by interest rate changes and market demand – demonstrates the value of flexible planning tools that can accommodate substantial programme revisions.
“There was a need for student accommodation and we were able to adapt to that really quickly,” Mike explained. “Having Asta is a strength that gives us flexibility to navigate whatever the market conditions are.”
This agility, supported by Asta’s automated rescheduling, allows YTL Construction UK to capitalise on opportunities while maintaining the same programme integrity.
“We made sure everybody’s using the same platform where everything can feed back into the to the master programme.”
A platform for future innovation
Looking ahead, YTL Construction UK is exploring advanced capabilities to further enhance delivery. The company is actively investigating 4D BIM integration, currently relying on external consultants for this service. “4D absolutely is something that we are striving towards as a business,” Mike said.
Mike is also currently rolling out Asta Vision to support with the cross-team need to stay on top of programme data, which will be critical as the Brabazon development continues to evolve over the coming decades.
As the Brabazon project progresses, Asta Powerproject will remain central to YTL Construcion UK’s planning approach. “It’s one of our daily tools that we’re all used to,” Mike said; a testament to how thoroughly the software has embedded itself into the company’s operations.
With hundreds of homes already delivered and thousands more planned, alongside commercial developments, schools, and entertainment venues, YTL Construction UK’s success at Brabazon demonstrates the power of standardised, flexible planning in navigating one of the UK’s most ambitious urban regeneration projects.