GDG intend to commercialise their innovative DST within the European and global markets. To do so, the company has undertaken a feasibility study over the past six months to assess the technical feasibility and commercial potential of this innovation. GDG have conducted a detailed market analysis to quantify the scale of the market opportunity. GDG have developed a solution to a problem faced by owners of road, rail and inland waterway networks worldwide. GDG has identified three primary market streams: 1) railway sector in Europe - most European railway networks were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries prior to the adoption of modern engineering standards, meaning that the majority of earthworks assets along these networks are in a precarious state, 2) other infrastructure network owners in Europe - roadways and waterway networks in Europe also comprise a large number of earthworks assets that need to be proactively managed and maintained, 3) roadway networks in the United States - the majority of roadway infrastructure in the US was constructed in the mid-19th century and is currently in a poor state of report as a result of decades of under-investment by authorities.
As part of the detailed market analysis, GDG actively engaged with the Geotechnical Asset Owners Forum (GAOF), which aims to support transport owners involved in the management of geotechnical assets / earthworks. To further understand the current geotechnical asset management practices and sales readiness of the organisations involved in the GAOF, a survey was prepared and distributed to the infrastructure owners. The results of the survey show that members of the GAOF share a desire to improve their asset management approaches for earthworks along their networks. Furthermore, there is a general consensus among infrastructure owners that the impacts of climate change (e.g. periods of heavy rainfall) are negatively impacting their networks and that a strategic approach is needed to assess and manage this risk.
A competitor analysis has also been conducted as part of the feasibility study, which shows that GDG has a competitive advantage due to our significant R&D track record in relation to safety assessment for earthworks. GDG differentiates itself from its competitors through the provision of specialist geotechnical services that create added value for the customer. With a strong background in geomechanics and applied geotechnical research, particularly in relation to geotechnical asset management, GDG brings together state-of-the-art research and direct industry experience, and is in a position to offer a unique engineering service, delivering the most progressive, reliable and efficient geotechnical designs. A review of intellectual property and licensing issues has also been conducted. Furthermore, a commercialisation plan has been developed to allow GDG to become the market leader for earthwork asset management products and services, initially within Europe, but ultimately, internationally. A strategy for business growth to support this objective has also been developed and a risk management strategy has been outlined.
GDG possess unique expertise and skills to support the adoption of a proactive risk management approach for earthworks, including climate change adaptation planning, for transport infrastructure owners in Europe and worldwide. GDG’s novel solution has the potential to significantly decrease costs for infrastructure owners by prioritising earthwork repairs where they are most critical along the network, as determined according to a reliable risk assessment based on quantitative data. As such, cost savings will arise from the prevention of failures, which can result in direct losses (i.e. cost of physical repairs), as well as indirect losses (i.e. economic losses due to transport disruption).
