EHAB, a UK-based weather risk management platform that helps construction companies reduce the cost of weather interruptions, has raised further funding.
English start-up, EHAB aims to help construction companies identify and plan for weather-related risks using decades’ worth of weather data. Its distributed ledger (blockchain) technology platform connects construction schedules produced in Primavera P6 to historic weather data and identify opportunities to avoid risk and squeeze more time from construction programmes. Construction businesses can also track how their teams react to and deal with weather impacts on your construction projects. EHAB says it can also help businesses work with their insurance brokers to optimise portfolio protection from extreme weather by building a parametric cover tailored to balance risk with reward across different geographies.
EHAB has worked with partners including Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall looking to automate the way they deal with weather risk and optimise their construction operations. EHAB aims to expand beyond existing partners and grow in the United States and countries across Europe.
EHAB is building a ‘weather ledger’ using digital technology on construction sites. On average, project duration is extended by 21%, potentially costing contractors millions in lost profit across their portfolios. EHAB says it can offer smarter contracts by deploying a weather station onsite that records hyper-local weather information and triggers thresholds that automate contractual obligations the contractor has to its client. This reduces unnecessary paperwork and removes the likelihood of disputes.
The platform also provides enhanced planning, using the Gantt chart that construction companies have for a project to identify where there is weather risk embedded in their schedule and avoid weather-related delay.
EHAB fund-raising
First mentioned on Extranet Evolution in March 2019 (post), EHAB has successfully
EHAB founder Josh Graham (right) said:
“There is a huge impact of the weather on construction companies and at the moment they don’t really have strategies to tackle this. EHAB will play a huge part in accelerating the industry’s digital transformation. Given the increase in extreme weather events globally, there is an increasing need for construction companies to take the weather seriously. We’re giving these companies a tool to scientifically delve into the numbers and understand when, where and how the weather could disrupt their construction site. With the help of Suss Ventures, we were able to raise even more money than we originally planned.”
“Seeking investment was a very tough journey, taking six months. A genuine compliment to Suss Ventures was that it was the easiest part of our investment round when we were looking for another investor to work with.”
Suss Ventures is the investor matching service of Sussex Innovation, a business incubator owned by the University of Sussex which works with start-ups and scale-ups to help them understand their market and grow their business. Since 2019, Suss Ventures has welcomed over 100 innovative founders and active investors into its community. Nigel Lambe, CEO at Sussex Innovation, said:
“We’re proud to help businesses like EHAB innovate the weather intelligence space, by matching them with the right financial partners for sustainable development. Suss Ventures is an important part of our commitment at Sussex Innovation to help high-growth, mission-led businesses succeed and understand their market better.”
EHAB will be launching its product in April 2021. Get early access to the platform at https://ehab.co/.
