Sixense Group is a service French born company that supports real estate, energy and transport infrastructure clients, through digital solutions dedicated to preserving their projects’ structural health. Their main areas of expertise are engineering, monitoring, digitalization and software.

Over 6 years at the helm of the company that is part of a group stretching across over 20 countries. Can you tell us more about Sixense’s footprint in Romania, in terms of turnover and the type of real estate services that you offer?

Our Romanian branch is fully centered on structural and geotechnical monitoring and digital solutions for civil engineering and infrastructure projects. Our monitoring activity consists of identifying all possible risks that can affect a structure’s stability and health, be it a project being constructed right now or a project that is already operational. We do this using advanced digital solutions that allow us to efficiently gather data and easily share the information with all interested parties. Based on this data, our clients can make informed decisions and take action in order to preserve their projects’ stability. Therefore, we employ multidisciplinary teams (geophysics, geomechanics, geothermics, civil engineering etc.). 

Digital solutions for project management, asset management and risk management processes occupy an especially important part in our growth plans, as they offer an enormous potential for investors (aprox. 300 mil USD were fueled into the digital buildings market in the US last year alone). In Romania, all our efforts have brought us to a tripled monthly turnover at the beginning of 2021.  

Where do you fit in the real estate digital transformation, and does Romania have a digital buildings market at all?

In relation to the real estate market, we have the capability to ensure the digital transformation of all processes related to a building’s structural health and safety. From monitoring a construction site to monitoring all proximity buildings near a site to monitoring complex real estate projects in operation, we work with tools that radically transform the traditional (manual) monitoring and make it more accurate, efficient and accessible. 

Our innovative solutions can go as far as making a digital replica of a building, based on which we can clearly see how the building behaves in time, in the context of the building’s natural aging process, but also as a reaction to external factors (vibrations, environmental conditions and others).

It is almost like the building can tell us what parts of the structure need our attention, where risks need to be taken into immediate consideration and what our priorities should be.

Regarding the investors, they definitely bring tremendously rich know-how in Romania, but they don’t always implement the latest digital tools. They tend to adapt downwards to local standards which, unfortunately, are not yet up to the mark. The underlying reason for this attitude is the fact that Romanian real estate yields have constantly been sufficiently high to avert the need for putting more effort into the process. 

What are some specific reasons an investor would embrace this digital shift? 

The most obvious gain is in efficiency, as all participants in a building project are literally on the same page. Then, transparency and accountability come into play whenever players know that their delivery or rhythm can be scrutinized by others. Finally, the expenditure curve steeps downwards to almost reaching the axis as technology is put to work and contributes to cost reductions. Think of all the flaws or errors being detected and removed as early as the design phase! 

We should also not discard the pressure coming from the overall business and social environment, such as the smart city concept, the Internet of things, tenants or owners in need of instant reaction from public or private service providers. It all connects the basic aspects of life to technology into a relation that becomes natural and organic. The investors we work with already give signs of a mindset shift as we constantly remind them that operating a building beyond the construction stage is as important as putting it together, if not more. And the safety of their assets should be their main preoccupation, as quality standards increase and the legislative environment becomes harsher. 

In what ways did the global pandemic influence your business and the wider industry in Romania?

One change worth mentioning is the introduction of the electronic signature to construction, architecture and urbanism. Nevertheless, enacting a law does not lead to immediately seeing it in action. The architect submitting an electronically signed document to the municipality has yet to see the local administration react in the same way. Digital transformation is a two-way street, and no matter how up to date the private sector strives to be, Romanian public administration still has important steps to take to reach the same level. 

We did not experience setbacks during the pandemic. This is due to our commitment to engage and communicate with public authorities, partners and clients, with whom we constantly share good practices and stories of success.  

What can we expect from Sixense going further, in the coming two to three years?

Our purpose is to promote a properly furbished offer of engineering, mapping and digital solutions to Romanian local administration managers. The legislative background of recent years is increasingly placing the operating burden on their shoulders, be it in terms of their project’s return on investment and also in terms of managing all necessary risks.  

Creating digital solutions for ensuring lifetime management of projects, whether for local authorities or private companies, is where we plan to leave our mark in the years to come.