Investigation, Development and Innovation
“An Engineering house”
"Ingenuity", a symbol of innovation and one of the values of the Teixeira Duarte Group, is part of the way Teixeira Duarte and its companies act, having given rise to the brand image of "House of Engineering" that characterises it so much.
With the aim of, together with its subsidiaries, continuing to promote the creation of innovative solutions, foster synergies and stimulate employees as agents of innovation, the Teixeira Duarte Group has set up an Innovation Committee that involves the Board of Directors and representatives of its business and corporate areas.
Innovative projects
Within the scope of Innovation, namely with the objectives of increasing the speed of construction and modular construction, the Construction, Facilities Management and Real Estate areas have developed and/or participated in various projects.
Within this set of projects, the following stand out:
SHELTER Project - Structural Hyper-resisting Element for Life Threatening Earthquake Risk
This project began in 2019 and is ongoing. The intention is to develop a globally innovative product, which can be installed in a central location of any apartment and will save the human lives of occupants in the event of an intense earthquake, with very low associated costs.
It is a 1.1-million-euro project co-promoted by the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), funded by the Portugal 2020 Program, with a total duration of 3 years. The project internally involves the areas of Metalworking, in the development of prototypes, and Buildings, in the construction of partial models of masonry buildings by Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, S.A.. Externally, the Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC) participates, for testing on a seismic table, the IADE – Universidade Europeia, for the design and architectural integration of the shelter and SPI, through a system of service provision.
"OMICRON" Project
"OMICRON" is a European project funded by Horizon 2020, as part of the Mobility for Growth applications, lasting 42 months, in which "Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções, S.A." participates with 15 other partners from 7 European countries.
This project aims to develop innovative solutions for the maintenance and regeneration of road infrastructures, using more automated and optimized solutions through robotic technologies and intelligent decision support tools.
Teixeira Duarte is responsible for coordinating the main demonstrator of the project that aims to develop modular solutions for the execution of superior passages (for situations of: highway widening; fauna pathways and replacement of existing ones), in a fast, safe and sustainable way. On the Portuguese team, by Teixeira Duarte’s indication, the company Armando Rito is also involved (BRISA will also be involved as an interested party), and will participate as an interested party, providing access, signalling and safety during tests to be carried out on the demonstrator.
The financing originates 100% from outright grants, where 268.500,00€ have been allocated to Teixeira Duarte.
Digital Construction Revolution - REV@CONSTRUCTION Project
The project has a global investment of circa 8.5 million euros, of which about 1.3 million euros are the corresponding value of the Teixeira Duarte Group.
It has 24 participants, including companies, academia and industry associations, and is led by "Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções, S.A.".
Products, Processes and Services to be developed within the scope of this project:
- DIGI4Construction - development of a national digital platform for construction, with BIM4bridges pilot application, involving Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A.;
- Digital Twin for AEC - processing of design/construction data, with pilot applications, namely paving 4.0 (Mota-Engil) and concrete 4.0 (Teixeira Duarte);
- RCM4Assets - Digital Twin for Operation and Maintenance / Asset Management, predictive maintenance (Coordination Teixeira Duarte and TDGI);
- Integration of all solutions with living lab projects, including BIM4Bridges using the concepts of RCM4Assets and,
- Project Management and Communication.
The project funds these activities through outright grants.
In Portugal, the companies Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções, EPOS and SOMAFEL use an RDI management system according to the Portuguese Standard 4457, allowing them to channel all of their knowledge and creativity into innovation in the most efficient way.
Main partnerships:
PTPC - Portuguese Technological Platform for Construction
PTPC brings together companies, designers, universities, public entities and other entities of the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN), with the mission of encouraging reflection on the Construction sector, implementing Research, Development and Innovation initiatives and projects, contributing to boosting their respective competitiveness in the general framework of the economy and promoting cooperation between stakeholders in the Construction and Public works sector, and related sectors.
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções has held the Chair of PTPC since the date that it was set up (2011).
AEC Cluster - Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Established in 2016, the AEC Cluster is managed by PTPC. Its objectives are to act in the economic sector of Architecture, Engineering and Construction and within its effective ranks or value chain, promoting the achievement of high levels of innovation, technological development and competitive capacity, cooperation and networking, and the promotion of the internationalization of the cluster, specifically through participation in international networks.
The Portuguese Structures Engineering Association (PSEA), which is the Portuguese group of the International Association for Bridge & Structural Engineering (IABSE)
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções, through PTPC, participates in this association that aims to develop and promote
structural engineering at an international level. It is in charge of
the organization of major international congresses and conferences.
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções has also established
protocols with the following entities in the national scientific and
technological system: Faculty of Engineering of the University of
Porto (FEUP), Higher Technical Institute (IST), the National Civil
Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) and Minho University (UM).
ENCORD - European Network of Construction for Research and Development
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções was accepted into ENCORD in 2014. However, due to a change in its statues, it is considered as a founding member of ENCORD, an association founded in 1989. ENCORD is the contact association with the European Commission for innovation in construction, and oversees the activity of the ECTP - European Construction Technology Platform. The largest Construction companies in Europe that promote innovation and competitiveness all participate in ENCORD.
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções is a member of the Strategic Council of ENCORD and participates in the "Foresight" group, among others.
ECTP – European Construction Technology Platform
ECTP is an association similar to PTPC but with more of a European scope. As Chairman of the PTPC, Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções sits on the Steering Committee of the ECTP, in the Vision Group and the Heritage and Regeneration Working Group.
Concrete and aggregates laboratory in Portugal
Teixeira Duarte - Engenharia e Construções runs a Materials Laboratory in Portugal with the aim of providing support for the manufacturing and control of concrete to be used for its projects. Accredited by IPQ - Portuguese Institute of Quality since 1996, and as one of the first laboratories in the country to obtain this accreditation in the field of concrete and aggregates, in 2019 the Materials Laboratory maintained its accreditation under the NP EN ISO/IEC17025 Standard.
