Construction is vital for urban development but comes with a high cost: pollution. Urban construction sites are notorious for causing congestion as vehicles wait to access sites or unload materials, contributing to excessive pollution emissions. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called on the building materials and construction industries to commit to reducing carbon dioxide emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. As the sector generates over 35% of the EU’s total waste, reducing waste and pollution in construction is key to achieving our climate goals.

ProperGate, a smart logistics platform for construction sites that promises to transform how our cities are built and renovated, aims to address this issue by streamlining construction site logistics through digitalisation.

“In urban logistics, it is essential that there are no vehicles with building materials waiting to enter the construction site,” emphasizes Robert Grudzień, Chief Product Officer, and co-founder of ProperGate. With a background in Environmental Engineering, Grudzień is spearheading efforts to tackle inefficiencies in construction logistics management by digitalising operations, ultimately saving time, money, and the environment.

Transforming operations

Through ProperGate’s platform, concrete producers and suppliers can precisely coordinate deliveries to construction sites, eliminating traffic jams and enhancing efficiency. The platform’s versatility, accessible via desktop computers, tablets and smartphones, ensures seamless functionality with minimal hardware requirements, leveraging cloud servers for processing.

“Information is constantly exchanged between suppliers, and everyone knows when a delivery is going to arrive, and they have the option to digitally sign the delivery document,” Grudzień says, “Thanks to our platform, concrete producers have exactly the right number of vehicles to unload at a given construction site. As a result, they do not cause traffic jams.”

Real-time communication facilitated by the ProperGate app empowers site workers to efficiently manage deliveries, receive updates, and digitally sign documents; significantly reducing paperwork and enhancing operational efficiency.

This consistent access to reliable data on the progress of their projects allows users to drive efficient and data-driven decision making. As users can verify what the status of their projects via ProperGate’s app, the need for physical documentation is cut drastically, eliminating waste and driving more sustainable practices.

An investment in construction logistics

Awarded with EIT Urban Mobility’s SME Market Expansion Call in 2023, ProperGate received funding and support to pilot their solution with Warsaw-based concrete plant Bosta-Beton. From 1 June to 31 December 2023, ProperGate and Bosta-Beton collaborated to ease construction logistics and reduce pollution. Leszek Frączak of Bosta-Beton speaks of the resulting digitalisation of their processes, “The ProperGate app has not only set up our logistics, it has also improved or even eliminated our use of paper documents.”

ProperGate’s Grudzień explains their experience after winning the SME Market Expansion Call, “As a result of receiving the grant, we had access to a range of knowledge, collaboration, networking, and cooperation. With this we were able to develop our functionality and deliver a finished solution.” Additionally, ProperGate is part of EIT Urban Mobility’s startup investment portfolio.

Improved quality of life from lowered emissions

The resulting solution empowers construction sites to generate less waste and pollution, while also ensuring any waste that is generated is handled well. Therefore, the platform offers enhanced waste management: waste segregation, tracking and monitoring, automated removal and appropriate reuse and recycling of materials. All of these efforts contribute to lower costs and greater environmental responsibility.

Furthermore, ProperGate’s platform facilitates continuous monitoring of CO2 emissions, enabling construction firms to set and achieve sustainability goals while reducing pollutants and optimising delivery schedules for lowered emissions.

The benefits for residents are clear: traffic congestion is eased and pollution from construction vehicles is cut drastically. In addition to improved air quality and overall well-being, the more efficient, less wasteful construction processes can also reduce harder to spot soil and water pollution. For businesses, ProperGate offers optimised resource utilisation, delivering greater savings in time and cost, key in the construction sector with its narrow profit margins.

Development milestone for the startup

Founded in 2018, the 2023 investment from EIT Urban Mobility has marked a significant milestone in the startup’s trajectory.

While ProperGate is currently focused on helping large, complex construction projects with a value of more than €50 million finish their work faster, on time and on budget, the startup now plans to support smaller-scale developers drive efficiency as well.