Research, Development and Innovation (RDI)

Using the most innovative technology for each project provides added value and is a differentiating factor in the current highly competitive market. It is especially telling in the internationalization process.

FCC Construcción participates heavily in the promotion of a number of European and domestic RDI initiatives and in the development of domestic and international projects.
It engages in internal projects of its own, projects with other FCC Group companies and projects run in cooperation with other companies in the sector, frequently SMEs based on technology. These projects open the door to synergies with the other members of the consortium, resulting in a greater flow of knowledge. FCC Construcción works regularly with universities and technology centres in its projects.

FCC Construction has designed an RDI policy to more easily steer its efforts in the innovation field. Its innovation policy is coordinated with the rest of the FCC Group’s business units through the Innovation Committee.

The RDI activity of FCC Construcción is specifically aimed at making the company a key agent in the building sector’s most important advances in technological innovation in terms of the materials, equipment and processes related with the company’s main activity. FCC Construcción participates actively in those initiatives that are oriented along the company’s own defined main lines of action, which are:

• Integration of information and communications technologies in infrastructure and smart buildings
• Marine construction
• Knowledge of terrain
• New materials and new developments for existing materials
• Smart transport systems and systems featuring multiple modes of transport
• Sustainable building
• Underground construction
• Occupational risk prevention
• Sustainability and the prevention of climate change
• Process management.

Right now the following lines of RDI are regarded as having top priority:

• Infrastructure for high-speed railways, goods railways and urban railways
• Refurbishment and energy efficiency
• Integration of multiples modes of sustainable transport systems
• Underground construction
• Marine construction
• Environmental optimization of the useful life cycle
• Renewable energy.

RDI activities are expressly envisioned in the Management and Sustainability System, in procedure PR/FCC-730.

The company earned RDI Management System Certification as meeting RDI Management System Requirements under UNE 166002:2006. It received its certification from AENOR, the Spanish standardisation and certification association, on 31 August 2007.

FCC Construcción has signed a cooperation agreement with ADIF, the administrative agency for Spain’s railway infrastructure, to engage in research, technological development and innovation activities, and FCC CO has set up an office at ADIF’s Railway Technology Centre in the Andalucía Technology Park in Málaga.

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