As HS2 strives to attract more women into the construction sector, the spotlight this International Women’s Day (March 8) is on the female leaders at Qflow who are helping HS2 to decarbonise construction.

Founded in 2018, London-based Qflow is the brainchild of its joint founders Brittany Harris and Jade Cohen. Their company’s mission is simple – leave the world in a better place than they found it.

Simplicity is at the heart of Harris’ and Cohen’s cloud-based software delivery model. With Qflow, a photograph allows HS2’s construction partners to digitally log all material delivered to site and the waste transferred during construction. The requirement for manual data entry, hardware and bar codes is eliminated, which means Qflow saves project teams an estimated 80% of site administration time. It also supports environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, and can improve waste compliance by over 70%, while delivering valuable insights that can enable construction teams to avoid over 4,460 tonnes of CO2e.

Recognising Qflo’s vital productivity and carbon saving benefits, HS2 innovation funded the initial deployment at its construction sites to allow its contractors to trial and test the software tool.

Qflow CEO Brittany Harris said: “Working with HS2’s construction partners has introduced multiple contractors to our software, which is another great step towards us achieving our mission.

“As a result of HS2 innovation funding the initial deployment, we’re pleased to say that every contractor that has used Qflow has gone on to procure us after the trial period ended.”

Of the 2,500 businesses engaged in HS2’s supply chain, 60% are SMEs and with 30 members of staff, Qflow is one of those set to benefit from future business growth as HS2’s programme gathers pace and extends to the north.

Charlotte Hills, HS2’s senior innovation manager, said: “HS2 is pioneering sustainable construction in the UK and Qflow fully supports our drive towards net zero.

“Through Qflow’s simple add design, the process of calculating embodied carbon in construction gives us a detailed assessment of the emissions linked to the construction process. We’re proud to be working in partnership with this innovative SME. Together we will make a huge difference to the construction sector.”

Qflow won the Technology Provider Trailblazer award at the New Civil Engineer TechFest (Festival of Innovation and Technology) 2022.