The Black Country Growth Hub in collaboration with the Black Country’s local authorities – Sandwell, Walsall, Dudley and Wolverhampton Councils are proud to announce that it has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Innovation category for this year’s West Midlands Celebrating Constructing Excellence awards. The Black Country partnership has been recognised for its forward-thinking vision to nurture supply chain opportunities and essential skills that future industry will need through the development of a pioneering virtual high speed train and rail portal – OnTrack WM.

The Celebrating Constructing Excellence awards is one of the most coveted in the profession and a well-recognised badge of excellence amongst construction peers across the wider U.K. The winners will be announced at a high profile dinner on Friday 13 May 2016 where more than six hundred construction peers, business leaders and innovators from across the built technologies sector will gather at the ICC, Birmingham, to celebrate best practice and innovative solutions applied across the industry. The winners of the regional awards will go on to represent the West Midlands as a finalist at the national constructing excellence awards which take place on the 4^th November 2016 at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London.

The joint entry in the Innovation category has earned recognition and praise from construction experts and peers from the judging panel who stated that “The Black Country partnership is leading the way, no other region is applying excellent collaboration to innovate using creative procurement to develop 3D supply chain engagement portals”.

“OnTrack WM is current, topical and extremely relevant, a ground-breaking digital representation of a high speed rail project embedded with real-life procurement opportunities, a unique BIM framework to coach and prepare the rail sector supply chain, equipping them with the valuable skills, new technology and a cluster of business-winning initiatives needed to inspire West Midlands firms to forge links, get fit and ready to supply current and future rail improvement projects set for our region”.

You can view the full list of regional finalists that will line-up at the awards ceremony on 13th May at the ICC here.