The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) industry is notoriously plagued by significant project delays and deeply embedded process inefficiencies that conventional project management systems often fail to resolve. Many existing solutions merely digitize isolated tasks, missing core process flaws. Wrench Solutions directly addresses these systemic challenges through its flagship platform, SmartProject, an “integrated information platform” that enforces global best practices via automated workflows, proactively diagnosing and correcting inherent inefficiencies to prevent delays.
Leading this charge is Varghese Daniel, the insightful co-founder and CEO of Wrench Solutions. A passionate advocate for technology’s transformative power in EPC projects, Daniel holds a Bachelorās degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. His career began with the co-development of a successful collaborative data processing solution for manufacturing firms before he conceptualized and created SmartProject, positioned as the world’s first integrated information platform specifically designed for construction projects. Beyond his corporate leadership, Daniel is a dedicated environmentalist, actively running urban re-greening initiatives and promoting sustainable housing solutions. He maintains a balanced lifestyle through hobbies such as playing football and enjoying retro rock music.
Below are the excerpts from the detailed interaction:
1. SmartProject has been positioned as the worldās first integrated information platform for construction projects. In what ways does it go beyond traditional project management systems to address core challenges in EPC project delivery?
Traditional project management systems digitise only certain aspects of project management, so the core challenges go unaddressed; in such software you could map out tasks and activities and milestones and create a detailed plan that looks great on paper, but it would be the same flawed plan you were already following with the unnoticed inefficiencies that caused delay. Whereas Wrench SmartProject corrects the process according to global best practices and enforces the corrected process via built-in automated workflows (ie without human effort or human error) and so delay is prevented. It’s diagnosis, prescription, medicine, and aftercare all in one; an ‘integrated’ solution in the deepest sense.
2. The construction industry has historically been slow to embrace digital transformation. From your experience across different regions, what are the biggest hurdles to adoption, and how can the sector overcome this inertia?
When we entered this space, digital technology was seen as a collection of applications; one for design, one for planning, collaboration and so on. In the previous decade this mindset had started changing but very slowly. Then COVID happened and everything changed overnight. People had no choice but to accept digital technology, at first for survival and then as a genuinely more productive and profitable way to work. So you see, culture cuts both ways; the barriers to adoption were cultural and now the drivers of adoption are also cultural. In today’s culture a company that doesn’t accept Digital Technology will be left behind. So it’s just a matter of time. The transformation has begun and the inertia will carry it forward.
3. Technologies such as AI, IoT, and digital twins are increasingly shaping global infrastructure projects. Where do you see the most immediate impact of these technologies in construction, and how is Wrench incorporating them into its solutions?
AI, IoT, digital twinning, etc., are tools in the digital toolkit that save a lot of time and money in construction lifecycles. AI can ‘read’ huge amounts of data very quickly and so streamline decision-making, IoT is invaluable in the area of operations, digital twinning offers a way to see what’s happening on the site without physically being there, and all these tools have been woven into key features and functions in our product. Like, when a manager is reading a SmartProject progress report he’s actually reading the end-result of a complex series of tasks carried out behind the scenes by an AI-agent we built in, which collected data from various stakeholders, weeded out irrelevant details, and compiled the relevant ones into an easy-to-read graphical report that he can scan in seconds. So that’s one example.
4. Digital adoption in EPC often falters at the implementation stage. How does Wrench ensure that SmartProject is not just deployed but is effectively integrated into day-to-day project workflows?
We test rigorously with actual project data to make sure our solution is both effective and intuitive from the user’s perspective. We also try to mimic the customer’s existing work methods and work culture so that the transition to SmartProject will be as painless as possible. In fact, almost every feature was created in response to a customer-reported problem and reflects a real project scenario. As I often say, SmartProject was built backwards from user feedback and not forwards from software development, because a generic file management software cannot do the job of an engineering document management system, nor can a generic project management system do the job of an integrated project information management system – and that’s something our customers have told us.
5. Global majors like Oracle and Autodesk have established a strong presence in construction technology. How does Wrench differentiate itself in such a competitive space, and what strengths allow you to compete globally?
Well, we’re all in the same space but we’re not the same thing. Oracle started off as database software and then acquired Primavera and Aconex, Autodesk started as a design software company, while Wrench set out to solve the problem of delays in construction projects and we did this by collaborating with customers to remove inefficiencies in their process and predict and prevent delay. Our software is only one part of our solution. I guess that’s why we don’t really identify as a software company or see ourselves as having direct competitors. If I had to sum it up, I’d say it’s our proven ability to anticipate and resolve customer needs at the root through the application and integration of emerging technologies that differentiates us.
6. Wrench operates in more than 45 countries with diverse regulatory environments and varying levels of digital maturity. How do you tailor SmartProject to meet these local market requirements without compromising on global standards?
We build in enough flexibility to cater to a variety of requirements and levels of digital maturity. We start with global best practices already present in our product, but these can be modified during or after the implementation, either by us or by the customer. We offer the same flexibility in other aspects, like for example SmartProject is typically deployed on MS Azure servers in different countries but if there’s a localization requirement it can be deployed on a local server instead. Or if a customer is concerned about storing data in the cloud we have the option to store data in a local server and he can meet regulations at the country or the company level. So as a customer you get the best of both words – a robust automated process based on global standards as well as the ability to change it when needed.
7. Sustainability has become a central theme in construction. How is Wrench enabling project stakeholders to meet their sustainability and ESG goals through technology-driven project management?
We offer several tools and features to help with a customer’s sustainability and ESG goals. If a customer wants to include a sustainability-related standard into the design phase, we’ll train our product’s AI agents in that standard and the customer will get constant (real time) sustainability scores across his design cycle. Similarly, when it comes to ESG, we’ve built in monitoring features to automatically capture progress data, which then gets evaluated by our AI agents to find out how compliant the customer is being and how well (or otherwise) he’s meeting his ESG goals. Our product will even notify a customer if there is too much deviation from the predefined standards.
8. Given constructionās large contribution to carbon emissions, can data-driven platforms like SmartProject provide measurable outcomes that help companies monitor and reduce their environmental footprint?
A project’s carbon footprint comes from three sources: the paper used in project documentation ie printouts and hard copies, the resources used in collaboration ie travel, meetings, etc., and physical construction ie concrete and other materials and equipment including their storage. Our product directly impacts the first two, by drastically reducing the amount of paper used in project document management – by up to 90% – and greatly cutting down amount of travel and meetings etc., by enabling effective online collaboration. As regards the third, ie physical construction, we can measure carbon emissions per material and per package (almost like a carbon footprint calculator) and then the customer can come up with strategies to reduce it.
9. You began your entrepreneurial journey with a manufacturing-focused solution before pivoting to construction. What factors convinced you that construction was the right sector to drive large-scale transformation?
The fact that most construction projects get stalled or delayed was obvious. We could see that construction companies were struggling with the lack of standardisation and integration, and our time in manufacturing had given us experience in standardising processes and integrating information. So from our standpoint it was a logical move as well as a lateral one. The fundamental process was similar and both were highly vulnerable to delay. In fact the only real difference was the time differential ie construction was like a super-slowed version of manufacturing, and since the basic blueprint was the same and we knew we could adapt what we had done in manufacturing, we were confident that our solutions would kickstart the kind of large-scale transformation manufacturing had embraced decades ago.
10. Looking ahead, how do you see Wrenchās role evolving in the global construction ecosystem over the next decade? Do you envision it as a specialist PMIS provider or as a broader digital transformation partner for the industry?
I believe our role will be critical. The industry is realising that integrated digital technology is the only way to deliver projects on time and on budget, and that awareness is accelerating. We will continue with our mission of helping customers achieve #ZeroToleranceforDelay, whether with a PMIS solution or as a digital transformation parter or something else, we’ll have to wait and see. That said, the next generation of professionals will be much more open to digital technology and especially AI (which they don’t see as a threat but a way to do more with less stress). So I think it’s fair to say that over the next decade we’ll have a more organic and intuitive relationship with the industry, based on aligned goals and mutual trust.
