Scott Eburne is a talented digital consultant who has supported major programmes including Crossrail and the New Hospitals Programme.
But at weekends he steps into his second role – as a sports commentator and presenter.
Amid our spectacular summer of sport and as Paris ’24 moves into its final stages, we joined Scott to talk assets and athletics.
First – the day job. Tell us about your role and responsibilities at Cohesive?
I’m a consultant within Cohesive’s advisory business. I specialise in Building Information Management (BIM) within the Buildings and Community sector – one of our four core sectors along with Energy and Utilities; Manufacturing and Minerals and Transport and Mobility.
Day-to-day I work with one of our key clients, a FTSE 100 property giant, supporting their commercial and residential projects by ensuring the project teams deliver the BIM and digital requirements we have helped refine and develop.
I’ve also recently been working on the NHS New Hospitals Programme – the flagship programme to build 40 hospitals by 2030 – developing their best practice BIM documentation.
I come from a design background but have also worked on the main contractor side and am able to bring this to my role. I have quite varied experience from commercial to defence, pharmaceutical, rail, civils, infrastructure and residential.
Most exciting project to date?
Whitechapel Station for Crossrail stands out as it was the most difficult Elizabeth Line station to build. I went to site a lot which was exciting.
The station is acknowledged as one of the most challenging Crossrail stations. The concourse was constructed on a bridge consisting of 2,800t of structural steelwork, above the existing station and two operational railway lines – the London Overground and London Underground.
How did you end up working within the digital infrastructure field?
I was in my second year at university (I got a 1st class degree in architectural sciences and technology), when I went to a workshop on BIM.
It piqued my interest as the concepts of improving communication in construction using technology made sense, especially to someone who had spent the previous year using a drawing board.
I saw the value it could bring very early on, and knowing the UK 2016 mandate – to ensure BIM was systematically rolled out and widely adopted by the industry – was not far away, I saw that increasing my knowledge would help increase my involvement on projects.
Following my first degree, I went on to secure a MSc in Building Information Modelling and Management.
Are you surprised by how, relatively, slowly, the infrastructure sector has been to ‘go digital’?
Yes, I am – compared to other industries, construction and infrastructure has taken a long time to change its approach, and as an industry we have definitely not made as much progress as we thought we would. Perhaps we were too ambitious? People are typically sceptical which doesn’t help.
The best way to convince people to adopt digital ways of working is by showing the value, the numbers, and the cost avoidance/savings. This is where clients really understand the benefit.
What attracted you to Cohesive?
Cohesive have a lot of recognisable names from within the industry, so collectively there’s a huge amount of experience across the board. It was definitely one of the reasons why I joined the business. The fact we can pull on expert knowledge not just from within the UK, but worldwide, is a great advantage.
What benefits do you help to generate for your clients?
I think a large part of our role is having (and forcing) conversations between the teams, as just being clear about the requirements and next steps has a big impact. We are often the guardians of clients requirements and have the detailed knowledge to understand if what they’re asking for is what they’re getting.
”Being able to clearly articulate what’s going on and having awareness to read between the lines are both key skills, all of which translate to my day job with Cohesive.
How do your two roles – at Cohesive and in the sport’s world – work together?
Well fortunately the majority of sport is on weekends, so they don’t clash!
As a commentator you need to process lots of information in a short amount of time, all while being aware of what’s going on in front of you and paying attention to the person in your ear.
Being able to clearly articulate what’s going on and having awareness to read between the lines are both key skills, all of which translate to my day job with Cohesive.
Did you have an early passion for sport?
My family all like sport and I started playing rugby from a young age. At school I played most sports but rugby is my first love and athletics is my second. Whether it was watching sport on TV, or my dad play rugby, or kicking a football about with my brother, I’ve always done it.
How did you progress from a fan into a sports commentator?
I very much fell into it whilst at university. I started writing for an athletics website which also live streamed events.
When they expanded I became their first commentator and it snowballed from being a hobby to a second career, gradually picking off more sports and better events as I’ve gone along.
What are the biggest events you have commentated for?
Two years ago I worked on the Commonwealth Games and in October 2023 I went to the Pan American Games in Chile.
Where is your commentary broadcast?
Anywhere and everywhere! Broadcasting has changed a lot, with lots more sport available on YouTube or live-streamed elsewhere, so it depends on the event, but I’ve been on channels such as BBC Sport and ESPN.
What are your ambitions with regards to your sports commentary?
To keep doing it, enjoying it and getting more experiences.
My career has grown very organically, and I’d like it to keep getting better.
I’m passionate about improving, whether that’s in my Cohesive role, my sports commentating or in my presenting and announcing I also do.
Calling the Rugby World Cup final, or any Olympic athletics final would be amazing.
Which performances at Paris ’24 so far have most excited you?
The rugby 7s has been great, but from a British perspective Tom Pidcock’s gold in the men’s mountain bike event was probably my favourite so far.
For more information on how Cohesive supports asset owner operators with digital transformation and the change programmes which are such a vital part of them, please contact us here.
Verdantix, the independent advisory and research organisation, gave us the top score in its ‘green quadrant’ report both for our Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software implementation services and for our skill at supporting organisations with the cultural and process changes necessary to make digital transformation programmes a success. You can read the report here.
