The 31st edition of MERIT is underway. The time spent trialling and debating strategy, now has to pay dividend.
So, can you run a construction company? The leading teams obviously think they can.
Atkins India team 'Four Strings' has edged ahead with a mere 26 point advantage. but there is only 167 points separating the top six. 'Standing Ove-tion', 'AEC Ltd', 'ABYUDHAY', 'VENUS' and 'Business Gurus' and 'Mavericks' are all close behind the leading team, waiting to pounce.
Sometimes, the early strategy is to build a solid business platform, and reach for the top later. Keep an eye on those further down the list, as this ploy may surprise the early leaders later in the game.
Looking forward to next week!
Good luck to all the teams as they navigate the ups, downs and twists along the way.
MERIT 2021 Round 1 / Period 5 submissions are due by 17:00 UTC, Wednesday 21 Apr 2021.
Starting with a strong foothold from the Early Years, 'Spectre' from Atkins India lead throughout the Final while the other teams tried to chase them down.
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With the global events of 2020, the Final was held online for the first time in its history. Initially, the hunt was lead by 'AWWinners' from KBR, but as their challenge faded away, 'FALCONS RELOADED' (also from Atkins India) bolstered with strong share price, pursued the now crowned MERIT 2020 Champions through to a close finish. 'AEC' (Andun Engineering Consultants Ltd), 'Zero Calm' (KBR) and 'Sparkles' (Atkins China) all had a strong showing, and should be commended for reaching the Final, but it appears that the winning strategy was that of Atkins India, who also won the Sponsors Award.
MERIT 2020 was the 30th edition of the annual game, and is strongly supported by the Institution of Civil Engineer’s management board, as well as by the Chartered Institute of Building and the Construction Industry Training Board.
72 teams took part in the Early Years of MERIT 2020, with six of the leading teams then being invited to take part in the Final where they competed against each other for a the final six rounds.
After eight rounds, the Early Years of MERIT 2020 draws to a close with 'Spectre' from Atkins India leading the way. 'AWWinners', KBR, stretched themselves from fourth into second place, and 'AEC', Andun Engineering Consultants Ltd, dropped two to fifth. With the other places in the top six all taken up by Atkins India ('FALCONS RELOADED', 'ABHYUDAY', and 'TESSERACT') it is no wonder that they take the Sponsor Award for the fifth consecutive year.
The league table for the Sponsor Award competition looks like this:
| Sponsor | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atkins India | 3,721 |
| 2 | KBR | 3,245 |
| 3 | Atkins UK | 2,445 |
| 4 | Fluor | 2,171 |
| 5 | Ove Arup | 2,131 |
| 6 | Design ID | 1,972 |
| 7 | Mott MacDonald | 1,245 |
As the Final is being held online this year due to the global situation, and with only two teams per sponsor allowed to compete in the Final, the Teams that will be invited to compete are:
| Spectre | Atkins India |
| AWWinners | KBR |
| FALCONS RELOADED | Atkins India |
| AEC | Andun Engineering Consultants Ltd |
| Zero Calm | KBR |
| Sparkles | Atkins China Limited |
We congratulate the top teams, but we are also aware of the long hours and effort that has gone into the performance of teams right across the board. Sometimes getting ahead of just one other team, with whom you have battled all the way, is a satisfying victory. The internal competition between teams has been fantastic with different teams advancing, only to be overhauled by another team later.
For all the teams that competed, we salute you!
We recognise the effort that you have made we hope that you found it a learning experience. Last year’s ICE President was a MERIT graduate and acknowledges MERIT as an experience that set him on his way. We hope it motivates you too, and guides you in choosing training and other development experiences.
You’ve been thinking like a Director, acting like a Director now with some years of good experience, training and development become a Director.
After 11 Periods, the pack is still chasing after that top spot. 'Spectre' from Atkins India continues their breakaway, while 'FALCONS RELOADED' also from Atkins India head up the hunt. Two teams rise into the top six, KBR’s 'AWWINNERS' and Atkins India’s 'ABHYUDAY', as Atkins India’s 'ASTHRA' and 'Three Musketeers' slip out of the top positions.
With one round to go, the top teams will likely put on their seatbelts and check everything many times to ensure that they don't make a last-minute silly mistake. No doubt the chasers will be putting the pedal to the metal in their pursuit, trying to find that last bit of acceleration.
Watch out for those speed bumps in the road, and be wary of any surprise attacks!
The top teams have once again re-arrange themselves, but this time Atkins India Three Musketeers and Andun Engineering have risen three and one place respectively while Atkins India's Asthra and TESSERACT slip but remain in the top ten.
There is a cluster of teams just outside the top places who can still threaten so the leading teams will try to dig in. Past data suggests that teams in the top twenty at this stage could well disturb the rankings. With two rounds to go there is some tension in both the teams defending their position, and the chasers still chasing. The positions may well change but it's impossible to predict as the chasers take the biggest risks in their pursuit for a top place. Lower down, everyone is still trying to improve their final position. There is some satisfaction in generating an improvement at this stage.
Will the track listing stay the same, or will the tape get chewed-up? Let's skip to the next round and find out.
A little shuffling at the top six see Atkin India's ASTHRA and Three Musketeers joining the top six with Atkin's China's Sparkles and KBR AWWinners slipping out. Slightly lower down the order, Milk Architecture had a dramatic 40% rise to 12th, a rise of 13 places, while an equally striking 43% increase from Arup's Overthinkers saw them climb 16 places to 16th.
The continual rearranging of the cards at the top means that the finalists are yet to be decided. If the high risers can sneak into the top 10 by the end of the Early Years, they may grab a seat at the Final.
With three rounds to go, at this stage some successful decisions get described as heroic and inspirational, other less successful ones as simply foolhardy.
Maybe it's time to put your cards on the table.
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The current situation with the Coronavirus is impacting everyone's lives and businesses around the world. We're taking steps and listening to guidelines from the relevant authorities to keep things running as normal as possible during this time.
This is an uncertain time for everyone, we're currently doing everything we can to protect the safety of our team while working hard to ensure our systems stay online so that our customers continue to receive the service they have come to expect.
With regards to the MERIT 2020 game, we don't expect the Early Years to be affected by the current global situation. Team members do NOT have to be in the same room to play. The software was purposely created so that multiple people can access the same data file at the same time, from any location around the world on any device that has a web browser. All that team members need is internet connectivity and a means to talk to each other.
Part of MERIT is learning to communicate. We have companies that insist that team members are in different offices that are located in different countries and time-zones. They actively use MERIT as a means of improving their 'networking' throughout their respective companies.
We therefore do not see the current global situation as being an issue with regards MERIT game play, and believe teams should be able to complete their decision making each round/Period. However, we do understand that some companies are still getting to grips with virtual meetings and teleconferencing, and as such we are being more lenient with regards late submissions than we have been in previous years. However, we do still ask that if you're submission is likely to be late that you let the controller know.
With international travel heavily restricted, it is obvious that a residential Final cannot take place. We have therefore taken the decision that the MERIT 2020 Final will now operate online.
There are still many things that we need to iron out to convert the Final to an online event, including a timetable that operates across multiple time-zones. We're up for the challenge, and hope to have an exciting Final and make the 30th running of MERIT one to remember for reasons other than the current global difficulties. Full details of the Final will be sent at the end of the Early Years to the Teams that are invited to take part.
In the mean time, stay connected, stay responsible and be safe.
The MERIT team