Suggestions
Andrew Browning
CEO at SchemeFlow (YC S24) | AI Drafting of Technical Reports for Engineers & Built Environment Professionals
Andrew Browning is the CEO and Co-Founder of SchemeFlow, a startup that uses generative AI to draft technical reports for construction projects.12 He founded the company in June 2022 with the goal of accelerating the pre-construction building process.1
Prior to SchemeFlow, Browning served as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority from May 2017 to January 2020.1 He also worked as a Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group from 2012 to 2015.1
Browning has a background in public service, having worked as a Senior Advisor at the Cabinet Office, Implementation Unit, UK Government for 7 months in 2014-2015.1 He is also the Founder and Chair of King Lear Arts, an organization that promotes creative arts participation for older people.1
SchemeFlow, Browning's current venture, was accepted into Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch.2 The company aims to streamline government approvals for construction projects by automating the drafting of technical reports such as environmental impact assessments and transport assessments.2
Browning holds a Master of Arts in History from the University of Cambridge, which he completed between 2008 and 2011.1
Highlights
REVEALED: How 6 Animals Almost Prevented a SpaceX Launch (And How to Avoid It For Your Project)
SchemeFlow is taking an insider look at public documents to tell the story of the how great American building projects got their approvals.
👇 THE BASICS:
Project: SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Launch Vehicle Program Type: Space Rocket Launch Location: Boca Chica Launch Site, Cameron County, Texas
📄 THE REPORT
Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment, Federal Aviation Administration Pages: 183 Report Date: June 2022
🚦 GETTING APPROVED
1️⃣ No Parking on Birds’ Nests: Increased road traffic from people working at SpaceX and gawkers coming to watch rocket launches posed a potential threat to six types of endangered species according to the report: piping plover, red knot, aplomado falcon, eastern black rail, jaguarundi and ocelot.
Risk was low given jaguarundi and ocelots hadn't been spotted in the area nearby recently, and SpaceX upgraded the barriers along local highways to stop vehicles churning up sensitive habitats. APPROVED ✅
2️⃣ Smooth Traffic Flow: Get angry stuck behind a slow truck? Now imagine waiting behind SpaceX’s Starship rocket being transported along the highway at 2 mph!
SpaceX worked with Texas Department of Transportation & Cameron Country to build special pull-offs on the SH-4, so that drivers have a maximum wait time of 20 mins if they get stuck behind a rocket! APPROVED ✅
3️⃣ Plan for 'Anomalies': The report sets out the risks: "A Starship/Super Heavy test operation or launch could result in a deviation from what is expected (referred to as an anomaly). An anomaly on the launch pad could cause a fire on the launch pad and/or an explosion that spreads debris."
Temporary road closures are put in place during launches and testing to make sure that all vehicles are a safe distance away from the launch pad! APPROVED ✅
🔎 READ IT Full document here https://shorturl.at/QwBcB
⏭ NEXT TIME Mickey Mouse vs. the Environmental Review system in Anaheim, California 🐭 🏰 💫
Unveiled: The High-Stakes 1,407-page Transportation Report That Made Steve Jobs' Apple HQ Vision a Reality 🛣
SchemeFlow is taking an insider look at public documents to tell the story of the how great American buildings got their approvals.
👇 THE BASICS:
Project: Apple Campus 2 Type: Office, Corporate Headquarters and R&D facilities Employees: 14,200 Size: 3.42 million s.f. Completion Date: 2017 Location: City of Cupertino, CA
📄 THE REPORT
Draft Transportation Impact Analysis (part of the Draft Environmental Impact Report) Pages: 1,407 Report Date: 2012-13 Expert Advisors: Bravo to Fehr & Peers (Transportation) and LSA Associates (EIR) for a gold-standard technical report!
🚦 GETTING APPROVED
1️⃣ Agree to the City of Cupertino's Parking Minimums: Each US city sets out its rules for parking minimums. How many spaces you need for a new building, to make sure parking doesn't spill over onto nearby streets or neighbors' properties when the building is in use.
Section 19.124.040 of Cupertino's Municipal Code said that one parking space was needed per 285 square feet of development. For 3.4 million square feet that means ~12,000 parking spaces.
But there's a bit of wiggle room, and Apple's advisors studied parking patterns at their existing campuses to reach a lower parking requirement of 10,934 spaces, and then won approval for 10,980 spaces. APPROVED ✅
2️⃣ Upgrade the Freeway Ramps: After hundreds of pages of modelling, the report predicted substantially more traffic using the I-280, which meant that if nothing was done, there would be traffic queues on the I-280 at peak times which would be so long they could 'spillback' onto the freeway itself.
So, an agreement was made to widen the off-ramps to allow two lanes both northbound and southbound on the I-280. But this would also require Caltrans to play ball. The City of Cupertino couldn't do this without Caltrans on board. So a condition of the project getting approval, was that Cupertino would work with the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Caltrans to get those ramps widened! APPROVED ✅
Post script: estimated time of completion of the I-280/Wolfe Road Interchange Improvement project according to the VTA: 2025-26. 15 years after this report was drafted...!
3️⃣ Apple also had to agree to: Build a new private bus station for buses to stop at the campus, financial contributions to road and transit projects, improve local bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. APPROVED ✅
4️⃣ Track Your Steps! In the same way your iPhone tracks your steps, the City of Cupertino keeps an eye on whether Apple keeps to its commitments. Transportation Demand Management (TDM) monitoring goes on for at least 10 years, and it has teeth. Apple pays $3-5/day/trip if they aren't hitting their targets. APPROVED ✅
🔎 READ IT Appendix B here https://shorturl.at/0HQQC
⏭ NEXT TIME How did Elon Musk fare, when faced with the reports he needed to get approvals his latest projects...? 🚀 🔋
