vox - july 2009

issue three: august 2009

Duty of careSupporting sustainable communities

The Vox team

EditorialAnna Mann, [email protected]

Chris Warmoll, deputy editor [email protected]

Haidee Harrison [email protected]

Eloise [email protected]

Design Emilie [email protected]

Tracy [email protected]

DistributionGabrielle [email protected]

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Welcome to the third issue ofVox.

This edition celebrates Halcrow’s growing reputation as a corporately responsible business.

An array of projects and activities demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainable development. From water resource studies in Baluchistan, Pakistan, to the North American team’s involvement in the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) programme and Halcrow’s support of natural wastewater processes as a sustainable energy source, Halcrow has it covered.

And highlighting the company’s charitable giving activities, we have updates on a number of Halcrow Foundation projects. These include sanitation facilities for female pupils in Kenya, support for UK hospices and training for some of New York’s most underprivileged to help them find jobs in the environment sector.

Add to this the usual smorgasbord of news, achievements and profiles and you’ll get a real sense of what Halcrow employees are doing around the world to sustain and improve the quality of people’s lives.

If you would like to contribute to a future edition, get in touch with your local correspondent or a member of the Vox team.

Vox is designed and produced by Halcrow’s corporate communications team.

Printed by Rumbold Holland on Revive 50:50 silk recycled paper, it contains 50 per cent recovered waste and 50 per cent virgin fibre. It is manufactured at a mill accredited with the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. The pulp used in this product is bleached using an elemental chlorine-free process. This material is recyclable.

CorrespondentsAmericas

Argentina, Mariana Ojeda

Canada, Cathy Spark

Belize, Ian Rowdon

Chile, Georg Welzel

Saint Lucia, Mandish Singh

US, Andrea Grinbaum

Asia

Beijing, Cathy Hu

Chongqing, Guo Ping Yang

Hong Kong, Irene Or

India, Rajni Dhiman

Malaysia, Robert Davies

Philippines,

Ricardo P Dela Cruz

Seoul, Andrea Choi

Shanghai, Victor Cheung

Shenzhen, Victor Cheung

Australasia

Brisbane, Russ Evans

Melbourne, Margaret Westman

Sydney, Helen Orchard

Europe and Central Asia

Ireland, Dijana Garwood

Latvia, Liva Svarce

Peterborough, Laura Crawford

Romania, Gabriela Mehedintu,

Andreea Pana and Eliza Pintilie

Middle East

Gulf offices, Vanessa James

Pakistan, Ali Khan

UK

Bedford, Walter Makoni

Birmingham, Peter Robery

Bristol, Judith Turner

Cardiff, George Ballard

Chichester, Rachel Fowler

Crawley, Stella Barber

and Warren Crawley

Derby, Peter Robery

Edinburgh, Becki Fleming

Exeter, Rachel Smith

and Sarah Dawe

Glasgow, Julie McSorley

Gloucester, Andrew Prout

Inverness, Kat Dearing

Kent, Vijay Jain

Leeds, Phil Thrower

London (Vineyard House),

Christopher Warmoll

London (Shortlands),

Liz Wilson

Peterborough, Laura Crawford

Reading, Beverley Tocock

Swindon, Sarah Nichols

Waltham Cross,

Dawn McGilchrist

Worcester, Anita Inight

York, Graeme Pollard

Giving generously – 43

The triumph of hope over adversityA green future for New York’s most vulnerable – 43

New kids on the block Private sanitation facilities protect pupils in Kenya – 45

People – 48

People parade – 48

Alumni – 50

Achieving ambitions – 50

Sporting success – 51

Announcements – 52

Out of officeA rock legend is revived – 54

Project profiles – 04

Water is goldDesalination plant safeguards Australia’s future – 07

Danger UXBUnexploded bombs halt work on beach nourishment scheme – 10

Major projects office aids massive Argentinean scheme Four million people to benefit – 18

Awards – 22

Business beat – 25

State of the nationAn interview with Peter Gammie – 25

Profiles – 28

Sustainable solutions – 30

Diverting drought Conserving Pakistan’s precious water resources – 32 – ??

Waste not, want not Recovering valuable resources from wastewater – 34

The heart of IT Reducing Halcrow’s corporate carbon footprint – 38 – ??

Spring into action Kick-starting sustainable travel – 40

Featuring Halcrow’s support for sustainable communities around the world:

Halcrow Foundation – 43 to 46

Project profiles

– 04 to 21

Sustainable solutions – 30 to 42

Project profilesCelebrating excellenceProject profilesCelebrating excellence

Vox | issue three4

India’s hunger for gadgets and growth is sucking the country’s electricity reserves dry, outstripping its ability to supply the national grid. Hopes are riding on a massive hydropower drive, and Halcrow’s expertise is flowing through the programme.

Some 40 per cent of India’s population – around 600 million people – are not connected to the national grid, rising to 80 per cent among rural communities. For those with access to electricity, rolling blackouts and power failures cripple whole regions, with palpable knock-on costs for both industry and households.

‘Power for all’ by 2012 is the government’s rallying catch-cry, and 50,000MW of hydropower capacity is proposed over the next five years. Northern Kashmir will support a network of hydropower systems, including the 330MW Kishanganga project. Drawing on its international skill base, Halcrow will undertake mathematical modelling, as well as tunnelling, underground space and power station designs. The team will work in partnership with India’s Hindustan Construction Company.

To preserve the region’s pristine environment and habitats, most of the works have been concealed underground. Stretching 24km

Thirst for powerbeneath the river, the headrace tunnel will be constructed from each end, requiring specialist tunnel boring machines. Halcrow’s expertise in this field was fundamental to securing the contract.

Integrating input from teams in India, Australia, the UK, Romania and Latin America, the Kishanganga scheme represents a truly global effort. Halcrow’s site liaison team will co-ordinate support for the contractor, and hydropower experts – both on a local and international level – will closely monitor construction. Halcrow’s chief hydropower engineer, Paul Williams, will lead the team.

Some 40 per cent of India’s population – around 600 million

people – are not connected to the national grid, rising to 80 per cent

among rural communities

As private funds continue to be pumped into US state infrastructure, Halcrow’s blossoming relationship with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has yielded notable successes.

Since 2004, Halcrow’s transportation business group has been gearing up for a long-term, strategic relationship with the state department. With a ten-year pedigree advising the UK’s Highways Agency on private finance agreements already under its belt, the team was itching for a new stateside challenge.

Stretching 1,050km from the state’s north east corner to the Mexican border, an ambitious transport link is extending a new interstate national highway. Partnering with US stalwart Jacobs, as well as Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Halcrow gained a ten-year procurement engineering contract.

Halcrow is also helping TxDOT navigate a path through the procurement process for several other projects, including a £2 billion state highway scheme and a proposed highway upgrade set to snake out of bustling Dallas.

Leading the delivery teams, Jonathan Startin said: “The key to working here successfully has been to tailor our experience from the UK and elsewhere, and to use what works. Our wins in Texas put us at the heart of the trend towards public private partnerships in the US market.”

Joining up the dots in the lone star state

Laying the foundations for a profitable partnership, Halcrow was selected to guide TxDOT and other state officials on a scanning tour of Europe in 2003, enabling them to assess the scope for partnering with industry.

The next year represented Halcrow’s emergence as a major player in the transportation sector, with twin wins on TxDOT’s strategic transportation corridors.

Underground works preserve the area’s natural beauty

Healthy frameworkSix years of collaborative working in Oxfordshire is set to become ten after Halcrow’s property group secured a four-year framework agreement with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

The framework, won in open tender, represents a continuation of the existing contract to provide designs for engineering services. Joining forces with Oxford-based architect Gray Baynes and Shew, the project team will focus on three of the trust’s Oxfordshire sites.

With the receptive client on board, the team is working to build an enduring partnership – one in which both parties share the spoils and limitations.

Project director Derek Monckton will lead the Swindon-based healthcare team. He comments: “Healthcare work is demanding and varied – you meet a diverse range of people, each with their own agenda, but all with a common purpose of delivering healthcare that has the patient as the ultimate client.”

As the bulk of the commissions focus on refurbishment, slashing energy

consumption while maintaining the hospitals’ ability to respond to

emergencies, is a crucial challenge for the team.

National ExpressA tangible result of India’s burgeoning economy, the country’s advancing railway network is poised to etch track lines across the landscape.

Halcrow is in the frame to steer India’s rail revolution, having won two weighty contracts – worth £4 million and £300,000 respectively – the company’s largest in the Indian railway sector to date. Designed to bypass the congested ‘golden quadrilateral’ grid linking four of India’s bustling metropolises, the dedicated freight corridor will boost the country’s rail network by 2,794km.

Once constructed, larger, heavier axle trains will thunder over the new £4.35 billion freight corridor’s double-track electrified railway lines, amplifying capacity and connectivity.

The first contract sees Halcrow provide general consultancy and project management services to Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), the special purpose vehicle established to deliver the ambitious scheme. Under the second commission, Halcrow will deliver a business plan to DFCCIL, facilitating the corridor’s smooth running.

Silhouetted against the dappled Alabama sun, the cranes hovering around Choctaw Point container terminal resemble overgrown birds on spindly legs.

Recently completed, the Gulf Coast’s newest container facility is a joint venture between shipping giants APM Terminals North America and CMA CGM.

As the lead consultant, Halcrow designed each component of the site – from the terminal building through to storm drainage and electrical work. Ensuring a degree of future proofing, potential extensions to the 36ha terminal were incorporated into the plans. Saving almost £1.4 million, the yard pavement was constructed from roller-compacted concrete rather than the pricier asphalt option.

Straddling both green and brown field sites added a degree of complexity, presenting additional environmental constraints during the planning stages.

With established road, rail and waterway connections whisking freight from the new port across the state, Choctaw Point will improve access to US markets.

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Underground works preserve the area’s natural beauty

The National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome recently received full planning permission from Glasgow’s city planners, marking a new stage in this landmark project’s development.

Based on designs by Sports Concepts, Halcrow Yolles is providing structural and civil engineering services for the venues, which are being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

The 5,000 seat multipurpose sports arena will boast a 200m hydraulic track, while the velodrome and its 250m banked timber track will hold up to 2,500 spectators. This will rise to 4,000 seats

for the Commonwealth Games thanks to temporary seating banks. Both structures will be constructed without a single column, using three-dimensional tied arches spanning up to 92m.

Separating the facilities will be a central four-storey hub building, housing the main spectator concourses, sport federation offices, a state-of-the-art gym, spa, athlete training and hospitality facilities with views into the event spaces. The complex will also include three community sports halls, a 100m warm-up track, four all-weather outdoor five-a-side football pitches and a 1km closed road cycle track.

Commonwealth Games venue on track

Vox | issue three6

Double top for Romania

Keeping pace with the most populous nation’s insatiable demand for energy, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) proposed oil and gas industrial zone is easing down the planning pipeline towards fruition. As part of a major, multi-disciplinary contract, Halcrow will develop an industrial strategy and concept master plan for the 100km² site in Fujian province.

Led by Halcrow as part of its ongoing joint venture with Shanghai Investment Consulting Corporation (SICC), the project will secure fees in the region of £700,000.

Since its inception six years ago, this partnership has successfully managed more than 100 projects.

Chinese industrial zone takes shapeHalcrow’s consulting business group will provide international expertise in development planning, transport planning, economics and the environment, with SICC supplying local knowledge in these areas. The maritime team in China is poised to deliver the project’s port development.

Topping a strong field to win this contract, Halcrow saw off fierce competition from Atkins, Arup, Parsons and HOK. The company’s expertise in industrial zone master planning, urban design and port planning contributed to this success, particularly its track record in China and project achievements over the last ten years in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Brunei and Nigeria.

Halcrow has consolidated its relationship with Romania’s largest private sector business – oil and gas giant Petrom SA – with a recent double framework win.

Under the first contract, lasting one year, Romania’s water and power team – led by Adrian Uifalean – will provide guidance on Petrom’s corporate renewable and social responsibility programmes. The team will examine the technical feasibility of Petrom’s proposals and help it maximise funding opportunities from various European Union programmes.

Under the second framework, the environment team will provide corporate health, safety, environment and quality support over two years. Headed by environment expert Madalina Popescu, the team will provide rapid response services whenever environmental issues arise across the client’s Romanian operations.

Each contract will have an option to extend for a further year.

Managing director for Romania Jeni Ionita said: “The consistently high technical standards of our service delivery and huge efforts of the team to align with the needs of the client have been key to winning these sought-after frameworks.”

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Project profilesCelebrating excellence

or much of the world, Australia is synonymous with pristine beaches, barbeques and kangaroos. But that was before an unrelenting drought ravaged the country, with

decimated farmland and cracked river beds transforming its once productive food bowl into a desert landscape.

Pressure for water in the east coast’s urban centres is acute, and stringent restrictions on use have become a way of life for residents in these areas. Although recent floods replenished reservoirs and rivers, climate change is expected to squeeze Australia hard. Queensland has earmarked £3.4 billion to alleviate the effects of drought and protect against future dry spells.

A huge water desalination plant set for the iconic Gold Coast – the first on the eastern seaboard – is part of a multi-million dollar initiative between the state government and the Gold Coast City Council.

The project comprises a reverse osmosis desalination plant, 1.5km marine intake and outlet tunnels, and a pipeline to connect the plant

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A self-elevating platform barge – moored off Tugun beach – was used during construction of the desalination plant‘s marine seabed risers.

As the only way to reach the barge was by helicopter, Halcrow’s team had to take part in emergency underwater escape training. Blindfolded and strapped in, the participants had to scramble clear of the mock-up chopper, flipped over in the sea to simulate a crash-landing. This perilous sub-aqueous challenge was repeated until everyone could escape with speed and skill.

to the south east Queensland water grid. Commissioned by the Gold Coast Desalination Alliance, Halcrow produced detailed designs for the shafts, tunnels and marine seabed risers – used to collect seawater and disperse brine.

James Garnier, Halcrow’s project manager, explains why the team settled on a tunnelling solution: “The plant’s location – in a residential area boasting pristine surfing beaches – meant it was essential that the intake tunnels and outfall shafts were constructed with minimal impact to the environment and the community. Other options, involving ‘open trenching’ or excavation from ground level, would have had a significant impact on the surrounding areas and were more likely to damage the unspoilt Tugun beach during construction.”

Two 150-tonne, laser-guided tunnel boring machines – bespoke designs from Germany – excavated around 52,000m³ of rock, to be used as engineering fill around Gold Coast airport. The Halcrow-designed tunnel lining featured steel fibre reinforced concrete segments – a material not widely used in Australia – enabling project durability requirements to be met while optimising the lining thickness.

Halcrow provided invaluable guidance during the manufacturing process, the benefits of which were not lost on the alliance of John Holland Group, Veolia Water Australia, Sinclair Knight Merz and Cardno. James provides one such example: “Both the tunnel and shaft sizes were originally fixed, but by revising the geotechnical data and reference design, our design team identified further savings by changing shaft levels and tunnel alignment.”

Halcrow’s design and installation method for the marine riser recently captured industry attention, earning ‘highly commended’ status at the Engineering Excellence Awards, held by Engineers Australia.

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One of the desalination plant’s tunnels

Vox | issue one8

A Halcrow Yolles team has delivered top-flight structural engineering solutions to Canada’s prestigious Art Gallery of Ontario, following Frank Gehry’s £150 million make-over of the museum.

Cantilever and spiral staircases, tilted skylights and ten extra floors were just some of the features the team brought to life at the venue, which hosts Ontario’s largest art collection.

Famous for Bilbao’s futuristic Guggenheim museum, Gehry’s challenge was to help create powerful

connections between art and people in groundbreaking ways. This involved unifying

the gallery’s disparate facilities, which have evolved over six decades through a

patchwork of visions and architects.

Structural engineers faced the challenge of realising the often

gravity-defying elements of Gehry’s design while preserving

the building’s historical assets. Close attention was paid to environmental factors

– key to the museum’s durability – when integrating new and old.

One of the museum’s most remarkable

Vox | issue three8

Art attackProject profilesCelebrating excellence

features is a 180m-long glass and Douglas fir glulam façade, rising 20m above Dundas Street. The engineering team successfully created a support for the massive structure which could accommodate the subtle shifts of its glass and wood components as they expand and contract with temperature changes.

The gallery’s striking and irregularly curved staircases provided further challenges. For example, the complex geometry of the feature stairs – spiralling 27m from the second to fifth floors – was overcome by creating a standardised system of steel members to simplify construction, reducing costs and time.

In addition, engineers created a customised tuned mass damper suspension system to stabilise the barnacle staircase – aptly named as it clings to the exterior of the building, cantilevering 10m from the south tower directly above the gallery’s historic Grange House building.

Increasing the space for the museum’s permanent collection by 47 per cent, the Art Gallery of Ontario’s new edifice provides a superbly designed showcase for 68,000 irreplaceable works of art.

Dundas façade (images courtesy of Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto)

Trailing a stream of bubbles, Halcrow’s divers descend towards the ocean floor. Gliding through the water, black-clad figures circle the pier foundations, resurfacing several hours later armed with comprehensive data.

Naming the US Navy, ConocoPhillips and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey amongst its clients, Halcrow’s engineering divers group gathers inaccessible information – unreachable by conventional means.

This data helps paint a comprehensive picture of infrastructure decline, enabling asset owners to make critical maintenance decisions with confidence.

Lugging up to half a tonne of equipment to various sites, Halcrow’s divers adapt to different water conditions and settings – from bridges to piers and dams to water towers.

A typical team comprises a team leader, dive supervisor and an engineer-diver,

each responsible for accurately documenting the structures being inspected, collecting data for structural analysis and repair recommendations, and ultimately ensuring work is performed safely.

Halcrow’s market sector director, Kirk Riden, explains the importance of gathering comprehensive information: “We understand that we’re sometimes the only people to have assessed our clients’ structures in decades, so our objective is to get more high-quality data than our engineers will need.”

Broadening the portfolio of services offered – including innovative asset management tools – the team is now setting its sights on increased involvement at the early planning and decision-making stages of the infrastructure lifecycle.

Into the blue

The team has carried out site evaluations for La Romana, Dominican Republic, along with above and underwater condition surveys for: • Shell,MarsaelBrega,Libya• NorthAtlanticRefining,

Newfoundland, Canada• EGEPorts,Turkey• HPH,Freeport,Bahamas• USNavy,Bahamas

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When an ancient 50m brick flood wall toppled into Henmore Brook in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Halcrow was the UK’s Environment Agency’s first port of call.

With local homes swamped by floodwater, the Environment Agency injected capital from its emergency funds to rebuild the wall. As the current framework consultant with an awareness of localised flooding risks, Halcrow was ideally placed to brave the waters.

Difficult access conditions and the collapsed wall’s proximity to the river prompted the decision to leave the existing base and foundations intact, with the new wall to be built against the back of the crumbling structure. Retaining and reusing these sections reduced the likelihood of ground movement during construction. Without the need for temporary works, the pollution risk from construction materials was also reduced.

Brick-clad to blend in with the historic sections, the new wall features a reinforced concrete toe, base and wall core. To balance its mass

and resist lateral loads, the wall toe is situated at the landward edge of the base. With the wall shooting up in just nine working weeks, the accelerated programme meant that a locally-based contractor was able to carry out construction works in tandem with an existing refurbishment contract with Severn Trent Water.

The Birmingham-based team of Phil Marsh, Phil Whelan and Will Workman developed the design and detailing of the new wall to ensure planning permission was gained on a fast-track programme. This enabled collaborative working with Severn Trent, saving the Environment Agency significant mobilisation costs and minimising disruption to neighbours.

Another brick in the wall

Sorting IT outPaperwork. The word alone is enough to send shivers down the spine of even the hardiest project manager.

Halcrow’s Glasgow-based highways team has been working closely with Transport Scotland, developing a database system to plough through the paper mountain of approvals for departures from engineering standards. Previous work for the Highways Agency paved the way, and fits neatly within Halcrow’s wider brief as Transport Scotland’s standards advisor and auditor.

The opportunity to develop systems that streamline processes will benefit all engineering teams, allowing them to knuckle down and focus on the task at hand – like how to lift in a bridge span, or alleviate congestion at a road junction.

City Park’s highways team is helping Transport Scotland slash the time taken to process requests for departures from engineering standards, with dramatic results.

Several ‘lucky’ souls spent a year digitally cataloguing all historic departure application and determination records – a painstaking task, but essential to ensure that all data is available when the system goes live in 2009.

Web-based protocols – similar to the Highways Agency’s WebDAS system, operational since 2005 – are next on the team’s radar. Juggling several IT balls, the City Park team is

now working on a contract database and employee out-of-office notification system. It is also overhauling an internal programme monitoring tool for all trunk road schemes across Scotland.

Halcrow has secured a £1.45 million consultancy agreement with the Hong Kong government’s geotechnical engineering office (GEO), reinforcing the company’s reputation at the forefront of landslide prevention.

Strategically important for Halcrow, the agreement is the first win within the GEO’s relaunched landslip prevention and mitigation programme, which has been extended to cover natural terrain, in addition to man-made slopes.

The shift in the GEO’s focus towards natural terrain is partly in response to a severe rainstorm in June 2008, which caused over 1,000 natural terrain failures in the slip-prone region over a single weekend. The main highway leading to Chek Lap Kok International Airport was closed for over ten hours.

The agreement includes ten study areas comprising 19 natural hillside catchments. Halcrow’s team will identify relevant natural terrain hazards and design appropriate mitigation works. Integrated studies for a number of nearby man-made slopes will also be undertaken to reduce the overall risk in these areas.

The win demonstrates the client’s emphasis on top quality work, as Halcrow’s submission offered both the best technical solutions and the highest fees.

Hong Kong managing director Gerry Daughton said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this agreement, which confirms Halcrow’s status as one of the foremost geotechnical consultancies in Hong Kong. It represents a significant breakthrough for the Hong Kong office, as the GEO will increasingly focus on the mitigation of natural terrain hazards, standing us in good stead to win further work in this area.”

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And the walls came tumbling down

Vox | issue three10

wo unexploded bombs halted Halcrow’s ongoing beach nourishment project on the UK’s Lincolnshire coast in late April. The highly unstable ordnance was discovered in the

base of the dredger, Cornelia, by its shocked crew while waiting for the high tide.

One unexploded bomb was trapped in the dredger’s draghead while the other was smoking menacingly on the Cornelia deck. The ship’s captain immediately contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which in turn alerted the Royal Navy’s bomb disposal unit which powered from its Portsmouth base on the south coast in just four hours, under flashing blue emergency lights.

Anchored some 8km off-shore, the Cornelia was ordered to stay put to avoid endangering the public, while coastguards also created a 200m cordon around the ship to keep passing vessels at bay.

A shoreline survey boat was rapidly launched to transfer the bomb disposal team onto the Cornelia and by the time the Royal Navy arrived, so had a BBC film crew. The television news hounds set up their mobile studio on Huttoft beach broadcasting live interviews with the MCA and Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

Escorted by two lifeboats, the bomb disposal team headed back to shore with its deadly payload. A controlled explosion of the phosphorus

Unexploded bombs halt work on beach nourishment scheme

bomb was then executed on the beach. The second – a depth charge detonator – was destroyed on the nearby NATO bombing range at RAF Donna Nook.

Work on this year’s £6 million project was resumed the next day. This scheme is the last project of a five-year Environment Agency beach nourishment contract.

The scheme will see over 2.35 million m3 of sand – dredged 40km from the shore – redeployed on beaches between Mablethorpe and Skegness. This stretch of the Lincolnshire coast is one of the most vulnerable in Britain and its maintenance is a significant, ongoing cost.

Rebuilding the severely depleted beaches started in August 1994 and from 1998, renourishment campaigns have been based on an annual beach survey. Additional sand is strategically placed along the coast every eight to 12 weeks, kicking off each April.

Halcrow is the designer, project and contract manager for the scheme, and also provides the site-based contract supervisors for the 24-hour operation, dictated by the tides.

Halcrow’s Peterborough-based site supervisor, Matthew Cox, said: “The excitement was all over in just six hours – and we quickly got back to work.”


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Work is now progressing on one of the largest wastewater treatment plants Halcrow has ever designed – to serve 4 million residents in the southern area of the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires.

As part of the winning construction consortium of Argentinean and Brazilian companies, Halcrow and the Esuco-Camargo construction team are working on the design and build of phase one of the new Berazetegui wastewater treatment plant – which will have a huge treatment capacity of 22m2 per second.

The project is part of an environmental master plan the Argentinean government is pursuing through its main water utility company AySA. It aims to improve the water quality of the Rio de la Plata – which fronts the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires – while providing capacity for the future expansion of the sewerage network.

Phase one of the plan, the preliminary treatment, will require an initial investment of about £95 million, with a further £250 million in phase two for the full treatment.

Halcrow is responsible for developing the detailed hydraulic, civil, mechanical, electrical, architectural and structural design of all the works, as well as providing on-site technical support during construction. Led by Gustavo Gonnelli and Omar Garzonio, the multi-disciplinary team consists of employees from Halcrow’s Buenos Aires and Santiago offices and local specialist sub-consultants. Phase one alone will involve over 20 employees working full-time over three years.

The win is a significant step forward for Halcrow’s local operation. Together with the recent award of Argentina’s Tigre northern water treatment plant, the company is fast becoming the leading designer of urban water projects in the region.

Water works in Buenos Aires

The main gateway to the vibrant bustle of New Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport is India’s busiest airport in terms of daily flights, handling 23 million passengers annually.

Halcrow has secured a contract to rehabilitate runway 10/28, an integral part of the airport’s ongoing expansion and improvements programme since transferring to public private partnership (PPP) ownership in 2006.

The proposed enlargement programme will boost capacity to 100 million passengers by 2030. Currently under construction and expected to cost £1.2 billion, the new Terminal Three building will see an additional 37 million passengers a year stream through its corridors and departure lounges before the start of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Halcrow will assess the existing runway pavements and design strengthening requirements, as well as taxiway intersections and associated works. Cementing Halcrow’s reputation as a major player in the region’s booming aviation industry, the commission is expected to bring together in-house expertise from Delhi, the UK and Dubai.

Passage to India

New gateway to Damascus

With a deferential nod to the ancient walled city’s seven access points, the Eighth Gate

development is taking shape just 20km from the heart of Damascus.

Halcrow designed and supervised all infrastructure works on the 300,000 m² site

for client Emaar (in partnership with IGO), with the Emirati development giant making its first

foray into Syria. Called on to prepare the serviced plots for onward sale, Halcrow’s contracted

scope included external roads, four six-storey building blocks, a sewage treatment plant, power substation and tendering reports. Gouged earth

will soon give rise to apartments, offices and retail malls, with the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city hovering in the hazy distance.

Detailed designs for the satellite city’s roads, footpaths, potable and storm water systems, electricity and telephone networks, and road lighting rounded out the contract, which netted around £1.37 million in fees for Halcrow. The team also carried out a traffic impact study and engineered the external highway network connections.

The first clumps of earth were ceremoniously turned in early June 2007, marking the start of construction on the £300 million project.

Artist’s impressions of the Eighth Gate development

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Vox | issue three12


Pole positionHigh-speed rail comes to Poland

A Halcrow-led consortium has won the first detailed high-speed railway feasibility study in Poland, worth more than £10 million over 36 months.

The consortium, which includes engineering consultancies Scott Wilson and Egis, will provide a feasibility and conceptual study for almost 500km of track and more than 40 train stations. The study will look at modernising the southern section of the E65 railway line connecting Warsaw and Kracow, and Warsaw to the state borders with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, via Katowice.

The E65 railway line is part of the pan European transport corridor IV, which connects the Baltic Sea with the Adriatic and the Balkans. In Poland, this is the primary north-to-south railway connection, linking a number of major cities. Modernisation and extension of the E65-south should allow the main trunk-line to reach the standard required for a high-speed line.

The project will give Polish railways a competitive edge compared to other means of transport within the region. It is also backed by the weight of European Union (EU) policy, which supports rail development as a safe and environmentally friendly transport system.

Jarek Karpiejuk, regional director for Poland and bid leader, described the project as “an exciting opportunity and experience for our local team”.

India’s grand road extended Originally known as the ‘grand trunk road’, National Highway 1 is one of India’s arterial transport corridors, carrying goods and people between the capital, New Delhi, and neighbouring Pakistan. Currently operating as a four lane toll road, the 291km Jalandhar-Panipat section will be widened to six lanes.

Halcrow will provide lender’s independent engineering services to the State Bank of India – the project’s primary lender – during the three-year construction, operation and maintenance phase. The team will be led by project director Rakesh Kumar Sharma and team leader Pradumna Kumar Jain.

Yielding £410,000 in fees, the project is both the largest of its kind awarded to Halcrow in India and the company’s most significant highways win in the country for five years.

Delivered through a build-operate-transfer agreement, the 30-month construction programme is due to wrap up by the end of 2011, with capital costs coming in at £500 million.

Halcrow’s archaeology and cultural heritage team has been brought on board by Newport City Council, as the Welsh authority embarks on a year-long project to restore the 18th century Monmouth and Brecon canals.

Granted scheduled monument consent by Cadw/Welsh Historic Monuments – the Welsh Assembly Government’s historic environment division – the council is on course to rejuvenate two pairs of locks on the Crumlin Arm of the Monmouthshire Canal.

Consent hinged on the appointment of a consultant with overall responsibility for the archaeological work associated with the restoration – enter Halcrow.

Led by Simon Griffin, the Worcester-based project team counts among its numbers James Goad and Joanne Vallender, each armed with considerable experience in the canals sector. The team has worked extensively with British Waterways over the past four years on the Cotswold and Droitwich canal schemes, advising the UK’s pre-eminent canal authority on archaeological and heritage issues.

Canal we do it

Of the ten new EU member states, Poland is the largest funding recipient, receiving one third of the budget for the period 2007 to 2013 – £57 billion – for infrastructure development. Of this, around £21 billion will be allocated for transport infrastructure and £15.2 billion for environmental infrastructure.

Further huge investment in roads, railways, airport, stadia, hotels and other infrastructure is expected in the run up to Poland co-hosting the European Football Championships in 2012 with Ukraine.

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Braila bonanzaHalcrow’s Romanian team has bagged a £1.2 million supervision contract for two major projects in Braila, a port city on the River Danube.

Part of a European Union-funded infrastructure project that began in 2002, the contract involves the construction of a £44 million wastewater treatment plant, serving 270,000 residents. The next strand is a £20 million, 38km-long extension of sewerage and road works within three city districts.

Led by project director Paul Mulvany and team leader Costel Cozma, the contract will run for 25 months.

A military operationConstructed above a disused mine, the new headquarters of the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) at Corsham will house 2,100 employees and provide accommodation for 180 military personnel, as well as a range of support buildings.

Deep beneath the new foundations lies an 80ha underground site, which served as one of three colossal World War II munition caches before being abandoned in 1965. Served by a network of railways, including a branch of the main London to Bristol line, the maze of chambers, tunnels and bunkers stored up to 350,000 tons of ordnance.

Yet at ground level, few signs exist of the infrastructure buried 40m below.

The Halcrow-designed, £130 million development was delivered through a private finance initiative (PFI) with contractor Laing O’Rourke.

Halcrow’s property business group provided engineering designs for the new build facilities and refurbishment of the existing Basil Hill base. The contract included civil and structural engineering, building services, building environmental assessments and transport planning, along with water, geospatial and environmental services.

Drawing on skills from across the company, team members from Bristol, Worcester, Manchester, London, Exeter and Swindon worked closely with Laing O’Rourke to shave precious months from the construction programme. Challenging traditional building processes to cut time and costs, Halcrow initiated an off-site manufactured system of structural components.

Demonstrating its environmental credentials, the project has been awarded an ‘excellent’ rating through the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method (BREEAM).

Classified information

Deep beneath the Wiltshire countryside time has stood still.

Built during the height of Cold War paranoia, a massive underground city complex – code named Burlington – was designed to shield the UK’s leaders and elite from the ravages of a nuclear attack. Deep below the existing Corsham base, the site was so top secret that many of the government officials allocated a desk at Burlington had no knowledge of it.

Blast-proof and completely self-sufficient the 1.5km² bunker could accommodate up to 4,000 people, in complete isolation from the outside world, for up to three months.

The project site team


success

Vox | issue three14

route

Set to hurtle 23km from the city centre to Indira Gandhi International Airport at blistering speeds, the Delhi Airport Metro Express Link will be up and running in time for India to play host to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Halcrow has been appointed as the independent safety assessor for the new high-speed corridor, reinforcing its growing presence in the Indian rail market. Commissioned by Delhi Airport Metro Express Private – a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure, one of Halcrow’s key clients in India – the contract represents another important building block in the company’s regional rail strategy.

Comprising six stations along with passenger check-in facilities, the new line includes underground and elevated track.

Over the next year, Halcrow’s rail specialists will be closely examining the system’s safety features, providing verification prior to its first passengers climbing aboard in 2010.

Halcrow’s audit team will be led by Alan Trelfa and Chris Strong. The rail team was heavily involved in the negotiations, with invaluable input from Vidhi Mohan, Chris Strong and Ken Foster.

A year’s work came to fruition for London’s highways team when planning permission was granted for the removal of the A13 Canning Town roundabout – the first step in a major regeneration scheme.

Led by Richard Adam assisted by Adil Riaz, the team managed the planning proposal for the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and London Borough of Newham, with help from other teams across the south east. This followed its support of the client’s successful bid for funding, which won around £18 million from the UK government’s community infrastructure fund.

The roundabout’s removal is the first step in a masterplan of improvements earmarked for the Canning Town and Custom House area. This envisages a new heart for Canning Town centre, including redevelopment of Rathbone Market and a new main square.

When it became clear that the planned growth in retail and residential buildings would be constrained by the existing A13 roundabout and slip roads, Halcrow was appointed to develop a scheme to replace them with a traffic-signalised junction.

The team held discussions with all stakeholders, including Transport for London, RMS (the design, build, finance and operate company responsible for the A13), the neighbouring London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the Olympic Delivery Authority, developers of adjacent masterplan areas, utility companies and local community groups.

Responding flexibly to client needs despite tight deadlines, Halcrow submitted full planning application documents to the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation. This included a detailed transport assessment and an environmental statement.

Project director Peter Elliott said: “The excellent team work and spirit shown by everyone who worked on the project has played an important part in helping the client realise its vision.”

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Delhi, we have lift offDrink upFollowing the success of the drinking water safety plans (DWSP) Halcrow delivered for 18 separate public water supply systems in Scotland during 2008-2009, Scottish Water has awarded Halcrow a further tranche.

The company will now deliver 27 plans for 2009-2010, with a possible extension to 2012. The team – from Inverness, Glasgow, Crawley and Snodland – will assess the potential for water contamination and interruption to supply from source to tap. It will identify the most effective control points and establish management systems to mitigate risks and verify the effectiveness of controls.

Promoted by the World Health Organisation since 2004, the safety plans ensure that a water supply is reliable and consistently safe for people to drink.

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Trading upThe Halcrow-designed Tradeston Bridge

in Glasgow was formally opened to enthusiastic pedestrians and cyclists on

14 May by the leader of the city’s council.

Spanning just over 106m and dubbed the ‘squiggly bridge’ by locals due to its lazy ‘S’

shape, the bridge was designed as part of a £33 million regeneration

project in Tradeston.

Design elements involved raising and strengthening the 100-year-old quay

walls and creating open space and walkways for the public. The bridge design and build was completed by a team of contractor BAM Nuttall, Halcrow – led by Iain Salisbury and Peter Lyttle – and architect Dissing and Weitling.

Built with funding secured on the basis of the future investment it will encourage on both sides of the river, the bridge links Tradeston with the international financial services district and the city centre. It will provide an improved cycle and pedestrian route, while shining a light on the development potential of the quayside area.

The regeneration project was funded by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the European Regional Development Fund.

Lucky six Six pupils from Glasgow primary school St Teresa’s were the first to walk over the Tradeston Bridge, after winning a Halcrow competition to design their own crossing.

Halcrow’s Colin Walker, a principal engineer specialising in bridges, visited a number of local primary schools to give a talk on bridge engineering, challenging the children to design their own structure. Teams of the top six designers per school then competed to build and test their own balsa wood footbridges.

Colin said: “The standard of all the designs and ultimately the finished bridge structures were all fantastic, but the team from St Teresa’s just edged it.” The team of boys and girls enjoyed a special day at the site office on the River Clyde, with a guided tour of the new footbridge.

As part of an integrated team, Halcrow has won a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency (Metro) contract to advise on a selection of projects – which could include some of the first privately financed rail transit lines in the US.

The team, led by sustainable infrastructure firm, InfraConsult, will assess the 50-plus highway and transit projects that form Metro’s long-range plan. It will help determine which can be accelerated or delivered more cost-effectively by using various forms of public-private partnership (PPP).

Halcrow will be involved from initial project screening to detailed assessment of technical risks, which could range from constructability to system integration, cost and schedule. The company brings particular critical strength in passenger number forecasting and economic analysis of projects. “Halcrow is a key member of our team for this important programme,” said Michael Schneider, managing partner of InfraConsult and overall project director. “We look forward to working closely with its international employees and highly knowledgeable consultants from a variety of fields.”

The three-year contract will conclude with initial procurement work and the development of technical specifications, contract terms and work scope for those projects selected to proceed.

“We have great respect for the pioneering nature of this work: for Metro, for California and the US public transit sector,” said Marcus Rooney, Halcrow’s project manager. “We are excited about sharing Halcrow’s considerable PPP experience.”

Public-private partnerships to help fund city’s metro

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LA’s Union Station metro: mural (top) and entrance (above)

Vox | issue three16


Every day the airport at Craiova – the principal city of the Dolj County region in south west Romania – hums with activity as travellers rush to meet daily flights to 19 European destinations. And it’s feeling the strain.

In 2008, Craiova Airport – strategically located on European road and rail corridors – handled around 47,000 passengers. Weaknesses in the capacity and quality of the airport’s facilities and infrastructure became increasingly pronounced.

Halcrow has been commissioned to provide master planning services and feasibility studies into the development of the airport and surrounding area. The project is being led by Halcrow’s Romania operation, with input from the London-based air transport team.

The purpose of the study is to establish long-term airport development strategies which are compatible with the development of the city and the road and rail transport network. It will also define short and medium-term projects as a basis for attracting development partners and funding.

The project is split into two phases. The first covers the airport master planning,

Helping Romanian airport out of a jam

while phase two involves the feasibility studies, including the development objectives of runway rehabilitation, terminal modernisation and local road network solutions.

In Romania, 129 in 1 million deaths are caused by traffic accidents. This figure is significantly higher than the European average of 86 in 1 million. One of the main reasons cited for this is an infrastructure that

cannot cope with increasing traffic.

In September 2008, Romania signed up to the European road safety charter, committing to improve road safety through educational projects, as well as improvements to existing infrastructure.

Loch, stock and 22 safe housesComing home to sewer water flooding your bedroom, the tide steadily rising up the skirting boards, is no doubt fairly high on most people’s lists of unwanted scenarios. Thanks to Halcrow the risk of internal flooding for 22 previously affected properties has subsided, with the team supporting Scottish Water to overhaul the waste water collection and treatment facilities at Campbeltown, Mull of Kintyre.

The existing sewer collection and treatment facility’s inability to cope with excessive storm water was blamed for the flooding. Scottish Water took action and appointed Halcrow to design a scheme to remedy the situation.

In February 2009 the team submitted a licence application to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), outlining short and long-term proposals for the treatment works. As well as safeguarding homes from sewer flooding, the plans ensure all discharges from Scottish Water assets meet stringent licence requirements and water quality standards.

At the project’s heart is a new storm water treatment facility and outfall into Campbeltown Loch, designed to reduce pressure on the sewer network. Improvements to the existing wastewater treatment works will boost capacity by 33 per cent, with around 1km of pipes buried in the bed of the loch.

Despite gritty challenges posed by changing receiving waters, multiple stakeholders and intense public involvement, the team received glowing feedback from Scottish Water.

Led from Glasgow, this high-profile project has ably demonstrated Halcrow’s ability to draw on resources and skills from a number of offices, including Inverness, Manchester and Warrington, with completion on course for 2012.

Pipes, manufactured in Norway, were towed across the North Sea to Scotland

The airport approach

Craiova City

Rising pallidly from the English Channel’s choppy swell, the Cliffs of Dover are an iconic symbol of the UK’s natural environment, and the first glimpse of the country afforded to sea-bound arrivals.

Safeguarding the area’s unique landscape, Halcrow has secured a £500,000, five-year Network Rail contract to monitor landslide activity at the environmentally sensitive Folkestone Warren chalk escarpment, part of which has been designated a site of special scientific interest.

Construction began on the historic Folkestone to Dover rail line in 1837 – the same year Queen Victoria began her 63-year reign – with trains welcoming steam ferries at Dover pier in 1844, despite warnings of cliff instability. Following its opening, numerous landslides caused varying degrees of damage and disruption to the line. The late Sir Alan

Muir Wood worked on the same stretch of railway for

Halcrow in the 1950s.

Chalkingup rail contracts

MonitoringlandslideactivityontheBritishcoast

Halcrow will provide a safe, secure and reliable monitoring system which indicates clear ‘early warning’ of potential movement areas. Traditional monitoring techniques will be enhanced by terrestrial laser scanning, providing data on the chalk escarpment in areas previously not surveyed.

The team will undertake geotechnical data interpretation, which, together with the geospatial readings, will be presented through a web platform accessible by a range of stakeholders.

Reading-based spatial sciences director Paul Grant led the successful bid, with core team members Ian Anderson, Colin Warren and Mike Herbert, as well as members of the environment team.

Network Rail said Halcrow beat off four other consultants because ‘Its tender represented good value for money and was also strong technically. A willingness to put forward an innovative and flexible approach using the latest terrestrial laser scanning techniques, and to tailor the solution to meet the special requirements of Folkestone Warren, counted

in Halcrow’s favour. We look forward to working with Halcrow in the

same spirit of co-operation.’

Sandwiched between Epping Forest and the River Lea in Essex, UK, Waltham Abbey is founded on marshy land criss-crossed by a network of streams and brooks.

Clustered around the ancient abbey buildings – King Harold, felled in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is buried in the church – the market town has fallen victim to regular flooding. Most recently, in October 2000, the 24km Cobbins Brook burst its banks leaving the residents of several hundred houses to bail out up to 1.5m of water.

In the wake of this widespread damage and subsequent clean-up effort, the Environment Agency commissioned Halcrow to evaluate the business case for a flood alleviation scheme. The team’s detailed report backed a flood storage area 2km upstream of Waltham Abbey as the most appropriate option.

Designed to naturally flood during heavy rain spells, the £6 million project features a 720m-long, 5.5m-high earth embankment to retain up to 754,000m³ of water. A concrete structure within the embankment will control water flows, while an emergency spillway along its crest will mitigate the effects of a one-in-200 year flood. Materials for the embankment will be sourced locally from a site directly upstream, with the excavations landscaped to create new wildlife and wetland habitats.

To lessen the project’s environmental impact the team installed protective fencing, preventing great crested newts from entering the work areas. The local water vole burrows were relocated and tree clearance works were carried out prior to the bird nesting season, with all trees checked for bat roosts. Felled timber remains on the site either as chippings or log sections, serving as habitats for local wildlife.

Once complete, the scheme will reduce the threat of flooding to 314 properties from a 20 per cent risk to just 2 per cent each year.

Abbey-solutely reducing flood risk

Piling removed from wall. Inset: Excavation in borrowed pit

he £535 million water supply project in Buenos Aires – won earlier this year – is of such size, complexity and strategic importance to Halcrow that is has enlisted the support of

the recently established major projects office.

One of several big wins in 2009 by the Buenos Aires team – and the largest ever project win in Latin America to date – it highlights Halcrow’s strengthening grip on the Argentine market. Water and power business group managing director Michael Norton explains: “The project is an amazing step change for Halcrow’s business in Buenos Aires, which has built up steadily over the last 20 years. Not only does it reflect the company’s growth ambitions – in a region scheduled to grow strongly – but it plays to Halcrow’s core engineering strengths.”

Working in partnership with global contractor Odebrecht, Halcrow will undertake design and construction of a new water treatment plant, two pumping stations, distribution networks and temporary and permanent river intakes and supply lines, which include 14.5km of tunnel.

Led by Rodolfo Aradas and Marina Biscaldi, the project began in January 2009 and is due for completion in 2011, with design work valued at just under £8 million. A recruitment campaign is already well underway, and in May the company opened a new office in downtown Buenos Aires, housing more than 50 employees.

The scheme is the first to be supported by the major projects programme – Halcrow’s commitment to achieving 30 per cent of its income from major projects by 2018. Its aim is to work with project and bid teams to enhance the company’s capability to pursue, win and deliver large and complex projects, such as this.

Water and power is the first business group to take advantage of the programme’s newly established major projects office, which houses a group of project management specialists to assist with the development of systems, processes and procedures.

Representing the major projects office, project management specialist Steven Marshall and project controls specialist David Watters flew into Buenos Aires earlier in the year. Their aim was to help the team establish appropriate standards and procedures required for work on this scale.

As the team worked to develop project and reporting procedures, Steven and David were on hand to review and advise on existing and future requirements. “The project has complex contractual and commercial arrangements,” explains Steven. “When I arrived, these were being finalised and agreed with the client, along with the project schedule and management procedures. The project team was very welcoming – it was a pleasure to work with such experienced, dedicated and enthusiastic professionals.”

And the project team was quick to extol the virtues of involving the major projects office, as project manager Marina Biscaldi noted: “Steve and David used their experience of working on large scale projects to assist us – not only to ensure all the necessary elements were included, but to adapt them to suit local conditions and legalities as well as the needs of both our partner and the client. They were able to alert us to potential problems and help us identify ways to mitigate them as a team.”

By the end of the visit, support and advice had been provided on a number of project and quality management issues and procedures, and the development and control of the schedule, resources and costs.

As the project moves into the design phase, ongoing communication has been established, says Marina: “We are in touch with Steve and David regularly. If I need something, I know their faces, where they are and how they work. It’s good to know the support is there.”

“The project team was very welcoming – it was a pleasure to work with such experienced, dedicated and

enthusiastic professionals”

Vox | issue three18

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Geospatial goes nuclearAs the UK government-inspired renaissance in British nuclear energy gathers pace, Halcrow’s involvement in the sector has also stepped up a gear as it solidifies its 20-year pedigree in the industry.

Within the last five years, the geospatial team has delivered a range of exacting engineering surveying solutions to many of British Energy’s UK nuclear power sites.

As the UK’s largest electricity generator by volume, British Energy essentially runs the country’s former state-owned nuclear power plants, owning eight nuclear and one coal-fired power station. In January 2009, it was bought by French energy giant EDF.

A small but significant part of the wider Halcrow nuclear offering, the geospatial nuclear project workload has been steadily growing. The team now provides surveys used to calculate the physical movement of British Energy’s reactor vessels – delivering vital safety data for each site.

Other key deliverables include volumetric surveys of the coastal flood defences and beaches close to power stations to ensure sufficient protection is afforded to areas susceptible to coastal erosion.

The survey team provides the right depth of knowledge, experience and state-of-the-art equipment to undertake such a complex task in demanding and ever-changing environments, often in high temperatures. Chris Hall, Halcrow’s Reading-based geospatial project manager, said: “Our results provide an invaluable insight into structural trends or changes since the previous survey.”

Halcrow’s geospatial team regularly undertakes detailed surveys on the Dungeness B nuclear power station on Romney Marsh in Kent, UK. Capable of producing enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes, the surveys help ensure the UK continues to meet increasingly challenging low-carbon electricity targets.

Further information email [email protected]

One of the UK’s busiest motorways, the M25 – which orbits London – has a reputation for congestion and delays. But that is set to change with the recent award of one of the biggest public private partnership (PPP) highways projects in the world.

Working in a joint venture with Hyder Consulting, Halcrow played a central role in the delivery of the landmark £6.2 billion PPP project. This included technical support, development and implementation of the procurement strategy and tender processes, together with associated documentation and negotiations with the three tenderers.

The design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) contract includes a number of improvements to aid traffic flow. A fourth lane will be created between Junctions 16 and 23 and Junctions 27 and 30, and the Hatfield Tunnel on the A1(M) will be refurbished. Additionally, proposals are being developed for the introduction of a hard shoulder running between junctions five to seven and 23 to 27. The contract includes the operation and maintenance of the motorway and Dartford Crossing for a 30-year period.

By embracing the core tenets of Halcrow’s Project Excellence programme and establishing an innovative culture, Halcrow managed to increase its revenue stream on the project from £1 million to £4 million per year.

Project manager Marc Glass noted: “What was particularly impressive was the fact that such a massive DBFO contract has been secured in the face of the current economic downturn – a hugely difficult market in which to raise finance.”

He put its success down to the seamless ‘one team’ approach engendered by all parties, working towards this ambitious goal. This included setting up a joint venture base from a supplier’s Surrey headquarters and working closely with Connect Plus – the company undertaking contruction works, along with maintenance and operations – in its offices around the network.

Project tenders were issued in March 2007, along with the tender process management role. Halcrow’s contracts, procurement and highways teams supported the Highways Agency with phased tender negotiations, the evaluation of all candidate submissions and finalisation of the contract, culminating in its award.

The company’s role in the project continues under the M25 department’s nominee consultancy support agreement, where teams of highways and contract specialists provide ongoing contract management assistance to the agency. This includes monitoring and auditing all construction activities, as well as Connect Plus’s operation and maintenance performance.

The UK government’s transport minister, Andrew Adonis, said: “This marks a major step forward in increasing the capacity of the M25. The widening schemes, combined with the maintenance and operation of the M25 network for the next 30 years, will reduce congestion, and improve journey times, reliability and safety.”

Landmark M25 scheme awarded

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Vox | issue three20


Watched over by the hulking Edinburgh Castle, hard-hatted workers clamour around a deep crevasse carved through the middle of the capital’s bustling shopping district.

Representing one of Scotland’s most ambitious transport infrastructure initiatives, Edinburgh’s £500 million tram network is due to be up and running by 2011 – some 65 years after the last tram trundled through the city’s streets.

Once operational, the network will whisk 20,000 passengers per hour through the city; from Edinburgh Airport to the harbour at Newhaven.

Led by Stefano Smith, Halcrow’s consulting development planning and design team oversaw the planning consents process on behalf of the council’s delivery arm – Transport Initiatives Edinburgh –

and the contractor. With the route snaking through a United Nations-designated world heritage

site and tracks abutting Edinburgh’s classical Georgian architecture, the task of sensitively

integrating the scheme into the existing townscape topped the agenda.

Seeking to reconcile the city’s place-making objectives with the scheme’s

technical and engineering components, the team worked closely with the designers

– and other Halcrow employees – to reintroduce trams to the historic streets. Halcrow also had a hand in designing roads, structures, major utility diversions and streetscape elements across the network.

Tram-endous effort in EdinburghWith planning applications reflecting the project’s broad range of components – bridges, viaducts, embankments and retaining walls, lighting, signs, substations and tram stops – the team established a tracking process to keep tabs on submissions. To date 93 out of the total 100 consents have been granted or are pending, with no refusals.

Given the range of stakeholders involved, ongoing engagement was integral to the project’s success. Regular liaison meetings, design working groups, informal consultation meetings and an approvals task force combined to generate open, constructive dialogue.

Associate Laurie Mentiplay acknowledges the mixed reaction to the tracks snaking up Princess Street: “People find it difficult to think of ‘long term economic regeneration benefits’ when there’s a big hole in front of their shop. We helped deliver a top quality scheme that complements the existing cityscape, easing public concerns.”

Due reward for excellence in planning and design came in the form of recognition at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2008, with Halcrow shortlisted for the top prize. The honour reflects Halcrow’s three-year commitment to steering the project through the planning consents process.

Those who participated in Halcrow’s Project Excellence (PEx) programme have added an incredible £2.7 million to Halcrow’s bottom line profit for 2008 – by working smarter.

This means that for every £1 it invests in the programme, Halcrow gets £8 back through the efforts of those involved.

PEx is a company-wide programme to improve Halcrow’s commercial performance by delivering projects effectively. Through a network of

PExcellent result Project Excellence adds £2.7 million profit for 2008

mentored development groups it helps raise individual performance levels, improving profitability on projects, as well as increasing client and employee satisfaction.

The saving has been calculated using the programme’s financial and commercial key performance indicators. These measure the performance of projects where PEx participants are engaged against those with no involvement. The £2.7 million result is made up of a comparison of commercial factors between PEx and non-PEx projects, interest savings from lower capital employed and training budget savings credited to the programme.

“This is an inspirational result at a time when everyone in the company is focusing on increasing profitability and limiting costs, in line with Peter Gammie’s 3Cs [cost, cash and clients]. A big thank you to all mentors and mentees for your continued commitment to the programme, which has made it such a success,” said group board programme sponsor Neil Holt.

PEx is relevant to anyone who works on projects in Halcrow. If you have the drive to develop your abilities further or are keen to share your knowledge with others, find out more via the PEx site on Halnet.

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MOTEMS operandi Averting catastrophic oil slicks, keeping planes in the air over Los Angeles and preventing terminal closures – with this level of responsibility, Halcrow’s maritime assessment team could be forgiven for an early smattering of grey hairs.

With the bulk of California’s geriatric oil terminals suffering from age-related ailments, the regulatory authority – the California State Lands Commission – has developed a series of minimum standards for new and existing infrastructure.

The Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS) require an initial comprehensive audit, followed by regular check-ups. Called in to undertake over half the inspection contracts to date, Halcrow’s in-house team of marine engineers and registered engineer-divers is uniquely equipped to carry out subsequent improvements, including design and seismic retrofit work.

The challenge for Halcrow is to squeeze the most out of existing terminal assets while

maintaining safety standards. Where in decline, California’s post-war structures may be used in a reduced capacity, with MOTEMS providing a framework for assessing structural integrity. Rotting piles or wavering foundations identified during underwater structural inspections can be isolated and then repaired, allowing other sections of the terminal to remain operational.

Oakland-based structural engineer Gayle Johnson emphasises the balance to be struck by Halcrow engineers: “We can’t look the other way and ignore problems. But we also take great pride in advocating the best solution for our clients – even though this might generate less work for us.”

This attitude has seen Halcrow become both synonymous with terminal audits and the first port of call when something goes wrong. When a vessel ploughed into a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles, forcing an emergency closure, Halcrow’s Jonathan Boynton and Steve Hardy were on site the same afternoon to assess the damage. Following fast-tracked repairs, the terminal reopened within a few days – just in time to unload a shipload of jet fuel supplying all

international flights from Los Angeles Airport. An

additional day’s delay would have forced the airport to either abandon all outbound flights or buy jet fuel on the domestic spot market, with potential losses running to millions of dollars.

With this and other successes under its belt, the team won’t be reaching for the hair dye just yet.

Auditing ailing assets

Halcrow undertakes the complete range

of MOTEMS checks, including:

• abovewaterandunderwaterinspections

• geotechnicalinvestigations

• completeseismicandstructuralanalyses

• mooringandberthinganalyses

• mechanicalandelectricalsystemaudits

• pipelinestressanalysis

• firehazardandriskassessment

• fireplandevelopment N8lookingnorthfromMoorepark

HariKulathumani,BobDiffin,AndrewMoynihanandBrianJohnstone

Firing on all cylinders

Ahead of schedule, within budget and without dispute – the pinnacle of good

project management. The Halcrow Barry joint venture recently celebrated achieving

all three when Ireland’s N8 Fermoy to Mitchelstown road scheme opened to traffic

ten months ahead of schedule.

The £157 million, 16km-long scheme is on the major inter-urban route between Dublin

and Cork. It’s another step towards the Irish government’s goal of completing all major inter-city links in the country by the end of 2010, under

its National Development Plan 2007-2013 and Transport 21 programme.

The team – led by Bob Diffin and Brian Johnstone – project managed the scheme in partnership with the National Roads Authority, Cork County Council and Roadbridge Civil Engineering.

“Together with the adjoining Cashel to Mitchelstown section, opened in July 2008, Halcrow Barry has now project managed almost 55km of this strategic motorway link,” said Brian. “The successful and early delivery of both projects is a credit to the Dublin, Cork and Glasgow project teams.”

At the opening ceremony on 25 May, Ireland’s minister for transport Noel Dempsey declared: “The scheme will be of immense benefit to the people and businesses of Mitchelstown, and will bring significant improvement to the accessibility of the whole region, which will facilitate further development, economic activity and tourism.”

Longbridge Birmingham: Development begins...

Vox | issue three22

AwardsCelebrating achievement

Plaudits for Inside TrackInside Track, Halcrow’s quarterly online operations report, won an award of excellence at this year’s Communicators in Business (CiB) awards.

Packed with updates from regional management teams, Inside Track is the prime place for employees to find out about performance against budget, projects in the pipeline and work already underway.

Praise from the judges and a score of four out of five overall capped the impressive result. The panel commented: “This is about quality, not quantity, and the team behind Inside Track should be congratulated on a site that not only does its job, but does it well and with a considerable amount of style.”

The Institution of Highways and Transportation has presented A-one – Halcrow’s joint venture with Colas – with its 2009 award for innovation.

A-one was selected for its retriever motorcycle recovery unit, which is already making a significant contribution to reducing congestion resulting from incidents on the A1(T) Newcastle and Gateshead western bypass.

The retriever – the first of its type in the UK – is a motorcycle with a fold-up trailer, collapsible to the width of its own handle bars. A truly innovative method of recovery, it can safely pull up to 1,600kg – the weight of two Mini Cooper cars – with its built-in towing trailer.

The awards celebrate the good work taking place within the sector, promoting best practice. The ceremony was held on 18 June at the RAF Museum in London.

Trailer blazer

Inside Track is produced by members of the corporate communications team

Triple whammy at Renaissance AwardsHalcrow celebrated a triple project win at this year’s Waterways Renaissance Awards run by The Waterways Trust and British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA).

The ceremony was held on Liverpool’s waterfront on 31 March 2009.

Historic environment award The Foxton Locks and Inclined Plane site in Leicestershire won the historic environment award and a commendation in the design and construction category. It went on to steal the show when it was presented with the prestigious outstanding achievement award.

During the five-year development of the 8ha site in south Leicestershire – predominantly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund – Halcrow provided specialist support to client British Waterways, developing designs appropriate to its uniquely historic nature.

Roger Hanbury, chief executive of The Waterways Trust, said: “This project is part of an imaginative programme to transform this unique and previously partly derelict site into a visitor attraction of national importance, balancing the challenging demands of heritage, engineering and environment. The result is just stunning, with many clever and innovative solutions, brilliantly executed by a great team.”

Innovation achievement awardHalcrow scooped BURA’s innovation achievement award for its role on the Washlands Flood Storage Area improvement scheme in Dagenham, Essex.

The project utilised innovative techniques, such as deep dry cement mixing, beneath the embankments to improve the geotechnical characteristics of the peat.

Materials gained from off-site works were used to stabilise the embankments, increasing the sustainability of the project, as well as creating habitats to protect key species during the works.

Flood defence awardCompleting the hat trick, Halcrow also walked off with the flood defence award for its work on the Boscastle Valency flood defence scheme in Cornwall, UK.

The scheme, designed by Halcrow for the Environment Agency, aims to reduce the frequency and consequences of flooding from the River Valency to make Boscastle a safer place. The system works with the river’s natural processes and integrates fully with the sustainable regeneration of the village.

Members of the winning project teams

A vital component of Northampton’s transport network – the Halcrow-designed Cross Valley link road (CVLR) scheme – recently picked up a pair of high profile awards; for environmental management and overall project achievement.

In recognition of the project’s impeccable environmental credentials, the road section achieved an ‘excellent’ rating with a score of 86 per cent as part of the civil engineering environmental quality assessment and award scheme (CEEQUAL) whole project award.

Graham Parry, the CEEQUAL verifier who presented the award, applauded the CVLR as one of the best ever submitted under the award scheme. The score, which evaluates environmental performance from inception through to construction, would arguably have been higher had the assessment covered the project’s flood attenuation elements.

The project also scooped the top prize at the annual Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) East Midlands merit awards event in April, fending off all-comers in the large project category.

Connecting residential and commercial land being developed on either side of the River Nene floodplain, the 1.5km link road supports the region’s regeneration aspirations. Around £17.5 million of investment has poured into the area as a result of this integral infrastructure, with the project’s flood alleviation scheme providing protection for up to 12,000 new homes projected to spring up in Northampton’s south west district over the coming years.

Synonymous with sustainable solutions, the project posed numerous environmental and sustainability challenges, with the link road bisecting agricultural land in the River Nene’s floodplain. The route runs through six significant county wildlife sites and a protected conservation area, with 20ha of land converted to wetland habitat.

Trevor Rackley, project director, said: “I would like to thank each member of the 100-strong project team for the part, however large or small, that they played in making this such a successful project.”

Cutting the red ribbon, the mayor of Northampton officially opened the road, now renamed Upton Valley Way North, on 14 May.

Reinforcing its maritime prowess, Halcrow picked up two prestigious awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York chapter at a ceremony in April. The company’s efforts on Hudson River Park Pier 25 were recognised with silver status, while the Intrepid Pier 86 scheme won a coveted diamond award.

Hudson River Park Pier 25Sprawled over 223ha and stretching almost 8km along Manhattan’s West Side, Hudson River Park represents the city’s largest open space development since Central Park took shape over a century ago.

The park’s southern most pier is also its most high-profile, due to its close proximity to the post 9/11 World Trade Center site. With the dilapidated timber structure in urgent need of replacement, the

new 40,000m² concrete pier features landscaped areas, volleyball courts, a floating dock and an administration building.

Halcrow’s value engineering efforts reduced the construction cost of an earlier design, slashing both the materials and time required for construction.

Intrepid Pier 86After an illustrious tour of duty spanning both World War II and the Vietnam war, the USS Intrepid is the main attraction for visitors to the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum at Pier 86 in New York City.

Established as a floating museum in 1982, the Intrepid was officially designated a national historic landmark in 1986.

Halcrow provided the detailed design for the replacement 45m by 238m structure, which provides public access to the Intrepid and other moored vessels. The new deck features landscaped areas, as well as stair and elevator towers to improve access. It will also showcase the iconic Concorde aircraft, previously languishing on a barge next to the old pier.

Fibreglass sleeves shielding the steel pipe piles from water – also employed on Hudson River Park Pier 25 – bypassed the need for costly protective coatings or cathodic protection systems.

Construction was completed on schedule, returning the Intrepid in time for the 11 November Veteran’s Day celebration.

CVLR seals double win

Praise for New York pier schemes

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Vox | issue three24

Nestled on the south bank of Lancaster’s River Lune, a Halcrow-designed flood alleviation scheme has proved its worth to the local community – providing enhanced flood protection, better public access and diverse wildlife habitats.

Recognition for the project’s regional contribution came in the form of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) community award for the UK’s north west region.

Commissioned by the Environment Agency, the £5.8 million project shields 800 residential properties, 112 industrial units, two sports fields and additional community infrastructure from flooding. The judging panel identified its strong environmental credentials and public engagement as areas for commendation.

Featuring 1.6km-long walls and earth embankments, the scheme was completed by contractor Carillion in March 2008. In addition to the design, Halcrow supplied site supervision services, along with Black & Veatch, across the 32-month construction programme.

Family ties

Work and familyStatistics on the UK’s working population for the second quarter 2008

• 68percentofworking-agewomenwithdependentchildren were employed, compared to 73 per cent for women without children

• ofworking-agewomenwithchildrenunderfive,57per cent were in employment

• 90percentofmenwithchildrenwereemployedregardless of the age of their youngest child

• 38percentofwomenwithdependentchildrenworked part time compared with 22 per cent of those without dependent children

• 4percentofmenwithdependentchildrenand7percent of men without children worked part time

• around30percentofwomenusedaflexibleworking pattern compared to 20 per cent of men

AwardsCelebrating achievement

Gone are the days when having children and a career had to be mutually exclusive options. Modern parents can potentially ‘have it all’ – a rewarding work life and quality family time, without having to sacrifice either.

Effectively striking this balance, however, heavily depends on employers’ commitment. Halcrow’s ongoing support of employees who are also parents and carers has seen it named amongst the UK’s top 20 family-friendly organisations.

As part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, work-life balance charity Working Families launched an inaugural list of the top family-friendly employers from the last three decades.

Halcrow was recognised for its proactive approach to flexible working and ‘choices’ benefits package. The company’s support for women in senior positions – epitomised by Mandy Clarke’s role as human resources director since 2002 – also won praise from the judges. Often viewed as a positive role model for working mothers, Mandy mentors several female engineers and is a leading advocate for flexible working, both within Halcrow and the industry at large.

Mandy said: “These awards recognise the hard work and dedication of everyone to make this a company that looks after its employees and their needs. Halcrow has had family-friendly policies in place for

Foiling flood riskFlood alleviation scheme comes up trumps

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many years, offering a supportive environment for our people. It is fantastic to be recognised through these awards, particularly as our industry sector does not necessarily reflect these practices. Special thanks to Vicky Beckwith and Sarah Nichols for their work in securing this award for Halcrow.”

Halcrow’s achievement hit the headlines, with national newspaper The Guardian running a feature in its work section on 30 May, looking at combining paid employment and caring roles. The following week leading UK human resources professional publication, HR magazine, published a four page spread on the awards.

Sourcing material for the embankment was a key challenge, as importing the fill would require around 8,000 truck journeys through Lancaster city centre’s confined one-way system – an environmental impact unlikely to win favour with the planners.

Exploring more sustainable, alternative options, the project team settled on obtaining fill from a field adjacent to the flood banks – both removing the need for fume-belching trucks trundling through the town and fulfilling the Environment Agency’s aspirations for a wetland habitat on the borrow pit site. The team landscaped the excavated area, which became part of 6ha of open water, reed bed, wet grassland and woodland habitat for wildfowl and wading birds.

The team kept residents up to date with regular newsletters and notice board postings. And local suppliers and resources were used wherever possible to support the regional economy. B

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Work and familyStatistics on the UK’s working population for the second quarter 2008

• 68percentofworking-agewomenwithdependentchildren were employed, compared to 73 per cent for women without children

• ofworking-agewomenwithchildrenunderfive,57per cent were in employment

• 90percentofmenwithchildrenwereemployedregardless of the age of their youngest child

• 38percentofwomenwithdependentchildrenworked part time compared with 22 per cent of those without dependent children

• 4percentofmenwithdependentchildrenand7percent of men without children worked part time

• around30percentofwomenusedaflexibleworking pattern compared to 20 per cent of men

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hile it may seem that New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and stop smoking were made and broken

just weeks ago, 2009 has quietly glided past its midpoint.

Six months in, Halcrow is weathering the global economic storm, although some regions and sectors of the business have been buffeted with more force than others.

The Middle East has borne the brunt of the turbulence, with construction projects halted or postponed and a dearth of projects in the pipeline. New contracts are in short supply, reflecting the dip in client activity. Hit hardest is Dubai, which faces a rocky road ahead – but Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Syria and Saudi Arabia are yielding promising opportunities.

While the property and maritime business groups are feeling the squeeze in North America, Halcrow remains in the running for a host of significant bids and commissions in other sectors. And although property is equally pinched in the UK, steady spending on infrastructure projects is helping to buoy the region. More positively, emerging markets – particularly India and Latin America – are thriving, with major tenders rolling in.

Despite all five business groups feeling the effects of client caution and credit constraints, Halcrow continues to be profitable, with both the transportation and maritime business groups ahead of target. Exacting market conditions have caused the property business group to slip behind, and both the consulting and water and power business groups have seen declines in profitability.

Bucking this downward trend, bidding for major projects continues unabated. The Crossrail and Highways Agency framework contract wins have bolstered the UK

An interview with chief executive Peter Gammie

transportation business. Elsewhere, Halcrow is teaming up with other providers to tender for the proposed Abu Dhabi metro as well as extensive rail schemes in Hong Kong.

While there are patches of blue sky peeking through and much to be positive about, the watchword on chief executive Peter Gammie’s lips is caution: “We’re fortunate that we have a strong business and an established reputation, but we are facing exceptionally trying times. Things are likely to get worse before they improve, and a prudent approach is essential.”

Once stable markets are now more uncertain, and Peter emphasises the need to explore untapped opportunities: “We’re seeing strong prospects in

developing markets and countries, as well

as new areas of business, and we’ll seek to accelerate growth wherever possible. It’s a case of managing prudently, doing what we do well, and getting the basics right.”

Encapsulating this ‘back to basics’ approach, the 3Cs remain an integral focus. Cash collection tops the pile, with Peter emphasising the importance of rounding up outstanding fees: “We must all get our invoices out to clients quickly and they must be accurate. Everyone can contribute to cash collection by completing their time sheets on time every week.”

Halcrow also needs to maintain its focus on controlling costs and providing an exceptional level of service to clients.

As well as embedding the 3Cs across the company, Halcrow is looking to the future. The business groups, regions and corporate services teams are each developing plans to evaluate a variety of scenarios, ensuring that the company is prepared for whatever market conditions emerge.

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“We’re fortunate that we have a strong business

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Business beat Setting the agenda

Based on a similar Halcrow project in St. Petersburg, Halcrow’s design to protect the Big Apple from flooding features a barrier across the entrance of the outer harbour of New York and New Jersey.

The scheme would involve building an 8km flood defence causeway between Rockaway and Sandy Hook, as well as reinforcing 16km of existing natural defences dotted along these peninsulas.

The proposed barrier includes two gates in the main navigation channel, each with two leaves measuring the length of a football field. It would also include smaller gates for two secondary navigation channels, and 50 sluice gates of 24m across.

Halcrow’s Graeme Forsyth and Dennis Padron have devised a solution to defend New York City from the catastrophic threat of storm surge flooding.

A storm surge occurs when a ‘dome’ of ocean water is inexorably propelled by the winds and low barometric pressure of a hurricane. If driven towards the coast, the potential for the destruction of large buildings and communities close to the coastline is dire.

New York City’s location – at a bend in the coastline between New Jersey and Long Island – makes it especially vulnerable to this threat in the face of global warming. Large areas of southern Queens, southern Brooklyn, the lower east and west sides of Manhattan, and the perimeter of Staten Island could be at risk from these catastrophic surges.

Halcrow – along with three other engineering firms – were asked to provide preventative solutions by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ New York Metropolitan Section Infrastructure Group and the New York Academy of Sciences. Halcrow’s duo presented their conceptual design for a storm surge barrier at a conference held at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn.

“What we presented is a concept that should be explored further and studied in detail,” explains Dennis. “It provides protection for a much greater portion of the region than the other proposals and at apparently lower cost.”

Almost 700 port industry experts, from 70 countries, descended on the northern Italian city of Genoa for the 26th biennial International Association of Ports and Harbours conference.

Held in late May, the Halcrow-sponsored event focused on the industry’s response to both the global economic slump and impending climate change. Halcrow’s Julian Johanson-Brown delivered a presentation, which included an overview of Halcrow’s new port asset management system – PORTAL.

Visit halcrow.com/portal or email [email protected] for more.

As part of Halcrow’s Technical Excellence programme, a new review procedure is being rolled out across the business to maintain and improve the quality of technical outputs.

The programme, championed by Kevin Burgess and John Martin, aims to hone the company’s competitive edge in terms of specialist technical knowledge and professional competence. The benefits of this latest procedure include cost savings, delivering a ‘right first time’ culture, sharing and refining best practice and enhancing Halcrow’s reputation for cutting edge technical delivery.

As project leader Nigel Pontee explained: “Technical reviews are needed to ensure that appropriate solutions are adopted and developed throughout a project’s lifespan. The concept means that experienced individuals will independently review and comment on work at appropriate stages.”

The business groups are in the process of implementing the new procedure, which is supported by guidance on the Halcrow Integrated Management System (HIMS). A cross-business working group has ensured that the requirements of established procedures are met alongside those of the new procedure.

A surge of inspiration

New whetstone for Halcrow’s cutting edge

Technical review working groupAlan Corner – water and power Richard Sumner – transportation

Ian Barnett – property Val Cooper and Carolyn Francis – consulting Nigel Pontee and Kevin Burgess – maritime

In briefTechnical reviews• reviews ensure the technical solution

is appropriate and meets client needs

• overall technical approach is set and agreed at the outset of the project

• interim reviews ensure agreed approaches are being followed

• final deliverables are checked

• emerging best practice is incorporated into future projects

Technical review procedure introduced

Port progress

Vox | issue three26

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In the dragons’ den“I’m out”: the two words dreaded by any entrepreneur pitching on the UK’s gruelling Dragons’ Den television programme. While the ‘dragons’ at Halcrow’s fifth annual knowledge sharing forum lacked their television counterparts’ wads of cash, scrutiny of the innovations on offer was just as intense.

Gathering 36 technical leaders at Burderop Park, UK, the 28 April event provided attendees with a set of tools to deliver innovative engineering and technical design.

First up were the winners of 2008’s overall Halnet and collaboration award – water engineering and management’s David Webb, Rob Berry and Liv Hov-Clayton. Next up – cue sweaty palms and raised heart rates – four in-house innovators threw themselves into the dragons’ den. Attendees cast their votes on whether each innovation could be adopted in their part of the business.

Jon Wicks presented different avenues for gaining greatest commercial value from ISIS – Halcrow’s flood modelling software (halcrow.com/isis). A multi-disciplinary design process developed within the rail sector formed the backbone of Steve West’s pitch, while Paul Conroy unveiled the optimisation toolkit created within the water asset management team. Rounding out the exercise, Chris Kelly demonstrated how coupling geospatial data with three or four dimensional models can bring a raft of benefits to clients.

One of the most powerful human qualities, leadership is also arguably one of the most difficult to value – but Halcrow has taken the bold step of defining and quantifying what it means to be a leader.

Formalising its leadership model, Halcrow has clearly articulated its values and expected standards of behaviour. Chief executive Peter Gammie set the ball rolling four years ago, defining the drivers underpinning this competency based framework.

Embedding Halcrow’s values at its core, the model can be used in performance management, recruitment and promotion panels to ensure consistency and fairness. The framework can help map out individuals’ strengths and weaknesses; supporting career planning, self-assessment or 360 degree feedback.

Bridget Walford, group learning and development manager, points to the potential for profiling: “Employees and their managers will be able to get a measure of their success in different roles. People can see how their skills and attributes match up with the levels we’d be expecting for each job profile.”

Further information – visit the learning and development Halnet site under people

Leading the charge

Halcrow is now able to deliver internationally-recognised management qualifications internally, having successfully achieved accredited Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Centre status.

Joining the largest awarding body for leadership and management qualifications in the UK and a global network of over 2,000 accredited centres, the company is one of the first in the industry to receive verification from ILM.

Under the Manage More banner, Halcrow offers leadership and management development courses to hone managers’ skills. While the full programme leads to an internationally-certified ILM qualification, employees intending to improve specific skills can enrol in individual modules. These can then be credited towards the full qualification at a later date.

As an accredited ILM Centre, Halcrow is now able to tailor courses to reflect the company’s specific leadership and management development needs.

Model leaders

Collaboration triumphs

Dramatically extending its reach, the water engineering and management team has mushroomed from 150 employees to its current tally of 380, in 20 offices across five global regions.

Cohesive inter-office working and enviable work-share processes have paved the way for smooth expansion, netting the team special accolades at Halcrow’s knowledge management awards.

Technical talks via WebEx, active discussion boards, a global monthly newsletter and an exemplary Halnet site (under knowledge/skill groups/water and power) combine to keep employees engaged and informed. Each activity is allocated to a chief engineer or scientist, who provides the lead, impetus and regulation for their particular skill set.

Sponsor David Webb commented: “We are delighted to be recognised through this award. Getting up and running requires patience, time and effort, but the results demonstrate that targeted, well managed investment in knowledge management represents exceedingly good value.”

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Technical review working groupAlan Corner – water and power Richard Sumner – transportation

Ian Barnett – property Val Cooper and Carolyn Francis – consulting Nigel Pontee and Kevin Burgess – maritime

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With economic storm clouds lingering and the heralded green shoots of growth remaining firmly dormant, winning bids is critical to business survival. With fewer contracts and fierce competition for every tender, success hinges on having the best skills onboard – and being able to demonstrate the team’s capabilities.

That’s where Halcrow’s development support unit (DSU) comes in. A key component of the bid improvement programme, the DSU provides support and guidance to bid teams from the outset.

With over 870 pre-qualifications and 800 bids under its belt, the UK-based DSU has helped Halcrow secure an estimated £600 million in fees since 2005. Working from Glasgow, Manchester, Swindon and London, the 20-strong team supports projects across the globe – sharing information and providing seamless support. There are also DSUs operating in Asia, Australasia, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.

Tenders are the company’s public face, and the DSU ensures that Halcrow is presented in the best possible light. Rosy Marchand, development support and communications manager, emphasises the team’s ability to influence both costs and clients: “We have an in-depth understanding of the bidding process and what clients need from us. We work across all market sectors, so can cross-reference other bids and provide a unique company-wide insight, as well as saving time and money.”

Shouldering a significant chunk of the bid management workload, the DSU frees up other sections of the bid team to focus on demonstrating Halcrow’s expertise and ability. As Sean Matthews, market sector manager for renewables, points out: “Their support allowed the rest of the team to concentrate on technical aspects.”

The DSU has had a hand in dozens of high profile project wins; most recently the technical consultancy framework bid for the Highways Agency. Halcrow has been reselected as one of five key suppliers on the £130 million framework, which will run between 2009-2011. The bid team relocated to the Manchester office for part of the tendering process.

The DSU also supported the winning tender for the South Central rail franchise for Govia. “I have nothing but praise for the team’s contribution in what was often a highly pressurised, deadline-driven environment,” said Govia’s Jamie Ross. “They were extremely professional, hardworking and helpful, and their expertise was of huge support.”

Vox | issue three28

Business beat Profiling our expertise

A concerted drive by Halcrow’s Romanian team to proactively target and win a growing slice of the huge European Union (EU)-funded infrastructure investment programme has begun to pay dividends.

Under EU restructuring rules, each Romanian region, and in turn, each city has to prepare strategic plans in order to access EU financing. Key to this is the design of integrated development plans in urban areas.

Mihaela Vrabete, head of development planning and design, was appointed at the beginning of the year to drive forward this initiative. Both her own, and her wider team’s efforts have now begun to reap a successful harvest, having recently won several integrated development plans for four Romanian cities – Drobeta Turnu Severin, Craiova, Resita and Slobozia.

The plans aim to deliver broad-based solutions that tackle head on Romania’s pressing social, cultural, environmental and economic needs to positively revamp the country’s planning system. This initiative will fuse classic planning tools with state-of-the-art techniques to manage the role of public private partnerships in urban planning.

All four city strategies aim to improve the quality of life for communities and provide

employment opportunities through rehabilitating urban infrastructure and

improving social and urban services.

✔ planning and setting timeframes

✔ completing non-technical sections

✔ managing the document and collating inputs

✔ co-ordinating CVs and project references

✔ visual impact – including the cover, page layout, and graphics

✔ formatting, editing and proofreading

✔ compilation and printing

✔ creating electronic submissions or PowerPoint presentations

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conundrum – exhausted public coffers and deteriorating roads, bridges and tunnels. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that £46 billion is spent each year on highway capital improvements, when £122 billion is required to maintain core transportation infrastructure.

This funding chasm is increasingly being clawed back through public-private partnerships (PPP) across the country, with encouraging results. And Halcrow, with its internationally-acquired experience, burgeoning client base and reputation as a ‘safe pair of hands’, is at the forefront of the growing trend for shared investment.

Cementing its leading advisory position in the US PPP market, the company supported a new research report, published in May by McGraw-Hill.

The Halcrow-sponsored PPP SmartMarket Report reflects a growing interest surrounding private investment in state infrastructure, particularly the transportation sector.

With a client list that reads like a study in assured blue chip corporate name-dropping, Halcrow’s specialist health and safety team – part of the economic and business solutions skill group – is gaining in stature and fee income.

Based in Glasgow, the team – formed some 15 years ago as a reaction to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations – delivers leading-edge health and safety knowledge to a diverse client base. This includes Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power, Airtricity, British Nuclear, Transport Scotland and the Ministry of Defence.

Yet it is probably better known for its work on some of the world’s premier sporting events. From the Eagon Championship at Queens Club, golf’s Ryder Cup and the Open to the Grand National and the Embassy World Snooker championships, it has them covered.

Yet somewhat ironically, all these events – and more – only make up around 30 per cent of its workload. In fact, the team offers a broad range of services that stretch from major accident legislation, through to risk assessment and management and on to transport modelling, on-site safety performance audits, and health and safety training.

But the biggest and most important slice of the pie is its construction, design and management work.

Working across all parts of the business, the 15-strong health and safety team is often the first element of the wider Halcrow offering

Independently researched and presented, the report draws on a survey of US state and local government officials, and evaluates their understanding of the PPP process and capabilities. Featuring case studies and interviews with key decision makers and PPP leaders, the findings highlight both a distinct

to secure a new piece of business, says Adriano Bomba, the director who heads up the team. This can – and often has – provided a key introduction to other Halcrow services.

The team has recently secured a number of significant wins, including two college campus projects and three wind farm schemes in Scotland. Of its more notable recently completed commissions, the Clyde Arc and Tradeston bridges in Glasgow, Hinkley Point ‘A’ intermediate level waste store in Somerset and the Glendoe hydro scheme in Scotland, stand out.

And with ongoing commissions for the Scottish National Arena and National Indoor Sports Arena and Velodrome, to name just a few, the future is looking decidedly healthy.

To find out more, email [email protected].

A winning combination

Life outside the sporting arena

Public-private partnerships gaining ground stateside

interest in private funding and a corresponding lack of delivery experience.

Some 61 per cent of participating state and local officials had no direct PPP experience and did not fully understand its terms or benefits.

Halcrow has already made significant progress in the US marketplace, with an increasing demand for its consultancy services. Transportation projects are underway in Virginia and Texas, while the company has recently secured major contracts with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and for the planned Los Angeles metro network.

Michael Della Rocca, Halcrow’s regional managing director in North America, said: “I believe it is within our collective ability to redefine the funding, procurement, implementation, management and renewal of our infrastructure assets and provide a network that will make a genuinely positive difference to people’s lives and to the broader wealth of America.”

Mainimage:TradestonBridge,UKInset: Health and safety services provived to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre

Dozens of projects worldwide have benefited from the company’s experience in this field, including Canada’s first gold certification for an existing multi-tenant building. The property team in Toronto has also achieved LEED commercial interior silver certification for its latest office retrofit, and the consulting team is preparing to offer LEED assessment services from the New York and Vancouver offices, potentially within the next six months.

The company is steadily influencing the green building agenda in the region – both through its project work and its people’s visibility. The property team’s Scott Armstrong, for example, serves as secretary on the board of directors for the Canada Green Building Council’s Toronto chapter.

Chicago’s Terry McDonnell is a member of the Structural Engineering Institute’s sustainability committee, which is working towards publishing American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) sustainable engineering guidelines aimed at structural engineers. In addition to Terry’s input, the Dalby Forest project in the UK will be included as a case study.

This influence spans the region, with the company picking up an award recognising ‘its commitment to sustainable initiatives in the built environment’ from the New York League of Conservation Voters.

Cementing its reputation as a driving force in North America’s sustainable development arena, Halcrow is taking huge strides through its involvement with the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) programme.

Supporting an internationally recognised certification system, LEED measures how well a building or community performs across a series of environmentally focused criteria. Administered by the US Green Building Council – of which Halcrow is a member – the scheme assesses projects on their energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions, environmental quality for occupants, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to the effects of construction.

Halcrow’s global sustainability commitment explicitly seeks to increase the number of accredited professionals within the company, and employees have heeded the call. Three engineers from the New York office, nine from Toronto, one from Chicago and four from Calgary recently passed the LEED exam. These latest recruits swell Halcrow’s ranks of certified professionals to 28 in North America alone.

Employee accreditation is just the beginning. In New York, Anisha Sawhney Mittal and Alex Weinberg from the consulting business group are leading an initiative to increase awareness of LEED among employees in North America, as well as promoting the company as an environmental leader in the US market – one of many such examples underway across the business.

To support those preparing for the LEED accreditation exam, Alex circulates ‘questions of the day’, keeping track of responses and sharing ideas on a display board.

The UK’s Leeds office saved money and reduced both carbon emissions and traffic congestion by taking part in the ‘cash in on your empty car seats’ campaign earlier this year.

Run in February by the West Yorkshire travel plan network, the initiative encourages commuters to car share.

Participants filled in a diary card each time they shared a car journey to or from work, with the completed card doubling as an entry to a free prize draw. Jennie Peacock from the environment team scooped the top prize of £300 to divvy up with her car share partner.

Katie Kearney, Leeds travel plan co-ordinator, said: “Car sharing is a great alternative for people who live too far to walk or cycle, or where public transport is inconvenient – and it can save you money! I’m delighted so many people chose to take part in this initiative.”

Stepping up its approach to sustainable transport, the Leeds office is currently taking part in an active travel campaign to encourage walking and cycling.

North American team builds reputation as a sustainability leader

Taking the LEED

Sitting pretty to beat congestion

Jennie Peacock (centre) received her prize from the travel plan network

Sustainable solutions It’s in our hands

Vox | issue three30

While finance and sustainability may not immediately seem like natural bedfellows, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is stepping up its commitment to ethical investment – with Halcrow’s help.

Teaming up with the bank’s environment and sustainability department, Halcrow’s environment team recently secured a two year framework, worth £350,000. At the heart of the project is a new environment and social policy – currently being rolled out across the EBRD’s operations – reflecting its ambition to instil sustainable development throughout its sphere of influence.

The policy requires all EBRD projects and financial partners to promote sound environmental and social practices when lending, investing in new projects, or providing credit lines to banks.

As part of a capacity building programme, the EBRD retained Halcrow to advise and train some of its partners and intermediaries – banks, venture funds and insurers – on environmental and social due diligence and risk management.

Working in Belarus, Romania and Armenia, Halcrow’s team has made the sustainability policy real and relevant for 300 bankers and investors – and counting. The team is also developing briefing documents for bankers which outline the environmental and social risks likely to crop up in various business sectors and their potential financial impact.

Banking on sustainable development

Our emissionstatement

Halcrow pledges to reduce its carbon emissions by 10 per cent

When it comes to carbon emissions, the broad consensus is that cuts must take place

– and soon – to curtail the effects of climate change and prevent devastating temperature

rises. But when it comes to the figures – how much and by when – the picture becomes less

crystalline, and calls to action founder on the nitty-gritty of setting targets.

Halcrow has signed up to the West of England Carbon Challenge, a pioneering scheme for businesses and public sector bodies in Bristol and

the surrounding region.

The company joins a diverse assortment of organisations including the University of the West of England, Bristol Zoo and important clients such as the South West Regional Development Agency; all committed to slashing their current emission levels by at least 10 per cent by 2012.

Setting it apart from other schemes, the carbon challenge targets organisations across all sectors. It asks them to commit to an absolute goal – regardless of growth – for reducing their emissions, providing both practical guidance and resources.

The initiative’s requirement to benchmark emissions ties in with Halcrow’s goal of measuring, monitoring and reducing its environmental impact.

“The 10 per cent goal is being applied to all UK offices, providing us with a single, explicit target,” explains Halcrow group sustainability manager Nick Murry. “We have established a baseline for our UK carbon emissions that fulfills key requirements, including those set by the challenge. This essentially covers heating, fuel, company vehicle emissions and electricity. We are now putting mechanisms in place to capture Halcrow’s other UK transport emissions, with a view to an international roll out next year.”

Details of Halcrow’s UK carbon footprint can be found under the internal performance heading on Halnet’s sustainability gateway.

Historic railway goes greenThe Welsh Highland Railway recently won the Institution of Civil Engineers Wales branch’s George Gibby special sustainability award. And Halcrow’s John Sreeves played a key role in this success, having designed several of its bridges.

Held annually to celebrate and promote civil engineering excellence in Wales, this year’s awards ceremony took place in Cardiff on 7 May 2009.

Having closed in the 1930s, the abandoned railway – which runs through the northern Welsh mountains – has undergone a major reconstruction. Traversing the spectacular Aberglaslyn Pass with its jagged cliff faces, the latest section to be completed opened to passengers on 21 May 2009.

CourtesyofPeterJohnson.TopimagescourtesyofMichaelChapman

AndrewKluth,PeterMaddenofForumfortheFutureandNickMurry

Agricultural area

Hoping to stave off an impending crisis, the Asian Development Bank and the Dutch government

have commissioned Halcrow to carry out a comprehensive water resources study in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

A basin management plan will be the study’s end product, aiming to keep pace with the basic hydrological requirements of this underdeveloped and impoverished region, dependent on agriculture for its livelihood.

According to the World Bank, Pakistan is climbing the list of the world’s most water-stressed countries, and faces growing water scarcity over the next two decades. This situation is markedly worse in Baluchistan province, where a decrease in annual rainfall, depleting groundwater and increased human activity such as farming, excessive irrigation and deforestation have resulted in drought-like conditions.

Vast tracts of previously fertile agricultural land have been supplanted by arid desert plains and displaced populations. These factors were compounded in 2000, leading to

one of the worst droughts on record, affecting over 20,000 people and approximately 1 million livestock.

Facing similarly parched conditions in 2008, Halcrow’s geospatial skill group was tasked with developing an integrated water

resources management plan to map water resource availability and usage patterns. The plan focuses on three strategically important basins in Baluchistan.

According to Halcrow’s resident specialist, Iqbal Khan Rehmani: “The data will aim to reverse years of mismanagement and neglect caused by the absence of a long-term water management policy which takes into account all socio-economic and environmental aspects.”

Most development specialists agree that a grass-roots change in water management is essential for Baluchistan. Traditional methods of farming, over use of the region’s limited resources, inefficient irrigation systems, population growth and the absence

Diverting

An estimated 60 per cent of the region’s

surface water trickles away due to lack of

adequate infrastructure


Vox | issue three32

Fact file Baluchistan

The largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, Baluchistan is approximately the size of Norway. The western region shares borders with Iran, Afghanistan and the Arabian Sea. Historically, the rural and semi-nomadic people of Baluchistan province had few options for employment and continue to rely on agriculture and livestock for their sustenance.

Above: millet is a hardy alternative to thirstier crops Left and below: the area’s fertile landscape has been sucked dry

of a functional regulatory body overseeing development have combined to aggravate the situation.

An estimated 60 per cent of the region’s surface water trickles away due to lack of adequate infrastructure, while traditional harvesting methods rely on a network of deep tube wells to mine for underground water – further depleting potential sources. Government electricity subsidies for agricultural tube wells have also piled considerable stress on the area’s hydrology.

Applying baseline remote sensing technology, Halcrow’s GIS team assessed the availability of water resources at each basin and sub-basin level. Open-source satellite imagery and advanced software tools enabled a complete topographical model of each area.

The data from these studies proved invaluable in identifying groundwater ‘recharge zones’, drainage patterns and surface water run-off conditions. According to the final report, Halcrow’s geospatial team identified over 75 per cent of the area’s medium and high potential recharge zones. Planned delay action dams, watershed interventions and injection wells will enable groundwater aquifers to be replenished indirectly, via these newly-discovered zones.

A secondary component of the study will see Halcrow’s environment team conduct socio-economic surveys and population demand models at a village level.

Sowing the seeds of sustainability, agricultural practices went under the microscope with an agrarian expert plotting viable crop patterns. Alternative produce, such as less thirsty millet, as well as the

potential for commercial fruits, including apricots and peaches, were evaluated, as were areas of grazing land and fodder capacity for livestock.

These comprehensive basin-level assessments broadened the study’s scope, informing strategies for conservation measures and human activity. By considering all elements of water use, as well as social and economic factors, the project represents a multifaceted approach to future water resources management.

Halcrow’s geospatial team introduced several initiatives on the strength of the study, which have since been integrated into the local government’s social development and water resource management strategy.


he ancient civilization of Rome is credited as history’s first proponent of wastewater collection, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that its treatment became common

practice. Today, the industry is on the cusp of another paradigm shift. One that could help the world meets its burgeoning energy demands.

Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which micro-organisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. As part of an integrated waste management system, this approach can harness the energy potential of treated sewage, reduce the emission of landfill gas and provide nutrient-rich fertiliser.

“Wastewater contains a smorgasbord of valuable resources – water, energy, nitrogen and phosphorus,” explains Nick Pursell, who heads up Halcrow’s water and wastewater process team. “Treating organic carbon anaerobically reduces it to methane – a valuable energy source that displaces the need for fossil fuels.”

Sweden has long focused on bio-energy production to the extent that it now boasts the world’s first biogas-powered train. Leading the charge is local company – Scandinavian Biogas Fuels – which produces renewable energy from virtually any kind of organic waste, including wastewater treated sludge, manure, food and slaughterhouse waste.

TBiogas is combustible and typically produces heat and electricity for combined heat and power plants. But the Swedish company’s advanced cryogenic gas cleaning technology is able to upgrade waste matter to 97-100 per cent methane – an excellent vehicle fuel.

And it was a design build operate scheme run by this Swedish company that formed the basis of a recent technical due diligence review by Halcrow.

The team oversaw the technical feasibility, deliverability and costs of the scheme on behalf of the Korean Development Bank. Its efforts were clearly valued by the client, which gave Halcrow a perfect ten in a recent client survey.

The scheme provides additional food waste and sludge treatment, as well as co-digestion and gas treatment facilities at a sewage treatment plant in Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Korea.

The success of this project led to a paper co-authored by Halcrow and Scandinavian Biogas Fuels on ‘optimising the potential of biogas’. The duo presented the paper at the Aqua-Enviro Conference in Leeds, UK, in July 2009.

Backed by the United Nations development programme, anaerobic digestion treatments enable latent energy embedded in biodegradable waste to be harvested, opening up a range of possibilities for optimising existing water company assets.

Sweden has long focused on bio-energy production to the extent

that it now boasts the world’s first biogas-powered train

Sweden now boasts the world’s first biogas-powered train that plies its 140km route between the cities of Linköping, south of Stockholm, and Vaestervik on the eastern Baltic coast. Strategies for using biogas vehicle fuel exist in Gothenburg, Linköping and Stockholm, delivering up to 70 per cent carbon savings compared to standard diesel.

Anaerobic digestion sustainability credentials

• replacesfossilfuels

• reducesmethaneemission

from landfills

•displacesindustrially-produced

chemical fertilisers

• reducesvehiclemovements

• reduceselectricalgrid

transportation losses

want notnot,

Recovering valuable resources from wastewater

Vox | issue three34

Take Scottish Water Waste Services, for example. At its Deerdykes composting and organics recycling facility in Cumbernauld, UK, the company now produces ‘green’ electricity by burning gas produced by the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste. This will be used to power the plant with excess electricity eventually sold back to the National Grid.

Halcrow’s team was recently given the green light by Scottish Water for a research and development pre-feasibility study into the potential for natural wastewater treatment processes at over 400 Scottish sites.

This complements an ongoing Halcrow research and development project to review design criteria for natural wastewater treatment processes, including waste stabilisation ponds.

Many processes in a wastewater treatment plant are designed to mimic those that occur in the natural environment. Bacteria consume organic contaminants, reducing the levels of oxygen in the water. Constructed wetlands, for example, include elements like engineered reed beds, providing a high degree of aerobic biological improvement.

Nitrogen and phosphorus both occur in raw wastewater, albeit at relatively low concentrations. Due to the large volumes of wastewater processed, the nitrogen and phosphorus load has the potential to supply 45 per cent of the world’s fertiliser needs as phosphorus and 38 per cent as nitrogen. Recovery of nutrients at such low concentrations is a challenge, but again Nick believes anaerobic digestion can provide a solution by increasing concentrations of nitrogen over 20 times and phosphorus over 40 times.

In areas of water scarcity, this recovered water has significant value, while the inorganic nutrients boost agricultural productivity. Australia, for example, is now using reclaimed water and its dissolved nutrients to irrigate grape vines, eliminating the need for nutrient removal and mineral fertiliser.

So while Rome burned, our current civilisation is set to benefit from this abundant, sustainable source of energy and nutrients.

Biogas ingredients•60percentmethane•35percentcarbon dioxide and hydrogen•hydrogensulphide•carbonmonoxide

Anaerobic digesters at the sewage treatment plant in Ulsan MetropolitanCity,SouthKorea

Halcrow has played a key role in helping the UK government set up the country’s first ever early warning system for urban surface water floods.

The initiative is a direct response to the government’s Pitt Review, which looked into lessons to be learnt from the devastating floods that swept across the UK in summer 2007, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Some 17,000 families were forced to flee their homes.

In 2008, Halcrow helped establish the extreme rainfall alert service, a new forecasting tool aimed at providing early warning of possible surface water flooding in urban areas of the UK.

The extreme rainfall alert service is now delivered by a new national flood forecasting centre in London, covering England and Wales, the establishment of which was also a recommendation of the Pitt Review.

Further to Halcrow’s 2008 involvement in the alert service, the team has now been commissioned to provide specialist training to employees at the forecasting centre. This will centre on hydrometeorology – the fusion of meteorological forecasting and the hydrological understanding of what happens when rainfall hits the ground.

This bespoke training programme – the first tranche of which was delivered in March 2009 – involves both hydrological training to Met Office employees as well as meteorological and rainfall forecast training to Environment Agency flood employees – all based at the forecasting centre.

The idea was developed and delivered by hydrometeorologist Murray Dale, the Exeter-based water and power business group associate director.

“We are well placed to offer this training with our in-depth knowledge of these two key disciplines and our strong track record in flood risk management,” said Murray.

“The training has the ultimate goal of bringing Met Office forecasters and Environment Agency hydrologists closer together. By aiding communication between meteorologists and hydrologists, we are increasing both the effectiveness and accuracy of flood alerts and warnings at a national scale,” he explained.

Currently, the Environment Agency provides information on rivers likely to flood while the Met Office gives figures on rainfall. But the two organisations will work together from the centre to warn emergency services and local authorities when flooding is expected.

Here comes the rain again

At first glance, fish and canoeists share few commonalities. However, both groups now share the ability to traverse Porters Lock on the River Medway, Kent, UK, following the completion of a pilot fish passage project.

Pooling the efforts of Halcrow, the Environment Agency, Breheny Civil Engineering and Hunton Engineering Design, the multidisciplinary team successfully designed and installed the first pass of this type in a UK river.

The structure’s main component is a bespoke steel trough – 1.5m wide, 70cm deep and extending 17m. Artificial plastic reeds or ‘fish brushes’ differentiate the scheme from conventional fish passes. Installed in clumps, the fish brushes emulate natural reeds – slowing the water and creating eddies and back currents, enabling fish to swim through. Soft and flexible, the individual brush strands also

allow canoeists to safely paddle through the previously impassable channel.

Environment Agency project manager Phil Munslow said: “This structure is a further string in the bow of what the River Medway has to offer for canoeists, but fundamentally it aids the

migration of fish.”


Halcrow has introduced an innovative new system that grants a market wish for a common framework to assess and improve the sustainability of projects.

The integrated sustainability toolkit and rating (ISTAR) system allows users to appraise and guide decision-making around key sustainability issues, in a client-orientated, context-driven framework.

ISTAR was conceived and developed by Ollie Pearce through a two-year collaborative engineering doctorate research project with the University of Bristol. Originally funded by Halcrow and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the company has since invested in a programme to develop the core concepts and methodology into a commercial application for potential use across a wide range of clients.

Programme director Nick Murry explains: “The framework is based on a rigorous review of over 200 existing sustainability tools, methodologies, standards, rating systems and definitions. It provides users with the ability to define sustainability for a specific client or context.”

Information such as client strategies, legislation, planning policies, user needs, community feedback, rating scheme criteria, best practice guidance and indicators for reporting can all be integrated into the framework. This provides a means for managing every known sustainability-related issue and risk in the context of a project or programme and its stakeholders.

The system can be used to identify where specialist skills must be built into programmes, strategies and masterplans for integrated sustainable solutions that add real value for clients. Users can also assess the impact of projects on the client, environment and wider community. And by flagging up potential issues early, the risks associated with planning consent and regulatory compliance are reduced.

Project manager Ollie Pearce explains: “ISTAR can be used to align activities with a client’s sustainability policies, strategies and objectives and can complement and enhance existing methodologies, such as the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method (BREEAM) and the civil engineering environmental quality assessment and award scheme (CEEQUAL). Through the development of context-specific performance measures, progress can be tracked to address stakeholder concerns, bolstering client reputations.”

To discuss potential applications of the system, contact Nick Murry or Ollie Pearce, or check the sustainability Halnet site for more information.

A conference on sustainability saw the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and Constructing Excellence in Wales come together for a hugely successful event in Cardiff, Wales, the brainchild of Halcrow’s Sally Sudworth.

Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly environment, sustainability and housing minister, delivered a rousing and well-received keynote speech on the inherent importance of creating a truly sustainable infrastructure for the Welsh economy. Peter Jones from the Welsh Assembly Government, together with Jim Poole of the Environment Agency, Wales – both Halcrow clients – also presented papers.

Participants acknowledged that the rigours of the civil engineering environmental quality assessment and award scheme (CEEQUAL) and the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method (BREEAM) can help drive behavioural changes in delivery teams. But they agreed to do more in their day-to-day work to combat carbon emissions and make the Welsh built environment even more sustainable.

Members of Halcrow turned up in force with a presentation from Andrew Kluth and breakout groups chaired by both Nick Murry and Alex Jones. Sally – a former CIWEM Welsh branch chairwoman – sat on a Question Time styled panel debating sustainable construction.

Halcrow’s comprehensive sustainability toolkit

Wishing on ISTAR

Sustainably Welsh

Paddlers’ pass

Ollie Pearce

Vox | issue three36

A canoeist traverses the pass

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Wildlife and plant species are thriving in conservation sites across the UK, thanks to safeguards established under longstanding European legislation, including the Birds Directive of 1979 and the Habitat Directive 1992.

Halcrow has successfully completed a steady stream of environmental assessments to support the directives, bolstering the level of protection for special areas of conservation (SACs), special protection areas (SPAs) and Ramsar sites – wetlands of international importance.

Recent projects include assessments of shoreline management plans, catchment flood management plans and other Environment Agency commissions. In recent years, Halcrow’s scope has expanded to take on local councils’ strategic development and local transport plans.

The team is currently working on schemes such as a Habitats Regulation assessment of the regional transport plan for south west Wales, and the Nigg Yard development masterplan – a largely decommissioned oil terminal and fabrication yard in the Moray Firth, Scotland.

Towards the end of 2008, Halcrow’s Stephen Isaac set up a new ‘appropriate assessment’ discussion group on the environment skill group’s Halnet pages (under knowledge). This forum highlights ongoing project experience, updates to Habitats Regulations and provides links to various guidance documents.

Testament to the Middle East region’s ability to adapt, evolve and reinvent itself, a ‘new Abu Dhabi’ is springing up on Al Sowwah Island, separated from the city’s north-eastern corner by a stretch of water.

With dredging playing a central role in the island’s expansion – land area will more than double, from 54ha to 123ha – Halcrow was called in to provide environmental services and advice for the reclamation contractor, Oger Abu Dhabi.

With the team winning Oger’s confidence, what began as a £47,000 contract spanning three months swelled to a 15-month partnership, generating over £283,000 in fees. Halcrow’s role concludes when dredging and reclamation work winds down at the end of August 2009.

Halcrow’s regional environment team prepared environmental management plans, screened dredged reclamation material for contaminants and provided environmental monitoring and reporting services.

Backed by a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and John Buck International from the US, the vibrant, multi-use scheme will play host to high-profile developments including the Abu Dhabi Financial Centre – home to the future Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, Cleveland Clinic and luxury and business hotels, as well as a

Clean, green and pristine

Islands in the (Gulf) streamnumber of high and low-rise residential units. It will be connected via 13 road bridges and a dedicated underground Metro link to Reem and Abu Dhabi on either side. Al Sowwah will eventually accommodate more than 30,000 residents, with an additional 80,000 office workers streaming across from the mainland.

T professionals are being told to control costs, and yet deliver more services faster and better than

ever before. Add to this the growing need to reduce the world’s corporate carbon footprint, and IT teams find themselves under pressure like never before. But Halcrow’s MIS team is rising to the challenge.

Research from top market analyst, Gartner, estimates that worldwide ‘corporate IT’ accounts for around 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions. This is broadly equivalent to what the entire airline industry produces. And this is expected to grow over the next decade – despite significant improvements in the power-efficiency of IT equipment.

“Whilst we don’t yet know precisely what proportion of Halcrow’s carbon footprint can be attributed to IT, we do know it’s a significant proportion of our electricity related CO2 emissions,” comments Nick Murry, group sustainability manager.

As a knowledge-based, computer-literate business, destined to grow substantially, logic dictates that Halcrow’s IT carbon footprint could rise exponentially, if left unchecked. The MIS team is working with the group sustainability team to look at how it delivers current and future systems in a balanced and sustainable manner.

While Halcrow already boasts several policies that are addressing these issues, it is also examining a range of ‘whole life’ IT lifecycle impacts. As Nick points out: “The reduction in emissions resulting from how we invest in and use our IT will be an essential part of achieving and exceeding our current carbon reduction target of 10 per cent by 2012.”

Virtual travelBut it is perhaps on the issue of travel – or more to the point – cutting down on travel vis-a-vis Peter Gammie’s 3Cs, that MIS can play its trump card.

Halcrow already provides a number of tools that can help employees avoid unnecessary travel. These are broadly grouped into the conferencing system suite (video, web and audio) and the family of remote access solutions, such as iPass, SAC and WebApps.

Recognising the business benefits of effective collaboration technologies, a web conferencing service using the WebEx meeting centre was launched in 2008. The ‘pay-as-you-go’ service enables employees, clients and partners to look at the same information simultaneously – wherever they are based in the world. They can share and edit anything, from documents and presentations to engineering programmes. Users can also watch videos and animations.

MISonamissiontoreduce Halcrow’s corporate carbon footprint

The heart of

ITI Small contribution,

big differenceThere are simple things that everybody can do to help reduce our IT energy consumption. It may not seem like much, but when multiplied thousands of times, it really can make a big difference. You can:

• learnaboutthesleep,suspendor hibernate modes on your computer and use them during lunch breaks and meetings

• alwaysturnyourcomputer and monitor off when you leave at night

• allocatearegular time to review what data you keep on file servers. Consider archiving more on to CD


Vox | issue three38

If you have ideas about how IT could help reduce Halcrow’s carbon footprint, email your comments to [email protected]

IT purchasing within Halcrow is now conducted by the recently formed supply chain management team, which is actively progressing checks on suppliers’ green credentials. Plans are in place to roll-out this approach globally.

Employees are now empowered to remotely log in to the company’s network through increasingly efficient IT solutions. So whether working at home or abroad, everyone has access to their Halcrow desktop within a few clicks of the mouse.

And with video conferencing facilities spread across Halcrow’s global network, with most UK offices and all key international locations linked in, the need for face-to-face meetings has been drastically reduced.

“Part of the challenge is to demonstrate the value of the technology available,” highlights Nick. “This will help drive behavioural change, allowing us to fully realise the travel cost savings and environmental benefits for both Halcrow and our clients.”

Sustainable storageAnother key challenge is storage, as MIS sustainability champion Steve Winter explains: “Everybody in Halcrow has access to a file server and it is an important resource. These systems are often under pressure with growing employee numbers, larger file requirements and bigger and longer projects.

“Our overall storage requirement increases by around 40 per cent each year and we already have around 143 terabytes of storage capacity,” he said.

At the current rate of expansion, Halcrow will need around 1.2 petabytes of storage capacity in seven years time. Such systems are expensive and are burning power and money 24-hours a day, 365-days a year.

“There are also significant hidden financial and environmental costs to retaining so much unused data online,” says Steve. “The over- simplistic and constant demand is to ‘just add more storage’. But these growth rates are simply not sustainable. Everyone needs to consider how they can contribute, by cleaning up their data more often and by archiving more information onto CD.”

The futureHalcrow is keen to tap in to some of the exciting computer technologies now emerging that use less power and space.

Always on the look out for more power efficient products, the team is investigating various options from virtualisation (converting a number of physical servers into ’logical servers’ that share the same hardware) to blade servers (compressing computers on to one board that plugs into a chassis).

And the unnerving combination of power and pumped water hasn’t put the team off investigating advanced water cooling techniques – quite the opposite in fact.

MIS has a policy of replacing older cathode ray tube (CRT)monitors with more energy-efficient liquid crystal display (LCD) versions. In May 2008, an audit discovered 1,024 CRT monitors around the world, reduced to 757 by August 2008.

In line with the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive, Halcrow is disposing of computers and mobile phones in an environmentally sound manner, or recycling them. Regulations vary around the world, however, and there is more work to do here.

To sign up for free web conferencing WebEx training visit: www2.eventsvc.com/intercall emea/webex

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Following last year’s success, Inverness hosted its second ‘rollapolooza’ competition – a 200m time trial on a turbo trainer, with a ban on gear changes. Fierce competition saw over 60 per cent of the office frantically pedalling, with Ali Beaton and Kirstin Carmouche claiming prizes for their efforts.

Event organiser Katie Burgess said: “This year has been another resounding success with more offices taking part. The results of the third annual travel survey are encouraging, with a clear shift away from single occupancy cars towards more sustainable modes of transport. This trend is set to continue, as Halcrow continues to promote sustainable behaviour in all aspects of its business.”

And while Spring into Action week galvanizes employees and remains a focal point for sustainable travel at Halcrow, ongoing initiatives continue to drive change. Cutting business travel makes financial as well as environmental sense, and Halcrow’s ongoing investment in web and video conferencing facilities is helping to reduce the need for face-to-face meetings. Travel plans are already in existence in several offices, and are regularly updated and modified to reflect users’ experiences. A pool bicycle system has been launched in London’s Vineyard House providing folding bikes for nearby meetings, and there are already plans to extend this scheme to other offices.

Visit the sustainable travel pages on Halnet under our organisation/sustainability/travel for more information and get on your bike!

ith cars left languishing in the garage, trainers pounding the pavement and bicycles dragged out of storage, Halcrow’s sustainable transport initiative challenged employees

across the UK to rethink their travel options.

Kicking off on 11 May, the third annual Spring into Action week saw a range of activities take place at an unprecedented 25 UK offices. Serving as a catalyst for change, the event aims to promote sustainable modes of travel – to, from and during work – as well as reducing non-essential business travel; cutting both costs and carbon emissions.

Seeking to provide practical information, advice and incentives, activities included group cycle rides, free breakfasts for sustainable travellers, video conferencing demonstrations, raffles and transport quizzes. Initiatives such as the ‘Dr Bike’ surgery – where cycling professionals wielded their spanners, dispensing free maintenance services and advice – encouraged would-be cyclists to trade four wheels for two.

Over 1,600 employees completed the 2009 travel survey, providing insights into commuting patterns and the potential for influencing behaviour – whether additional showers or bike purchase schemes would boost cycling numbers, for example.

A raft of statistics emerged, informing travel strategies and providing an invaluable data source. Survey results since 2007 illustrate encouraging trends. The compiled figures demonstrate that 87 per cent of respondents already consider car sharing for business related travel; two-thirds wanted more information on calculating their carbon emissions; and single occupancy car journeys fell by 6 per cent. “The survey provided some valuable insights, which will help inform our plans for organisational and behavioural change,” noted group sustainability manager Nick Murry.

Various offices took up the challenge with initiatives to reflect their specific circumstances. Engaging with other companies based in their buildings, teams in Exeter and Norwich encouraged organisations – including the Highways Agency – to take part in joint activities. In Cardiff and Exeter, newly-formed bicycle user groups now provide a forum for route-swapping, technical tips and cyclist solidarity.

W


Vox | issue three40

Centuries of prejudice wrought by myths such as Dracula and Halloween means that many people are a little nervous around our chiropteran friends.

Exeter-based environmental scientist Richard Green, however, is dedicated to helping bats and humans live in harmony. After nine years as a volunteer bat worker for Natural England, the UK government’s advisor on the natural environment, he has recently qualified as one of its licensed trainers. Richard mentors volunteers in the Devon area, as they assist the public with unwanted winged visitors at home or work, ensuring the bats’ welfare.

His Natural England work often overlaps with and informs the bat-based tasks Richard undertakes at Halcrow. High-profile projects include updating the Highways Agency’s nature conservation advice in relation to bats. This involved monitoring and evaluating mitigation and conservation measures on completed schemes.

Appearing as an expert ecological witness on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government for the A487 Porthmadog Bypass proposal, Halcrow surveyed several lesser horseshoe bat roosts over the 5km route. In Britain, the species – Rhinolophus hipposideros – is found only in south-west England, Wales and Ireland. Estimates suggest that just 18,000 remain.

Chiropteran comings and goings were monitored using bat detectors – electronic gadgets which allow listeners to hear bat echo location calls. Richard explains: “All bats species emit different sounds, at ultrasonic levels – above human hearing range. If you can hear them you then have a chance of seeing them and monitoring their activities.”

The team also used radio tracking devices. “We catch a bat using a harp trap – a frame with vertical nylon filaments – into which it falls,

Batman Environmental scientist Richard Green becomes conservation mentor

Bat facts and figures

• ofthe4,000recordedmammalspeciesonearth,almost a quarter are bats

• therearearound18batspeciesintheUK,andaround 1,100 worldwide

•contrarytopopularmyth,thereareonlythree ‘vampire’ bat species that feed on blood, all native to South America

•70percentofbatsare insectivores, with others feeding on nectar, fish, frogs, other bats and numerous other exotic diets

unharmed. Having glued a small antennae tag to the bat, we can use a receiver to track its movements,” says Richard.

The survey turned up some interesting finds, including the first record of serotine bats in the area. Usually found in southern England, Richard believes it’s possible they are moving north due to climate change. Two other rare UK bats – the barbastelle and the Nathusius’ pipistrelle – also made an unexpected appearance. The study formed the basis of an extensive mitigation proposal for the road.

A beauty spot near Swindon, UK, that had become an overgrown eyesore, menaced by fly-tippers and teenage motorcyclists, has been transformed into a community nature resource – with a little help from Halcrow.

Nestling on land at the edge of Chiseldon village, the site, known as the washpool, was in such a sorry state that the community enlisted the help of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Halcrow to bring it back to its former glory.

With help from volunteers in the village and from the Wildlife Trust, a charming series of ponds with a boardwalk, water meadow and

wildlife refuge for amphibians and reptiles has been created. Halcrow delivered a range of services, including topographical surveys and setting out earthworks, as well as providing construction and specialist environmental science advice.

The site has played an important part in village life since medieval times, when shepherds washed their sheep in the pool before taking them to market.

With the planting of native trees, flora and fauna, as well as sensitive coppicing of the surrounding woodland,

the scheme has increased local biodiversity and provides a unique educational resource for the area’s children.

A natural choice for Chiseldon washpool

Concerned locals Hilary Howe, Lynn Bishop and Sheila Passmore approached Halcrow’s Nick Swannell, also a resident

Richard Green with a chiropteran friend


splashin marine renewables

Halcrow makes a

alcrow’s reputation as a leading expert in the emerging field of marine renewables has been further enhanced by a number of important

project successes.

Most recently, the East of England Offshore Renewable Energy Zone has asked Halcrow to consider options for developing a demonstration zone to test emerging wave, tidal and offshore wind technologies. The scope includes energy resource availability, grid connection constraints, capital build considerations and operational cost modelling. A more detailed study is expected to run throughout 2009.

Renewables East cited Halcrow’s extensive experience and ability to offer an integrated team to deliver the study as key factors in its success.

The team had to draw on this extensive knowledge to deliver a pre-feasibility study on the potential for tidal power generation in the Mull of Galloway, Scotland. With an estimated potential energy yield of 109MW, this site accounts for 3.7 per cent of the UK’s total tidal resource.

Halcrow assessed the Mull of Galloway’s potential for either testing tidal devices or for commercial power generation. The team prepared a detailed analysis of the resources, constraints, operation and financing options, including consultation with tidal device developers.

The project – on behalf of Scottish Enterprise – is now being reviewed to establish the way forward.

But it is Scotland’s Western Isles that offers the UK’s most significant long-term wave energy resource, thanks to its direct exposure to Atlantic waves.

Halcrow has worked closely with the Western Isles Development Trust and Comhairle to chart the main issues surrounding the development of wave energy in the area. This includes evaluating the socio-economic and community benefits, market development and the wave energy developers’ needs.

Thanks to the study, the establishment of a marine energy zone for the large scale deployment of wave energy devices has been recommended and is now under discussion with wider stakeholders.

In parallel with this, Halcrow prepared a further study – for the Scottish government – into the economic and community benefits that renewable energy could bring to the region.

Further information Contact George Milne at [email protected]

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Vox | issue three42

he Halcrow Foundation has provided £10,000 to help fund the New York-based HOPE Program’s Green Collar project, which will train and

empower some of the city’s poorest residents for jobs in the environmental arena.

All the jobs – in construction, retro-fitting buildings, energy efficiency, horticulture, transportation and manufacturing – will deliver family-sustaining wages, safe working conditions and real opportunities for personal advancement.

The funding will help pay for a basic education/general education teacher who will prepare students for the Green Collar initiative.

In order to qualify for the project, students must complete HOPE’s 12-week work-readiness training course and attain an eighth grade level proficiency pass in maths and reading. To meet this objective, HOPE has intensified its basic education, hiring a specialist teacher to help students boost their literacy skills. The work-readiness programme is already receiving support from the Halcrow Foundation to the tune of £30,000 over three years.

Halcrow’s sponsor, North American human resources director, Kevin Kahn, who also sits on the HOPE board, said: “This has the twin benefit of helping poor New Yorkers find and keep jobs while simultaneously helping the environment – issues that are important to Halcrow.

“And given that we are living in a time of economic crisis and climate destabilisation, this project will tackle both of these problems head on. This will benefit not only New York City’s economy – because the long-term unemployed will go to work – but will also help support Halcrow’s vision for a strong and sustainable green economy.”

And while being trained, students will benefit from the full range of HOPE support services such as assistance with housing, childcare, legal issues, individual therapy and computer classes. Once placed in a job, participants will move on to HOPE’s job placement, retention and career advancement programme, to ensure they are placed in jobs with tangible prospects that support them and their families.

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Tied to a successful future: A HOPE student selects his neck attire

Clothes for all

Presenting a professional, well-groomed image is essential to land that dream job. But when money is so short that it is hard to know where your next meal will come from, buying a suit is some way down the list of urgent priorities.

So Halcrow employees across the US decided to lend a helping hand and donated 11 boxes of clothes to The HOPE Program.

HOPE’s students are now turning up to job interviews donning some seriously professional attire, boosting their confidence and helping them on their journey to becoming fully contributing members of society.

Find out more at www.thehopeprogram.org

The triumph of

over adversity

Improved healthcare is just one of the benefits that will be afforded to hundreds of impoverished families living in Delhi’s sprawling Sriniwaspuri slum district, thanks to a Halcrow Foundation grant.

Located just 3km from Halcrow’s main office, around 150,000 ethnically mixed souls – mostly illiterate migrant workers from all over India who flock to Delhi for the chance to snatch a labouring job – eek out their lives here.

A new dawn for Delhi slum dwellersThe foundation will directly help Savera (which means dawn in Hindi) – a non-governmental organisation – meet a funding shortfall for the cost of medicines for a year.

Sponsored by Halcrow’s David Birch, £5,600 will be used to help fund the medical centre, which provides outpatient facilities run by paid and volunteer doctors and nurses. It also provides dental, gynaecological and ophthalmic services at sister clinics and through mobile vans.

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People suffering from terminal illnesses in the UK’s most westerly county are to benefit from continuing palliative care thanks – in part – to the Halcrow Foundation.

Cornwall Hospice Care – a charity that runs the Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in St. Austell and St. Julia’s Hospice, Hayle – is facing a £600,000 funding shortfall in its £4.1 million annual running costs.

The hospice receives just 14.5 per cent of its yearly running costs through National Health Service funding, compared to a UK average of 31 per cent. Most of the balance is reliant on fundraising and donations, which have been negatively impacted by the faltering economic climate.

We doAs Cornwall’s only adult hospice service, its (seriously ill) 500 annual users would have to travel up to two hours to the next nearest hospice should it be forced to close.

The Halcrow Foundation has stepped in with close to £21,000. The funds will be used to buy three specialist floatation mattresses to relieve the discomfort of patients that need to spend long periods in bed, as well as compression garments to relieve the suffering of over 100 lymphoedema patients.

Sponsor Sue Davies, a London-based personal assistant, gained support from the local offices as well as from her London friends, who raised over £750 for the hospice at a recent fundraising quiz.

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Find out more: www.cornwallhospicecare.co.uk

A big thank you to the Cardy Beaver Foundation for its latest gift to the Halcrow Foundation of £5,000,

bringing the total raised by DavidKerrinhisMarathon

des Sables endurance event last year to £18,000.

Giving generously Halcrow FoundationGiving generously Halcrow Foundation

Vox | issue three44

Find out more: www.cornwallhospicecare.co.uk

he threat of rape and sexual molestation for Kenyan primary school pupils in Nyarima has been dramatically reduced thanks to the

Halcrow Foundation.

Such a major and positive change is just one of many now being realised – following a £13,300 grant.

The Halcrow Foundation funded the construction of a purpose-built latrine block, with designated toilets for boys, girls and teachers. A 5,000-litre rainwater harvesting tank provides clean water for hand-washing and improved hygiene, saving the children countless hours previously spent fetching and carrying water.

The project was sponsored by Halcrow’s Rob Clarke, who made several visits to the site to oversee the work of the implementing non-governmental organisation, the Health and Water Foundation (HWF).

And with all the work now finished, it is female pupils at the school who have reaped the greatest benefits. The risk of molestation and rape has been reduced due to the dramatically enhanced privacy and security of the sanitary facilities. The previous toilet block was exposed, lacked doors and was situated on a public thoroughfare.

Girls reaching puberty felt extremely uncomfortable, especially during their monthly periods, and the school

Private sanitation facilities protect female pupils in Nyarima, Kenya

had reported significant numbers of female students missing up to 25 per cent of the school year as a result.

The ongoing education and support programme is helping raise hygiene awareness among maturing girls, and provides subsidised or free sanitary products as part of the project’s next phase.

A further benefit has been a dramatic decline in incidents of diarrhoea and other unpleasant illnesses across the entire student population.

Over 500 teachers and students – including disabled and orphaned children – have benefited directly from the scheme. Improvements in physical health and wellbeing are already apparent, and the wider aim is to increase girls’ school attendance rates, academic performance and sense of empowerment. Additional phases include education against the practise of female genital mutilation.

This pilot project is already being touted as a model ripe for replication by other communities and schools in the area.

New kids on the blockT

Find out more at www.healthandwater.org

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The lives of 273 residents in Manuquibia village, Timor-Leste, have been transformed by a £12,000 grant from the Halcrow Foundation, providing safer water supply and sanitation facilities.

The Halcrow Foundation is working closely with WaterAid Australia on the project in Timor-Leste’s Liquica district. Just 58 per cent of Timor-Leste’s population has access to clean water and almost half survive on less than 25 pence per day.

Six conveniently located community tap stands provide a clean, reliable water source for the village’s 28 households. Access to newly built latrines and an integrated education programme have vastly improved sanitation. Simple hygiene messages introducing and supporting the facilities have seen a marked increase in hand-washing, domestic cleaning, and an understanding of the links between water and health.

“Previously, Manuquibia’s women and children spent up to two hours per day collecting water for their families from unprotected, often contaminated wells,” explains project sponsor Bill Austin. Mothers now have more time to spend with their families, and children are less likely to play truant or drop out.

The success of the water and sanitation project has served as a catalyst for other schemes. Small scale agriculture and micro-economies are focusing the community’s attention, helping to foster confidence and boost cohesion.

It’s clear the residents of Manuquibia are growing from strength to strength, making decisions about their futures and taking charge of their lives.

Safer water in East Timor

Pete Cole of Salt & Light Charity, otherwise known as Mr Big, travels around South Wales and Romania, sharing his juggling and circus skills. Once exposed to Mr Big’s unusual form of self-help, these children go forward with increased confidence in their own self worth and ability, helping to improve the

well-being of whole communities.

By providing £1,000 a year for three years, the Halcrow Foundation will support Pete’s habit of giving away juggling equipment to his protégés, providing the means for them to further develop

their newfound skills.

And nowhere is Mr Big more welcome than at Romania’s summer camps, where his annual trips are a hit with the visiting orphans, street and gypsy children. Through project sponsor

Sally Sudworth, the foundation has agreed to provide £4,260 to pay for new clothes and first

aid equipment for the children, who relish the chance to cast off their worries and submerse

themselves in a week of fun and laughter.

Partnering with one of Thailand’s most established non-governmental organisations, the Halcrow Foundation has approved a project to provide rural villagers with the skills, education and funding needed to escape lives of grinding poverty.

Founded in 1974, the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) of Thailand programmes are based on the belief that local people are best suited to shape and sustain their own development. PDA has pioneered grassroots growth marked by extensive villager involvement, not only as beneficiaries but also as planners, managers and leaders. The foundation is supporting a medium-sized village over six years, funding a range of projects planned and implemented by the community.

Administered through a village development partnership (VDP), the bulk of the foundation’s £40,000 donation will be ploughed into projects selected by community members within the first two years.

Designed to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining after six years, the programme aims to instil the importance of community empowerment, and provides villagers with the confidence – as well as the physical means – to change their situation.

Transforming lives in Thailand

Juggling joy

Led by project sponsor Ali Adam, Halcrow’s Bangkok-based employees will visit the village to offer their support and skills, and to monitor progress.

Community institutions will be established in the form of the village development committee and its components: the village development bank committee, the youth council, and the council of elders. A village development bank will be established as part of the programme – an important source of credit for income-generating activities and a system that encourages saving.

By gaining knowledge, business skills, access to micro-credit and a structured framework to alleviate the root causes of their poverty, community members can play an active role in shaping their future.

Find out more at www.pda.or.th/eng

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Vox | issue three46

Passing knowledge to the next generation

Six members of the Leeds transport planning team sacrificed their well-earned Sunday morning lie-in on 10 May, deciding instead to line up for the Leeds Corporate Relay – held annually in conjunction with the Leeds half marathon.

Despite the fragility of Ken Fox’s ankles, pot-holed roads and Ewan Gillies-Smith’s determination to avoid anything that could remotely pass as training prior to the race, the team completed the 21km course in a competitive one

Amidst the hoards of elite athletes, celebrity chefs and super heroes taking part in the 2009 London marathon, were three runners from Halcrow.

Catherine Smith and Simon Taylor from York’s highways team, and coastal scientist Robert Webbon from Swindon, battled scorching temperatures to finish the race

Sweet child of mineOn the eve of the Romanian Orthodox Easter in April, Halcrow’s big-hearted Romanian team organised a charity event at Bucharest’s St. Macrina Orphanage.

Romania’s managing director, Jeni Ionita, joined employees who donated armfuls of tasty sweets and other assorted goodies. The children’s artistic efforts were displayed with an exhibition of their drawings and paintings.

Spinning the wheelAbu Dhabi-based marine construction manager Richard Wardropper took part in a 24-hour exercise bike ride earlier this year, as part of a team called Bertie’s Bikers. Pitted against four other teams, the bikers pedalled the farthest, at around 657km. Richard raised £800 for Médecins sans Frontiéres.

on 26 April. The trio pounded the capital’s roads along the route, which snakes through London’s streets from Greenwich all the way to St James’s Park.

Simon set himself a target of five hours, and came in just 21 minutes later, while Catherine – no stranger to endurance events – stopped the clock at 3 hours 27 minutes. Having only taken up running 18 months ago, Robert was thrilled to cross the finish line just two minutes later.

Contributions from York colleagues netted £220, with Simon raising an additional £1,300 for Cancer Research UK and Catherine banking donations for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Rob raised an impressive £1,000 for the Cambridge-based Animal Health Trust charity.

Capital strides

Brand new Halcrow footballs replaced makeshift string and rag versions when representatives from the UK’s Portsmouth’s Admiral Lord Nelson School visited Addis Ababa earlier this year. Halcrow donated the balls to both mainstream and special-needs schools in some of the Ethiopian capital’s poorest communities.

The gift of football

hour, 49 minutes. Halcrow’s runners came in 38th out of 98 overall and 6th out of 38 in the ‘mixed’ category.

Fundraising for Sue Ryder Care – which runs the Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley – the team netted over £900 for the charity.

Passing the baton in Leeds

Rob Webbon waves to his fans

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Pushing through the pain barrier – Richard Wardropper

He strikes ...Future stars

People parade Taking a break

With over 60 per cent of the Netherlands lying below sea level, flood risk management is an issue of unparalleled national importance.

Unsurprisingly, students in Holland receive an early introduction to flood alleviation principles. To this end, a 30-strong school group from Zeldenrust Steelant College in Terneuzen recently visited the UK’s Broadland flood alleviation scheme.

The Broadland Halcrow project team was on hand to welcome the year ten students on 31 March. Halcrow’s Matthew Philpot and Jamie Manners spoke to the students about the vital role civil engineers and environmental scientists play in defending communities from flooding.

The packed programme was capped off with a visit to the Norfolk Broads, culminating in a two-hour boat trip to look at completed flood defence works on the Broadland scheme.

Forty below From fresh-faced graduates to worldly-wise 30-somethings carving out their careers, young professionals in Wales are set to benefit from the recently launched -40C – a club for those under 40, chaired by Halcrow’s Alexander Jones.

Established by Constructing Excellence Wales (CEW), the club empowers its younger members to express their opinions on the built environment.

Alex was approached by CEW following his successes in raising the profile of a Cardiff-based graduate forum. In championing -40C, he encourages a diverse range of under 40s working in this area to enhance their skills, develop an in-depth knowledge of the industry, and engage with their professional peers.

Launched in February, the club attracted more then 150 attendees to its first function. An equally successful Question Time style event followed, focusing on the sustainability debate. Halcrow’s Sally Sudworth, market sector director, joined the high profile panel, with input from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Design Commission Wales.

Himalayan hi-jinksDelhi employees enjoyed a weekend of picnicking and adventure in Nainital, a town in the northern Indian state of Uttranchal, in May.

Nainital lies in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas, and offered myriad opportunities for building team spirit and camaraderie. Around 110 employees and family members went for the three-day, two-night trip and enjoyed wonderful weather in beautiful surroundings. Even a soaking in the gentle mountain rains was met with relish.

The group bobbed along in boats on Naini Lake, visited famous local caves and indulged in some rappelling (abseiling) and rock climbing.

Broadland project fact file• 20-year public finance initiative project• maintenance and improvement of 240km flood defences• joint venture between Halcrow and BAM Nuttall (contractor) • protects 1,700 properties and 30,000ha of agricultural land

Going Dutch

Dams hold strong in Wenchuan earthquakeIn May 2008, China was rocked by the deadliest earthquake to hit its shores since 1976. Measuring a shattering eight on the Richter scale, the Wenchuan earthquake killed around 87,000 people, injured 375,000 more and made millions homeless.

Thirteen international dam specialists – including Halcrow’s Jonathan Hinks – and a group of Chinese experts were invited to visit dams and power stations affected by the earthquake as part of a five-day seminar earlier this year.

Reconstruction costs are estimated at £100 billion. The carnage included destruction of the area’s road network and many bridges, as well as damage to some 2,666 dams – 331 of which were described as ‘highly dangerous’.

The group visited the 156m-high Zipingpu concrete faced rock fill dam, situated just 17km from the earthquake’s epicentre, which miraculously escaped extensive damage. The same could not be said for the Shapai power station, which was badly mauled by large rocks thundering down the mountainside.

Jonathan confirmed: “The various large dams we visited seem to have performed well in the earthquake – the power stations and ancilliary works less so, although the Zipingpu power station was returned to service just one day after the earthquake.”

The seminar was hosted by Dr Jia Jinsheng of the Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research.

Vox | issue three48

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School’s out – the group enjoys a boat trip around the Norfolk Broads

Naini Lake

Royal praiseJohn Farrer, chairman of the board of governors for the Halcrow-sponsored Sharjah English School, had the honour of meeting with the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, during a recent visit.

In an address, school principal David Throp extolled the considerable support that Halcrow has provided since its foundation as a small, villa-based institution in 1969.

Following the gift of a plot of land from the ruler of Sharjah in 1974, a group of British companies – including Halcrow – raised funds and established a not-for-profit school.

In 2006, it was relocated to a new site adjacent to University City, with separate buildings for foundation, primary and secondary classes. His Highness expressed his pleasure at seeing the school’s recent development.

The next phase is the development of the performing arts building, which will include an auditorium, music and drama rooms, library and sixth form common room.

Holi festivalScores of employees at Halcrow’s Noida office in India hurled coloured powders and paints at each other to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi on 10 March.

An energetic dance by administrative assistant Krishna Prasad proved to be the highlight of the evening’s celebrations.

Mayoral visitAssistant engineer, Olga Naumova, who hails from Uzbekistan, and Bajan engineer Shaunette Babb were pleased to welcome Swindon’s mayor, Cllr Steve Wakefield to Burderop Park, following their British Citzenship ceremony in the town.

Regional director Chris Kearns briefed the mayor on Halcrow’s business, highlighting some of the work with which the company’s 600-strong Swindon team is currently involved.

He was then taken on a tour of the premises where he chatted to employees.

Clients and colleagues met, mingled and admired Halcrow’s new surroundings in Oakland, US, at an ‘open house’ on 28 May. Organised by Elaine Santos, the event celebrated the Oakland team’s December 2008 move.

Spacious and comfortable, the modern building comprises essential common spaces, including a library and multiple conference rooms. Importantly, the office is mere steps from a major bay area rapid transit (BART) transfer stop, providing a sustainable transport option for the team and visitors. The new office also provides dedicated areas for the 20-strong team to collaborate.

A major marketing drive for Oakland, the event served as an ideal opportunity to brand Halcrow as a global company to local clients. Encouraging numbers of clients, partners and vendors took up the invitation to view the renovated space in a relaxed atmosphere.

Some 21 Halcrow employees have shared their career stories on camera to help inspire youngsters on the cusp of joining the working world.

UK employees harbouring silver screen fantasies added their voices to a new online library of over a 1,000 personal stories, created by online resource icould and managed by the Career Development Organisation (CRAC).

Real stories from real people talking candidly about their experiences breathe life into a multitude of career possibilities, helping young people to think positively and imaginatively about the direction their lives could take.

Group human resources director Mandy Clarke said: “Our employees draw on a broad range of education and experience, and each plays a key part in the success of the diverse services our organisation delivers. This project gave us a chance to link up with young people in an innovative and inspiring way.”

View their stories at: www.halcrow.com/html/careers/uk/icould.htm

Broadland project fact file• 20-year public finance initiative project• maintenance and improvement of 240km flood defences• joint venture between Halcrow and BAM Nuttall (contractor) • protects 1,700 properties and 30,000ha of agricultural land

Lights, camera, action

Oakland’s open house

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Thomas Le Mesurier Spring-Smyth passed away, aged 85, on 30 April 2009. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer.

Reuben Cummins died 13 May 2009, aged 75.

P J Fraser died 14 March 2009, aged 81. He leaves wife Margaret.

G W Atkinson died 27 February, aged 85.

S G F Howell died 30 April 2009, aged 75. He is survived by wife Jane.

David Wardrop passed away on 9 June 2009, aged 68. He is survived by wife Betty.

Peter Swan died 30 May 2009, aged 74.

Martin Currie passed away on 12 July 2009.

Brenda Webb died 17 April 2009, aged 69.

Sugunarajan Madhavan (1945 – 2009)

On 30 April 2009 Sugunarajan Madhavan and his wife, Vimaladevi, both died in a car accident while on a visit to India.

A geospatial market sector and skill group resource manager for the water and power business group, Sugunarajan was instrumental in setting the strategy and direction for Halcrow’s geospatial business in the Middle East.

Sugunarajan was also one of Halcrow’s longest serving employees in the region, joining the company in 1974. He is survived by his daughter, Deepa.

Amy Vargas (1972 – 2009)

Abu Dhabi-based Angelita (Amy) Vargas died on 31 March 2009, after a brief trip home to the Philippines.

As part of the Lusail computer assisted

design team, Amy continually exceeded the expectations of her managers. Her consistent performance was recognised with the water and power business group’s award for ‘significant contribution’ in 2007.

Amy leaves a husband, Leoncio Gaza, who works for Halcrow in Abu Dhabi, and a 12-year old daughter.

Rachel Broome and Chris Monk gained membership to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in June 2009. The duo graduated from Halcrow’s monitored professional development scheme (MPDS) through the mechanical, electrical and energy engineering skill group.

Glasgow’s Kirsty Allingham and Katrina Carr passed their Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) level three in business and administration,

as well as the modern apprenticeship in the same subjects.

Leeds-based Jennie Peacock is now a chartered member of the Landscape Institute, having successfully completed the institute’s pathway to chartership programme. IN

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Paul Ransley, a street lighting project engineer, is now a member of the Institution of Lighting Engineers and an

incorporated engineer.

Having found the interview route particularly challenging, Paul found himself an unwitting pioneer

as he was instead asked to write a street lighting strategy for a fictitious town to demonstrate his knowledge.

The Engineering Council is now offering this as an alternative approach for those who, like Paul, find interviews torturous.

Neil Currie’s commitment to raising the profile of consultancy and engineering was recently recognised by the UK’s Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), with its coveted engineering ambassador award.

Manchester-based Neil, a technical manager within the property team, is responsible for developing innovative engineering solutions, which he shares with teams worldwide. Neil is a fierce advocate of communicating

engineering principles in plain English – most recently giving a talk on engineering simplicity at London’s Imperial College. He also actively promotes the Institution of Structural Engineers, for which he is a company mentor and volunteer interviewer.

Flying the flag for transport planning, Halcrow’s Julia Gilles is now recognised as a chartered professional reviewer by the Institution of Highways and Transportation.

A chartered engineer with 18 years experience, the UK sector director for local authority frameworks put herself forward for reviewer training – ensuring candidates with specialist backgrounds see their specific

skills represented within the review process.

While Julia will not be able to review any Halcrow candidates, she will be passing on useful hints and tips, and acting as a mentor.

Paul Maliphant, Halcrow’s Cardiff-based market sector director, has been elected to the council of the Geological Society of London (GSL).

Paul is the current chairman of GSL’s southern Wales regional group, which he founded in 1992. Heavily engaged with the society’s grass root membership, he provides support to geologists in the formative years of their careers and works to enhance links with educational institutions.

In his new role, Paul will work closely with organisations, such as the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, to address key challenges such as sustainable development, global warming and the move towards a low carbon economy.

An unwitting pioneer

The ambassador’s reception

Role model reviewer

High society

Kirsty Allingham and Katrina Carr

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senior teams overcoming the host nation in their play-offs.

On their return, the Cardiff-based civil engineers carried their momentum through the winter season. Rob led the Cardiff office team to storming victories in the local league, while Andy donned the red jersey once more for the Welsh senior team at the Mainland Cup in Heidelberg, Germany, in late July 2009.

Sporting successField of dreams

Dynamic, skilful and played at frenetic pace, touch rugby has taken the world by storm since its informal beginnings as an offshoot of the more bruising, contact versions.

Now a highly competitive sport, ‘touch’ is thriving, and two Halcrow employees are leading the charge. Selected to represent Wales at last year’s European championships, Rob Davies and Andy Perry travelled to Paris in July 2008 with the mixed and senior teams respectively.

Around 600 players from 15 countries trooped into Massy to the south of the capital for the four-day biennial tournament, which also featured guest teams from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia – from where the sport originates.

Rob and Andy each picked up a bronze medal, with both the mixed and

Rotary racingTo a rhythmic drum beat, 16 paddlers from the UK’s Bristol office propelled their boat towards the finish line of the Rotary Club of Bristol Breakfast dragon boat festival earlier this year.

Transforming the Bristol Docks into a scene of churning water and determined exertion, 27 teams battled for supremacy on 14 June, with charities benefiting from the money raised through sponsorship.

The Halcrow Heroes – a mix of business groups savouring their first attempt at dragon boat racing – were cheered on by their families and colleagues, sweating it out to win a place in the final. Up against strong opposition, the rookie team was pipped at the finish and narrowly beaten into third place.

No substitute for determination

Halcrow’s Reading office football team made its debut at the Institution of Civil Engineers South East England five-a-side football

tournament, held at Fleming Park Leisure Centre near Southampton.

The team determinedly fought its way to a tough semi-final clash against a rival team, which was playing with four substitutes. Halcrow – the

only team playing with no substitutes – was eventually defeated by fatigue despite some fiery frontline play, losing 3-1 and taking a respectable

third place.

Fantasy football eat your heart outWith the world captivated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80 million transfer saga, another group of talented footballers were quietly plying their trade in Swindon, UK.

As part of Halcrow’s Spring into Action week, Burderop Park held a five-a-side tournament earlier this year. Easy Gliders FC lived up to its sobriquet; soaring to a 2-0 victory over transport planning’s WFS in the tightly contested final.

(L to r) Tim Wilkins, Rizwan Rizvi, GodfriedNyamekyeh,MuratGercerkerandJamesHern

An

dy

and

Rob

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Hal

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’s p

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tak

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Easy Gliders

A touch of class

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Connections | July 2008

AnnouncementsHappy days

Vox | issue three52

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1) Chichester’s Andy Etheridge and partner Carolina are the proud parents of Edward Andres, born in Portsmouth on 28 March, weighing a hearty 4.2kg.

2) Zahidul Islam, a site engineer in Sharjah, and his wife Dr Nargis celebrated the arrival of their new baby girl on 15 April.

3) Meet tiny Charlotte Olivia, born on 26 May and weighing 1.9kg. Dad Nick Henderson of the York office and mum Hailee are pleased as punch.

4) Bundle of joy Bilal Mohsin was born on 9 April, weighing 2.73kg, to happy parents Muhammad Mohsin of the Halcrow Yolles Toronto office and his wife, Zainab.

5) Lachlan and Jack arrived on 12 March to proud dad Geoff Eeles from the Swindon office and mum Jill, weighing almost the same at 2.8kg and 2.7kg.

6) Jonathan Davies from Waltham Cross and new mum Gemma welcomed their little son, Cai Thomas, into the world on 20 March, weighing 2.7kg.

7) Clare Dewar from Halcrow’s Dublin office and husband Iain are over the moon with their baby boy – Alasdair Eoghan – born on 4 April.

8) Charlie Reid was born on 9 January, a 3.9kg armful for overjoyed parents Andy Reid from the Edinburgh office and wife Amanda. Here he is getting a cuddle from big sister Caelyn.

9) Abhijeet Rane from Halcrow’s Mumbai office and wife Aarya were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Bhoomi, on 2 February.

10) Delhi-based Sam Samual and wife Ani welcomed their bouncing daughter, Alina Mary, into the world on 26 March.

11) Vikas Rana from Halcrow’s Delhi office married his beautiful bride, Anita, on 14 February.

12) Edinburgh-based Cary Holt tied the knot with Marza-Jedda Burnside in the sunshine at Pitlochry on 14 August 2008.

13) Transport planner Kishor Kumar – from Halcrow’s India office – tied the knot with Archana on 5 March.

14) New York’s Quentin Holland wed Amy Gaimster in a romantic Manhattan loft ceremony on Valentine’s Day.

15) Chichester’s Tony Blake married Rebecca on 28 February at Upwaltham Barn, Pulborough, before honeymooning in colourful Cuba.

16) Madhukiran Tayi, a transport planner in India, wed Meena on 8 May.

17) Wedding bells rang out over the beautiful English city of Bath when Bristol’s Jeremy Hidderley married Lisanne Earl on 2 May.

18) Jayesh Raut from Halcrow’s Mumbai office celebrated his marriage to Swati on 5 March.

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way from the rigours of Halcrow’s

York-based railway signal design

group, senior consultant Dave

Barker regularly transforms himself into

a keyboard wizard for 1970s US blues-rock

tribute band Aynt Skynyrd.

As its name implies, the nine-piece band

plays enthusiastic covers of southern US

rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd to packed houses

across the UK.

Dave, who has played in various bands

throughout his forty-something years,

‘retired’ from the gruelling live circuit some

five years ago. But all that was to change

when he was persuaded to put on his stage

gear one last time by a friend of one of the

band’s wives.

“Basically, the band evolved from another

group, Stealer, which played rock covers

and increasingly shoe-horned more and

more Lynyrd Skynryd songs into its set

list, until it decided to go the whole hog

and focus solely on the band’s musical

canon,” explained ‘Dave the keys’ – his

stage moniker.

Despite being an avowed Strangler’s fan –

the British new wave punk band of the late

1970s and early 1980s – Dave took to the

totally different musical approach like a

duck to water.

Now playing 20 to 30 gigs a year with their

first foreign jaunt to Germany next year,

Dave remains a committed family man.

He admits that the unsought desires of

wannabe groupies can be an occupational

hazard. “But we all take safety in numbers,”

quipped Dave.

Married to Elizabeth, Dave is also a proud

father of 20-year-old budding fine artist

and bass player, Andrew, and daughter

Clare, 17, a talented pianist and flautist

in her own right.

It’s clear music runs in this family, as

Dave acknowledges: “My father, Lewis,

was a jazz-blues pianist on the circuit for

years. Music was all around us growing

up, and I guess I created that same

environment for my children, who are

both really talented musically.”

Having already played two gigs at the

infamous Bulldog Bash – the British

Hell’s Angels-run bike and music

festival – sharing the same stage as

veteran rockers Status Quo, the more

sedate surrounds of the Grand Opera

House, York, played host to Aynt

Skynyrd at the end of June.

And with all tickets sold out to fans

eager for a slice of aural pleasure, the

band’s passion and grit for recreating

the spirit

of their

musical

heroes

makes their

place at the

top table

of tribute

bands set

to run

and run.

Out of officeA day in the life

At night, senior rail engineer Dave Barker transforms into a rock legend

A

Vox | issue three54

Sustainable business

is good business

Helping to find alternative sources of

energy to power our

businesses and homes.

Ralph Watts [email protected] +44(0)1793 816333

one more from the road

LynyrdSkynyrdformedin1964andbecame prominent in the southern UnitedStatesin1973,risingtoworldwide recognition. Tragedy struck when several members, including lead vocalist and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant,diedinanairplanecrashin1977.

Thebandreformedin1987forareuniontour with Ronnie’s younger brother, Johnny Van Zant as the frontman, and continues to record today.

One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed Southern Rock

groupsofthe1970s,theband’sdistinctive triple-lead guitar sound made songs Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama American anthems.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Black Sabbath, Blondie,MilesDavis,andtheSex Pistols in 2006.

•Davefirstplayedin a band in 1977 – the year Punk exploded onto an unsuspecting world•Healsoco-wrotethesongOne voice – used on the BBC’s Songs of Praise television show•DaveonceworkedwithRickSavage from the British heavy metal band Def Leppard – but on the railway, not musically

•HeleadsworshipatYork’s St. Andrew’s Church

The original Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dav

e th

e ke

ys, fi

fth

fro

m

left

, wit

h b

and

mat

es


is good business

Helping to find alternative sources of

energy to power our

businesses and homes.

Ralph Watts [email protected] +44(0)1793 816333

Helping to manage and

conserve our natural resources.


is good business

Karen Howells

[email protected] +44(0)1793 815534

vox - july 2009

Documents

sustainable energy source

sustainable development

halcrow employees

future edition

vox teameditorialanna

cathy sparkbelize

cathy huchongqing

andrea choishanghai