Inside: Jacobs buys CH2M p08 Grenfell Tower latest p10 Stockholm metro p52 New Civil Engineer SEPTEMBER 2017 | IBP MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FACTORY THINKING CONSTRUCTION EMBRACES THE PRODUCTION LINE There’s more to Groundworks Temporary Bridging Permanent Bridging Propping & Jacking Building Refurbishment Formwork & Falsework Site Access & Barriers Instrumentation & Monitoring Contract Services Major Projects Product Sales Training Academy For more information about how we can help you deliver safer, faster and more efficient construction, contact us: tel: 0845 741 3040 email: [email protected] web: www.mabey.com New Civil Engineer THINK FACTORY IF YOU WANT TO END THE PROFITS SLUMP MARK HANSFORD EDITOR he timing of this month’s theme – factory thinking – stated that manufacturing is one of three “strategic themes” in the surely couldn’t be more apposite. recently released Technology Roadmap for the industry. As we move through the “summer of profit warnings” But, there’s still a way to go before the UK embraces offsite the way T the parlous state of UK civils contracting has been laid that Germany, Japan or other countries have done. bare in ways that, while not really surprising, are still Take High Speed 2. Back in 2014 HS2 Ltd’s technical director Andrew really rather concerning. McNaughton was urging his engineers to rise to the challenge and “join It all began in July with Carillion and its massive £845M writedown. The announcement sent shockwaves through the industry and saw 70% immediately wiped off the value of Carillion shares. But since then other major names have shown that Carillion is not Low margin businesses can alone. Skanska soon followed and announced a £30M writedown and work, but not by continuously now, last month, Interserve announced that it would be pulling back on its construction workload after a £2M loss. recreating the wheel And there are more. Galliford Try has had to set aside £98M to cover costs on two major infrastructure projects, while Mace has revealed a 70% slump in pretax profits. the 21st century” by refraining from doing things the way they have This is much more than a blip in the fortunes of some of the UK’s been done for many years. biggest players. The results issued by Carillion – and the others – must His call was simple: “I want a 3D printed embankment,” he said, then. raise legitimate questions about how these firms are going to recover “Fast forward to today and as far as I’m aware no factory-printed 3D and move forward. The time, surely, has come to properly question the embankments are being planned. validity of firms operating on 1% margins (or lower) while attempting Advances have been made since 2014. Crossrail has embraced the to recreate the wheel on every project. The inherent risks are just too mentality to a degree. A total of 250,000 concrete tunnel segments were obvious. manufactured near to site at the specially fitted out Old Oak Common Low margin businesses can work, but not by continuously starting factory. In another factory further afield, giant robotic 3D printers from scratch every time they produce something. The car industry created large moulds from wax to be used to cast concrete panels. does not work like that and neither do other manufacturing industries. Mace – one of those troubled by falling profits – has trialled a “jumping They employ factory thinking and it is time that it well and truly arrived factory” on a tower block it is building in east London and Skanska, for construction in the UK. another of the troubled group of contractors, is also busy piloting its Whatever you call it -- jumping factories, flying factories, offsite “flying factory” idea in Slough. factories or modular building – construction must increasingly resemble And there is much more being done behind the scenes. As always in manufacturing. The benefits are too strong to ignore: higher efficiencies this industry intellectual property is closely guarded and real cutting- and certainty around build programme, cost, quality control and health edge thinking is often hidden from the public domain. and safety. I suspect more will be done in this area in the coming months and There are firms out there pushing this agenda. In national years, but how will we know? How will investors know? Yes, efforts are infrastructure, the i3P group of 22 major clients and suppliers have being made, but we all need to hear more about them. SEPTEMBER 2017 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 3 Contents NEW CIVIL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2017 MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS 06 Comment, 23 This month's big issue: Analysis & News Factory Thinking 06 Lighthouse: Engineers must address image problem 08 The Edit: Jacobs takes over CH2M in mega-merger 09 The Edit: Crossrail releases images of fi tout 10 Analysis: Leading bodies join call for fi re safety register 12 Special report: Grenfell investigations begin and legal threats fl ow 16 Your View: Airports, Usk Viaduct, Grenfell 20 The Interview: Liz Peace, Chair, Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation 79 Institution of Civil Engineers: Forrest lecture addresses IT, ICE names new council members, CPD safety guide After a summer of profi t warnings from major civil engineering contractors surely now is the time to embrace a production line mentality. We talk to those at the forefront of driving this change. 2 4 Overview: O site manufacturing 34 Gantry design: Ramboll’s brings e ciency and certainty to unique automated software building programmes solution for design and modelling of gantries has 30 Housing: Could o site reduced a task that used manufacture be the answer to take weeks, down to to the UK housing crisis? mere hours Lego suspension bridge moves to Liverpool 4 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2017 New Civil Engineer Get news delivered daily Weekly Wrap and analysis delivered weekly with our newsletters. Sign-up at newcivilengineer.com Story of the week: A technical investigation into bridge collapses in South East Asia 40 Tech 52 World CONTRIBUTORS Excellence View Fiona McIntyre p16 Grenfell inquiries fi [email protected] Twitter @fi onaMcNCE Robert Henson p24 Factory thinking 40 A revamp of Kew Garden’s 52 Complex work below Sweden’s [email protected] Temperate House required TLC capital is set to relieve pressure on Twitter @rob_henson and delicate engineering existing rail lines 56 Business 58 Round Culture Table Katherine Smale p52 Stockholm metro [email protected] Twitter @katsmaleNCE Michaila Hancock p58 Wavin round table 56 Are engineers equipped to deal 62 Can you cut cost and with the ethical dilemmas they carbon on major may be faced with? infrastructure projects? SEPTEMBER 2017 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 5 Lighthouse ICE VIEWPOINT Civil engineers must address their image problem his month’s column needs engineers, but too often, is inspired by an like Roebling, their potential engineer who was contribution is not recognised. T based in the United Government and wider society often States. An article don’t appreciate these issues are in The Sunday Telegraph was linked so directly to engineering and celebrating the achievements of can be addressed by engineers. Washington Roebling, chief engineer Civil engineers provide many of the Brooklyn Bridge engineering BY ART WE of the things we need and take for feat, under the headline of “the MASTER granted every day – like clean water, Brooklyn Bridge: Obscure engineer greatest engineer you’ve never WHAT WOULD transport and electricity – helping heard of”. MASTER US people to live safer and easier lives. knowledge to build on successes This headline encapsulated a From designing and building like its regular State of the Nation huge communications challenge that flood defences to ensuring stable reports to inform national and local we need to address. and sustainable energy, civil government, and inform members We need to get the wider public engineers work to protect people of important trends in the industry and key stakeholders to appreciate and the places where they live. Civil and opinion on how they should the skills and expertise of engineers, engineers are creative people who be addressed. It can inspire us and recognise how what engineers solve problems, helping people by all to increase our own personal do has such a significant impact on shaping the world around them. knowledge and take up the challenge the quality of people’s lives. It is therefore frustrating that this of influencing wider society to call Fundamentals like increasing the huge contribution to global society on the engineering profession to productivity of the UK, and creating often goes unsung. address and solve UK and global a future-proofed infrastructure that Engineers are generally so problems, and create a world where appropriately and innovatively committed to their activities that we can all prosper. supports our growing population, they underplay the significance l Please address any comments are underpinned and driven by of their work, which means that about the Lighthouse column to engineering excellence. Society society does not optimise the [email protected] skills and expertise available. It is therefore incumbent on people like We need us to help engineers communicate the critical role they play in shaping Engineers to get the lives for the better. are generally It will also help us feel proud of wider public and working in our profession and proud so committed to to be members of the ICE. Engineers key stakeholders to are rightly immensely proud of their their activities profession – and the ICE’s task is to appreciate the skills help communicate the excitement that they underplay “and expertise of and pride to the public and next “the significance of generation. engineers The ICE also has a duty to use our their work 6 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | SEPTEMBER 2017 | Q-Bic Plus The infi ltration & attenuation unit worthy of closer inspection Open architecture enables unrestricted inspection & cleaning High storage volume Smart design enables installation in half the time of comparable units Already widely adopted across Europe, Q-Bic Plus now brings its revolutionary infi ltration and attenuation performance to the UK.