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The WaveWalker is a modified jack up barge, which is capable of manoeuvring under its own power and essentially walking along the seabed. This is the first time that a working platform of this kind has been used on the UK Rail network. The contractor have modified the WaveWalker to allow the piling works to be undertaken designing and installing…

This project is situated on a large greenfield site with surrounding woodland and is an ideal site for ground nesting birds. There is a need to locate and protect these nest sites and provide advice to the construction team. One of the contributing factors that influenced decisions to find alternate methods to ecological surveying and mitigation was the onset of…

The contractor were keen to make links to the local surrounding schools and charitable organisations and were pointed in the direction of a recently constructed Additional Needs School. Upon the first visit it was clear the contractor could do great things there and having seen the school canteen that was run by the pupils a plan was put together to…

This contractor has put into use new services avoidance and surveying equipment the Leica DD 220. This is a class leading device with uniquely designed digital PCB aerials and on-board filters which can detect just a very small signal from a buried utility. It also has a built-in Geographic Information System (GIS) system which enables data capture which then becomes…

An opportunity arose to demonstrate a bespoke integration of structure and MEP services during the development of this project. After a number of test  assemblies the project team settled on a method where the MEP module was married to the underside of a precast floor slab. Entitled the ‘U-Slab’ due to it’s shape, this method of construction has delivered numerous…

On this project they are using pre serviced walls across several of the floors. These are walls made of chipboard that are manufactured off site and have hockey sticks and sockets fixed into them. The walls fit into a wooden track that has been fixed into the floor and ceiling. The walls are self-supporting, meaning that when the track has…

The contractor are in discussion with Geopura to bring a new hydrogen generator to site to replace a diesel unit, thereby producing zero emissions. There are a limited number of these units in use and only a handful of sites have trialled them in the country. The hydrogen is delivered by tanker, and manufactured using a renewable energy source. To…

In conjunction with Time to Breathe and the British Safety Council the contractor is collecting real time information about air pollution via a free mobile app called Canairy. It calculates a user’s hourly exposure to nitrogen oxide, ozone and tiny particulates (PM2.5 and PM10) and draws on King’s College London’s Nowcast map of current air pollution in London and compares…

The industry have moved on from traditional paper RAMS and Inspection & Test Plans (ITP) to photographic which has been widely received within the industry as ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. This contractor have been carrying out video RAMS/ITP’s on their project They also have a ‘Project Show Me Exercise’ for all activities on site which has traditionally…

This project has used Disperse’s building productivity management platform to help address coronavirus related challenges on site. They have used the software as a monitoring device and it has helped them recover up to ten weeks on the programme, return to 70% capacity in six weeks and with no reported outbreaks of coronavirus. The Disperse Social Distancing scan takes several…

The site team have been using an exoskeleton suit which helps with fatigue when it comes to overhead working and transfers the strain from the operative’s neck and shoulders down to their hips. Musculoskeletal disorders are commonplace in construction and with the introduction of this item, it’s an issue that no longer needs to be considered a by-product of working…

On this project floor screeding is being carried using a self-contained large lorry which is computer and remotely controlled to mix sand and cement in 45 seconds and then pumps the screed to the workplace. The lorry arrives on site preloaded with cement and sand. Whilst the vehicle returns to the depot to be filled with cement the sand can…

Acknowledging the amount of time that staff and operatives wear site safety boots the contractor has purchased ‘Footbeds’ which is a system for measuring individuals feet to check for pronation, gait and weight bearing or other foot disorders (similar to runners) leading to the manufacture of moulded insoles to insert in their boots and consequently reducing damage and increasing comfort….

Costain and ALS (laboratories) are working together on a new software suite for onsite compliance testing of water arising from excavations. The app based sample recording and submitting process ensures that samples are correctly logged to the sample point (can be used to check sampling has been undertaken correctly if results are not as expected and that sample is from…

As part of the contractors approach to avoiding service damages, they formally appoint members of their team to the role of Service Protection Coordinator (SPCO). Each appointment requires a minimum level of training, which includes an internal Service Protection Coordinators Course. The Service Protection Coordinator is formally appointed by the Divisional Director. An SPCO is individually appointed to every project…