Balfour Beatty
Utilising Tekla Model and Augmented Reality for Bridge Installation and Tensioning
Complex large scale projects inevitably present a wide range of challenges. The Tekla model was used extensively on this bridge prohect throughout in internal and external design meetings, critical in the design process. SH Structures uploaded the model as an IFC file, which allowed them to pick any point on the model and compare it to the surveyed position. The...
Site Catering Social Enterprise 
Local Community Investment Charity CiC Forth Valley Community Focus (FVCF) have been installed on Balfour Beatty’s Forth Valley College site to deliver the on-site catering for our workforce. The unit is staffed by members of the local community who have been trained by FVCF and put through a ‘catering academy’ where they gain industry specific qualifications and employability training, supported...
Fill and Monitor Solution to Construct Highway Embankment
On this project, part of the road is carried on a 5m high embankment which overlies a historical railway cutting. The railway cutting was up to 9.5 m deep and is infilled with landfill material, placed predominantly during the 1970s. Ground investigation was carried out to determine the composition of the landfill material, which generally comprised a clay/sand matrix with...
Cabins to Support Neurodiverse Individuals
This contractor has introduced inclusive cabins, sympathetic to the needs of individuals with neurodiverse conditions. These come with several enhancements to colours (walls and signage), dimmable lighting, acoustic sound barriers, textures on chairs and temperature controls. Environmental and sustainable improvements including water harvesting, B rated cabins (first across the industry), eco-grid walkways and recycled plastic lumbar fencing.
Collaborative Approach to Removing Loose Components when Working at Height
On The Madison project, Balfour Beatty encouraged a collaborative approach with all subcontractors on site to carry out a site-wide reassessment of its Working at Height safe systems of work. All parties were encouraged to create innovative solutions and mitigate risk in their own areas of work. Magnetic Tethering The façade contractor highlighted a narrow shim that was very challenging...
Accessibility for the Community
Accessibility is so varied and a lot of work has been done on this project to tackle this. This includes speaking to the local authority and local stakeholders and getting some insight into the area and how diverse it is The project have done the following: The insight from the translation service manager at Hull City Centre helped identify the...
Pedestrian Diversion Routes
Since this project started there have been some some pedestrian incursions across the work site, to tackle this they have improved their communications and installed additional fencing to ensure that people know where to cross safely. The initiatives they have put in place include: Delivered 2,500 drinks coasters with a QR code to the National Highways webpage to pubs and...
Developing a More Efficient Dehumidifier for Site Accommodation
Standard dehumidifer units are supplied by a 3-phase electrical connection. Most drying rooms only have a single phase connection – upgrading this to 3-phase is costly and there is a lot of resistance to this by the cabin providers. The single phase dehumidifiers we found were underpowered to provide enough heat in colder months, so we found that there was...
Working in Partnership to Promote Apprenticeships
Here at Phase One of the Perth Transport Futures Project, we have developed a very close relationship with the Perth and Kinross branch of Developing the Young Workforce. We have worked together on several projects in the local community and recently worked together to produce a film for Scottish Apprenticeship Week. The film showcases an extremely talented young woman, Bethany...
Excavator Bucket Camera System
During the summer months this contractor trialled the use of an excavator bucket camera system to assist in archaeological trial trenching. The system was required due to proposed future depths of trenches (up to 5m) are deemed to be unsafe to enter on foot, although an inspection of the strata is still required. A camera was installed on the boom...
On Wave Locator Tag
On this project they have utilised the On Wave Locator (OWL) tag system provided by Onwave on one of their Archaeological Trial Trench sites on the northern section of the project. The trial consisted of four plus tags to be worn by site personnel and two pro tags attached to an excavator and tracked buggy to simulate a virtual exclusion...
OHL Jumper Measuring Kit
This is a working at height proposal to install a clamp at high level on the pylon allowing installation of the jumper connection in a safer manner. The jumper is what connects the OHL conductor from one side of the tower to the other on a tension tower. A suspension tower has continuous conductor running though the fittings but on...
Porous Asphalt and Concrete Filter Drainage System
An existing two lane dual carriageway was widened to three lanes in both directions, by borrowing space from the central reserve and both verges. Space constraints during construction led to the implementation of a porous asphalt-concrete filter drainage system which allowed an additional lane of traffic to run over the central reserve whilst both verges were constructed. A requirement of...
Safety Socket
The Challenge: The Façade design at roof level is extremely challenging and requires a complex network of secondary steelwork to be installed at the building’s edge on both Level 52 and Level 53 which is one of the most high-risk elements of the project. This is mainly due to each Steel post requiring four loose nuts to secure it in...
Sustainable Landscaping Solutions
In keeping with current best practice and to reduce adverse environmental impacts from the use of plastic products, the project is using a biodegradable product instead of plastic tree shelters. 5000 non-plastic shelters are being installed at four locations with diverse micro-climates which allows their environmental specialists to monitor and understand the performance of the shelters in different conditions. The...
