GoldBookThe stories behind the most

innovative, impactful and inspirational civil engineering practices

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 3

6 Overview How the NCE100 Companies of the Year were chosen

8 Staff feedback analysis Staff feedback was key to NCE100 award winner choices

11 NCE100 Top10 The 10 best NCE100 companies in 2018

20 Trending 20 The top 20 up and coming civil engineering firms

22 Trending 20 winner FJD Consulting stood out among the up and comers

25 NCE100 winners The 15 greatest stories of 2017

56 NCE100 listing The NCE100 Companies of the Year

58 NCE100 Judges The 45 judges who assessed the NCE100 firms

Contents8

22 16

100%57% Very Satisfied

93% Satisfied

0%

info@sweco.co.uk | 0113 262 0000 | www.sweco.co.uk

WE BELIEVE IN THE POSITIVE POWER OF HUMAN CURIOSITY & THE POSSIBILITIES IN TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION & DESIGN

EUROPE’S LEADING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENT & DESIGN CONSULTANCY

As Europe’s leading consultancy for future communities and cities, Sweco is delighted to be ranked by the NCE as the 6th civil engineering company in the UK and proud to be the recipient of its Low Carbon Leader Award.

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 5

“The NCE100 is the most rigorous

and robustly-judged business recognition scheme in civil engineering

Welcome to the NCE100 Gold Book. Inside we are recognising some fantastic civil engineering businesses. The companies inside are the most innovative, impactful and inspirational companies operating in the infrastructure sector today.

We know this because the NCE100 is the most rigorous and robustly-judged business recognition scheme in civil engineering.

To achieve recognition here, firms have had to present their achievements to a panel of 45 judges representing the industry’s leading clients, owner/operators stakeholder groups and change bodies.

But not only that, they had to allow us to conduct a comprehensive survey of their staff. We are grateful to the almost 8,000 engineers who responded and provided us with their invaluable insight.

These firms also had to answer some key questions designed to eliminate any company that is not meeting the NCE100 criteria of driving our industry forward by doing the right things, in the right way, to deliver outcomes that benefit society.

Recognition comes in three ways.We have 15 award categories: five recognise firms innovating

in project initiation, design, delivery and operation; five more recognise firms who are making an impact with industry-change initiatives; and five more recognise firms who serve as inspiration to us all by delivering outcomes for society.

We also give special recognition to the role of the smaller firms in our industry; the firms often incubating the best ideas but who do not always have the marketing clout to get their voices heard. We recognise these firms through our Trending20 – our pick of the small firms with the best stories to tell.

But we begin with the top 10 – the firms who, according to the NCE100 judges, their staff and their data, really are standing out – and our ultimate winner, the NCE100 Company of the Year.

I hope you find our Gold Book informative.

Mark Hansford Editor, New Civil Engineer

Foreword

6 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Overview

Choosing the cream of the crop

The NCE100 showcases truly outstanding civil engineering practices, consultants and contractors, big and small. We were looking for the companies who, in 2018, have got the most inspiring stories to tell. Stories of innovation, of changing our industry for the better, and of making the world a better place through their projects.

The winners of the NCE100 Companies of the Year 2018 were revealed on 23 May at an awards ceremony at the Troxy, London. The winners celebrated with 650 guests from the UK’s leading civil engineering firms and their peers from across the industry’s top companies.

We recognised the leading firms in 15 specific areas of excellence before revealing the top 10 NCE100 Companies of the Year.

Each category had a trio of judges hand-picked for their specific expertise in the skillset being judged.

Judges this year included Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown,

THE NCE100 COMPANIES OF THE YEAR IS THE MOST RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT GOING, MARK HANSFORD EXPLAINS WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THE GRADE IN 2018.

patents in the process?Perhaps this is not surprising given

that 52 of the 100 have a budget for research and development and innovation.

And on the subject of managing risk, so important in the post-Carillion world, 72 of the 100 had a risk register and a strategy for managing it.

When it comes to business culture, it is good to see, for example, that 70 of the NCE100 firms have a formal inclusion policy but a shame that only 25 are signed up to Women Into Science and Engineering’s 10 Steps to Gender Equality – just one more than last year.

More positively, 60 of the 100 have formal initiatives in ensure that staff are not overstressed or over-tired.

The key sense-check question around collaboration was whether a firm had BS11000 certification – and just 22 do.

Similarly, on low carbon, the key question was whether a firm reported

Tideway chairman Sir Neville Simms, Crossrail chief executive Simon Wright, Highways England smart motorways programme director Shaun Pidcock, Cabinet Office construction director David Hancock, Innovate UK innovation lead Sarah Eager, Heathrow Airport chief people officer Paula Stannett and Infrastructure & Projects Authority senior advisor Keith Waller.

The stories they picked out as outstanding are told in the awards section of this Gold Book.

Alongside the judging, data supplied to us by these companies about how they operate was used to help us formulate our top 10.

This data was quite revealing and shows the extent to which the civil engineering industry is driving forward.

For example, when it comes to tech excellence and innovation, would you have guessed that the 100 companies collectively brought 932 innovations to market this year, securing 32

KEY FACTS

24Number of

staff employed by FJD

Consulting

£1.5M to £1.7M

FJD’s annual turnover

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 7

its carbon footprint – and just 29 do. When it comes to talent

development, 67 of the 100 have an approved ICE training agreement.

And finally, what about providing inspiration by seeking to make the world a better place? Well, it really would be good if a few more than 22 said they supported the United

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

The NCE100 would not be possible without our

sponsors and supporters. Thanks to:

Platinum Sponsors Royal HaskoningDHV

Wavin

Gold Sponsor Invennt

Silver Sponsor Black & Veatch

Supporters Global Engineering Congress

Hewson Consulting Engineers Stantec

WSP Group

Nations Sustainable Development Goals and had set targets to help achieve them.

There was then one final piece of the NCE100 assessment jigsaw and it is the most important.

Worth half the marks when it comes to building our top 10, it is the results of a comprehensive staff survey. We are massively grateful to the almost 8,000 who filled in our survey, the findings of which come next.

The NCE100 Company of the Year this year was Dutch-owned Arcadis.

As well as wowing our judges and claiming the Smart Operator gong and being highly commended for diversity leadership and making the shortlist for innovation in project management and excellence in climate resilience, it was only a few points behind Arup in staff scores too.

It means in three years of NCE100 there have been three different winners of the NCE100 Company of the Year, with Arcadis joining Arup and

Opus as Gold Medal Winners.Interestingly, but perhaps

unsurprisingly, smaller firms would claim nine of the top 10 spots if the NCE100 assessment was based on staff feedback alone. Top of the pile this year – by some distance – would have been MJ Rooney Construction, followed by Floodline Consulting, London Bridge Associates, Waterco, Anthony D Bates Partnership and Project Centre.

The highest-rated big firm was Arup, coming in at number 7 in the staff feedback rankings.

On staff feedback alone, smaller firms would have filled out 16 of the top 20 spots, with only Costain, Mace and Arcadis joining Arup.

This staff input, sitting alongside the views of the judges and the analysis of the company data, makes the NCE100 the most comprehensive assessment of civil engineering firms going. These 100 are the companies that have been making the biggest stir in 2018.

“ On staff feedback

alone, smaller firms would have filled out 16 of the top 20 spots, with only Costain, Mace and Arcadis joining Arup

Arcadis takes to the stage after claiming top spot

8 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Analysis

View from the coal face

Civil engineers remain a happily employed bunch, with 83% of the 7,640 who responded to the NCE100 questionnaire agreeing with the statement that their company is “great” and that they have “no desire” to work anywhere else. That is quite an endorsement.

So what is it about the 100 companies in the NCE100 that makes them such great places to work?

Talent developmentComplaints to New Civil Engineer about the salaries paid to civil engi-neers have dropped off in recent years and the NCE100 survey perhaps ex-plains why. A big majority of respond-ents, 80%, said they were happy with the structured career development and training provided by their firm. Similarly, 78% said they were satisfied with the pace their career is developing at and 71% were happy with their salary and other benefits.

Valuing technical excellence Post-Grenfell there has been a re-awakening of the way employers value technical expertise. An over-whelming 93% said they were happy with the way their firm values this. A

ONLY THE NCE100 ASKS A FIRM’S STAFF WHAT THEIR BUSINESS IS REALLY LIKE TO WORK FOR. HERE WE REVEAL WHAT ALMOST 8,000 CIVIL ENGINEERS SAID ABOUT WORKING FOR THEIR COMPANIES IN 2018.

hefty 87% of those responding were professionally qualified or working towards qualification with the appro-priate professional body.

But only 23% of them said they actively participated in the work of their professional bodies by sitting on committees or panels. And there is no great excuse for them not to – of the 23%, 92% said their firm was happy for them to do this in work time.

Driving innovationA hearty 84% said they were satisfied with their firm’s investment in innovation, research and development and 86% were happy with the way their firm encourages them to innovate and push technical and technological boundaries.

KEY FACTS

71%Percentage of NCE100 firm staff satisfied with their sal-ary and other

benefits

83%Percentage of NCE100 firm

staff saying that their

company is “great” “ 77% said they

were aware of initiatives in their firm to help them understand the value of reducing carbon

MY COMPANY IS GREAT AND I HAVE NO DESIRE TO WORK ANYWHERE ELSE

MY FIRM REWARDS ME FOR PARTICIPATING IN INDUSTRY INNOVATION GROUPS

IN THE LAST YEAR MY WORK HAS CAUSED ME UNPLEASANT LEVELS OF STRESS

MY FIRM REWARDS ME FOR WORKING WITH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

83%

YES

17%

NO

39%

YES

61%

NO

14%

YES

86%

NO

24%

YES

76%

NO

Satisfaction Dashboard

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 9

But again, it seems those who take an active role are in the minority: just 24% of respondents said they personally participated in industry research or innovation groups.

Yet, again, their firms seem happy to support such activities, as only 8% of those who get involved in research and innovation forums have to do so in their own time.

Technology leadershipThere is much focus right now on the skillsets that will be required by civil engineering firms in the future. Here, there is trust in the businesses, with 76% saying they felt their firm was developing and recruiting people with the right skills to drive their company forward.

Going further, 83% said they were satisfied with their firm’s leadership in exploring where technology can take the industry and 77% said their firm’s digital strategy has had a positive impact on the way they work.

But slightly worryingly, just 45% said they considered themselves to be working at BIM Level 2 – the digital skills level that the government has set for all its projects.

Building future skillsThere is satisfaction with the way NCE100 firms engage with schools and colleges: 72% are happy with this. Yet most are happy to leave it others to actually do it. Just 29% said they personally work with schools and colleges, and of them just 31% are trained as science, technology and maths (STEM) ambassadors or similar. It is perhaps understandable to see why – of those who work with schools, just 24% said their firm offered some kind of reward for this work.

Going broader than schools, 76% said they were happy with the way their firm promotes the profession to the wider media but only 24% said they had been supported by their firms in doing promotional or media work themselves.

Working collaborativelyCollaboration is an industry buzzword. But how many people are really collaborating; working in an environment with longer-term interaction based on a shared mission and goals, with shared decision-makers and resources?

Looking internally, 61% said they were working like that, with 18% going further and saying they were working in a fully integrated environment with a fully integrated programme, co-located teams with combined planning and funding.

Looking externally and how people work with others in other organisations in the supply chain, just 51% said they were working genuinely collaboratively and just 15% said they were working in an integrated team.

When working collaboratively, 35% said they were aware of doing so within a formal framework such as BS11000.

Reducing carbonAwareness of the role of civil engineers in mitigating climate change through their work is a major concern right now. This year New Civil Engineer has reported how major infrastructure funders are challenging the profession about what it is doing to tackle the issue.

It seems that employers are responding. In the NCE100 survey, 83% said their firm is encouraging them to consider the carbon implications of their work and 77% said they were aware of initiatives in their firm to help them understand the value of reducing carbon. Of them 58% have actively participated in such an initiative.

Overall 63% said they considered their firm to be a leader in the drive to reduce carbon use in infrastructure. That’s a lot of leaders.

Developing sustainablyThe ICE’s code of professional conduct

“83% said they were satisfied

with their firm’s lead-ership in exploring where technology can take the industry

100%57% Very Satisfied

30% Very Satisfied

13% Very Satisfied

93% Satisfied

78% Satisfied

55% Satisfied

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE WAY YOUR FIRM VALUES TECHNICAL EXPERTISE?

0% 100%

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PACE YOUR CAREER IS DEVELOPING?

0% 100%

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR FIRMS APPROACH TO ACHIEVING THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS?

Satisfaction Dashboard

0%

10 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Analysis

says that all members shall show “due regard” for the environment and for the sustainable management of natural resources.

It is arguable whether this statement is tough enough for modern times, when so many people worldwide live without access to clean water, sanitation, affordable energy, efficient transport systems or even safe shelter.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) have been set to improve the lives of those without those basic human needs. The ICE says civil engineers are in a unique and privileged position to help the world achieve them.

NCE100 company staff clearly agree, with 90% of respondents saying their companies will play an important role in achieving the UNSDGs.

But just 55% are happy with their company’s approach to date, and a only tiny minority, 13% , would say they are “very satisfied”.

Health and wellbeingMuch attention today is directed towards mental health and wellbeing and NCE100 firms seem to be taking note.

Three quarters – 76% – of NCE100 company staff feel their firm is concerned with their physical health and mental wellbeing, with 81% feeling that they have enough time to do their jobs and 85% saying they are happy with their work-life balances.

But 64% say they regularly work more than 37.5 hours a week and 48% say that in the last year their work has caused them stress.

Stress, the experts say, is not necessarily a bad thing. But unpleasant

levels of stress definitely are and 14% of respondents say they have regularly suffered unpleasant levels of stress in the last year. Overall, 15% said they have had to seek help for stress. But encouragingly of those, 86% said their company supported them through it.

Safety and zero harmAnd what of physical health and safety? Remembering that the NCE100 comprises contractors as well as consultants it is good to see that only 6% of respondents say they are sometimes encouraged to cut corners because of time constraints and that less than 1% say they do this regularly.

Less than 3% say they sometimes feel they are put at unnecessary risk.

KEY FACTS

13%Percentage of respondents

who were “very satisfied” wit h their firm’s approach to tackling the

UNSDGs

“ 81% of NCE100

employees rated their firm as good when it comes to openness to employing women and treating them fairly

DiversityWhen it comes to gender equality 91% of NCE100 employees rated their firm as good when it comes to openness to employing women and treating them fairly, with 76% going so far as to say it was very good.

This sentiment falls in other diversity areas.

When it comes to employing and fairly treating ethnic minorities, 86% said their firm was good. For people of a mature age, 83% ; for people of minority religions, 80%; for those returning from a career break, 74%; for LGBT people, 69%; for those with hearing, sight, mobility or learning impairments, 63%; and for those with mental health concerns, just 57%.

NCE100 LEADING COMPANIES AS SEEN BY THEIR STAFF

TECH EXCELLENCE01 MJ Rooney Construction 02 Anthony D Bates 03 Floodline Consulting 04 London Bridge Associates05 Waldeck Consulting06 Wentworth House 07 Design ID Consulting 08 Whitby Wood09 Waterco Consultants10 Costain

BUSINESS CULTURE01 Floodline Consulting 02 MJ Rooney Construction 03 London Bridge Associates04 Project Centre 05 Costain06 Waterco Consultants07 Westlakes Engineering 08 Anthony D Bates 09 Davies Maguire10 Alun Griffiths

WORLD VIEW01 MJ Rooney Construction 02 Floodline Consulting 03 Project Centre 04 Stuart Michael 05 Arup06 London Bridge 07 Waterco Consultants08 Dr Sauer & Partners09 Whitby Wood10 Westlakes Engineering

Smaller companies flood the NCE100 top 10s for Tech Excellence, Business Culture and World View when firms are judged solely by their staff. This makes the achievements of Costain and Arup all the more remarkable. But notwithstanding that, these are clearly

firms that are making their staff feel secure, valued and engaged.

Top 10Making the NCE100 top 10 is a remarkable

achievement. These are firms ranked highest by clients, peers and their own staff

12 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Top 10

The average London commuter is used to the highs and lows of public transport: from getting a seat on trains that arrive every 30 seconds to queuing for 15 minutes just to reach the platform.

However smooth or difficult that journey is, Arcadis has used it as a starting point to get transport users to think about how their city works. In a move virtually unknown for an engineering consultancy, it launched a consumer advertising campaign on London Underground and in mainline stations, asking travellers questions like “Is London progressive enough for the future of travel?”

It is all part of the conversation the firm wants to have with clients and end-users about how it can help improve quality of life – a driver which the consultancy says is fundamental to what it does.

“Working for clients like Network Rail and Highways England, we don’t necessarily have that connection with the end-user; there are several other layers they go through,” says UK rail director Chris Pike. “By stimulating conversation, we start to create connections with end-users. This is

NCE100 COMPANY OF THE YEAR ARCADIS VALUES ENGAGEMENT WITH END USERS AS A WAY TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE AND MEETING CLIENTS’ NEEDS

vital as we move forward in our digital transformation. We’re not just talking on a business to business basis, but business to consumer.”

It is this conversational approach which helped the consultant win top place at the NCE100 this year.

Engagement has been crucial to the firm as it emerges from a period of transition and rebranding. Arcadis can trace its roots back almost 300 years but, in the UK, it was only in 2015 – following the 2011 merger with EC Harris and the 2014 acquisition of Hyder Consulting – that the companies came together under a single Arcadis brand.

“In the UK, you had organisations which operated totally differently – a partnership with EC Harris and shareholders at Hyder,” says Pike. “There were two different business models, different types of people – management consultants, engineers and designers. The challenge was how to create a leadership team that fosters collaboration.”

Combining these businesses gave Arcadis its four main capabilities: design and engineering, programme and project management, cost and commercial

KEY FACTS

200Number of

Arcadis partners

01 Arcadis

WinnerNCE100 Company

of the Year—

WinnerSmart Operator

—High CommendationDivers i ty Champion

—Short l i sted

Innovat ion in Project Management,

Excel lence in Cl imate Resi l ience

Main: Arcadis worked with Network Rail on the London Bridge station redesign Below: Manchester Airport transformation programme is another Arcadis project

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 13

NCE100Top 10

services and business advisory. “These elements are focused around

the full spectrum of how you deliver projects and blend those capabilities to provide a service that goes beyond engineering,” says Pike.

Arcadis is currently working as Systems Integration Delivery Partner for Network Rail’s digital railway programme, managing the roll-out of digital signalling on the rail network.

“The project is about introducing a system which is part infrastructure, part transformation and part digital. Bringing that to life requires a very different skill set to designing bridges or new sections of railway,” explains Pike. “It is about people transformation, systems transformation and new process, tailoring infrastructure to take a system which exists, but needs to be adapted to a highly variable operational railway environment. Just applying pure engineering doesn’t work. You need to enable groups – designers, contractors, infrastructure managers, operators and end-users – to optimise such a system.”

Innovation and thinking through the full asset life achieved a second NCE100 success: Arcadis won Smart Operator for its work delivering performance-based maintenance on the Dutch railway system, of which

it maintains 25%. The approach uses data analytics to pre-empt technical failures, reducing them by up to 64%.

Arcadis is a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) which comprises over 200 leaders who are essentially shareholders with a stake in the success of the company.

There are also employee forums and working groups for areas including equal opportunities, LGBT+, mental health, as well as cultural groups encompassing elements like religious diversity. Feedback from a staff survey was a key part of scoring for NCE100.

“That engagement helps people feel they don’t just come here to work, but are part of an organisation which values them for their contribution,” says Pike.

At the NCE100 awards Arcadis received a high commendation in the Diversity Champion category, with its faith-inclusive campaign and refugee traineeships of particular note.

The firm’s recent projects include redesigning London Bridge Station for Network Rail, technical advisory to Highways England on Lower Thames Crossing, designing 80km of the High Speed 2 Phase 1 route and programme management for Manchester Airport’s Transformation Programme.

Arcadis is currently looking to help Birmingham prepare for the Commonwealth Games in 2022 by using data analytics, bots and building and interactive dashboarding to quickly and clearly build a picture of hotel provision in the city. It will mean that better decisions can be made about how to meet demand.

Pike says that digital transformation is key for the firm’s future, both in the UK and globally. “Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. You do the stuff people expect you to do and incrementally improve, but at the same time you take your clients on a journey of discovery. Digital transformation is all about collaboration,” says Pike.

Pike says that Arcadis is, naturally, delighted to have won the NCE100. “We had a strategy to get in the top three and someone said to me afterwards ‘you’ve overperformed. What are you going to do next year?’.”

So what is Arcadis going to do next year? “We don’t stop,” says Pike. “We want to develop and develop quickly.”

“We don’t stop. We want to

develop and develop quickly

14 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Top 10

The new Queensferry Crossing opened under budget and on time, but when Arup was appointed the scheme was unaffordable and its timeline extremely ambitious. With its client and JV partner Jacobs, it challenged the project brief, streamlined the bridge design and halved the scheme budget range from £3.2bn to £4.2bn down to £1.7bn to £2.3bn to make the project a reality.

On High Speed 2, Arup’s unique role as environmental overview consultant was to secure wide stakeholder acceptance for this controversial scheme. It combined visual and acoustic data to simulate the passenger experience and accurately model the route context during construction and operation. This smoothed progress of the hybrid bills: Phase 1 passed on schedule; it submitted Phase 2a on time; and Phase 2b is on track.

Working in collaboration with Welsh Water since 2015, Arup has developed a pioneering resilience strategy that will deliver improved water supply protection and create a resilient water grid system to safeguard the 1.2M people who are at risk should an existing water treatment works fail. Arup drew on its global experience of resilience planning to identify customer-specific target areas such as affordability, customers in vulnerable circumstances and working

02 Arup

in communities. Three mega-projects; three prime

examples of how 13,000-strong Arup continues to inspire, innovate and have impact.

Established in 1946, it remains an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment.

“Together we help our clients solve their most complex challenges,” it says.

The company earns 60% of its turnover outside the UK.

ARUP DRAWS ON GLOBAL PROJECT EXPERIENCE TO DELIVER KEY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE UK, LIKE THE QUEENSFERRY CROSSING IN SCOTLAND AND WATER SUPPLY RESLIENCE PLANNING FOR WELSH WATER

ShortlistedInnovat ion in

Project Init iat ion, Innovat ion in Design, Divers i ty Leadership, Excel lence in Water

“ Together we help our clients

solve their most complex challenges

Arup helped to halve the Queensferry Crossing’s budget and get the project off the drawing board

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 15

Jacobs is now a 74,000-strong behemoth but is still able to demonstrate great value for clients and retain the loyalty of its staff.

This loyalty is driven by initiatives such as its Sustainability+ programme that empowers staff to drive savings from a low carbon agenda.

Reducing the footprint of its own initiatives and those of its clients saved 54.2M.t of CO2 for clients in 2016 – a five-fold saving increase in two years.

Meanwhile health, safety and wellbeing remain core to Jacobs’ DNA – it is not just something we do, it says, but who we are at work, home, and in the community. Its BeyondZero culture (recently celebrating its 10th Anniversary) and award-winning Mental Health Matters initiative continue to drive progress and inspire.

The latter delivers an extensive support network, including Positive

Mace started life in London in 1990 as a construction manager targeting the commercial property sector, but now it is so much more.

It is now a 4,800-strong international consultancy and construction company, founded and built on exceptional people, a commitment to service excellence and a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit.

Mace works internationally on transport infrastructure programmes, from aviation to highways and rail. It aims to work as the delivery partner for major infrastructure providers such as Highways England and Transport for London, helping to ensure some of the most complex programmes in the world are managed and delivered effectively.

The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme is a £1.5bn upgrade project, involving a total of 294km of new lanes, which will

03 Jacobs

04 Mace

Highly Commended Excel lence in Transport

— Shortlisted

Health and Wel lbeing Champion, Low Carbon

Leader, Smart Operator, Excel lence in Water

WinnerConstruct ion

Innovat ion Champion—

Short l i stedLow Carbon Leader,

Excellence in Transport

Mental Health Champions (PMHCs), enabling early intervention for staff who may have symptoms.

Its team of PMHCs covers over 26 countries, includes 1,000-plus staff, and continues to grow.

The company has grown rapidly through acquisition, latterly CH2M and Aquenta, and is globally headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is now of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government client organisations globally.

The CH2M acquisition has opened new markets for the firm, particularly in water and the environment. The prime example is in London where CH2M (now Jacobs) and the Environment Agency formed Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 (TEAM2100). As lead delivery partner, it manages the inspection, refurbishment and replacement of tidal flood defence assets along the estuary, protecting 1.3M people and £275bn of property.

relieve congestion and help to connect communities in the East of England.

Mace was appointed project manager in 2012 to lead an integrated team through the planning, design and construction of the upgraded road. The project won planning consent in 2016 and is due to open in 2020.

It was the first time Highways England has used the collaborative development partner approach and the project has set a benchmark for the speed and efficiency of developing schemes of this scale.

Mace’s view was that a single team, with shared goals and shared objectives, would deliver the scheme cheaper, faster and more efficiently.

Through a process of challenge and review Mace reduced the time from options consultation to submission of DCO by two years and the cost by over £100M.

Mace is also leading the charge on carbon, in November 2017 becoming the first UK construction company to sign up to RE100 and committing to procuring all of its power from renewables by 2022.

Mace led the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement from planning through construction

Jacobs runs an award winning metal health support programme for staff

16 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Top 10

Just one of Ramboll’s many digital innovations is its gantry generation system, an automated design and modelling tool. It represents a step change in gantry design. Design now takes hours not weeks with costs falling by 60% on a scheme by scheme basis over the life of Highways England’s current programme.

Ramboll has now taken these principles, knowledge and lessons to widen the application and adopt it in the design of other structures, including culverts and bridges.

“For clients it is about helping them go further with design, faster so they can make valuable decisions earlier,” explains UK managing director Mathew Riley. Riley’s UK operation is now 1,300 strong and leading the way across the 13,000-strong Ramboll group when it comes to digital design.

“We are a pioneer in the industry against those client needs,” he asserts. “We have had 60 or 70 client conversations that we wouldn’t have had two years ago because of our technical capability,” he adds.

It is a very clear strategy and a very clear direction of travel. Previously, this was developing in pockets. Now our innovation process is organised through a dedicated team, the challenge now is how we operationalise this innovation so two years from now we could be talking a couple of

05 Ramboll

hundred or more, says Riley.The core of it is Ramboll’s digital

toolkit, effectively a suite of apps, tailorable to individual clients that allow designs to be developed in near real-time, allowing optioneering with real numbers involved.

Masterplans can be developed and structures manipulated in ways that show clients how far projects can be pushed to maximise returns through increased floor plates or better, faster delivery.

Once into the real detailed design, components (such as gantries) can be designed and sent digitally to an offsite manufacturer in moments.

It is all part of that crucial

A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITY IS ENABLING RAMBOLL TO OPEN UP NEW LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH CLIENTS AND GIVING THEM ADDED VALUE

WinnerExcel lence in Transport

—Short l i sted

Design Innovat ionDivers i ty Champion

“We as an industry have

got to do something quite transformational to help decision makers invest wisely

Riley: Helping clients go further with design, faster

consultancy challenge: how to add real value to clients.

“We as an industry have got to do something quite transformational to help decision makers invest wisely in infrastructure, and that’s about affordability and productivity,” he says.

“We know we can knock lumps off the capital cost of infrastructure through digital design and offsite assembly. It’s just about creating the evidence,” he asserts.

Ramboll is also broadening its disciplinary capability by using its digital design expertise as the lever, with rail a good example.

Ramboll is, of course, Danish owned and Denmark is a world leader in ERTMS (digital signalling). So Ramboll has teamed up with Dutch-owned Arcadis (with the Dutch also pushing ahead in digital rail) and they have jointly bid to be Network Rail’s digital railway delivery partner. They won.

“So we have gone from nowhere to the top table. And that is only the start,” says Riley. It all adds up to a growth plan that will likely take it to 2,000 in the UK in next few years.

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 17

Sweco UK is an 800-strong engineering, environment and design consultancy which combines a multi-disciplinary approach and international expertise to deliver sustainable solutions.

Sustainability is central to Sweco’s culture. It has backed-up public commitments to reduce infrastructure carbon with decisive action.

From the preemptive implementation of PAS2080 and EA climate change regulations on major projects, to innovative approaches to encouraging behavioural change across the supply chain, it is leading in this crucial area.

It is the NCE100 Low Carbon leader and there is no better of its carbon reduction and broader sustainable construction drive than its work on Bloomberg’s new European HQ. It achieved Breeam’s highest

The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, hit water and wastewater infrastructure every bit as hard as buildings.

Mott MacDonald’s Moata monitoring, modelling and analytics tool had been fitted to systems to monitor performance and inform operation.

It enabled the consultant to pinpoint damage and restore service rapidly.

Six years on, Moata is even smarter and being used internationally for identifying network problems and visualising solutions on transport as well as water infrastructure.

In a market waking up to the potential of smart infrastructure, there are few asset performance optimisation tools available, and fewer still with long track records.

Moata has been in use and in development for a decade, with clients now looking to invest in Singapore, the

06 Sweco UK

07 Mott MacDonald

ever design-stage rating for an office development (98.5%).

Briefed by Michael Bloomberg to “push the boundaries of sustainable design”, its “what if” approach ensured no idea was off the table. Drawing on international best practice and through a process of optimisation, its innovations will deliver water savings of 73% and energy savings of 35% compared with an typical office.

United States and the UK.Now 16,000-strong Mott

MacDonald is the UK’s largest employee-owned engineering, management and development consultancy.

It describes itself as human in outlook, independent of mind, connected and confident. Opening opportunities and delivering outcomes that improve people’s lives is its mantra.

WinnerLow Carbon Leader

— Highly Commended

Excel lence in Design Innovat ion

—Short l i sted

Excel lence in Alternat ive Energy

Bloomberg HQ: Pushing the boundaries of sustainable design

The Moata monitoring tool tracks performance

WinnerInnovat ion in Project

Init iat ion—

Short l i stedSmart Operator, Diversity

Champion, Low Carbon Leadership, Excellence in

Alternative Energy

18 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Top 10 Firms

Costain says its purpose is to improve people’s lives by deploying technology-based engineering solutions to meet urgent national needs across the UK’s energy, water and transportation infrastructures.

The emphasis on technology is strategic. Costain has invested significantly to ensure it has the capability to integrate and deliver smart infrastructure, and is delivering significant customer savings using technology. At the early stage of any project, its data science and technology experts bring together data in a standard environment.

This allows disciplines from estimating to planning to use a common data set, reducing the time needed and allowing best practice to

development action plans for high potential female employees, which outline training, mentoring and managed job rotations.

Further, it has launched a support network which will ensure women are aware of options to make careers with Costain more compatible with their personal lives. Each Costain executive board member is personally mentoring an ELP or SLP member, which includes at least three high-potential female Costain employees.

In the last year, 40% of women on the strategic leadership programme have been promoted to more senior positions, and one is currently being supported by Costain to complete a full time MBA at the London School of Business.

ShortlistedInnovat ion in Project

Init iat ion, Talent Champion

“ Costain has a sharp

focus on talent and is especially focused on ensuring the development and retention of high potential female employees

Costain has a focus on developing and retaining high potential female em

08 Costain

be shared and innovation developed. These scientists remain involved during project delivery, working closely with project teams and customers to push the boundaries of research to ensure a pipeline of innovation.

Costain, now 4,000-strong, also has a sharp focus on talent and is especially focused on ensuring the development and retention of high potential female employees. It has developed over 50

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 19

WSP has grown rapidly through acquisition since its reverse takeover of Canadian fi rm Genivar, picking up Opus and Mouchel in the last two years. It now employs 36,000 worldwide.

But it remains predominantly a technical consultancy. Its roots are in commercial property and it has blended those skills with transportation.

Today WSP is a leader in designing valuable property assets above challenging railway environments, delivering enhanced public realm, transport connectivity and sustainable city densification. Its recent study, “Out of Thin Air”, demonstrates the potential for 250,000 homes in London by building over rail lines, satisfying housing needs for five years.

This approach would create safe, vibrant communities with greater public transport mobility. It offers owners of railway land opportunities

It is estimated that 20% of the world’s population served by community systems drinks potable water through systems designed, constructed or supported by Black & Veatch. The consultant says it leverages global expertise to develop pioneering, award-winning solutions.

It is designing the City of Toronto Wet Weather Flow Tunnel Scheme; an interception/storage/conveyance system that will improve water quality in Lake Ontario and delist Toronto as an “Area of Concern” in the Great Lakes area.

The scheme covers an area of 270km2 and will benefit 1.3M people by reducing the volume and frequency of combined sewage outfall discharges and urban run-off from 45 outfalls to no more than one spill per year, thus achieving considerable environmental, amenity and bio-diversity benefits.

09 WSP

10 Black & Veatch

for revenue and infrastructure investment. Local authorities can use the opportunity to provide growth and jobs, already linked to existing public transport hubs.

WSP has ongoing experience with overbuild. At Principal Place in London, it is unlocking the potential of a 50-storey residential tower and 60,000m2 of office space which would have been impossible without building over railway tracks at Liverpool Street Station.

The scheme design comprises 27km of 6.3m diameter tunnel and 14 large diameter storage shafts.

The project is an example of Black & Veatch’s ability to leverage global technical excellence.

Led from the United States, the UK-based design team includes hydraulics and modelling specialists who have developed and implemented a number of innovations to optimise the hydraulic design.

ShortlistedExcel lence in Design Innovat ion, Divers i ty Champion, Excel lence

in Urban Liv ing, Excel lence in Transport

WSP’s roots are in commercial property

Black & Veatch is designing a flood alleviation tunnel for Toronto

Highly CommendedLeader in Col laborat ion

—Short l i sted

Smart Operator, Health and Wellbeing Leader,

Excellence in Water

20 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

FJD Consulting has been crowned NCE100 Trending 20 Champion.

The Birmingham-based company won the award after receiving top marks from each member of the New Civil Engineer editorial team.

FJD Consulting becomes the inau-gural winner of the award, established to recognise smaller firms with 200 or fewer staff.

We are reminded all the time that the most innovative, creative and inspi-rational firms are often the small ones but, lacking the corporate firepower of the big firms can struggle to get their story told.

The Trending20 recognises the small firms with the big stories to tell.

Nominations for the award were whittled down to 20 last month, from an initial longlist of around 40 eligible companies.

FJD Consulting won the award for its work to reunite two sections of the Great Central Railway in Loughbor-ough to create a continuous 30km long heritage railway (see p30).

By introducing innovative “flat-packed” bridges to maximise value, as well as sourcing redundant bridges from other railway projects, FJD Con-

RisingStarsTHE NCE100 TRENDING 20 RECOGNISES THE WORK OF FIRMS WITH FEWER THAN 200 STAFF.

sulting was able to save £2M.The first and most eye-catching

phase of the project was completed re-cently. It involves installing the bridge to carry the heritage railway over the Midland Main Line.

All 20 companies will help shape New Civil Engineer’s SME profiles and other articles in 2018 and 2019.

“We are reminded

all the time that the most innovative, creative and inspira-tional firms are often the small ones but, lacking the firepower can struggle to get their story told

TRENDING 20

l Anthony Batesl Awcock Ward Partnershipl Bryden Woodl Caley Waterl Civic Engineersl Clarkebond (UK)l Davies Maguirel Design ID Consultingl Design2el Dr Sauer & Partnersl Edenvale Young Associatesl FJD Consultingl Floodline Consultingl Hewson Consulting Engineersl London Bridge Associatesl Plandescill Taylor & Boydl Waterco Consultantsl Webb Yates Engineersl Westlakes Engineering

NCE100Trending 20

INNOVA

TION IN

ENGIN

EERING

Wentworth House Partnership St Andrew’s House, Portsmouth RoadEsher, Surrey KT10 9TA

T 020 7643 1050 F 020 7643 1001

E director@wentworth-house.co.uk

www.wentworth-house.co.uk

Wentworth House Partnership, part of Keltbray Group, is an award-winning engineering design consultancy, which specialises in the safe, effective and imaginative design of temporary and permanent works and geotechnics.

From facilitating construction of the Shard to preserving heritage at the Bodleian Library, Wentworth House Partnership has successfully delivered some of the most technically advanced and innovative design ideas for leading construction projects across the UK.

22 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

WinnerTrending 20

Bubbling under

The team leading Birmingham-based rail engineering firm FJD Consulting has set out an ambitious business strategy.

It plans to expand into roads, airports and geotechnical engineering, and bring in virtual reality as a core business offering. At the same time it is gearing up for the mass of tender opportunities generated by Network Rail’s next investment period, CP6, and High Speed 2 (HS2). And all that is on top of just being crowned New Civil Engineer’s Trending 20 champion, the award to the top small firm in the NCE100.

With this optimism and excitement, it comes as a surprise when the company’s executives reveal that they have just had their toughest year yet.

The 24 strong firm estimates rail cutbacks including transport secretary Chris Grayling’s decision to curtail the Great Western Main Line electrification programme lost it up to £1M in anticipated revenue. This included around £600,000 worth of work lined up for the scrapped electrification of the Cardiff to Swansea route, and electrification into Bath. FJD had even opened an office in Bristol off the back of a £100,000 deal to do temporary works design for

BIRMINGHAM-BASED FJD CONSULTING HAS JUST BEEN CROWNED NEW CIVIL ENGINEER’S NCE100 TRENDING 20 CHAMPION.

Birse Rail, which was subsequently taken over by Balfour Beatty. Although they went their separate ways professionally, they stayed in touch. The two started FJD Consulting in 2012, and just a few months later Birse’s core design team joined them, bringing in a stream of contracts. This was helped by Network Rail having, at the time, an enhanced spending programme, meaning it had to spend a certain amount in a certain timeframe.

“We knew the quality of work we could deliver. We had proven capability of delivering it in our historical past. We thought as our own business we can deliver that work a lot cheaper than big consultancies because the overheads were cheaper,” says Jenner.

The firm, which has an annual turnover between £1.5M and £1.7M, had experienced year-on-year growth until now.

“Last year we went backwards in terms of turnover as a result [of the cutbacks],” says Jenner. “We took a

the new roof of Temple Meads Station. This contract was pulled with virtually no warning.

“The contractor was just mobilising on site, we had probably about £100,000 of work to start and they got a phone call one morning saying it has been pulled and it has gone,” says director Simon Moon.

Moon, a design engineer who joined Atkins from university, runs FJD Consulting with his business partner Mark Jenner, a construction engineer, who runs sister construction management firm FJD Construction. The two first met when working at

KEY FACTS

24Number of

staff employed by FJD

Consulting

£1.5M to £1.7M

FJD’s annual turnover

“We thought as our own

business we can deliver that work a lot cheaper than big consultancies because our overheads were cheaper

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 23

view to retain all our team. It was an uncertain time, but we knew long term the business is sound, the market was good and it was sustainable, and it meant us doing a lot more in terms of getting other work in.”

“There’s one individual in particular we employ and I know the skills they possess are very difficult to find in the market,” adds Moon. “Had that one person gone, a lot of our core capability goes, when work comes in again.”

And thankfully the work is starting to pick up again, with early HS2 deals and CP6 tender opportunities starting to come through.

Like many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), FJD Consulting is keen to work on HS2 and its headquarters in Birmingham are ideally placed in Birmingham, but Moon believes that most contracts will not trickle down until there are boots on the ground. He adds that already the big contractors “have taken a massive grab of it.”

FJD Consulting is starting work with an archaeologist at Curzon Street in Birmingham, whose work entails an interface between the HS2 site and the West Coast Main Line. FJD will do some assessment works and temporary works design. It has also been working with the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) to develop apprenticeships – the only SME to get so involved.

FJD’s ethos has not changed over the years: it aims to offer a good product at a decent rate. With market changes, including bigger consultancies expanding and more becoming ambitious about the work they go after, the duo is optimistic about the future, particularly for its Bristol office.

“We’ve got the new control period starting in eight or nine months and already seeing tender opportunities around the regions. Bristol and the South West has historically seen underinvestment. The spend in that area just to make simple upgrades is

perceived to be quite high,” says Moon. The project that caught the

NCE100 judges’ eye, gaining it the Trending 20 Champion status, was on the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

The Great Central Railway is a charity and needed two sections of the line to be reunited as a part of its “Closing the Gap” Project. It involved rejuvenating a 400m section of redundant track and infrastructure to provide a continuous 29km length of heritage railway.

The donor-funded project was being undertaken on a tight budget, which called for innovation.

“We had quite a blank canvas and were able to think less like mainline engineers and more like practising civil engineers and try and find some pretty neat solutions, which weren’t possession dependant, which is pretty much the mindset whenever we do any work,” says Moon.

By using BIM Level 2 the team was able to create a digital picture of the design, which the charity could then use to bring in donations. Design innovations included using “flat packed” bridges to maximise value. The team also sourced redundant bridges from other railway projects, with Network Rail’s Reading Remodelling Project providing two steel bridges, saving the project approximately £2M.

Other engineering challenges included the development of reinforced earth solutions to make embankment slopes narrower so the charity did not have to buy land or divert utilities.

“We brought modern thinking to solve the problem,” says Moon.

“ We’ve got the new control

period starting in eight or nine months and already seeing tender opportunities around the regions

Simon Moon (left) and Mark Jenner

P U T Y O U R S E L F I N F R O N T O F 4 8 , 0 0 0 I N D U S T R Y P R O F E S S I O N A L SC O N T A C T F R A N C I S B A R H A M 0 2 0 F R A N C I S . B A R H A M @ E M A P . C O M

New Civil Engineer

M A R K G R I F F I T H S , G E N E R A L M A N A G E RS E L L A F I E L D S I T E S L T D

“IT’S THE VOICE OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING

INDUSTRY”

Success Stories

The most innovative, impactful and inspirational civil engineering practices

recognised and rewarded

26 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Tech ExcellenceInnovation in Project Initiation

Motts work kick starts road project

Winner: Mott MacDonald

“TEAM exemplifies

our belief in looking at problems from new angles and finding value that others fail to spot

The mammoth Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) is much needed to improve safety and journey times in this part of East Anglia, but attempts to get it built had repeatedly failed the Department for Transport’s cost-benefit test.

Mott MacDonald re-examined the proposal in its entirety and in its individual components using its Transparent Economic Assessment Model – or TEAM tool.

By doing so the consultant identified social and economic benefits that would add £1bn of value, helping the scheme gain approval for phased development.

With a prioritised programme of works, the scheme got underway in 2016.

The local council said the road project would help accelerate local growth and act as a catalyst to deliver 40,000 new jobs, 37,000 new homes and a 50% increase in knowledge-based business.

The Norwich NDR is one of many infrastructure and regeneration projects where the TEAM has

MOTT MACDONALD PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN GETTING THE 20 KM NORWICH NORTHERN DISTRIBUTOR ROAD DUAL CARRIAGEWAY SCHEME THROUGH THE HOOPS BEFORE WORK COULD EVENTUALLY START ON SITE.

helped make the case for funding after conventional appraisals failed. It combines local socioeconomic data with insight into the knock-on benefits of a project, such as access to employment, health, recreation and education facilities; improved environmental and amenity value; creation of affordable housing; and land value uplift.

The tool can help unlock government funding, enabling councils to progress projects of local strategic importance.

For funding agencies, it shows where investment will do most good, justifying release of capital and enabling informed discussion. It can also be used to identify problems and solutions for local businesses and people.

Mott MacDonald says: “TEAM exemplifies our belief in looking at problems from new angles and finding value that others fail to spot.”

The NCE100 judges said: “In a category with fantastic innovation showcasing excellence in digital, engineering and economic approaches, the judges considered the winner’s innovation in assessing impacts and outcomes across schemes of all types has national significance.”

They hailed the tool’s identification of the total benefits of a scheme as “welcome” and “long overdue”.

l Judges were Crossrail BIM specialist Tahir Ahmad, Enterprise M3 chairman Geoff French and Infrastructure and Projects Authority senior advisor Keith Waller.

KEY FACT

40,000Number

of jobs the new road is expected to

generate

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 27

EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT INITIATION

“Mott MacDonald’s

innovation in assessing impacts and outcomes across schemes of all types has national significance

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Campbel lReithDeveloped a methodology to treat geotechnical hazards at the site of the 2,500-home Kilwood Vale scheme near Gatwick airport. CampbellReith used a process of surcharge and forensic inspection to assess gas risk and avoid the need for some protection measures.

F I N A L I S T SArupThe consultant was part of the joint venture that designed and managed the construction of the Queensferry Crossing across the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh for Transport Scotland. Arup project manager Mike Glover led the development of the technical and funding case for the Queensferry Crossing, securing support by reducing the budget from a minimum of £3.2bn to a maximum of £2.3bn.

CostainDelivered a range of services to mobilise investment in strategically important road schemes for Highways England including the £192M A556 improvement project. The firm has also worked with the British Standards Institution on Smart Cities and the Internet of Things.

DesignIDDeveloped an innovative piled raft foundation solution to deal with challenging ground conditions on the site of a 16-storey residential tower in Salford Quays. The raft slab used was significantly shallower than the pre-tender scheme, reducing the amount of breaking-out of existing foundations required.

Glanvi l le ConsultantsProduced a site investigation scoping document for a brownfield site in Oxfordshire. Detailed assessment of below-ground services included utility record searches and use of

advanced pipe and cable detection equipment enabling the client to negotiations with the vendor with an accurate assessment of the site. Peter Brett AssociatesPlayed a pivotal role in initiating Junction 25 Nexus, a strategic employment scheme in Taunton. Peter Brett presented at a profile raising event, setting out plans for unlocking and delivering the scheme and receiving press coverage. West Somerset Council said the consultant “brought experience, dedication and enthusiasm to the entire process”.

Project Centre  Identified opportunities for a scheme in Crouch End that met all the requirements for Transport for London’s healthy streets criteria. The firm then wrote the funding submission for the scheme, which set out to improve cyclist and pedestrian conditions and make it a greener, healthier and more attractive public space.

28 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Tech ExcellenceDesign Innovator

“They have taken o� -

the-shelf software, applied their passion and inventive skills, then given it out for industry use

Bristol-based Edenvale Young aims to provide a cutting edge service to clients in a range of environmental sectors including maritime, coastal and fluvial engineering.

The consultant says it develops, tests and uses next generation hydraulic modelling software.

It claims to have pioneered the development of direct rainfall techniques and soil infiltration procedures that represent a step change in hydrological analysis.

Edenvale Young was commissioned to lead the hydrological and hydraulic modelling aspects of a World Bank project for six river basins in Sri Lanka.

Work included providing the first detailed flood mapping to inform the national risk register; assessing the impact of climate change; evaluating economic damage caused by flooding; and testing flood alleviation measures.

The consultant created a new hydrological modelling approach using direct rainfall data for catchments up to 3,200km2.

The firm also developed new ways of translating soil texture data gathered by the Soil Science Society of Sri Lanka into the parameters required for

EDENVALE YOUNG ASSOCIATES HAS DEVELOPED INNOVATIVE HYDRAULIC MODELLING SOFTWARE FOR SRI LANKA

the Green & Ampt infiltration model.Edenvale Young created bespoke

software for assessing flood damage within the country. Hydraulic modelling was initially validated for Sri Lankan catchments using measured rainfall and flow data for the Kelani Ganga basin upstream of Colombo.

The use of catchment scale modelling and new software TUFDamages had a significant positive impact and increased the reliability of the business case for the optioneering.

The techniques used for this project were the culmination of a decade of research and development undertaken by Edenvale Young.

The judges said: “They have taken off-the-shelf software, applied their passion and inventive skills, then given it out for industry use. With low cost they can make a huge impact and can save lives in countries where it is needed most.”

� Judges were consultant Lewis Blackwell, BIM Academy chair John Lorimer, BDP chair of civil and structural engineering Michelle McDowell and Network Rail civil design group programme manager

So� ware aids Sri Lanka � ood modelling

Winner: Edenvale Young Associates

KEY FACT

3,200km2

Size Sri Lanka catchments used in the hydraulic modelling

work

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 29

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN INNOVATION

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DSweco UKSweco’s collaborative thinking and scenario-modelling was used on Bloomberg’s new European HQ in the City of London. This achieved a record 98.5% Breeam rating at design stage. The consultant’s “what-if” approach ensured no idea was off the table. Its innovations will deliver water savings of 73% and energy savings of 35% compared with a typical office. A vacuum drainage system combined with water harvesting will save 25M.l of water each year.

F I N A L I S T SAKTIIThe consultant has developed software and design techniques which helped it add 11 storeys to the South Bank Tower in London. Digital wind tunnels, advanced analysis techniques, fabric and ground investigations and latent capacity mapping tools allowed the firm to forensically assess the existing building.

ArupAs environmental overview consultant through all phases of High Speed 2, Arup has developed immersive visualisation tools to reassure people about the impacts of the mega-project. It combined visual and acoustic data to simulate the passenger experience and accurately model the route context during construction and operation.

Dr Sauer & PartnersThe consultant worked with London Underground and Dragados on the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade, during which primary and secondary tunnel linings were used in combination. This significantly reduced excavation and concrete volumes minimising dust, increasing breakout times, reducing noise and vibration and meant that fewer resources were used.

Rambol lIts gantry generation system is a constantly evolving automated design and modelling tool

that incorporates analysis software, 3D visualisation and 40 years of experience to slash timescales and costs on smart motorway projects. Design costs are expected to fall by more than 50%, with the firm saying it now spends “hours rather than weeks” on a job.

WSPAt 220m high, the 62-storey Newfoundland development at Canary Wharf will be one of the UK’s tallest residential buildings and straddles Jubilee Line tunnels. A diagrid structure is being used to limit weight and size, while a tuned slosh damper will absorb vibration energy. WSP increased the stability of the building, maximised the floorplate, and cut 15 weeks from the construction schedule.

WYGWYG created a virtual reality model of the 500ha site for relocation of five post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. This allowed the client and other stakeholders to experience the facilities before construction began.

“Almost a third of Edenvale

Young’s income was eligible for research and development tax credits, confi rming its innovative approach

30 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Tech ExcellenceConstruction Innovator

Mace’s Jump Factory was devised in response to the UK Government’s challenging Construction 2025 targets for 50% faster delivery, 50% lower emissions and 33% lower costs.

Mace gave the system its UK debut on a dual-tower residential project in London. East Village Building No 8 involves creating structures which are 30 and 26 storeys high.

Using the system, Mace was able to construct an entire floor – including walls, columns, bathroom pods, utility cupboards, risers and cladding – in under 40 hours.

To ensure speedy fit-out, the firm developed a production line with a set sequence of 13 trades following one another. The Jump Factory used on East Village contained four 15t cranes. It was an enclosed temporary structure erected around the outside of the top of the building structure and jacked up using hydraulics as each floor was completed.

Mace says the jump factory has a water and wind-proof working environment, minimising health and safety risks and preventing the weather affecting the construction programme.

“You get repeated quality, it’s safer

MACE’S JUMP FACTORY IS AN INNOVATIVE RESPONSE TO DEMANDS FOR INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY-LED SOLUTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Jumping factory speeds tower projects

Winner: Mace

for the workers, it minimises noise and dust for the surrounding environment, we can’t be rained off and the factory is rated up to a force 12 gale,” says Mace project engineer James Rushton.

“Once we’ve jumped, the process starts again. We lay the rebar, pour the slab, then we start putting in twin walls, standing columns then we come in with the bathroom pods and heating, ventilation and air conditioning units. Everything is modularised so it all comes fully fitted.”

Jamie Dredge, development

“They had a real money-

where-their-mouth-is attitude, the factory is challenging the status quo and the delivery of buildings for the future

KEY FACT

15 weeksTime it took to build a 30 storey tower

40 hoursTime it took to

build and fit out one floor

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 31

EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION

manager at East Village Building No 8 client Qatari Diar says: “Mace has developed a unique, innovative approach to maximising offsite pre-manufacture and assembly such that it has been able to deliver 30 storeys over 15 weeks on two towers at our East Village project.

“This approach has significantly reduced the number of deliveries and the amount of waste generated, has driven faster and safer production, delivered exceptional quality and has optimised the delivery process.

F I N A L I S T SDavies MaguireIts buttress proposal helped a contractor successfully bid for a central London commercial project that was originally tendered as a cross-site propped scheme. Its 20 separate buttresses supported 200m of piled retaining walls and allowed excavation that did not require additional propping.

Interser ve Construct ion An innovative 8m wide paving machine allowed completion of a road resurfacing job close to Stansted Airport in three weekends rather than five, reducing the impact on travellers. A centre joint was eliminated in 4km of road, prolonging the road’s life

KierA £1.4m resurfacing project on the M6 was completed in one night. Kier and Aggregate Industries developed an inline paving technique called Hot on Hot that involved using two pavers to provide compaction, interlocking asphalt without separation of layers.

Robert Bird GroupA top-down construction sequence allowed early release of the tower core for a 40-storey commercial tower scheme. The core was built from plunge columns at upper basement level with the pile cap cast later and core walls infilled as construction progressed. Six months were shaved from the baseline programme.

Van El leA piling system designed from scratch based on screw pile technology, and an attachment developed to enable its efficient installation, were used on a project to stabilise a sinking railway line. The system brought the installation time down to three minutes per pile.

Wentworth House PartnershipDesign of a temporary steelwork façade restraint system for a 50m by 13m building frontage cut the construction programme by two weeks. Steel tonnage required to retain the facade was reduced by a quarter after thorough research into wind loading on façades.

“This has made a

great difference to productivity during the delivery phase and has made a significant improvement to the programme

This has made a great difference to productivity during the delivery phase and has made a significant improvement to the programme.”

The NCE100 judges were impressed with Mace’s ability to bring the supply chain with it on what they described as a “very complicated journey”.

“They had a real money-where-their-mouth-is attitude,” added the judges. “The factory is challenging the status quo and the delivery of buildings for the future.” They said that Jump Factory was an “outstanding example” of innovation to replace traditional construction methods and significantly improve productivity through “factory thinking”. They were impressed with Mace’s willingness to invest in innovation and take a chance on a live project. They hailed the company’s invitation to the rest of the industry to learn from its experiences.

l Judges were EDF Energy Hinkley Point C innovation manager Maggie Brown, Network Rail head of risk and value management Kevin Shelton and New Civil Engineer technical reporter Katherine Smale.

32 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Tech ExcellenceInnovation in Project Management

“Surrey County Council made

contract savings of up to a fi fth, enabling almost £20M to be reinvested in its assets

Kier is contracted to deliver repair and improvement works on roads across Surrey. Its partnership with the county council, dubbed Project Horizon, has been widely hailed as exemplary collaborative working.

The framework, recently extended to run until 2021, has reduced time-to-site by an average of four weeks per commission; slashed costs by 16% through deeper integration of the supply chain; and improved whole life values, including giving a 10-year warranty for material and pavement design.

Kier’s work in Surrey has supported a number of apprentices. The firm has completed 200 schemes without a reportable safety incident.

Initial workshops were run before the start of the programme of works, to determine the type of collaborative environment desired.

Individuals used a scoring system to identify what they considered to be critical elements of the relationship, so there was a common understanding of areas where teams were working effectively together, and those where development was needed.

Project Horizon was used as a case study in the Highways Maintenance

KIER HAS HELPED SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL IMPROVE ITS HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE EFFICIENCY SAVING IT £20M IN THE PROCESS

minister for efficiency Chloe Smith said: “Project Horizon is the way the industry should, in the future, be working together.”

Kier has adopted a collaborative approach with other local authority clients and water companies.

The judges hailed the level of innovation in the Project Horizon arrangement, which they said was demonstrated by the wide range of approaches and “significant improvement in outcomes”.

They praised technical innovation in recycling and sustainable approaches to waste management.

“Reduced time, more efficient delivery, cutting out the waste, no man marking – these are all easy to say but difficult to put into practice in a consistent way,” said the judges.

“This team has demonstrated that it is possible with its focus on the fundamentals, and innovative practices where appropriate, leading to significant value improvements.”

� Judges were Crossrail programme director Simon Wright and Major Projects Association executive director Denise Bower.

Highway maintenance costs slashed

Winner: Kier

E� ciency Programme’s 2014 Supply Chain Collaboration Toolkit and as a trial project case study for the Government Construction Strategy.

Savings beyond the targeted 15% are shared between the council, Kier, Aggregate Industries and Marshall Surfacing under the arrangement.

Surrey County Council made contract savings of up to a fifth, enabling almost £20M to be reinvested in its assets, effectively increasing its road maintenance budget.

The improvement plan resulted in works on the worst 500km of Surrey’s roads and more than 1,200 schemes. 

Surrey County Council cabinet

KEY FACT

200Number of Surrey schemes

completed by Kier without

reportable safety

incident

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 33

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INNOVATOR

F I N A L I S T SArcadisAs programme manager for the £1bn, 45-project Manchester Airport transformation scheme the consultant used its own data governance framework. Arcadis procured data from stakeholders and integrated it with project, cost and asset management plans, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. The firm is scaling up the platform it developed for the airport scheme and creating a strategic level product called City Analytics to help city regions manage their growth.

I D O MCreated a detailed design and project management plan for Line 3 of the Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia. This includes preliminary and detailed design of 20 stations, two depots, 25.8km of viaducts, 11km

of tunnels and more than 35km of street and road rearrangements. The plan featured a communication and coordination protocol to ensure information and decision-making was properly shared among all teams.

London Bridge Associates Added the Quality Plus element to its web-based information management system to provide seamless online production and quality data entry at the work face. Bespoke inspection and test plan check sheets include logical screen layouts and digital pin-code signatures for engineers, inspectors and others to approve information. Complete handover records can be submitted eliminating the need for multiple engineers to check, file and recreate records.

Opus Internat ional Consultants Uses its own project management accreditation framework on a job to inspect stations and canopies on Network Rail’s London North West Route. Opus says the system recognises each project’s complexity and highlights competencies required for e� ective management. It allows a focus on assigning a project manager with specialist project delivery skills, behaviours and expertise, over skills and experience in the technical discipline.

RPS Group Launched a specific business stream focusing on bringing the benefits of virtual reality to its clients. The firm has run a pilot model for Northern Ireland Water, applying virtual reality to a BIM model for the client’s Ballycastle plant

upgrade. The water client described the technology as “a step ahead of where some of the others are within the marketplace at the moment”.

Webb Yates EngineersProvided a range of services to the Gatwick Retail Churn scheme, part of a series of works to transform the airport’s North Terminal. Used collaboration and clear communication to produce efficient, coordinated work in a live airside environment. Phasing and methodology of construction were key drivers, while the firm took time to gain an understanding of the terminal building.

“Almost a third of Edenvale

Young’s income was eligible for research and development tax credits, saying this confi rmed its innovative approach

34 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Tech ExcellenceSmart Operator

Arcadis is a 40% shareholder in a special purpose maintenance company created to proactively look after almost a quarter of the intensely used Dutch railway network.

ProRail, which manages the network, wanted its supply chain to help accelerate innovative approaches to maintenance. Through its key role in the AssetRail special purpose company, Arcadis is partly responsible for deploying a performance-based approach to almost 1,500km of railway.

ProRail created a working model which makes suppliers accountable for maintenance. To do this Arcadis must define what work is required and when to ensure it achieves performance and safety outcomes. Network condition is measured by clearly defined indicators and incentives to create an environment of continuous innovation, optimisation and ownership.

Arcadis has used sophisticated asset and information management, data analytics, predictive maintenance, solution planning and performance optimisation. It combines asset knowledge and technical insight with the generation, management and wise use of data.

Connecting different sets of data using quantitative modelling provided insight into the underlying relationships and dependencies of

ARCADIS HAS DEVELOPED A NEW APPROACH TO THE TRACK MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT ON A SECTION OF THE RAILWAY NETWORK IN THE NETHERLANDS

the assets, including their use and performance. This made it possible to predict which assets would require maintenance first.

It meant a transition from relying on technical case experts to working in a data-driven environment during the decision making process. As a result, annual maintenance costs on the section of the Dutch network Arcadis is working on have been slashed by more than a third this decade, with technical failures down almost two thirds.

AssetRail chief executive Jorn Pruntel said: “For the concept of performance-based maintenance we are applying on the Dutch railway network, the innovative approaches in data analytics and predictive maintenance Arcadis has brought us have been key to our success.”

Judges said: “We felt that Arcadis demonstrated a very clear strategy moving from descriptive to prescriptive maintenance, showing a robust methodology for continuous improvement and creating strong, demonstrable benefits in cost efficiency, reliability and safety.”

l Judges were London Underground profession head for tunnels Keith Bowers, IBM digital lead for industrial products Chris Gage, and HS2 Ltd head of management systems Jon Kerbey.

Measured maintenance

Winner: Arcadis

KEY FACT

15,000kmAmount of Dutch rail network

for which AssetRail is responsible

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 35

SMART OPERATOR

“Arcadis demonstrated

a very clear strategy moving from descriptive to prescriptive maintenance

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DRPS GroupWorking closely with client Scotia Gas Networks and partner ULC Pipeline Robotics (US), RPS devised project criteria and designs for integrated robotic repairs to gas supply networks. The project allows robots to work inside live gas pipelines to monitor supply efficiency and pipeline condition as well as to repair mechanical joints and seals. This Ofgem-approved innovation is now ready to be installed in networks across UK. It presents a significant saving to clients and end-users through delivery of a cost and time-effective repairs solution with minimal disruption and damage and a reduction in carbon emissions.

F I N A L I S T SBlack & VeatchDeveloped a lean reliability centred maintenance programme covering all of Yorkshire Water’s assets. The Workstream 69 programme covers 285 sites. Central to its effectiveness is a system known as Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis. Accuracy of analysis is improved using mobile technology to capture live asset survey findings and upload them to a database. Reactive maintenance is down by almost a third, helping to reduce customer bills and lower the impact of repair work on more than 2M households.

JacobsTo protect London and the Thames Estuary from tidal flooding, CH2M – now owned by Jacobs – formed Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 with the Environment Agency. Jacobs uses tools such as customised web-based viewer The Estuary Eye, which contains in excess of 100 layers of map, to manage the inspection, refurbishment and replacement of tidal flood defence assets along the estuary. As such it uses innovation to protect more than 1M people and £275bn of property.

Mott MacDonaldIts Moata monitoring, modelling and analytics tool enabled damage to water and wastewater networks in Christchurch to be quickly located and repaired when the

earthquake shattered the New Zealand city in 2011. Today, Moata is even smarter and is being used internationally for identifying network problems and visualising solutions for transport as well as water infrastructure. The system collects and analyses data to provide insight into a complex system.

Opus Internat ional ConsultantsCreated a smart monitoring sensor to observe structural movements to better inform infrastructure maintenance and replacement decisions. The sensor sends real-time data to mobile phones. It is credited with allowing bridges to stay open after the earthquake in New Zealand in 2016, and removing the need for costly but unnecessary works on the country’s Rakaia Bridge. The system has been hailed by client bodies for is provision of bridge performance evidence.

Royal HaskoningDHVDutch drinking water company Vitens has implemented Royal Haskoning’s Aquasuite smart water solution to ensure a reliable supply of high quality drinking water to 5.5M people. Aquasuite OPIR software optimises the production, transport and distribution of drinking water by applying big data analysis and machine learning algorithms, fully integrating and automating the total water system. Vitens water production director Doeke Schippers said: “A stable control of our entire production and distribution capacity is crucial for Vitens. OPIR is an important tool for this, and we expect to roll it out across our entire service area.”

Waldeck Consult ingWaldeck delivered its Digital Reality Capture solution for a major logistics client to capture, tag and categorise existing assets. Data is captured, synchronised and processed using the consultancy’s own software. Data can be screened to produce high resolution imagery and files that can be merged into building information modelling applications. Defects and risks are made visible using warning triangles.

36 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Business CultureLow Carbon Leader

Engineers have a crucial role to play in combating climate change. As well as helping people mitigate the effects of global warming, the sector should be actively driving a low carbon agenda. This category set out to recognise the firms who are empowering their staff to make a difference in this area.

Leeds-headquartered consultant Sweco UK says sustainability is central to its culture. “We have backed-up public commitments to reduce infrastructure carbon with decisive action,” says the firm.

It has driven a range of measures to reduce carbon emissions as lead consultant on infrastructure projects that form part of Renfrewshire Council’s £130M City Deal.

Sweco implemented Publicly Available Specification 2080 in Renfrewshire several months before its formal introduction. This is the first standard for managing carbon from infrastructure.

Sweco helped draft the standard, which was launched in 2016 by the Construction Leadership Council’s Green Construction Board to set out the principles and components of a carbon management system.

SWECO’S PROACTIVE EFFORTS TO PROMOTE THE LOW CARBON AGENDA IS HAVING A POSITIVE EFFECT IN RENFREWSHIRE

Sweco also applied the 2017 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations to the Renfrewshire project ahead of time, ensuring its climate change adaptation and resilience measures were considered.

The firm incorporated carbon as a factor in the procurement process, clearly communicating to the supply chain the importance and value of reduced emissions.

It established a carbon accounting process during the specimen design stage and shared this feedback with all design teams. A carbon database was also developed.

Using a detailed traffic model output analysis, the consultant demonstrated the potential for an immediate reduction in tail pipe emissions.

Its Carbon Conversations initiative improves carbon literacy and teaches participants how to create carbon reduction action plans of their own.

Renfrewshire Council project manager Norman Yardley said: “Sweco’s proposals and continual focus on carbon aspects in all areas have been instrumental in developing projects with this important topic front and centre”.

Judges hailed “clear evidence of strong leadership throughout the organisation”. They praised the way Sweco engaged, collaborated with and aligned various parties in the fight to reduce carbon. The judges were impressed by the level of detail of carbon and cost calculations.

l Judges were Environment Agency cost and carbon manager Ian Corder, Royal Haskoning strategy director Jaap Flikweert and Anglian Water’s executive director Chris Newsome and head of carbon and energy David Riley.

Driving a low carbon agenda in Scotland

Winner: Sweco

KEY FACT

£130MValue of

Renfrewshire Council’s City

Deal

“ They have taken off-

the-shelf software, applied their passion and inventive skills, then given it out for industry use

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 37

LOW CARBON LEADER

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DThornton Tomasett iThornton Tomasetti’s Embodied Carbon Project involved more than five years of measuring the embodied carbon in its structural engineering projects. The New York headquartered company, which has four offices in the UK, undertook research to further understandthe issue. The firm has reduced embodied carbon in its projects by 40% through its recent initiative.

F I N A L I S T S Design2eReduced floor slab thickness, core wall size and concrete use by around a third each during the tender process for Birmingham’s Left Bank apartment blocks. Overall the carbon footprint was slashed by 30% by a design approach that used multiple software platforms, two internal design teams and a series of group and cross group reviews.

Jackson Civ i l Engineer ingLed a successful trial of a new type of concrete on part of the Woodbridge flood risk management scheme in Suffolk, reducing carbon emissions by 66% from the original design. This cemfree concrete, which is 95% ground granulated blast-furnace slag, was used to infill a 265m section of floodwall.

JacobsIts established Sustainability Plus programme identifies savings as early as the feasibility and preliminary design phases of civils projects. It serves as an innovation database, tracking practices and ideas to create value for clients. Carbon savings were up five-fold from 2014 to 54.2M.t in 2016.

MaceThe firm’s utilities, sustainability and construction teams collaborated to create the Energy Hub, a forecasting and purchasing strategy to help Mace procure 100% of its energy from sustainable sources by 2022. Energy Hub saved more than £1M in its first

nine months and reduced carbon emissions by 80% on sites.

Taylor & BoydLast year set an ambitious target to become a leader in Ireland in timber structures with their lower carbon footprint. The firm recruited a structural engineering graduate student to co-ordinate knowledge gathering and the promotion of its work in this area. It also established a partnership with University of Ireland Galway, a leading centre for timber engineering research.

WaltersThe firm’s Pennant Walters renewable energy division delivers energy to South Wales through wind and solar farms, saving nearly 100,000t of carbon emissions every year, more than offsetting the 60,000t of carbon emitted by Walters’ heavy plant fleet of more than 600. The firm also ensures its vehicles have modern and fuel efficient technologies, and sends all its plant operators on efficiency training to understand how to save fuel.

“Almost a third of

the company’s income was eligible for research and development tax credits, saying this confirmed its innovative approach

“ Sweco’s proposals and

continual focus on carbon aspects in all areas have been instrumental

38 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Business CultureTalent Champion

“They have taken off-

the-shelf software, applied their passion and inventive skills, then given it out for industry use

Suffolk-based Breheny Civil Engineering aims to directly employ all of its staff on all its projects.

This requires robust training and development policies to ensure it employs and retains professional, competent people.

More than 10% of the firm’s staff are professionally qualified.

Breheny runs an ICE-approved training scheme that develops engineering technicians along with incorporated and chartered engineers. It says the scheme is fully supported and funded, allowing staff to use work time to research and train. Three professional reviewers from different parts of the business manage and run the programme.

The firm has 49 EngTech qualified professionals who have progressed through its training scheme. It says this puts the firm in the top 10 companies in the UK ranked on volume of staff with this qualification.

With up to 100 projects in construction at any one time, Breheny requires a raft of capable, self-sufficient engineers to give it flexibility in who it deploys. It says its staff gain improved confidence and career prospects from its training system.

The decade-old training programme has rapidly expanded recently with

BREHENY OFFERS ITS STAFF EXTENSIVE SUPPORT FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

in house resources and professional reviewers. Additional courses such as the Institute of Leadership & Management Level 3 option further develop skills and ensure succession of staff.

ICE membership development officer Louisa Rix said: “In the last four years, Breheny has supported over 50 staff through its professional qualifications, the vast majority becoming EngTech MICE.

“This commitment to developing staff has come from all levels from the directors and senior management to site staff and their office-based colleagues.”

The judges said the presenters had an authentic, committed approach to talent development in a challenging part of the sector. “There was evidence of true collaboration with universities and local government to create a training centre,” added the judges.

“They provided excellent feedback from a range of sources.”

l The judges were Environment Agency senior skills advisor Jonathan Chapman, Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion member engagement manager Peter Hall, and Heathrow Airport HR director Paula Stannett.

Capability boosted by staff training

Winner: Breheny Engineering

KEY FACT

49Number of

EngTech qualified staff employed by Breheny Civil Engineering

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 39

TALENT CHAMPION FINALISTS

Awcock Ward PartnershipA quarter of its workforce is apprentices, and every apprentice it has taken on has ended up with a permanent role. Graduates and technicians are provided with coaching and mentoring skills. A monthly leadership training programme focuses on topics including dealing with conflict and empowering teams. Professional development is also supported when workers are at college, on the firm’s own ICE-approved training scheme and via other routes.

BWB GroupA bespoke three-tiered academy programme allows BWB Group to mould raw talent into “complete professionals”. Open to everyone, and attended by more than 100 people, the bronze-silver-gold programme is instrumental in developing strong leadership capabilities, broad industry perspectives and general business know-how. It is also good for intra-company networking. BWB credits the academy with transforming the business from a regional player into a “fast-growing multi-award winning consultancy”. CGLAll staff and managers are contractually committed to train and be trained. Training uptake is 85% across the company and is monitored monthly by the executive team. CGL Outreach looks to foster talent whether paying

for two science teachers in a Nepalese school, supporting underprivileged children in Surrey to study STEM subjects at university or committing to Women Intro Science and Engineering (WISE) initiatives to foster diversity and talent.

CostainCostain is especially focused on ensuring the development and retention of high potential female employees, and has created 50 development action plans to achieve this, outlining training, mentoring and managed job rotations. It has launched a support network to ensure women are aware of opportunities to make their careers more compatible with their personal lives. Four in 10 women on the strategic leadership programme in the last 12 months have been promoted to more senior positions, while one is being supported to complete a full-time masters in business administration.

CurtinsICE-accredited Curtins Academy allows graduates to grow technically, professionally and commercially through a structured four-year training programme. It provides bespoke professional and managerial learning and knowledge sharing opportunities. Currently 92 graduates are enrolled and will attend 15 core module training sessions. The number of chartered memberships within the company has

increased by 26% since the launch of the academy. The firm has been awarded Investors in People Gold Standard.

Dougall Baillie AssociatesStaff regularly visit schools to describe the role of the civil engineer to young people. It recently represented the ICE at a careers fair for school leavers. The firm is working to meet all nine targets in the Scottish Business Pledge include investment in youth and having a balanced workforce as well as promoting workforce engagement and having a responsible payment structure.

Westlakes EngineeringAll of its employees had access to training last year. Collectively they had more than 2,800 hours of training. Westlakes’ investment in employee training and development has increased 162% over 12 months. It relaunched its graduate development programme which now includes bi-annual graduate training days, bringing together graduates from institutions including the ICE and the Institution of Structural Engineers. Principal engineer Nicola Killip said: “Westlakes are currently funding and supporting me through an 18-month apprenticeship to gain a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. This will be a significant step towards my personal goal of gaining chartered manager status.”

40 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Business CultureDiversity Champion

CGL has been working closely with Royal Academy of Engineering’s diversity and inclusion leadership group (DILG).

CGL was used by the Academy in 2015 as a case study for diversity initiatives. The firm shared details of its practices with the DILG and made itself available for studies of its culture and methods to help influence employment practices across the industry.

The case study says a range of flexible initiatives were implemented by the firm, with male and female senior role models working flexibly and a remote desktop system enabling home working.

Development activities were tailored to individuals’ needs and aspirations. A system was developed to enable employees’ use online courses to help them work towards chartered manager status. Training was monitored to consider diversity trends and employees were encouraged to be ambassadors for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.

MONITORING, TRAINING AND OUTREACH HAVE HELPED CGL ACHIEVE AN ‘ALMOST PERFECT GENDER BALANCE’ IN ITS WORKFORCE

CLG has continued to support the DILG and the firm’s engineers were early participants in the Academy’s inclusive cultures project in 2017.

This centred on a survey to increase understanding of the culture of engineering, the extent to which it was inclusive and the measures it could take to make it more so.

The company has signed up to the industry-led Ten Steps initiative run by gender balance campaign Women into Science and Engineering (WISE).

A CGL-supported publication, “The Female Face of Civil Engineering”, was endorsed by WISE as well as the Women’s Engineering Society and the ICE.

It was published in print and online as a focal point for the company’s efforts to encourage young women into the industry. As well as setting out civils-based career options for school students, the guide highlights case studies of women who had progressed in the sector.

ICE head of education and inspiration John Laverty said in the publication that the institution was “delighted” to support it.

“For many young people, seeing is believing,” he wrote.

“They respond well to practical examples which show the diverse and rewarding careers that are in reach through studying STEM subjects at school. This is especially important for young women, who may assume engineering is not a career for them, due to outdated perceptions.”

Judges hailed CGL as “a small firm punching way above its weight” on gender diversity and showing “robust external benchmarking”.

“While achieving an almost perfect gender balance it has also ensured male employees equally feel valued and included,” they said.

The judges praised the company’s “exceptional amount of outreach for STEM subjects” including its “highly innovative use of technology to engage with young people”.

l Judges were Network Rail diversity and inclusion manager Kevin Bowsher, Women’s Engineering Society president Benita Mehra and New Civil Engineer associate editor Emily Ashwell.

Inclusion effort is the key to balance

Winner: CGL

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 41

DIVERSITY CHAMPION

“ The judges praised

the company’s exceptional amount of outreach for STEM subjects

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DArcadisArcadis worked hard to ensure it was faith-inclusive, with a campaign including posters celebrating days of importance to different faiths; guidance to managers on the requirements of the calendar for different religions; and efforts to link faith with excellent construction projects. The firm has offered refugee traineeships and boosted its employee survey ‘valuing diversity’ score from 3.03 in 2015 to 3.18 in 2017.

F I N A L I S T SArupSet out to make a step change in graduate recruitment as part of an underlying goal to boost gender equality. Worked closely with educators, recruiters and managers to eliminate bias and encourage female applicants. A new applicant tracking system flags up decreases in the diversity of applicants at any stage, to inform changes to the recruitment process.

BDPIdentified that its gender pay gap was driven by fewer women being employed at senior levels and asked staff what action how to address the imbalance. Several actions were instigated as a result including unconscious bias training and career mentors for female staff. Gender pay gap is already down.

Mott MacDonaldPublishes goals on its website focusing on recruitment, retention and progression of staff by disability, gender, gender identity, race and sexual orientation. Tracks employee demographics, analyses recruitment trends and captures feedback through employee engagement surveys.

Project CentreMobilised an all-female team to deliver design proposals to Tower Hamlets council for Harley Grove in east London, working closely with the pupils of Central Foundation Girls School. Project Centre is a founder member

of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter and the firm sponsored Croydon Pridefest in 2017, the theme of which celebrated 50 years of LGBT equality.

Rambol lChanged its approach to focus on mind-sets and behaviours rather than strategy and actions; and to broaden its diversity programme to encompass all minorities.

WSPCreated a five-point action plan to attain a balance of talented people. Research, open conversations with staff and a confidential assistance programme helped it to proactively identify issues and solve them. A gender balance action group was formed. Unconscious bias training has been undertaken by 25% of the business and targets have been set to increase this further. The proportion of women within the firm’s graduate and apprentice intake has increased.

42 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Business CultureLeader in Collaboration

“The judges felt its model

of collaborating with universities was a brilliant example to be replicated throughout the industry”

The Curtins Academy was launched by consultant Curtins in 2014 and provides a platform to train and develop graduate engineers over a four-year period. The firm collaborates with universities developing undergraduates and working with them on campus improvement projects.

Curtins was appointed to the University of Leeds’ four-year £500M consultants framework. It has introduced several initiatives to provide students with advice and the opportunity to see how their studies relate to the industry.

These include an industrial mentors scheme run with the ICE, an Engineering You’re Hired initiative, a Steer mentoring group and continuing professional development events.

The consultant involved students in structural design processes for new facilities on their campus from design to construction.

On the Innovation Centre for the university, it supported student Kiera Mudd in her final-year project researching dynamic façades.

The firm dovetailed this research with the project’s feasibility study,

CURTINS COLLABORATES WITH UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ SKILLS ON UNIVERSITY ESTATES WORK PROGRAMMES

fostering close collaborations between academic departments, the estates team and designers.

This ensured the new facility considered how the latest sustainable technologies could add value. One student was encouraged to attend and engage in design team meetings while still at the university.

The student joined the Curtins Academy in 2016 and has continued to work on the Innovation Centre as the project progressed onto site. Meanwhile Curtins has been

approached by the university’s civil engineering department to support a wider research project.

University of Leeds senior teaching fellow David Richardson said: “Throughout its time on the university framework, Curtins has been supporting undergraduates within the department. Senior members of its team have given up their time to review student project work, providing students with great exposure to the private sector.”

The judges praised Curtins for its “refreshing” approach, and for “truly contributing to the next generation and our industry”.

“This approach has provided Curtins with a great opportunity to tap into talented resource and the judges felt its model of collaborating with universities was a brilliant example to be replicated throughout the industry.”

l Judges were Innovate UK innovation lead for smart infrastructure Sarah Eager; Heathrow Airport project management director Joanne Ellman Brown; and Association for Consultancy & Engineering chief operating officer Anil Iyer.

KEY FACT

£500MValue of

University of Leeds

consultants framework

Undergrads get practical experience

Winner: Curtins

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 43

LEADER IN COLLABORATION

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DBlack & VeatchThe firm is ahead of programme and beating efficiency, safety and customer targets on a £450M programme of works it is delivering with Amey for Scottish Water. Black & Veatch says this performance has been enabled by strong collaboration, itself promoted by implementing joint goals and processes. Profit and loss is split 50:50 within the joint venture; a team charter was written to align behaviours.

F I N A L I S T SCapita Property & InfrastructureFormed a joint venture with Ineco to secure and deliver consultancy work the two companies felt they may not have won independently. The partnership has worked collaboratively on several London Underground projects and on High Speed 2 and elsewhere.

Clarkebond (UK)Led the use of building information modelling on the £19M Bridgwater Community Hospital scheme in Somerset. This involved co-locating

the broader design team on site and working with trust specialists and hospital staff. The firm set up shared-learning workshops and continuous improvement groups.

HydrockLaunched best practice guide “Building Performance Engineering” five years ago to encourage collaboration between engineering disciplines and within project teams. BPE advises on energy performance; acoustics; air quality; waste management; daylight; sunlight and wind analysis; fire engineering; and IT infrastructure. It was fundamental to helping Linkcity submit its planning application for a high-rise residential scheme in Bristol last year.

Thomas Consult ingTook a partnership approach with client Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, on a project to create an ambitious multi-sport facility. Thomas Consulting worked on a time-charge basis with open book accounting. The structural engineering fees were under 0.5% of the total project cost.

Waterco ConsultantsDeciding that a timesheet system provided little value to its clients and damaged collaboration, innovation and morale, the consultant decided to change its approach. Now project programme and team outcomes are managed by setting out a clear plan at the outset, providing timely progress statements and understanding the importance of third party input and the impact on project delivery.

Webb Yates EngineersBrought together architecture and engineering in a transdisciplinary practice called Interrobang. Webb Yates says this has allowed it to go “beyond collaboration” and favour transdisciplinary over multidisciplinary processes. The first project run fully using this new approach was Gatwick Retail Churn, where it factored information exchange into the programme and held regular clash check workshops. On completion the team will hand over an as-built building information modelling model to the airport.

“Senior members of its

team have given up their time to review student project work, providing students with great exposure to the private sector

44 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

Business CultureLeader in Health & Wellbeing

“We enjoy unprecedented

staff engagement in this initiative, and client/supply chain interest

Jacobs says health, safety and wellbeing are a core part of its DNA: “It’s not just something we do, but who we are at work, home and community”.

The engineering giant, which acquired competitor CH2M just before Christmas, aims to have a healthy, focused workforce with improved cohesion and productivity to enhance project performance.

Its BeyondZero programme aims to prevent all accidents. Jacobs says it makes safety a value rather than an initiative, removing visible targets or messages and replacing them with a culture of care.

“Operations and safety are seamless; no safety meetings, no committees, no separate points on agendas for safety, and line management is truly accountable for safety,” says a document about the programme.

The firm says it “is an organisation that does not investigate the causes for an accident; however, it investigates the causes that caused the causes of the accident”.

From this culture came Jacobs’ Mental Health Matters initiative.

This promotes positive mental health and wellbeing across the

JACOBS MAKES HEALTH AND WELLBEING A CULTURAL ISSUE RATHER THAN SOMETHING TO BE MEASURED IN TERMS OF TARGETS

business, as well as in its “staff and family”. It delivers an extensive support network, including more than 1,000 positive mental health champions (PMHCs) across 26 countries, enabling early intervention for staff who may be suffering symptoms of poor mental health.

“We enjoy unprecedented staff engagement in this initiative, and client/supply chain interest,” says Jacobs. “PMHC training was developed internally and is based on international best practice. We have supporting initiatives in place encouraging physical wellbeing, including sporting and healthy eating promotions.”

The PMHCs promote positive

mental health and wellbeing; reduce stigma associated with mental illness; intervene where a person is experiencing a mental health crisis; and promote recovery.

Last October, Jacobs launched a survey in conjunction with mental health charity Mind to celebrate the work undertaken to promote and support positive mental health.

The NCE100 judges said Jacobs “worked out a new initiative that will create a safer and healthier work place for tens of thousands of workers around the world”. They praised significantly increased awareness, understanding and engagement with mental health issues both within the organisation and with suppliers.

“Overcoming initial reluctance, the team has created an exemplar programme,” they said. “Great evidence of impact.”

l Judges were Tideway asset management director Roger Bailey; Civil Engineering Contractors Association chief executive Alasdair Reisner; and Highwire Height Safety Engineers finance director and chief engineer Elizabeth Rickard.

Wellbeing culture gives Jacobs an edge

Winner: Jacobs

KEY FACT

1,000+Number

of positive mental health

champions Jacobs has in 26 countries

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 45

LEADER IN HEALTH AND WELLBEING

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DAlun Griff i ths (Contractors)Alun Griffiths is signed up to the government’s Disability Confident Committed employer scheme, and is represented on the ICE fairness, inclusion and respect committee. Since 2017, it has worked closely with Time to Change Wales to help end the stigma around mental health and encourage its staff to speak up about problems. A scheme trialled on its sites has resulted more than 100 people receiving training in recognising mental illness symptoms and in how to get help and support. The scheme will be rolled out to all staff in 2018.

F I N A L I S T SAwcock Ward PartnershipSupports its staff through a partnership ethos creating a culture of support and encouragement. It holds monthly one-on-one sessions, regular social events and training sessions as well as weekends at home and abroad. A star award is voted by colleagues each month and

recognises staff working outside their usual role. Staff are eligible for free gym membership.

Black & VeatchA behavioural safety programme has cut accidents fourfold in 10 years. Black & Veatch implemented one of the sector’s first wellbeing programmes in 2011 and has recorded year-on-year falls in sickness and stress-related illness. Train journeys are replacing driving for many high mileage workers. Thames Water awarded Black & Veatch 91% in its wellbeing maturity assessment.

Br yden Wood TechnologyForumlated a wellbeing team of staff to create new ways of responding to feedback from their colleagues. Initiatives include weekly meditation sessions, focusing on identifying stress and how to manage the effects. Staff say they are less stressed and comment that they are more aware of the impact of stress on personal wellbeing. Retention, engagement and attendance have all improved.

HydrockThe Hydrock Advantage scheme is a commitment to tangible support to encourage wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle. Features include an annual healthy living bonus to help staff invest in healthy lifestyles; a 24/7 wellbeing support line and team days-out. One client said the firm had “created a very special culture”.

Interser ve Construct ion Developed a fatigue monitoring tool for employees on Highways England projects. Launched in 2017, it monitors and reviews fatigue levels and takes action if necessary.

Waterco ConsultantsMade a conscious effort to actively improve staff health and wellbeing. Initiatives included lunch time workshops; access to free and confidential counselling; mindfulness presentations; exercise events and dragon boat racing. The firm has recorded lower absentee rates. It has also increased the number of staff commuting to work by foot or bike and saved 1,000 driving hours last year.

“Jacobs worked out a

new initiative that will create a safer and healthier work place for tens of thousands of workers around the world

46 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

World ViewExcellence in Transport

“They have taken off-the-shelf

software, applied their passion and inventive skills, then given it out for industry use

Ramboll says its mission is to create sustainable societies that allow people and nature to flourish. “Ultimately we judge project success by how well communities are served,” it says.

As such it worked with train passengers to design station forecourts and involved metro stakeholders in open continuous engagement to ensure “clever” design was also relevant to those using it.

Ramboll was a key technical consultant on the £600M Mersey Gateway scheme, working on the huge project in the tiny borough of Halton from inception to completion.

The cable-stayed bridge includes three towers of between 80m and 125m in height, a design chosen to minimise environmental impact.

The bridge carries six lanes of traffic for 1km across the Mersey, and is accompanied by 9km of road improvements that ultimately connect the M56 with Liverpool, reducing pressure on the congested Silver Jubilee Bridge.

Halton Borough Council leader Rob Pohill said the scheme would not have happened without Ramboll’s “continuing support”.

RAMBOLL HAS COLLABORATED CLOSELY WITH THE CLIENT AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS TO SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER THE MERSEY GATEWAY

Ramboll said it oversaw “incredible stakeholder engagement”. The project included opening derelict and land-locked sites; clearing centuries of contamination; and developing a sustainable transport strategy for all road users.

“We considered user benefits beyond travel time savings,” says the firm. “By combining skills encompassing strategic and local transport planning, urban regeneration and structural design, we re-shaped dialogue to focus on how the project would work for all.”

It has been calculated that the bridge will help create more than 4,000 jobs and contribute in excess

Sustainability drives Ramboll mega-project

Winner: Ramboll

KEY FACT

£600MValue of Mersey

Gateway project

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 47

EXCELLENCE IN TRANSPORT

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DJacobsJacobs played a key role on the recently opened Queensferry Crossing near Edinburgh. As part of a joint venture with Arup, the firm supported Transport Scotland for more than a decade from earliest option and Bill development through feasibility and on to co-location with Transport Scotland as an integrated project management team.

The project’s final outturn cost of £1.35bn was substantially less than originally estimated. Many project savings were redirected to the community, while intelligent transport systems reduced road construction, cabling design will allow strand replacement without closures and wind-shielding measures will mitigate weather closures.

F I N A L I S T SBWB GroupBWB’s Traject ultra-thin pre-cast track bed system uses a shallow construction concept to minimise excavation depth

and associated utility diversions. The firm sees “huge potential” for using it with parent CAF’s catenary-free traction solution.

Curt insCranfield University appointed Curtins to join its Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation design team. A mile of shared surface roadway and pedestrian access was created through the centre of the campus for use by fully autonomous vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and buses.

Jackson Civ i l Engineer ingJackson, Atkins and Navtech successfully piloted a stationary vehicle detection radar system on all-lane-running sections of the M25 for Connect Plus and Highways England. This system could dramatically improve safety for road users, traffic officers, incident support units and emergency services.

MaceMace was project manager of the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge

to Huntingdon improvement scheme, involving a total of 294 km of new lanes, which will relieve congestion and help to connect communities in the East of England. It involved delivering one of the UK’s largest infrastructure development consent order applications in just 13 months.

Patr ick ParsonsPatrick Parsons says the Pont Briwet Transportation Improvement in north-west Wales, was “a prime example of how we deliver transport infrastructure that has a positive outcome for society”.

WSPTransforming London Bridge station involved a complex staging process identified by WSP to minimise the impact on 120,000 daily commuters. Platforms and arches built in the early 19th Century were demolished before the station was reconstructed. The work was described by Network Rail as “carrying out open heart surgery while running a marathon”.

“The Mersey Gateway

is already acting as a catalyst for regeneration and economic investment

of £60M to the economy each year. Contaminated land was remediated and pedestrian, cyclist and public transport access improved.

The Mersey Gateway is already acting as a catalyst for regeneration and economic investment, according to the Halton Borough Council. “The drivers who collectively make 27M trips every year have quicker, easier and more reliable journeys in Halton,” said Pohill.

One letter to the “Warrington Guardian” said that using the crossing daily has slashed the author’s commute from almost three hours to under one. “What a transformation to my journey,” they wrote.

The judges said the bridge was “an

outstanding example of a long-term collaborative relationship that has delivered a significant transport project unlocking original and local development opportunities while remaining sensitive to environmental and community constraints”.

They described the close long term collaboration with the client borough and other relationships as “impressive” and said this was “particularly vital” given the challenges of the scheme.

l Judges were Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown, High Speed 2 technical director Andrew McNaughton and Highways England smart motorways programme manager Shaun Pidcock.

KEY FACT

£60MContribution

of Mersey Gateway Bridge to

local economy

48 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

WinnerExcellence in Urban Living

“Civic Engineers presented an

excellent scheme focused on the need for a community to be transformed

Civic Engineers says it ensures interconnectivity between its structures and related public realm. “We transform streets so people, not cars, are at their heart,” says the firm, which has offices in London, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester.

Altrincham, Greater Manchester, had one of the highest business premises vacancy rates in the country. Civic Engineers worked alongside landscape architects Planit-ie and Trafford Borough Council on a programme of public realm works designed to enhance the streets.

Phase one of the scheme linked a regenerated market with a new transport interchange. Natural stone paving was used, trees were planted and contemporary street furniture was introduced including benches and cycle racks.

Phase two involved improvements to the town’s main traffic thoroughfare, Stamford New Road. Civic Engineers says changes to the main route have changed driver attitudes, reduced speed and significantly improved links to a key transport interchange.

PEDESTRIAN AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT-FRIENDLY REDEVELOPMENT OF ALTRINCHAM TOWN CENTRE HELPED INCREASE TRADE AND CUT CRIME

A series of innovative road layouts and shared spaces was designed to change driver mentality and increase access for cyclists and pedestrians. Narrowing roads to reduce traffic speed as well as removal of lights was aimed at improving the experience for pedestrians and motorists.

In March 2017, vacancy rates had fallen to less than 10%, down substantially from 30% at the start of the decade. Crime and anti-social behaviour also fell. Although some 270 incidents were recorded in June to October 2016, this was down from 319 in the same period the previous year.

Crucially, footfall through the town centre was increased as a result of the improvement work.

Trafford Council leader Sean Anstee said in 2016: “One of our key focuses has been to reduce and reverse the number of vacant business premises in these areas. Not only are we achieving this but we have bucked the trend in the region. We’ve seen 24 new businesses occupying previously empty premises, creating nearly 90 jobs.”

The judges said: “Civic Engineers presented an excellent scheme focused on the need for a community to be transformed. Its regeneration of Altringham into a thriving place to work, live and visit was centred on the concept of putting people first.

“Focusing on people, with an integrated social value and infrastructure plan, Civic Engineers has transformed the town for the better of pedestrians, motorists and those using public transport.”

l Judges were Arup director David Caiden, ICE director Nathan Baker and New Civil Engineer news editor Rob Horgan.

Public realm upgrade boost for town centre

Winner: Civic Engineers

KEY FACT

90Number of

jobs resulting from the

remodelling of Altrincham

town centre

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 49

EXCELLENCE IN URBAN LIVING

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E DWil ls Bros Engineer ingWills Bros played a key role in delivery of the Inverness West Link in the Scottish Highlands, completed in December 2017. The scheme involved the construction of a new 2.2 km single carriageway relief road outside the town, and the design and construction of a 170m bridge across the River Ness.

Wills Bros was also contracted to develop world class sports pitches and facilities on behalf of the local rugby club, which lost land through the development.

F I N A L I S T SBr yden Wood TechnologyDeveloped a chassis-based platform system for a residential project in Russia. The set-up, which included a structural skeleton and an MEP network, was customisable to create different buildings but retained a large proportion of repeatable elements. Client feedback was positive and the system – is being developed for the UK housing market.

CGLHas been involved with the huge Barking Riverside scheme, helping turn a brownfield site into a community of 10,800 homes with schools, roads, a railway station and a bus and river transport interchange. CGL established a viable remediation plan for the 180ha former power station site. Upwards of 500,000m3 of soil will be reused onsite.

Clancy Consult ingProvided civil and structural engineering design for the sensitive conversion of five Victorian hospital buildings into 168 homes. Retaining the historic buildings while ensuring affordable homes were able to meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 standards was a major challenge. Each home has access to private outdoor space.

HR Wal l ingfordLed the water workstream within a £16M project to develop Milton Keynes as a smart city. Located in one of the driest parts of the

country, the city is keen to manage water resources sustainably to support continued growth. HR Wallingford was part of a team developing a smart water management system to improve water efficiency across the city. WatermanProvided engineering and environmental consultancy services on the 187ha Graven Hill scheme in Oxfordshire. The firm played a key role in securing outline planning permission for up to 1,900 self-build homes, and a village centre. It is now working closely on detailed designs for the site.

WSPProposed a “cost effective and pragmatic” plan to build above rail lines in and around London. WSP believes this space could provide 250,000 homes for the capital. At Principal Place, the firm is working on a 50-storey residential tower and 60,000m2 of office space in a scheme that spans over six rail tracks at Liverpool Street Station.

“Civic Engineers

has transformed the town for the better of pedestrians, motorists and those using public transport

50 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

World ViewExcellence in Water

GHD is leading the design of a significant upgrade of a 100 year old pipeline bringing clean water to a major city in the UK. The firm designed three new tunnel sections, along with their connections to the existing conduit, to ensure continuous supply across national borders for generations ahead.

GHD developed a staged excavation beneath the existing asset, removing the need for internal propping and allowing installation of a protective concrete wrap without a shutdown.

By combining cast insitu and benched precast concrete units, the company removed the need for large and costly prefabricated lightweight steel sections.

It delivered significant savings by combining the tunnel boring machine drive pits and connection cofferdams to remove two deep shafts.

The near-vertical reinforced soil wall was the largest of its kind built in the UK.

The team developed a way to divert flows while the aqueduct was in service. This involved removing the temporary roof, placing precast concrete diversion blocks and removing the stop logs before placing the precast roof.

Tunnel boring machine launch methodology was simplified by combining the TBM drive pit and the connection cofferdam in to one, removing the need for a separate 12m diameter, 10m deep secant piled

GHD HAS BROUGHT EFFICIENCY PLANNING AND INNOVATION TO A MAJOR UK WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

shaft. This also reduced the working area substantially, facilitating planning permission, as well as minimising the requirement for cut-and-fill operations.

Only one 72-hour shutdown was needed to form the connection.

Flows were turned into the new tunnel in early 2017, improving the resilience of the city’s drinking water supply.

GHD is employee owned and says its staff are empowered to share knowledge, collaborate, and create lasting community benefit in partnership with its clients. 

The firm says that by going “on the journey” with clients through the entire life cycle of their water projects, it aims to deliver solutions with a lasting benefit for communities. 

Judges praised evidence of widespread community engagement to help with cultural attitudes to support project objectives.

“They were passionate engineers and developed the client brief in an innovative way,” said the judges. “They utilised professional registration for development of people internally. Good example of horizontal innovation for incorporation into their brief.”l Judges were Tideway chairman Sir Neville Simms, Environment Agency national commercial manager Brian Francis and IRSE chief executive designate Blane Judd.

For water, add efficiency

Winner: GHD

KEY FACT

100 years oldAge of water

pipeline being upgraded

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 51

EXCELLENCE IN WATER “ GHD is employee

owned and says its staff are empowered to share knowledge, collaborate, and create lasting community benefit

HIGHLY COMMENDED IDOM Worked on solutions to minimise losses to the water infrastructure in Medellin, Colombia, where some entire neighbourhoods were at risk of total loss of supplies. The project will have a positive impact on the lives of over 11,700 families from peripheral neighbourhoods that were at risk of being excluded completely from a fresh water supply.

The firm set up community working groups involving neighbourhood leaders to help communicate the need to use water efficiently and respect the new water supply infrastructure that has been installed.

Community leaders expressed satisfaction and highlighted the positive impact of the scheme.

FINALISTS ArupCreated a strategy to improve water supply protection for more than 1M people in Wales and safeguard a similar number against failure of an existing treatment works.

The 30-year ambition aims to reduce Welsh Water’s carbon emissions by more than 80% and halve the amount of time customers are without water each year. Arup drew on global experience of resilience planning to identify customer-specific target areas such as affordability, vulnerable circumstances and working in communities.

Black & VeatchThe consultant is designing the City of Toronto Wet Weather Flow Tunnel Scheme,

an interception, storage and conveyance system that will improve water quality in Lake Ontario.

The scheme covers an area of 270 km2 and will reduce the frequency of sewer discharges and urban run-offs. It included 27km of 6.3m diameter tunnel as well as 14 large diameter storage shafts.

UK hydraulics specialists developed a system to physically model air release at shafts, using a partial vacuum to achieve the same pressure change ratio and air pocket expansion in the model and prototype.

FCC ConstrucciónWorked on the Castrovido dam in Spain, a major construction and engineering challenge. The dam will generate a reservoir with storage capacity of 44Mm3 and an area of 214ha, equivalent to 212 football pitches.

HR WallingfordLed the development of new projections of water availability for the UK to enable the government to assess the relative severity of impacts under a range of scenarios. This was the first national assessment of climate-related risks by the UK Government, and informed the second UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. The firm’s projections extend to the 2080s, significantly further than the typical horizon currently adopted for UK water resource planning, providing an insight into the pressures likely to be faced by the industry in the longer-term.

JacobsCH2M (now Jacobs) is the programme manager for the £4bn, Tideway tunnel project. It says its procurement and commercial expertise resulted in savings of up to 20% of the cost of phase 2 works. Jacobs was praised by the client for its strategy and its use of know-how on the project to transform the river and leave a legacy for future generations.

London Bridge AssociatesProvided specialist and expert engineers in construction and logistics planning to support its client’s work to develop and implement the Tideway Tunnel project. Helped ensure the environmental impact was accurately assessed and construction impacts were minimised. Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell said London Bridge Associates did an “excellent job of balancing stakeholder needs with the commercial aspects of the regulated business”.

StantecDeveloped three programmes to help the Seychelles Water Authority improve its efficiency, demand management and resilience in the face of the significant threat apparent from climate change and sea level rise. The firm’s water demand management programme formulated strategies to manage water demand that were communicated through a targeted awareness campaign and promotion of bylaws to increase use of water-saving devices, rainwater harvesting and household storage.

52 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

World ViewExcellence in Climate Resilience

“Not only was the challenge

met, it was delivered ahead of programme and under budget

The £180M Moray Flood Alleviation Programme provided resilience to 3,000 homes and 600 businesses in four communities in north-east Scotland.

Royal HaskoningDHV was appointed to provide a range of services as a consultant on the 15 year project, which was completed last year.

The firm has 6,000 staff working on projects in 150 countries. It says it embeds people into project teams to help them “live and breathe” the schemes. It also aims to apply “global solutions to local situations”.

The Moray scheme was a response to floods that affected thousands of properties and caused millions of pounds worth of damage during the 1990s and early 2000s. It covered five flood alleviation schemes in four towns with investment from Moray Council and the Scottish Government.

The programme was based on designs to make room for the river – the construction of set-back defences; demolition and rebuilding of bridges to open up water courses; construction of dams to create flood water storage reservoirs; building a pumping station;

ROYAL HASKONINGDHV’S COMMITMENT TO LIVE AND BREATHE ITS PROJECTS IS EVIDENT IN ITS WORK ON THE MORAY FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME

major works to trunk roads; and relocation of businesses and homes.

Some of the new flood defences were tested before they were completed, when the tail end of Hurricane Bertha hit in August 2014. The consultant says more than half of Moray Council’s investment was effectively repaid within a decade of the first elements being completed.

The project also has major social and environmental benefits, including a cycle path and work to improve amenities including parks, playing fields, wetlands and water courses.

Moray Council project sponsor Peter Haslam said: “I challenged the

team to deliver flood alleviation and complement the environment. My measure of success was the scheme should be invisible and prevent flooding. Not only was the challenge met, it was delivered ahead of programme and under budget.”

The judges praised the firm’s “very clear ethos of future proof considerations in projects across the whole company, with particular focus on climate resilience”.

They said there was “clear evidence of cutting edge thinking and practice” and hailed “excellence” in the Moray Flood Alleviation programme.

“Adding value to local communities was at the centre of their design and delivery, with infectious passion and enthusiasm during the presentation that made clear they are living and breathing what they are saying.”

l Judges were Environment Agency coastal risk management director Alison Baptiste, Heriot Watt University professor of civil engineering systems Paul Jowitt and Mott MacDonald global sustainability leader Davide Stronati.

Getting under the skin of flood defences

Winner: Royal HaskoningDHV

KEY FACT

£180MValue of

Moray Flood Alleviation Programme

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 53

EXCELLENCE IN CLIMATE RESILIENCE

F I N A L I S T SArcadisPart of the winning team in a US Government-run competition following super storm Sandy, which damaged more than 300,000 homes in New York in 2012. The protection scheme chosen, known as the Dryline, is a protective system around Manhattan. In collaboration with the City of New York and local communities, Arcadis will design flood protection solutions that merge into the urban fabric for 200,000 residents and 21,000 businesses. Design features will incorporate architectural floodwalls, bridging berms, embankments, moveable floodgates and interior drainage improvements.

Civic EngineersWorked with landscape architects J&L Gibbons to produce sustainable urban drainage systems guidance for Transport for London. Responding to the Mayor of London’s Climate Change Strategy, this demonstrates how SuDS can be seamlessly integrated into London’s streetscape

and public realm, helping reduce surface water flood risk.

Floodl ine Consult ingThe consultant has developed plans for two flood-resilient “can-float” properties on land beside a flood prone river. The homes will rise and fall with flood water. The Environment Agency has approved the scheme and Floodline says the houses can be insured and mortgaged like conventional homes.

HR Wal l ingfordHR Wallingford is helping the Malaysian government’s Department of Irrigation and Drainage develop an effective, integrated flood forecasting and river monitoring system. The consultant has developed two systems for west coast rivers, and is working on three for the east coast. Fully automated systems are driven by a combination of live, telemetered gauged data from the government’s own database, as well as spatial rainfall radar information and rainfall forecasts.

JBA Consult ingIn January 2017, JBA and consortium partners began a three-year project to assess geophysical and atmospheric hazards, aiming to adapt climate and hazard prediction models to tropical conditions and improve forecasting, emergency planning and response capacity in Kuala Lumpur whose population is projected to grow by 30% to almost 10M by 2030.

RPS GroupRPS’ Bongo River Trees Restoration project in Ghana, completed last year, drew in engineers and professional staff alongside charity volunteers and village groups to undertake a 75ha land restoration project. The semi-barren rural landscape was transformed, with almost 100,000 trees and shrubs planted along with a range of other works.

Waterco ConsultantsCommissioned to develop its smart flood management concept through to project appraisal review at four sites in north Wales.

“Very clear ethos of future

proof considerations in projects across the whole company

54 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

World ViewExcellence in Alternative Energy

“Care has been taken to

ensure all materials are recyclable and the turbines leave no lasting impact on the environment after 25 years

Robert Bird Group played a key role in Phase 1A of the ambitious MeyGen tidal power project to create the world’s first grid-connected tidal turbine scheme in Scottish waters.

RBG conceived and developed the gravity base design for the under sea turbines. They had to resist long-term dynamic forces in extreme marine conditions including highly turbulent currents and storm surge conditions. The site in the Pentland Firth between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea was chosen for its strong tidal stream, with its irregular seabed creating eddies and vortices on various scales.

The firm says proving effective foundation design is a key requirement for the tidal power industry as it seeks to fulfil its promise of aiding the move to a more sustainable energy mix in the future.

The MeyGen scheme is environmentally responsible in a number of ways. Being entirely below the sea surface, visual impacts are minimised. The gravity base concept also means the structures can simply be lifted off the seabed once their operational life is over, allowing embodied steel to be recycled while the ocean is returned to its natural state.

The steel support structure and ballast blocks were fabricated close to site to reduce transportation impact.

ROBERT BIRD GROUP HAS DEVELOPED A SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR UNDERSEA TURBINE BASES ON THE MAYGEN TIDAL POWER PROJECT

Design of ballast blocks and foundation tripods was selected to ease transport from the fabrication facilities to the port, with only final assembly undertaken at quayside.

Judges described this as an “excellent entry” that provided a strong case study in first principles design, including an explanation of how the project was pushing the boundaries of high turbulence current modelling and structural simulation.

They added that lessons from the scheme were being shared with the wider industry and even fed into a new design code that will apply as an industry standard.

“Carbon use has been a major consideration on the project,” the judges said.

“Care has been taken to ensure all materials are recyclable and the turbines leave no lasting impact on the environment after 25 years.

“The clients were clearly happy with Robert Bird Group’s work.

Overall, a fantastic project showing clear innovation and leadership in alternative energy.”

l Judges were UK Power Networks director of programme and procurement Nirmal Kotecha, Jacobs head of innovation Adrian Harrison and New Civil Engineer technical reporter Fiona McIntyre.

Minimising the footprint

Winner: Robert Bird Group

KEY FACT

25 yearsPeriod after

which the turbines

will have no lasting impact

on the environment

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 55

EXCELLENCE IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

F I N A L I S T SBeckett RankineThe firm partnered in a research project to address the cost of foundations for offshore wind and wave energy schemes by advancing a concept that could achieve a 20% reduction renewable energy costs. The Offshore Platform for Energy Conversion comprises a large floating structure, fabricated in reinforced concrete modules, designed to support multiple wind and wave devices and also aquaculture facilities. The project is exploring the deployment of such systems in developing island states and isolated coastal communities that currently face high electricity costs.

IDOMDesigned the hydro-wind power plant on El Hierro in the Canary Islands with the aim of supplying all of the island’s electrical energy from renewable sources and helping conserve an area declared a World Biosphere Reserve. Power is supplied to the network from wind turbines with surpluses used to pump water to create a reserve to drive the hydro-turbines if wind is lacking. It is estimated that this system will save the annual consumption of 40,000 oil barrels and cut out the emission of 18,700 tonnes of CO2. JBA Consult ingDeveloped ForeCoast Marine to facilitate installation, operation and maintenance of offshore

wind farms, tidal arrays and new-nuclear projects. JBA is using the system to support construction of the 116-turbine Rampion offshore wind farm off the Sussex coast, where initial foundation construction was heavily delayed by bad weather. ForeCoast Marine predicted a 20 month construction programme to within three days. Costain principal risk consultant Andy Poole said the system was “a game changer in the way we plan and manage weather”.

Mott MacDonaldDeveloping the technical specification and business case for an innovative 600MW solar-pumped storage project on the coast of northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. When the sun is shining, half the power from the 1650ha solar plant will be used to pump water from the sea to 650m above sea level. When released, this water will generate hydropower to meet daytime peaks and night-time power demand. Mott MacDonald says the hybrid scheme will be competitive on cost with conventional alternatives.

Sweco UKProvided a range of consultancy services for Galway Wind Farm, which has the capacity to generate enough green energy for 90,000 homes. The 169MW generating project is a combination of four windfarms and Sweco had to design five different types of turbine foundation to

cope with difficult ground conditions. The wind farm has the capability to save more than 400,000t of carbon per year. On a broader scale, Sweco has contributed to 3.6GW of installed renewable capacity over the last eight years.

WaltersIts Mynydd Bwllfa wind farm project involved the installation of nine wind turbines, each 125m high, on an environmentally sensitive site in Wales. As landowner, developer and design-and-build contractor, Walters conceived the project and will operate and maintain the facility for the next 25 years. It maintained consultation and stakeholder engagement throughout. Walters provides more than 100MW of clean electricity capacity at seven sites across Wales, enough to offset the carbon emissions of its huge plant fleet.

WYGThe consultant was commissioned by Vestas to investigate the optimum solution for transporting 66 turbines to Stronelairg wind farm on the shore of Loch Ness. The longest component was the length of four buses. WYG assessed each stage of the journey and worked with developer SSE Renewables to design the mitigation works required. It reduced the need for expensive land deals and intrusive road works and slashed costs and timescales.

56 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100The Gold List

NC

E10

0 THE NCE100 COMPANIES OF THE YEAR 2018 WERE SCRUTINISED BY A PANEL OF 45 JUDGES WHO ASSESSED ENTRIES AND INTERVIEWED SENIOR EXECUTIVES ANALYSIS OF STAFF SURVEYS COMPLETED THE ASSESSMENT

AKTII

Alun Griffiths

Anthony D Bates Partnership

Arcadis

Arch Henderson

Ardent Consulting Engineers

Arup

Awcock Ward Partnership

Barhale

BDP

Beckett Rankine

Black & Veatch

Breheny Civil Engineering

Bryden Wood Technology

BWB Group

C Spencer

Caley Water

CampbellReith

Capita Property and Infrastructure

Cass Hayward

CGL

Civic Engineers

Clancy Consulting

Clarkebond

Converge

Costain

Curtins

Davies Maguire

Design ID Consulting

Design2e

Dougall Baillie Associates

Dr Sauer & Partners

Dunelm Geotechnical

Eastwood & Partners

Edenvale Young Associates

Engenuiti

Engineeria

FCC Construccion

FJD Consulting

Floodline Consulting

Foundation Piling

GHD

Glanville Consultants

Hartigan

Hewson Consulting Engineers

HR Wallingford

Hydrock

IDOM

Igloo

Interserve Construction

i-Transport

Jackson Civil Engineering

Jacobs

JBA Consulting

Jenkins and Potter

JNP Group Consulting Engineers

John Sisk & Son

JPP Consulting

Kier

London Bridge Associates

Mace

Midland Metro Alliance

MJ Rooney Construction

Mott MacDonald

Opus International Consultants

Patrick Parsons

Pell Frischmann

Peter Brett Associates

Pick Everard

Pinnacle Consulting Engineers

PJA

Plandescil

Project Centre

Ramboll

Robert Bird Group

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018 57

i-Transport

Jackson Civil Engineering

Jacobs

JBA Consulting

Jenkins and Potter

JNP Group Consulting Engineers

John Sisk & Son

JPP Consulting

Kier

London Bridge Associates

Mace

Midland Metro Alliance

MJ Rooney Construction

Mott MacDonald

Opus International Consultants

Patrick Parsons

Pell Frischmann

Peter Brett Associates

Pick Everard

Pinnacle Consulting Engineers

PJA

Plandescil

Project Centre

Ramboll

Robert Bird Group

Top

10

HERE IS THE NCE100 TOP 10. A LIST OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL, INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE CIVIL ENGINEERING COMPANIES IN 2018

01 Arcadis

02 Arup

03 Jacobs

04 Mace

05 Ramboll

06 Sweco UK

07 Mott MacDonald

08 Costain

09 WSP

10 Black & Veatch

Royal HaskoningDHV

RPS Group

RSK Group

Sanderson Watts Associates

Sensat

Stantec

Stuart Michael Associates

Sweco UK

Taylor & Boyd

Thomas Consulting

Thornton Tomasetti

Van Elle

Waldeck Consulting

Walters

Waterco Consultants

Waterman

Webb Yates Engineers

Wentworth House Partnership

Westlakes Engineering

Whitby Wood

Wills Bros Civil Engineering

Wood

WSP

WYG

XEIAD

58 N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 2018

NCE100Judges

Tahir Ahmad BIM specialist, Crossrail—Simon Alford Director, AHMM—Roger Bailey Asset management director, Tideway —Nathan Baker Director, ICE—Alison Baptiste Director, flood and coastal risk management, Environment Agency—Lewis BlackwellExecutive director, Building Centre—Denise BowerExecutive director, Major Projects Association—Keith BowersProfession head: tunnels London Underground—Kevin Bowsher Diversity and inclusion manager, Network Rail—Maggie Brown Innovation manager, EDF Energy – Hinkley Point C—Mike Brown Commissioner, Transport for London—David Caiden Director, Arup

Jonathan Chapman Senior skills advisor, Environment Agency—Darren Colderwood Development director Heathrow Airport—Ian CorderCost and carbon manager, Environment Agency—Adrian CoyLocal authorities director, Aecom and former vice president, ICE—Sarah Eager Innovation lead – smart infrastructure, Innovate UK—Joanne Ellman Brown PMO director, Heathrow Airport—Jaap Flikweert Director, water governance and strategy, Royal HaskoningDHV—Brian FrancisNational commercial manager, Environment Agency—Geoff FrenchPast-president, ICE—Chris GageDigital lead - industrial products UKI global business services, IBM—Peter Hall Member engagement manager, Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion

David Hancock Construction director, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, Cabinet Office

Adrian Harrison Head of innovation, utilities, Jacobs—Anil IyerChief operating officer, Association for Consultancy & Engineering—Paul JowittProfessor of civil engineering systems, Heriot Watt University—Blane Judd Chief executive, EngTech Now—Jon Kerbey Head of management systems, HS2 Ltd—Nirmal Kotecha Director of capital programme and procurement, UK Power Networks—David Leam Infrastructure director, London First—John Lorimer Chair, BIM Academy—Alexi Marmot Vice-dean teaching and learning, University College London—Michelle McDowell Chair, civil and structural engineering, BDP

Andrew McNaughton Technical director, HS2 Ltd—Benita MehraPresident, Women’s Engineering Society (WES) —Paul Morris Head of innovation, Tideway—Chris Newsome executive director, Anglian Water—Douglas Oakervee Chairman, Docel and ICE Special Representative for China—Nelson OgunshakinChief executive, Association for Consultancy & Engineering—Shaun Pidcock Programme director, Highways England—Lisa Pinney Chief executive, Coal Authority; trustee, Stonewall—Nicholas Pollard Chief executive, Cory Riverside Energy—David Porter Director, NI Rivers Agency—Alasdair ReisnerChief executive, Civil Engineering Contractors Association

Elizabeth Rikard Finance director and chief engineer, Highwire Height Safety Engineers —David Riley Head of carbon and energy, Anglian Water—Kevin Shelton Head of risk and value management, Network RailSir Neville Simms chairman, Tideway—Paula Stannett Chief people officer Heathrow Airport Ltd —Davide StronatiGlobal sustainability leader, Mott MacDonald—Jon SturgessProgramme manager (design) – building and civil design groups, Network Rail—Christine Townley, Freelance consultant – young people and skills— Keith WallerSenior advisor, Infrastructure & Projects Authority—Briony WickendenHead of training, Civil Engineering Contractors Association—Simon Wright Programme director, Crossrail

Judging Panel

The NCE100 Gold Book

Written by: Greg Pitcher

Editor: Mark Hansford

Chief sub editor: Andy Bolton

Design: James McCarthy

Display sales: Francis Barham020 3953 2912francis.barham@emap.com

Published by:Emap for Metropolis International