Construction News Awards 2012


Project over £50m JUDGES’ COMMENT


“The most outstanding achievement was a zero accident frequency rate despite more than 1.2 million man hours worked”


Sponsored by


WINNER COSTAIN FOR M53 BIDSTON MOSS VIADUCT STRENGTHENING PROJECT FOCUS


The 730 m multi-span box girder viaduct connecting the M53 to the Kingsway Tunnel under the River Mersey faced the prospect of closure if it couldn’t be strengthened. So Costain undertook an


£89.9 million project to protect this strategic route into Liverpool, which carries 77,000 vehicles a day, while maintaining live traffi c at all times. The 100-week scheme involved


innovative design solutions and 100 km of new weld in extremely confi ned space. To protect the road user,


FINALISTS


HIGHLY COMMENDED ● BALFOUR BEATTY MAJOR CIVIL ENGINEERING


● BALFOUR BEATTY MAJOR CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MOTT MACDONALD


● BAM NUTTALL ● LAING O’ROURKE CONSTRUCTION


● OSBORNE ● VINCI CONSTRUCTION UK


36 | 12 July 2012


workforce and environment, 3.7 km of box girder was housed within bespoke containment. A ‘measure twice, cut once’


strategy in the investigation/ design phase resulted in a largely de-risked, aff ordable scheme delivered right fi rst time. This led to the mitigation of key


risks such as latent defects, lead paint, highly constricted access and trade interfaces. Daily construction meetings


drove production, while weekly three-week look-ahead meetings removed longer-term blockers to enable a continuous fl ow of work.


Quality became the


responsibility of the entire workforce with adherence to an integrated quality verifi cation team inspection regime. Costain identifi ed a need for


openness and honesty as crucial to a high standard of performance on this scheme. This approach was implemented through the workforce, with anonymous feedback available as well as rewards for input. Costain says the viaduct


scheme was the fi rst infrastructure project in the world to become behavioural safety-accredited. This involved site tours,


presentations and the philosophy of every member of the team ‘being safe because you want to, not because you have to’. All strengthening works were


completed three months early. The scheme saw no disputes, strikes or outstanding claims and no lost-time accidents despite 1.2 million hours of work over 30 months, while more than 90 per cent of waste was recycled.


Judges Simon Diggle, Iain Parker, David Sibbitt


SIMON ELLISON PROJECT DIRECTOR


Our delivery strategy for this scheme was based on a deep understanding of lessons that have been


learned from the Avonmouth and Tinsley viaducts. Our approach from the outset


was to de-risk the scheme in the design development phase, make it affordable through value management and ensure cost certainty for the construction phase. A fully integrated approach to the


steelwork design resulted in the adoption of innovative hybrid stiffening solutions using the existing structural form. This avoided the use of propping in both temporary and permanent situations and removed the need for peak-time motorway closures. The strengthening was


completed ahead of programme, allowing the weight restrictions to be removed three months early. Genuine collaboration and a ‘one team’ approach has underpinned everything undertaken.


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