Construction Global - September 2014

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September 2014

Wates Interview Jason Knights Building Services Director

Cemex Builds On Its Core Strengths Infrastructure Major Projects New York two Britain’s First years after Sandy Floating Village

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ed i t o r ’ s c o mment

BUILD & REBUILD our new regular management interview, Jason Knights, National Services Director at Wates, gave Construction Global his insight into construction management and his take on the state of the UK building industry.

This month in

Much has been said about the ever-spiralling cost of living in London and the lack of affordable housing. With the nation’s first floating village announced for the Royal Victoria Dock, we not only examine the impressive architectural design and its Dutch inspiration, but also whether this is yet another playground for the rich in London that adds to the problem.

Two years have passed since Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in New York, and now, with the Rebuild by Design contest, the city is thinking green in its new defence strategy and learning how to live alongside what nature throws at it. We take a look at the contest and what it means for New York next time disaster strikes.

Elsewhere we find out how construction companies can take advantage of web analytics to boost lead generation and count down the Top 10 failed projects.

Enjoy the issue!

Joel Levy Editor joel.levy@wdmgroup.com 3

Contents

Features 38

Technology & Equipment Using Web Analytics to Boost Lead Generation in the Construction Industry

8

Top 10

Construction Failures

Infrastructure Two years after Hurricane Sandy: New York thinks green in new defence strategy

46

20 Major Projects Is Britain’s First Floating Village a Beautiful Vision or a Yuppie Ghetto?

28

Management Planning Q+A with Jason Knights of Wates Construction 5

Contents

56

68 CEMEX

Soprema UK

Company Profiles EUROPE

168 San MartĂ­n

56 Soprema UK

178 DOCSA

68 CEMEX

Canada

Middle East

188 G.S. Wark Ltd.

94 Unibeton Ready Mix

196 Delnor Construction Limited

106 Association: EGBC 114 Al Yousuf GreenTech

204 Aquicon Construction

AFRICA

212 Premier Building Solutions Ltd.

124 Mota-Engil

latin america 132 Association: CCI 140 ConSalfa 152 Inmobiliari

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September 2014

220 Nor-Built Construction 226 Calhoun Super Structures

242 Association: Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo HFSE 250 NGC-New Generation Construction 256 Bosworth Steel 264 Ocala Utilities

Australia 272 T ranscity - Legacy Way 284 M +W High Tech Projects Malaysia 298 Waikato Expressway Project 310 NZTA - Fletcher 324 John Holland Rail

USA

Brazil

234 Association: CG/LA Infrastructure Inc.

336 BKO Incorporadora

124 Mota-Engil

140 ConSalfa

178 DOCSA

256

Bosworth Steel

196 Delnor Construction Limited

284 M+W High Tech Projects Malaysia

7

I n fr a s tructur e

8

July 2014

Two years after Hurricane Sandy: New York thinks green in new defence strategy The city is taking a new approach to defending itself from the next natural disaster and learning how to live alongside what nature throws at it by j o e l le vy

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I n fr a s tructur e In terms of damage caused, Hurricane or ‘Superstorm’ Sandy was the second-costliest in US history (after Katrina), slamming into the northeastern seaboard in October 2012 and costing the economy in excess of $70 billion on its path of destruction.

Twenty-four US states were affected, but no location was hit harder than New York City and its surroundings, which accounted for some $18bn of that total. Fiftythree people were killed alongside the destruction of thousands of homes and an estimated 250,000 vehicles as the city flooded and infrastructure cracked under the

barrage of wind, rain and waves.

In the aftermath, city Mayor Michael Bloomberg ruled out construction of a flood barrier to protect against future storms, remaining unconvinced that flood prevention efforts would represent value for money.

At the time, he said: “We live on an island; we are very concentrated; there are economics involved. There are risks when you have those factors[…]

I don’t know if there are any practical ways to build barriers in oceans when you have an enormous harbour like we do, as well as Long Island Sound.”

But the status quo cannot be maintained. It will, after all, be

White House teleconference for Hurricane Sandy 10

September 2014

T w o years after S andy : N ew Y o rk th i nks green

less costly to invest now than to count the cost after the next inevitable environmental disaster.

Sandy led the US government to consider how climate change and such disasters as a direct consequence threaten national security, and the fact that the nation’s infrastructure requires hugely costly reinforcements in order to safeguard both the civilian economy and military activities.

American Security Project board member Christine Todd Whitman said: “Sandy is the second 100year storm we’ve had in 14 months in this part of the country. It tells

you that something is changing.”

The US decided it could ill-afford to wait for scientific proof that this change comes as a result of climate change, and must find a new way to shore up vulnerabilities in structures designed for a 20th century climate in

Hurricane Sandy Superstorm Facts

Formed: October 22, 2012, Category 3 hurricane on October 25, 2012 Dissipated: October 31, 2012 Highest winds: 115 mph (185 km/h) Lowest pressure: 940 mbar (hPa); 27.76 inHg Fatalities: 148 direct, 138 indirect Damage: ≥ $68 billion (2012 USD) (Second-costliest hurricane in US history)

Areas affected: Greater Antilles, Bahamas, most of the eastern United States (especially the coastal MidAtlantic States), Bermuda, Eastern Canada

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I n fr a s tructur e

Presenting the proposal a world where such storms grew ever worse, ever more common and reach ever further inland as sea levels rise.

So what steps are being taken to shore up its defences, and what form will a new approach to natural disaster and flood defence take?

Blue/Green, not grey Argument has rejected rebuilding with a grey model, i.e. more of the same, a patching up of original defences and barriers with concrete, and instead advocates a shift towards blue/green infrastructure 12

September 2014

‘In June 2013, HUD’s ‘Rebuild by Design’ contest was launched to develop innovative solutions to the very real problem the New York area faces, and a year later, six winners were announced’

T w o years after S andy : N ew Y o rk th i nks green

that promotes a union of water management and green infrastructure.

This is achieved by combining and protecting the hydrological and ecological values of the urban landscape of the city while providing resilient and adaptive measures to deal with flood events, and generating a multitude of environmental, ecological, socio-cultural and economic benefits.

In June 2013, HUD’s ‘Rebuild by Design’ contest was launched to develop innovative solutions to the very real problem the New York area faces, and a year later, six winners

were announced, all utilising this approach to some extent, and they will receive some $1 billion in federal funding to make them a reality.

A particularly striking winner was the proposed design “The Big U”, from The BIG TEAM, in which a natural wall in place of a concrete one, protectively encircles Manhattan with a network of levees and dikes, also providing public realms that respond to the needs and concerns of the multicultural island. The BIG U will receive $335 million for implementation from the federal government.

The city of the future?

13

I n fr a s tructur e

‘Stretching from West 57th Street south to The Battery and up to East 42nd Street, the Big U design protects 10 continuous miles of low-lying geography’ BIG Chief Architect Bjarke Ingels explained the thinking: “We asked ourselves: What if we could envision the resilience infrastructure for Lower Manhattan in a way that wouldn’t be like a wall between the city and the water, but rather a string of pearls of social and environmental amenities tailored to their specific neighbourhoods, that also happens to shield their various communities from flooding? Social infrastructure understood as a big overall strategy rooted in the local communities.”

Stretching from West 57th Street south to The Battery and up to East 42nd Street, the Big U design protects 10 continuous miles of low-lying geography that comprises an extremely dense, vibrant, and vulnerable urban area.

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September 2014

Say the team: “The Big U not only shields the city against floods and storm water; but provides social and environmental benefits to the community, and fosters an improved public realm. The team envisions three compartments that function independently to provide flood protection.”

Each compartment comprises a visually subtle flood-protection zone that can be isolated from flooding in adjacent zones. At the same time,

N ew Internat i o nal T rade C r o ss i ng

Compartments that function independently to provide flood protection

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I n fr a s tructur e

The Bridging Berm

each presents opportunities for integrated social and community planning. The compartments work in unison to protect and enhance the city, yet each compartment’s proposal is designed to stand on its own.

Between the Manhattan Bridge and Montgomery Street, deployable walls are attached to the underside of the FDR Drive, ready to flip down to prepare for flood events. Decorated 16

September 2014

by local artists, when not in use, the panels create an inviting ceiling above the East River Esplanade.

At night, integrated lighting in the panels transforms an area with a somewhat negative reputation into a welcoming destination. Panels can also be flipped down to protect from the elements, creating a seasonal market during the winter.

When the weather is normal,

T w o years after S andy

people will be able to use the raised spaces as they do the High Line, but when a superstorm hits, the berms will block water and protect nearby neighbourhoods.

A ‘Bridging Berm’ adds a waterfront park/promenade to Manhattan’s Lower East side providing robust vertical protection for the area from future storm surge and rising sea levels.

The east and west boundaries of the Battery were key inlets during Hurricane Sandy, allowing floodwaters to rush into Lower Manhattan and shut down the premier financial district.

Enhancing the public realm while protecting the Financial District and critical transportation infrastructure

Flip Downs

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I n fr a s tructur e beyond, the Battery Berm weaves an elevated path through the park.

Along this berm, a series of upland knolls form unique landscapes where people farm, sunbathe, eat and enjoy world-class gardens.

The Berm also offers pleasant, accessible routes into the park, providing many spots for resting, socialising, and enjoying views of the park and river. Both berms and bridges are wide and planted with a diverse selection of salt-tolerant trees, shrubs and perennials, to provide a resilient urban habitat.

Put simply, it is about the city adapting to enable living alongside the natural phenomena without the need to reinforce itself against it with

The Harbor Berm

Video Big U Project

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September 2014

N ew Internat i o nal T rade C r o ss i ng

a protective wall, instead allowing water into areas of lower Manhattan into specially-constructed green areas of islands and marshes.

The Rebuild projects are but a piece of the overall rebuilding effort, with New York City alone set to spend $3.7 billion in fortifying its coastline.

Aside from the HUD works, the city’s new green infrastructure programme promotes the natural movement of water by collecting and managing

stormwater runoff from streets, sidewalks, parking lots and rooftops and directing it to engineered systems that typically feature soils, stones, and vegetation. This process prevents stormwater runoff from entering sewers, as happened during Sandy.

New York is embracing a new approach in the battle with natural disasters: not to fight them but to adapt and learn to live alongside them.

19

m a j o r pr o j e ct s

Is Britain’s F Village a Beau Yuppie Written

First Floating utiful Vision or a Ghetto? b y: J o e l L e v y

m a j o r pr o j e ct s Last month, the team to design and build the UK’s first floating ‘village’ in London was assembled. Carillion, joined by sustainable property developer Igloo, housing association Gemini, engineer Buro Happold and architect dRRM, will create a new water-bound community on the River Thames’ Royal Victoria Dock.

The dock in East London has a long history, having opened in 1855, and was a powerhouse of industry and shipping until declining after the war, but its latest chapter is somewhat more glamorous.

The 15-acre floating community proposed for this area will have 50 custom-designed homes and a variety of restaurants, shops, leisure and office space, cafes and bars, in addition to a blue water square, framed by a market square and a floating corniche.

It responds to the obvious land shortages in this crowded city, and is 100 percent floating with its walkways and all other units anchored in place by a series of piles within the dock and connected to the dock by bridges.

Dutch inspiration The design and supports take 22

September 2014

Caption to the image inspiration from existing floating villages in Holland, home to architect de Rijke Marsh Morgan (dRRM), including the IJburg, Amsterdam community, which consists of (currently) six artificial islands raised from the IJ Lake in the east of the city.

Designed by architect Marlies Rohmer and Villanova, this Dutch town has 93 homes, (more are to follow), and uses the adjoining docks as pavements.

The floating homes are supported

feature art i cle sh o rtened headl i ne

The design takes from Dutch model by concrete ‘tubs’ submerged in the water to a depth of half a storey.

A lightweight supporting steel construction is built on top, and can be filled with glazing and coloured panelling. The occupant can then later change the sides depending on the view or their desire for privacy.

The houses of wood, glass and aluminium are constructed in a nearby shipyard, before being transported to the site by water and affixed to the

jetty by steel mooring poles which allow them to move up and down with the tide. They also allow for residents of mixed incomes.

The designers of London’s own floating village are taking cues from IJburg, aided by Dutch floating structures experts Mark van Ommen of Floatbase and Ton van Namen of Monteflore who have an excellent record of delivering schemes of over 300 floating structures.

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m a j o r pr o j e ct s

Alex de Rijke, Professor of Architecture at the RCA

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September 2014

dRRM, headed up by founder Alex de Rijke, Professor of Architecture at the RCA, will celebrate its 20th year in 2015. Its vision for the new London development is a community very much integrated into and a part of the city. de Rijke, an enthusiastic advocate for water-builds, presented his studies on floating villages at the last Venice architecture biennale. dRRM said of its plan: “Our design is deliberately not an isolated ‘village’ but a floating part of London. Our proposal seeks to demonstrate the potential

B r i ta i n ’ s F i r s t F l o at i n g V i l l a g e

of the site for (and beyond) the pilot scheme of 50 residential units, whilst integrating an urban mix of associated commercial, leisure, visitor attraction and cultural spaces. The objective is not only to create an attractive destination but a socially sustainable community that can accommodate future change and growth.”

The homes will use the same concrete foundations as those in Ljburg. Likewise, construction will also be carried out off-site and the custom units then delivered by water.

Speaking at the announcement of the design team, Chris Brown, Director of Carillion Igloo Genesis, said: “Living in a floating home you’ve helped to design is a dream lots of us have. By combining the floating home experience of our Dutch collaborators with our custom built business we hope to make these dreams come true in Royal Victoria Dock for a few lucky Londoners.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who first unveiled the floating village proposal last year, described the

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m a j o r pr o j e ct s

Bermondsey Square development, South London

“The Council cannot, and will not, accept a development consisting purely of luxury apartments which will be out of reach of the majority of our residents” site as having “the potential to become one of the most sought after addresses in the capital while breathing new life back into London’s waterways”, and one that would create jobs and boost the local economy.

Millionaires’ playground?

Advocates certainly make the proposal sound idyllic, but with housing and business rental prices in the capital sky-high, significant opposition condemns the floating village as yet another example of 26

September 2014

elitism that excludes local people: a millionaires’ playground or “yuppie ghetto”, as Mayor of Newham Borough Sir Robin Wales put it. With planners confirming that prospective homeowners will have input into their design, it seems pretty unlikely that many of London’s average workers will be moving in.

And so where does this leave the floating village, and to what extent does the opposition harm its chances of becoming a reality, with planning application expected to be submitted

B r i ta i n ’ s F i rst F l o at i ng V i llage

next spring?

Wales, one of its most vocal critics, said: “The Council cannot, and will not, accept a development consisting purely of luxury apartments which will be out of reach of the majority of our residents[…] The GLA and Carillion Igloo Genesis need to look again at their plans and ensure that there is sufficient affordable housing provided by the scheme and a range of other amenities to serve the existing community as well as any new residents.”

Igloo, in fairness, won praise for its ten-year Bermondsey square development in South London, which was completed in 2008, creating another semi-independent community where the inhabitants of the 76 apartments constructed can enjoy shops, offices and even an

independent art house cinema.

It also set up its own management company in partnership with Creative Space Management and Living City to respond to the needs of tenants and residents. The element of affordable housing was described as critical to the scheme.

But here it seems somewhat less relevant, despite Brown’s insistence that “we don’t want it to be exclusively for the well-off.”

Time will tell to see if the Victoria Dock’s new floating village has the legs to win over its doubters and come to fruition, or indeed if it will be yet another playground for the rich, but whatever your opinion on the social implications, it certainly has the potential to become a unique new landmark and impressive design feat in the capital.

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management/planning

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August 2014

Q+A

Jason Knights

National Services Director, Wates Construction E D ITE D b y: j o e l l e v y

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management/planning CG: Please describe your role and responsibilities as National Services Director at Wates Construction.

JK: First and foremost, my responsibility is to oversee M&E delivery for Wates Construction. On a day-to-day level this involves setting and implementing the delivery strategy on MEP procurement, design and delivery, as well as managing the risk profile of our jobs up and down the country.

During my time in the role the importance of factoring in the wider trends within the M&E market (particularly how we can best respond to them) has been crucial in ensuring that we provide the best advice on the available options where M&E is concerned.

Fundamentally, our strategy is designed to take into account the latest twists and turns in what has proved to be a turbulent market. In our opinion M&E strategy must consist of two main strands: a solid central M&E delivery capability and traditional market procurement processes with established supply chain partners.

CG: What is your background in the construction industry, and what 30

September 2014

attracted you to a career in the sector?

JK: Construction’s been in my blood from the beginning – my dad was a commissioning risk engineer in the oil sector, and his experience proved to be a big spur towards me becoming involved in the industry from an early age.

Right from the start I was keen to hone my commercial acumen before my arrival into the industry. Initially, I

feature art i cle sh o rtened headl i ne

studied at UWE and, later, then went to work for Mitie as a Project Manager and Engineer. After a stint on the coalface, I then went on to do a fulltime MBA at Lancaster University.

I’d always enjoyed the financial element of work within Construction, and my existing experience (and this added qualification) allowed me to put this interest into practice.

CG: Talk me through your current

work with Wates Building Services; you said you wished to internally upskill in M&E, moving away from the externalised model. How has this developed in recent months and what do you see as the benefits of this approach?

JK: We understand the cost base and, looking at the present state of the market, the increased volatility that the sector has witnessed in the past year is down to one key issue: a lack 31

management/planning

Flexibility is key of capacity. A significant number of larger M&E teams have disappeared, meaning that as a result, M&E contractors appointed for a job may end up comprising 2-3 teams rather than a single unit.

One of the attractions of using our internal delivery platform is that it’s allowed us to manage our internal procurement in an extremely effective 32

September 2014

manner. We’re in the process of changing our engineering base, which allows us to increase the scope to put together the best possible team on any given job. With change a probability rather than a possibility, having a platform that affords flexibility in this way is immensely helpful.

What’s more we’ve developed internal M&E training courses, where

jas o n kn i ghts

all new arrivals to this part of the business have the chance to learn the basics and more besides. With the current drive towards greater BIM capability, this approach allows a broader base of people to grasp the fundamentals of how M&E is actually integrated into every part of our process.

“..the gap between the number of apprenticeships that the industry needs to recruit and the numbers actually brought in is colossal�

CG: Sticking to the skills theme, what is your take on the impending skills gap in construction? The CITB says that 120,000 apprentices are needed in the next five years as the sector will create 180,000 jobs. How does construction tackle this skills gap and attract young people to a career in the sector?

JK: Whilst many prominent figures have commented on issues underlining construction’s ability to attract young talent into the sector, speaking from personal experience, the gap between the number of apprenticeships that the industry needs to recruit and the numbers actually brought in is colossal.

Wates has an internal apprenticeship scheme focusing on commercial production and M&E, however our efforts to boost 33

management/planning

Committed to the highest standards recruitment into construction also focus on exploiting as many avenues of talent as possible. Whilst schools and colleges are important channels for helping us attract the finest candidates up and down the country, we’ve also expanded our emphasis on doing the ‘milk round’ at universities, in the process hammering home to undergraduates that construction presents a varied and rewarding career to students from a range of different backgrounds.

In all cases, we recognise that ensuring youth remains the lifeblood of the industry is key if the sector is to truly be able to safeguard its commercial future.

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September 2014

CG: Wates is a leading contractor in the UK. What do you think defines the company and what does it do better than some of its rivals?

JK: For me, having worked across the industry for nearly twenty years, Wates’ commitment to taking into account the needs of its customers is second to none.

But more broadly, our approach (which comes with being part of a historic, privately-owned family business) of maintaining a commitment to the highest standards, and upholding them with pride, stands out for me as one of the reasons that we edge out our rivals in many of our key sectors.

jas o n kn i ghts – wates c o nstruct i o n

CG: What does the rest of 2014 have in store for you in your personal role?

JK: Top of our list is to bolster our management structure to emphasise an even greater focus on production, commissioning and commercial acumen. We’re keen to ensure that we go beyond the excellence we display to our clients on a daily basis, and make room for improvements that allow for even better service levels up and down the country.

With even more in the way of projects coming through the door, Wates is conscious that operating across such a diverse number of regions can present problems like overstretch and a lack of consistency in delivery across regions. To address this, we plan to bulk up our already robust supply chain by co-ordinating our project teams even more effectively and efficiently, in order to cope with the challenges of Q3 and Q4.

“With even more in the way of projects coming through the door, Wates is conscious that operating across such a diverse number of regions can present problems like overstretch and a lack of consistency in delivery across regions” focus on Health and Safety and this is at the forefront of all decisions within the business. With increased pressure on capacity and recruitment within the business being at its greatest for five years, we must focus on training and

CG: What is your take on the health of the construction industry at the moment? What are the challenges and to what extent are you positive for the future?

JK: We need to have a continued 35

management/planning

establishing consistency on delivery.

London’s accelerating growth remains a bellwether for the rest of the country. We’ve seen an upsurge in the amount of interest in this part of the country recently, and (excitingly) this appears to be cascading out into the regions.

The economic recovery remains fragile but construction should do what it does best: get shovels in the ground and finish those social infrastructure projects that the country needs to fuel the bounceback.

CG: What is the most memorable 36

September 2014

project you have been involved in during your career?

JK: It’s difficult to pick a favourite, but Aldgate Union, occupied by the Royal Bank of Scotland, certainly stands out as the most memorable relative to the scale and speed of the project whilst also being at a critical stage of my career.

Initially we found that the shell and core fit-out were very exposed, presenting challenges for the project team from the outset. However, what makes me proud about our work was the ability of everyone concerned to overcome this difficult start, get the job

Debenhams, Oxford Street saw a UK first with Wates Construction’s installation of a kinetic façade to the flagship store

h o pe c o nstruct i o n mater i als

done and demonstrate real teamwork at every stage.

CG: What do you think makes a good manager in construction?

JK: Above all other virtues, the ability to listen is the most important. Whether this comes with being able to react to issues that may crop up when overseeing projects or in harnessing the talents of those around you, in my opinion it’s all-important that managers listen at every stage of their work. You don’t have to be the person charging through, it’s more the case that you can help and assist others to learn the

ropes and develop as individuals.

All of this leads into the key to good management: making sure you instil the right values in your own career, reflecting them in what you do and, later, ensuring that others adhere to the same principles.

CG: What would be your dream management role?

JK: This is the toughest question of the lot. But after a lot of consideration, I’d have to say, captain of a professional Rugby team.

CG: Thank you for your time.

37

t e c h n o l o gy & e q uipm e n t

Using Web Analytics to Boost Lead Generation in the Construction Industry Vancouver-based digital consulting agency Smarrt examines how construction companies can leverage digital marketing to grow their business e d i t e d b y: M a r t i n W o n g , C h i e f M a r k e t i n g O f f i c e r a t S m a r t t. c o m 38 September 2014

39

technology & equipment An October 2013 survey of small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in the US building and construction industry reported that 88.5 percent of those surveyed said that Internet marketing is either quite or very effective.

The average building and construction SMB allocates 60 percent of its total marketing budget towards Internet or mobile while 31 percent spend more than 80 percent of their marketing budgets online.

These statistics are consistently 15 percent to 20 percent higher than numbers across all industries, the report states, indicating a strong focus on customer acquisition through Internet marketing channels.

Companies who use digital marketing to augment traditional lead generation can boost results by using web analytics. Analytics promote a data-driven approach. You can make decisions based on metrics, not gut feelings. You can assess where marketing dollars make the biggest difference and tune campaigns to get higher quality sales leads more cost-effectively.

Yet many businesses find it hard to achieve ROI on pay-per-click (PPC) 40 September 2014

Web analytics allows for a more targeted approach to marketing campaigns with Google Adwords or other channels. Here’s an overview of how to run the technical marketing side of campaigns.

Build the right foundation – do a website audit Before you even attempt a PPC campaign, make sure you’ve built a good foundation for search engine

F uture C i t i es : M ach i nes f o r L i v i ng

‘You can assess where marketing dollars make the biggest difference and tune campaigns to get higher quality sales leads more costeffectively’

optimisation (SEO). Seventy-two percent of business-to-business buyers begin their research on the Internet. A company who ranks at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) for a term such as ‘geotechnical services’ will receive around 32 percent of all traffic for that term. A second place ranking gets 17 percent, and traffic volume 41

technology & equipment just keeps dropping further down the SERP. Perform a website audit to make sure your web pages are SEO-friendly and SEO-optimised. Focus on areas where issues will incur penalties from Google: duplicate content, website speed, incorrect link redirects, and bad backlinks.

Improve lead quality – use keywords for screening PPC campaigns rely on effective messaging and visuals to attract prospects. Achieving ROI, however, depends on screening for quality traffic. This means setting up your campaign with the keywords your target audience is most likely to use as search terms. Brainstorm for keywords and negative keywords.

An HVAC vendor targeting commercial developments may develop a list that includes: HVAC, building automation, building controls, energy management, indoor environmental quality, energy monitoring, energy metering; and negative keywords that include: residential, home – to exclude any searches using those terms.

Why bother with negative keywords 42 September 2014

when homeowners will leave your site anyway as soon as they realise it’s about industrial HVAC? Because every click costs you money and because Google Analytics captures data on every visit, including the unproductive ones. Therefore, the more screening you do at the top of the funnel, the less money you waste and the easier it is to zoom in on data that matters.

Discover hot topics – maximise the opportunity Use Analytics to see which pages get the most visitor traffic and which pages get people to stay the longest on your site. Is your case study about HVAC systems for multi-purpose buildings getting higher ‘time on page’ than other stories? Dig deeper. Do readers of that case study tend to click through to ‘Contact Us’? Is this an actionable insight? Can you add a link to that case study from your HOME page or a blog to test whether that attracts more readers?

Plan your campaign – leverage your insights If analytics data indicates strong interest in a topic, it may point to a good ‘hook’ for a PPC campaign

W eb A nalyt i cs t o B o o st L ead G enerat i o n

theme. Take the multi-purpose building example: develop display ads and landing pages with content around that topic. Then take your list of standard keywords but also add ‘multi-purpose buildings’ and other terms relevant to the topic to the list.

Go for ROI – monitor, tweak, and segment Regardless of how you decide on a theme or keywords for your campaign, the goal is to achieve ROI. As with any lead generation effort, you need to define ‘conversion’. Usually this

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technology & equipment

means capturing a prospect’s contact information - through a white paper download, a seminar registration, a newsletter signup, or the ‘Contact Us’ form. Then assign a dollar value: is this type of conversion worth $50 or $500?

Google Adwords uses these values in its automated conversion

44 September 2014

tracking. This shows you which ads, keywords and campaigns are the most profitable. You want meaningful trends, so let the campaign run for a couple of weeks before you start scaling up profitable keywords and getting rid of the ones that don’t bring you good leads.

Bonus: Google Adwords automates split-testing of different ads and landing pages, so after a while, Adwords will only run your most successful version.

For extra insights, segment your ad campaign to make trends stand out more clearly. For example, you may to segment by different geographical regions: by each city, by each state, or by each state excluding metropolitan areas.

W eb A nalyt i cs t o B o o st L ead G enerat i o n

The data-driven marketing mentality Only by monitoring how each keyword performs can you optimise keywords and ad spend to achieve ROI. Too many businesses run PPC campaigns without keyword monitoring or conversion goals. Those are the ones who complain that Internet marketing is not worthwhile, when in fact it’s never been easier for marketing professionals to achieve campaign ROI. Unlike print advertising, PPC campaigns deliver results immediately and update in real-time, making it possible to fine-tune marketing messages, keywords, and campaign settings while the campaign is running.

Real-time monitoring tools pinpoint

problem areas so you know where to make adjustments.

In situations where you need to pull the campaign, you can do so immediately. Furthermore, since the ads are pay-per-click, you haven’t paid in advance for months of ad placements.

Split testing online is automated and a fraction of the cost of traditional media campaigns.

Successful digital marketing makes use of web analytics. This data-driven mentality should make digital marketing a natural fit for the engineering-savvy construction industry.

About the author Martin Wong Martin Wong is Chief Marketing Officer at Smartt.com, a digital consulting agency based in Vancouver, Canada. Martin enjoys using his marketing, technology, creative and analytical skills to help clients execute digital marketing programs that achieve measurable results.

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TOP 10

Top10 Construction Failures Unfortunately, construction is a dangerous business, and things can go wrong both during and after completion. Tragically, many entries of this list ended with loss of life, but at least it can be said that some had the positive legacy of tightening regulations for the future

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09

10

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Perhaps the most famous of all construction failures, but unlike others on this list, it was not too costly. A three-meter foundation and weak subsoil contributed to a lean of almost 5.5 degrees until preservation crews were called in to help lessen the instability.

Today, the tower’s summit is more than 3.9 meters off-center, but at least this failure provides a good tourist photo-opp.

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September 2014

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

In November 1940, a physical phenomenon known as aeroelastic flutter caused the bridge to collapse just four months after opening. The warning signs were there during construction, when the structure was seen to move vertically in windy conditions. The main span collapsed in 40-mileper-hour wind conditions, but the sorry affair left the legacy of a boost in research in the field of bridge aerodynamics-aeroelastics.

C o nstruct i o n F a i lures

Three Gorges Dam

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Three Gorges Dam, Hubei, China

This massive project includes flood-control dam, giant lock and 26 hydroelectric power generators, and when approved in 1992, was said to cost $8.35bn.

Unfortunately, costs spiralled out of control, with 1.3 million people needing to be relocated after the river was rerouted a particular issue. The price tag more than quadrupled to $37bn, and dam, completed in 2006, is criticised for causing environmental issues.

07

Lotus Riverside Complex

In 2009, a newly-finished residential building in Shaghai collapsed while remaining almost entirely intact, killing one construction worker. A long investigation found that excavated earth dumped nearby caused a river bank to collapse and saturate the surrounding soil, causing the instability. Fortunately, a domino effect involving other structures in the 11-building complex was narrowly avoided.

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05

The skeletal remains of the unfinished apartment building at 303 East 51st Street

06

New York City Crane Collapse

In 2008, a luffing-jib tower crane over a high-rise construction site in East Manhattan snapped off and fell into a town house.

Seven people lost their lives.

Tragically, this accident was all-too predictable. The New York Department of Buildings had issued 13 safety violations for construction site and contractor.

303 East 51st Street remains incomplete to this day.

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September 2014

Willow Island Cooling Tower

In April 1978, an underconstruction cooling tower at a Willow Island power station collapsed at a height of 166 feet when, as a bucket of concrete was being raised, the cable hoisting it slackened, causing the crane hoisting it to fall into the tower, and the scaffolding to collapse, killing all 51 construction workers on it as concrete unwrapped from the tower. OSHA cited Willow Island contractors for 20 violations.

C o nstruct i o n F a i lures

03

Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway

This tragedy claimed the lives of 114 people in July 1981 when, during a tea dance, a catastrophic structural failure of an aerial walkway sent hundreds falling four floors down onto a large crowd gathered below. More than 200 people were also injured. The hotel was less than a year old.

04

Quebec City Bridge

Construction had already begun back in 1907, on the world’s largest cantilever bridge before Chief Engineer Theodore Cooper realised an error in the estimated weight of the span. He risked it, and work ploughed on regardless, but inspecting engineers noticed girders bending out of alignment.

Other Senior Engineers agreed without Cooper to continue, thinking it not a serious issue. Two days later, the girders gave way, plunging the bridge structure 150 feet and killing 75 workers.

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Quality garunteed & proven worldwide

Metrotile is an innovative manufacturer of lightweight steel roofing materials for the European, Middle-east and African market. The international success and reputation is earned not only by the product concept itself, lightweight roofing solution, but also the variation in design and colours, efficient and effective production and excellent personal contacts.

Metrotile offers a full line of residential roofing solutions to reflect the styles of traditional roof products. Metrotile can be used in a wide variety of applications for new-build or renovation. Our products are suitable for homes, offices, retail stores, schools, leisure facilities, hospitals, ...

Metrotile

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(T) +32 (0) 12 24 18 01 (F) +32 (0) 12 24 18 02 (E) INFO@METROTILE.BE WWW.METROTILE.EU

C o nstruct i o n F a i lures

02

Sampoong Department Store Collapse, South Korea

When developers altered their plans for a residential apartment to a department store with an extra fifth floor, some support columns were omitted to make way for elevators. After three years of construction, the store opened in 1990. Five years later, the fifth-floor ceiling began to show cracks which grew worse, forcing closure of the fifth floor. In June 1995, the building’s south wing collapsed, killing 502 people and injuring some 1,500.

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01

Teton Dam

The Dam in Idaho, US, cost $100 million to build, but more than three times that number in insurance payouts after disaster struck on June 5, 1976, during its first filling.

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September 2014

The dam’s downstream face developed a wet spot which rapidly discharged water, washing out embankment material until the crest collapsed, releasing massive amounts of water.

Farmland and nearby towns were flooded, leading to 14 deaths, and huge damage to over 2,000

name o f t o p 1 0 art i cle

homes. Losses included heavy construction equipment, airplanes, farm machines, irrigation ditches and canals, and thousands of acres of crops. Some 13,000 cattle were drowned.

Permeable soil and cracked foundations were blamed for the dam’s collapse, which allowed

more than two million cubic feet of water per second to careen into the Teton River canyon, emptying the reservoir within hours.

Estimated costs of this disaster are placed at close to $1 billion.

No plans have been made for rebuilding the Teton Dam.

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Soprema UK reinforces its reputation with high-profile projects The company has established itself as an industry-leader in the UK on the strength of a diverse, high performance range of roofing and waterproofing products, expert workforce and commitment to quality Written by: Joel Levy and Produced by: Richard Durrant

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Soprema UK

I

Victoria Station Shaft Pal 2

nternational waterproofing specialist Soprema is winning large-scale work in the UK on the strength of a diverse range of products, knowledgeable workforce and commitment to quality.

Having been specified on many high profile, extensive roofing and waterproofing projects such as IKEA, Sainsbury’s, and tunnel waterproofing for the Channel Tunnel rail link, Dublin Port Tunnel and Ramsgate Tunnel, the company has an impressive back-catalogue to complement its major ongoing projects including Crossrail and the London Underground station upgrades.

Soprema UK not only offers bituminous, cold applied liquid, synthetic and hot melt waterproofing systems to the roofing industry but also manufactures high performance waterproofing solutions for civil engineering projects, drinking water storage, swimming pools and surfacing applications.

The Soprema Group operates in 90 countries, has seven Research and Development

‘Soprema is winning large-scale work in the UK on the strength of a diverse range of products, knowledgeable workforce and commitment to quality’ 58

September 2014

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centres focused on sustainable development and 18 training centres, ensuring it is at the forefront of industry innovation.

It employs 5,200 people, has 34 manufacturing plants, 60 operating subsidiaries, including Italian single-ply manufacturer FLAG SpA, and some 4,500 distributors.

The Group was founded in 1908 by Charles Geisen, inventor of the Mammoth Membrane which paved the way for modern waterproofing membranes, and remains a family affair, with his grandson Pierre Etienne

Soprema Research and Innovation Centre Strasbourg

The “Cut & Cover” portals at the Hindhead Tunnel w w w. s o p r e m a . c o . u k

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Palatinol® 10-P Add long life to your products

Palatinol® 10-P – The perfect match to ensure extraordinary durability for your products. The versatile plasticizer with anti-aging properties has two core benefits: excellent weathering and low fogging properties are complemented by an outstanding processing performance. BASF recommends Palatinol® 10-P for all outdoor applications, automotive interior and cable formulations, where low volatility, high UV stability and low odor are required.

More information: www.plasticizers.basf.com

Soprema UK

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Bindschedler currently Group Chairman.

Soprema has since established itself as a world-leader in the development and manufacture of waterproofing membranes, and maintains strong relationships with all project stakeholders including, architects, main contractors and specialist waterproofing contractors. Soprema owes its worldwide success to proactive research and development, its unique approach to waterproofing solutions and commitment to inventiveness.

“We continue to promote new and bold ideas, for the varied and ever changing demands of the construction industry, enabling us to offer roofing and waterproofing solutions for all construction projects, no matter the size or complexity,” said the company.

supplier profile

Production line

BASF SE

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

Website: www.plasticizers.basf.com

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Soprema UK

‘We continue to promote new and bold ideas, for the varied and ever changing demands of the construction industry, enabling us to offer roofing and waterproofing solutions for all construction projects, no matter the size or complexity’ Soprema is a

Sustainability Soprema’s R&D policy, which strongly promotes sustainable development, is focused on limiting its environmental impact, with the use of renewable resources in its production processes and in its factories, while fully integrating health and safety into its innovation policy. Soprema has always considered the safety of people, installations and buildings the highest priority and therefore continues to develop new sustainable waterproofing systems to meet the demands of today’s market.

In 1997 the company was awarded ISO 14001 certification, a sign of its commitment to continual improvement in terms of environmental management.

Where possible, Soprema uses sustainable natural resources or recycled materials.

world-leader in the development and manufacture of waterproofing membranes

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Roofing This combined expertise and responsible approach has gained the company many key roofing and waterproofing projects. Soprema is

a key part of the IKEA supply chain, where it has waterproofed nine UK stores for the Swedish retailer, both new and refurbishment projects.

Other retail projects include the 16,000 sqm Sainsbury’s distribution centre in Charlton, an ongoing Palace Foods distribution warehouse in Dublin and the IBM headquarters refurbishment in Greenford, both 14,000 sqm.

Soprema is a key part of the IKEA supply chain

A commitment to solidarity Soprema is continually securing a growing number of high-profile public and private sector supply chain agreements across the UK. This is w w w. s o p r e m a . c o . u k

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Specialist Geotextile Solution Providers

Cha Technologies Group, a global manufacturer of technical textiles whose European operation, Cosmotec are engaged in the production of specialist geotextiles related to Civil Engineering Works and Construction related applications www.nonwovengeotextiles.co.uk Email: Peter.Matthias@ctgplc.com Tel: +44 (0)161 242 7987

Soprema UK

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achieved through its commitment to providing high quality, excellent value and durable roofing, waterproofing and surfacing products for long-lasting constructions. Soprema strives to offer excellent service and technical support to continue development of the business.

Tunnelling Using the synthetic products manufactured in FLAG SpA (Soprema Group’s Italian Headquarters and manufacturing plant near Milan) the company also has an impressive record in tunnel waterproofing in the UK. In the recent years it provided waterproofing systems to the cut and cover portals at the Hindhead

Shaft Pal 2 wall

‘Soprema strives to offer excellent service and technical support to continue development of the business’

Shaft Pal 2 at Victoria Station for London Underground w w w. s o p r e m a . c o . u k

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Soprema UK

Soprema technicians working on site at the Stepney Green Caverns

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tunnel in Surrey and the shotcrete lining sections of the new Tyne tunnel near Newcastle.

Soprema UK is also active in many current tunnelling projects in London in light of the substantial infrastructure investments, including Europe’s largest infrastructure project Crossrail and various Underground station upgrades. “We have supplied waterproofing for the stepfree access at Green Park station and are working on Crossrail Projects: C300 Fisher Street shaft, C305 Stepney Green Caverns, C310 Thames Tunnel Cross Passages, C360 Mile End shaft and C510 Whitechapel Station. We are also working towards C510 Liverpool Street station

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and C435 Farringdon station,” the company said.

Unique Expertise In order to meet the specific requirements of civil engineering projects, Soprema has created the Civilrock range, which offers products designed to support the demands of projects such as tunnels, bridges, car parks, underground and basements structures, basins, dams, lakes ponds and tanks.

Civilrock covers all of the activities connected to these structures, which were previously covered by the group’s different brands: SOPREMA, FLAG and ALSAN. This has given Soprema the chance to offer a more complete range which better matches the requirements of clients, project managers and contractors.

Experience and reliability The company’s obvious success has been built on both the knowledge and experience of its staff and the resultant faith and confidence its customers have in the reliability of its products. It is a positive reputation many years in the making.

Soprema achieves its ambitions in accordance with the historical values that have enabled the company to gain the confidence of its customers from the start.

These ethical values are recognised and supported by all employees, creating a positive and committed company culture.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Waterproofing headquarters

Essex, UK founded

1908 (Group) employees

26 (UK) p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

The development and manufacture of waterproofing membranes

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Cemex

Builds On its Core Strengths to ensure it Delivers to all Stakeholders Written by: Sheree Hanna Produced by: Glen White

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Cemex

CEMEX celebrates ‘helping to build a greater Britain’

One of the biggest building material suppliers in the UK has a clear strategy for its future growth and sustainable development which is simply to be the BEST

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B

uilding materials’ company CEMEX has a vision to become the best for all of its stakeholders and has a strategy in place aimed at delivering just that.

In the UK CEMEX supplies concrete, cement and aggregates, as well as asphalt, building products and mortar. Its Paving Solutions business specialises in constructing roads using both asphalt and cementitious materials.

The business generates £775 million in annual sales, employs a total of 3,000 people in the UK and is part of the global group CEMEX which is headquartered in Mexico. CEMEX gained its foothold in the UK when it acquired RMC in 2005.

Lex Russell is Vice-President of Aggregates

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and Asphalt in the UK responsible for 1,040 employees serving in the region of 2,000 customers and currently producing some 20 million tonnes of aggregates and 2 million tones of asphalt a year.

The recent economic crisis and continuing tough economic climate has had an impact on the UK business with the decline in the construction industry meaning less demand for CEMEX products. “Times have been very hard for us. In 2007 we were selling 26 million tonnes of aggregates, but that dropped by around 30 percent; but now we are starting to climb back up with current sales of 20 million tonnes,� explained Russell.

Lex Russell is VicePresident of Aggregates and Asphalt in the UK

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Cemex

30% Amount estimated it is currently undervaluing its products

A question of costs CEMEX is also striving to reduce operating costs in order to improve its returns. In a bid to counteract the economic conditions CEMEX has placed a strong focus on continuous improvement and its quest of becoming the most efficient aggregates operator in the industry, but estimates it is currently undervaluing its products by 30 percent in the market.

Russell said: “The last couple of years we have been concentrating on reducing our costs, but it is getting to the point where we need to increase our selling price in order to recover our costs and be able to invest in the future. We are committed to giving our customers the best quality products with the best customer service. We strive to create value for our customers. But this can

Roller compacted concrete, the latest solution for roads and highways 72

September 2014

FINNING SECURE HISTORIC INTEGRATED CONTRACT WITH CEMEX

F

inning the UK and Ireland Caterpillar® dealer has combined with CEMEX to form the UK’s first integrated equipment management contract at its Dove Holes limestone quarry in Buxton. The eight year,

£11m agreement sees Finning and CEMEX working together with Caterpillar and Cat Finance to deliver a whole site solution, incorporating the latest equipment, technology and quarry management expertise.

This new approach is designed to deliver long-term, shareholder value from the biggest CEMEX quarry site in the UK. CEMEX VP, Lex Russell believes the model is a first- not just for CEMEX but the industry as a whole, stating: “It breaks a traditional mould and allows us to move the business forward with a clear competitive edge.

“By undertaking a true partnership with Finning and Cat Finance; two businesses that we have worked with for many years, we were able to realise existing asset value, whilst developing a highly productive mobile fleet Proven Analytical Solution The Finning Managed Solutions team carried out 18 months worth of extensive analysis of the Dove Holes operation. By combining the latest Caterpillar technology with the on-the-ground experience of the CEMEX site team, Finning were able to develop a managed solution that would deliver key improvements to the site.

These included £1.4m of fuel savings, a 15% increase in production and a

10% reduction in machine operating hours, in addition to practical changes to the layout of the site. A key part of the delivery of these improvements is the ongoing performance management and optimisation of new and used equipment onsite, which will see the overall fleet reduced in size by 6%.

Additional Fleet Support In addition to the main deal, Finning also provided four Cat 775D’s from its own

fms@finning.co.uk

fleet, which were on site six months before the seven new Cat 775G’s arrived. Mick Knight, Business Development Manager for Finning Managed Solutions: “It was important throughout the whole process that CEMEX were able to maintain productivity levels and that the site was fully supported. With the new fleet recently delivered to site, the work really starts now, as we will be providing a fully managed solution for all of the equipment onsite.”

Using the latest communications technology, fitted to new and existing equipment, the whole fleet will be monitored by Finsight engineers. This team will liaise with onsite engineers to manage the preventative maintenance and repair programme of all Cat and competitor machinery, ensuring contractual uptime targets and efficiency gains are achieved.

www.finning.co.uk/fms

In addition to equipment health, the Finsight team provides CEMEX with daily reports on productivity levels and machine performance, including cycle times, payloads, fuel usage and operator performance. This will ensure the CEMEX team onsite will be running one of the UK’s most fuel efficient and productive quarry operations.

No Stone Unturned Neil Farmer, Aggregates Director added: “With this project we wanted to really push the boundaries of site efficiency and performance, with a fresh set of eyes analysing the overall operation and not just the equipment. We have left no stone unturned in this process and by committing to a long-term contract with Finning, we are able to challenge them to enhance performance throughout the contract period.

Energy & Cost Saving Solutions

H

ayley Group Plc are a key supplier to the Cemex Group, looking after their MRO, Inventory Management and energy cost saving solutions.

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses today is remaining competitive when energy and other costs are rising. Investment in Drivetrain related improvements offer one of the most effective solutions to this problem with fast returns. Hayley offer the complete Drivetrain with products being offered separately or as a complete integrated turnkey solution bespoke for its customer’s applications.

Gearboxes & Electric Motors

Hayley are unique in stocking the Siemens FZG industrial gearbox range in various sizes, which can be built on a 2-day lead-time. These products are stocked at its 25,000 sq. ft. engineering facility, which also offers the refurbishment and repair of any type and size of industrial gearboxes. Completing the Drivetrain Hayley can provide advice and support on a range of Variable Speed Drive applications including energy savings and optimising process control.

We also stock both IE2 and IE3 Electric Motors up to 315kw with off the shelf availability, as well as Geared Motors up to 37kw input power, again, available to be built to meet customer requirements on very short lead times.

Pumps & Dewatering

One of the issues in all quarries is keeping them dry. Pumps are therefore a major part of this process. There are several methods being used, most of which are very expensive and inefficient to run.

Hayley Group has brought new pump technology into the industry to drastically reduce cost and save energy.

This has also enabled Cemex to adopt a Best Practice for pump replacement through its RMC sites. The objective was to provide a standardisation, more efficient alternative to the pumps being used. Hayley also stock the pumps so they can offer either a same day or next day replacement service anywhere in the UK.

Smartvend®

Another concern that faces many customers is the amount of inventory carried in order to lessen downtime as well as 24/7 access to health and safety products for their workforce. Hayley Group Plc have identified a solution that can reduce the inventory, transaction costs, downtime costs and the supply of health and safety products.

This solution is the introduction of Smartvend®, a simple, affordable, industrial vending machine programme that provides a lean, controlled flow of products to the point of use. This technology enables customers to monitor and track usage of product, allowing a reduction in inventory and the ability to manage assets and access health and safety products 24/7.

The machines are Internet appliances and do not need expensive and complicated software installed, this means they are easy to install and maintain, both done by trained Hayley staff. Customers who have taken onboard the Smartvend® solution have enjoyed benefits such as reduced consumption by 25% or more, immediate product availability, asset control and automated ordering.

This has added to the success of Hayley Group Plc in increasing its offer to Cemex and the marketplace through inventory management solutions.

For more information please contact your local Hayley branch

0121 504 4292

marketing@hayley-group.co.uk

www.hayley-group.co.uk

C EMEX

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only be achieved by investment in reserves and modern production plant and equipment for the future.”

To this end, the award-winning company has launched initiatives aimed at improving standards in just about everything it does. It has five major stakeholder groups where the company is primarily focused, namely: families, customers, employees, communities and shareholders.

Best for families Families, referring to CEMEX’s workforce, is a particular area of pride for the company. “Being the best for families is about health and safety and the wellbeing of our people and ensuring everyone goes home safely each night,” Russell said. “Work related incidents are without a doubt

supplier profile

“The award recognised our strong performance in health and safety including the initiatives we have launched and the culture we have established in the business” – Lex Russell, Vice-President of Aggregates and Asphalt in the UK

Hayley Group Plc

Industry: MRO Solutions Provider Services: Provider of engineering and maintenance products.

Total inventory management and energy efficiency solutions, offering best practice.

Management: Lee Willitts and Bernie Noakes Website: www.hayley-group.co.uk

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If it can go by rail we will find the way.

For more information please contact: Tel | 01302 575338 Email | sales.rail.uk@dbschenker.com

www.rail.dbschenker.co.uk

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preventable; our aim is to achieve zero lost time to injuries and we are confident that this can be achieved.”

Probably the highlight of last year was winning the MPA Health & Safety Award, the John Crabbe Memorial trophy for outstanding excellence in health and safety.

“It was a very proud moment for me when our Country President, Jesus Gonzalez, went forward to accept this trophy on behalf of CEMEX UK,” said Russell.

“We have won many awards in the past, but I think this award recognised the progress that we have made and our strong performance in health and safety including the initiatives we have launched and the culture we have established in the business.”

supplier profile

Current holders of the John Crabbe Memorial trophy, the industry’s most prestigious health and safety award

DB Schenker Rail Ltd

DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd is an established major provider of a range of rail services in Britain. We are backed with commitment to expand, enhance and grow our services.

For commitment and good quality, welcome to DB Schenker.

Website: www.rail.dbschenker.co.uk

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SOUTH EAST ARC WELDING COMPANY LIMITED

Providing mechanical engineering solutions for a diverse range of clients and industries.

We offer a partnership approach to all our customers, working in collaboration to gain an understanding of the needs of their business and providing the best possible service and workmanship to meet the exacting standards we aim to achieve for all our clients. www.southeastarc.com enquiries@southeastarc.co.uk +44 (0) 1474 355245

C EMEX

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Each year the company runs its own health and safety workshops which every employee is encouraged to attend, along with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), competitors, customers and contractors. The most recent campaign was the most comprehensive training programme undertaken so far, with a focus on educating employees to take responsibility not only for themselves but for colleagues, contractors and visitors and also not walking past and ignoring unsafe practices or potential hazards, but acting on them.

Russell said: “The programme consisted of 17 day-sessions and involved theatre-style presentations with actors imitating unsafe practices within the workplace, starting with a situation as the attendees walked in to the event.

supplier profile

“The programme consisted of 17 day-sessions and involved theatrestyle presentations with actors imitating unsafe practices within the workplace, starting with a situation as the attendees walked in to the event” – Lex Russell

South East Arc Welding

Our facilities include two fabricating workshops and one fitting & turning workshop. There is ample storage space in our yard which, together with our offices, covers a total of more than three-quaters-ofan-acre. Both fabricating workshops are fully equipped and operate independently. Each comprises: 10 Ton Overhead Crane • 3m Guillotine • 250 Ton Brake Press • Set of Rolls • Asquith 4’-6” Radial Drill • Band Saw • Welding and Cutting equipment • Air Cooled Plasma Cutting Machine • (capable of cutting stainless steel, aluminium, and hardfaced materials of up to 25mm thick).

Website: www.southeastarc.com

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Cemex

Exchanging Places held with London

It provided a great starting point and made for really strong interactive sessions.”

Metropolitan police to educate cyclists about the dangers around large vehicles

“We have been doing a lot of work to make our own vehicles safer by fitting additional safety features” – Lex Russell 82

September 2014

Comprehensive network CEMEX operates a comprehensive national supply network to ensure that quality materials and services are available to customers locally, and maintains a significant logistics fleet of aggregate tippers, cement tankers and concrete mixers.

Safety on the roads is a big issue and one that is taken very seriously by the company, in particular making sure its drivers are aware of vulnerable road users such as cyclists.

Russell said: “We have been doing a lot of work to make our own vehicles safer by fitting additional safety features such as mirrors,

C o nstruct i o n

Cyclist in the cab of a Cemex vehicle learning about what the driver can see

proximity sensors and cameras, as well as working alongside the police and cycling groups to educate cyclists about the potential dangers around large vehicles.”

Best for customers The aggregates business supplies all the major construction companies and many smaller businesses throughout the UK, and Russell is keen to point out that after health and safety it is the firm’s number one priority.

He said: “Customer service has gone through a transformation as it is something we are all very passionate about improving. The customer service promise issued to all our customers underpins our aims. Firstly it says that ‘if we can’t deal with your enquiry immediately, then we will

Cemex UK leads the sector in cyclist safety

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Cemex

24 The customer service team responds to any enquiry within 24 hours

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get back to you within 24 hours latest.’ This is not just about responsiveness, it’s about the manner in which we respond and understanding our customers’ requirements.

“One hundred percent of our products meet or exceed relevant quality standards: we continually invest in developing our services and solutions to deliver optimum performance. If our quality checks highlight any deviations we will contact our customers in advance.

“We always aim to deliver within the agreed timeframe – and if there is a problem we will call you. We realise how important on-time deliveries are to our customers, we set ourselves high targets but when issues occur then timely communication is key.

“One hundred percent of issues or complaints will be dealt with within 24 hours. Of course, nobody wants problems but when they occur we try to resolve them swiftly, accurately and comprehensively.”

The company measures its customer service performance weekly and it is discussed at all levels in the business.

“If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it,” said Russell. “Every Monday the UK management team meet with our Country President to discuss how we have performed in the previous week and what we need to do to improve going forward.”

To ensure customer service is part of CEMEX DNA, there are some 200 advocates

C o nstruct i o n

I NEVER MADE A SPLASH WITH THE SWIMMING TEAM… I always got the butterflies.

Fortunately I’m never out of my depth when it comes to dealing with your enquiries.

At CEMEX we understand that your needs are different, can change, and the unexpected can happen. It’s our job to be responsive and flexible, making sure that everything runs smoothly and that no one’s left floundering.

We’ll do everything we can, and at a stroke, to keep Britain building.

It’s what we do, day-in day-out.

It’s our passion.

Team CEMEX. First for customer service. www.cemex.co.uk

HELPING TO BUILD A GREATER BRITAIN

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Providing HV/LV Electrical Power Engineering Solutions nationwide, supplying to the Rail, Manufacturing, Utilities and Petrochemical industries.

ISS Ltd are a HV/LV Power Engineering company operating nationwide, undertaking Turnkey Electrical Distribution Projects and Site Service activities, including installation, commissioning, pre-commissioning, final commissioning, HV/LV switching, maintenance, repairs, refurbishment of HV/LV AC & DC Switchgear, Power transformers, SCADA systems, control panels, HV/LV cabling and associated ancillary equipment. We manufacture low and high voltage switchgear, protection cubicles, LV generator changeover panels, marshalling cabinets and bespoke protection and control equipment.

www.iss-services.co.uk Tel: 0161 344 1117

Industrial Switchgear Services Ltd

HDPE Ltiti Rtititixtitititititititititititititititititititititititi

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C EMEX

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taken from all different levels of the business who meet regularly to identify ways of making improvements, implementing them and ensuring they are passed on to every employee.

“Everyone in the company serves a ‘customer’; they may be internal colleagues but we should all offer the same standard of high customer service,” Russell explained.

Best for employees CEMEX employs a wide variety of skills including electrical and mechanical engineers, geologists, quarry managers, commercial sales specialists and drivers.

Many of those loyal workers have been with the company for years, but that in itself has posed something of a challenge for the company where the average age of an employee is now 48 years old, which is reflective of the industry as a whole.

‘CEMEX employs a wide variety of skills including electrical and mechanical engineers, geologists, quarry managers, commercial sales specialists and drivers’

Cemex is working with the RSPB to increase the biodiversity on its sites

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Cecil Roberts and Callum McPhilips 2014 Leaders in Development with Jesus Gonzalez, CEMEX UK Country President

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“It is great that we have that kind of loyalty and engagement however we do need to attract younger people into CEMEX as well as developing the talents of our younger colleagues,” said Russell.

The recently introduced Leaders in Development programme seeks out talent from within and puts candidates through a year’s training which enables them to experience all areas of the business, after which they are offered a position within the company.”

CEMEX had an impressive 18,000 training interventions last year, amounting to an average of six training sessions per employee. The

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Gravesend training

company aims to train and develop all staff, with Operational Managers and Supervisors taught the principles of continuous improvement.

Every commercial employee experiences the CEMEX Commercial Academy, fostering industry knowledge and a desire to always build on success.

“It is important that we have sales people who understand the true value of our products and can effectively communicate this to our customers.

All of our operators are trained to a level of competence and we are about to commence our weighbridge development program,” said Russell.

‘The Leaders in Development programme seeks out talent from within and puts candidates through a year’s training... to experience all areas of the business’

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Recording an Early Neolithic house. Cemex has spent ÂŁ10m on archaelogical digs at its Kingsmead Quarry resulting in finds of national significance

Cemex

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Visitor Centre, Attenborough Nature Reserve

Being the best for communities With some 56 quarries located around the UK, CEMEX plays a leading role in working closely with the communities and environments that it operates in.

“We do a lot of excellent quarry restorations; when we have finished operating quarries the finished site is restored to a better environment than when we started,” said Russell.

The company has created many bio-diverse environments including a nature reserve in Nottinghamshire which has been endorsed by broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough and won many awards.

CEMEX Rugeley Quarry was the first ever winner of the Natural England Biodiversity Award for its restoration and creation of 80 hectares of wildlife habitat at the site The Company’s ‘Lend a Hand’ Project also

David Attenborough, English broadcaster and naturalist

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Cemex UK’s largest quarry, Dove Holes in Derbyshire

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encourages employees to roll up their sleeves and get involved with their own communities in myriad charitable projects.

Senior management have also recently been involved in cleaning up in the community of Ferriby that was devasted by flood damage.

Prior to this they visited a children’s hospice and carried out building and maintenance work All these valuable experiences not only positively support the local communities, but provide a good team building experience for staff.

Best for shareholders Last, but by no means least of the stakeholders, is the shareholders, who Russell says deserve to reap the benefits of their patience. “The truth is that we do not give them an acceptable return on

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their investment,” he said.

“The UK aggregates industry is essential to the economy and our way of life. Our products are what builds roads, houses, schools and hospitals and are essential in the construction of generating facilities for energy and management of water. We need to have a sustainable aggregates industry to safeguard this valuable resource for future generations.”

CEMEX spends millions of pounds on all manner of things such as £10m on archaeology unearthing important historical artefacts and £150,000 on protecting a newt colony. Planning fees alone were £1.5million last year just to maintain their current reserves. The cost of restoration is frightening on an annual basis.

Russell explained CEMEX’s strategy to become more profitable: “We have analysed every one of our quarries in the UK and we know where our prices need to be to achieve our full cost recovery,” he said. “We have a price roadmap in place setting out where we need to be and how we will get there.

“The geology of the UK dictates that not all areas or quarries are the same, but generally we are under valuing our product by around 30 percent. I have been in this industry for nearly 30 years and I feel responsible, but I am fully committed in the coming years to supporting our customers, ensuring their competitiveness, and ultimately achieving prices which will allow us to sustain and grow our business.”

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

United Kingdom founded

1906 employees

3,000 (UK) revenue

£775 million sales p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Aggregates, Cement, Concrete, Mortar products, Asphalt, Landscaping products, Rail products, Masonry products, Admixtures

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Unibeton Ready Mix

Ground-breaking Innovations Drive Unibeton to International Dominance Written by: Matthew Staff Produced by: Richard Durrant

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The MiddleEast based construction giant has established a reputation as a trailblazer in the sector for more than 20 years, and is still thriving off the back of its most recent, significant industry firsts

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nibeton Ready Mix continues to build on its already leading supply of ready mix solutions in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) through the ongoing flexibility to adapt not only its extensive offering to the market, but also the footprint of the market it operates within.

Now proud to be able to share its unrivalled knowledge and technologies within the sector on a global scale, the company’s ongoing R&D efforts are coinciding with more stringent industry regulations in the Middle-East to ensure that it will attain even more significant projects moving forward; including key infrastructural works in Saudi Arabia, Oman, India and Kuwait, as well as playing a pivotal role in preparing for the 2020 World Expo in the UAE and the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.

Unibeton pinpoints the key facets behind its success to be delivering clients’ requirements, enhancing operational and capital efficiencies, expanding through product innovation and investing in its people, all of which have combined to make the Al Fara’a Group-owned company the one to watch in international construction over the coming years.

World-leading innovation Epitomising the extent of innovation engrained into the Unibeton ethos, the company has either unveiled or is well on its way to unleashing some of its most significant achievements to date, in the form of its ISM rheological probe system,

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formerly, and cementless concrete in the near future.

International Development Marketing Director, Robin Jones explained: “Our ISM probe system is essentially a workability test, similar to replacing a dipstick with a petrol gauge in a car. It has the ability to measure rheological properties, slump, temperature and volume of concrete inside the drum of the ready mix truck as a QAQC live automatic monitoring system.

“It’s an industry first and is already going down a storm around the world, via our consultancy guys, in countries like Germany, Singapore and Japan.”

Innovations such as the ISM probe are a testament to the company’s R&D efforts which have also been responsible for bringing about the

2022 The stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be built with the company’s products

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WE OWN AND OPERATE SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST, SAFEST AND MOST MODERN QUARRIES. Our products have been used in some of the world’s highest profile developments, representing some of man’s greatest architectural and engineering challenges.

www.stevinrock.ae

stevin@emirates.net.ae

W: www.uge.com.qa E: info@uge.co.qa T: (+974) 4436 4621/4436 2594 F: (+974) 4441 5386

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ability to produce 75 MPa cementless concrete.

Once this ground-breaking innovation etches its way into the consciousness of the construction community, Jones is confident that it will not only enforce Unibeton’s position at the top of the industry, but will also signify a pivotal progression on a global industry level.

“We believe we will be the first company to get and to deliver and to make cementless concrete,” he said. “We can make it now at over 75MPa but the only problem is acceptance.

“It is new science so presentations and education is required, but it will come sooner or later. R&D is rife with this and all of our concrete is geared towards being environmentally friendly.”

Award-winning sustainability Keeping ahead of the industry curve in the eco stakes has never been more vital than it is now, with new legislation coming in to ensure that buildings are reaching sustainability and carbon rating targets.

All of which will play into Unibeton’s hands however, building upon a market differentiator that it already has in abundance and has even won awards for, including from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA).

“We are the only company in the world to have been awarded the NRMCA gold award for the sustainability of a specific concrete plant like we did for our plant in Qatar last year,” Jones explained. “No-one else has that and it’s gone

Key Personnel

Robin Jones International Development Marketing Director Robin has extensive strategic experience in international business development and is experienced in taking the lead for major international clients.

In this position he predominantly acts as the Unibeton team leader in new market development and is representative for all aspects of initial new ventures. This involves major research into potential international locations and sustainable markets.

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Sheikh Zayedbridge

“One of the proactive things we did is analyse the market itself in the UAE... looking into places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar” – Jean-Francois Dufour

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down well wherever we mention it. It’s a huge coup for us and gives us mega brownie points in sustainability.”

Operating primarily in areas of complex infrastructure and high-rise buildings, Unibeton Readymix prides itself not only on these new sustainable products, but also through implementing them on scales previously untried.

“We’re talking about over 400 metres in height in terms of high-rise pumping, where we’ve pumped in 80MPa concrete in single stage.

They’re the type of high caliber, challenging jobs that we’re taking,” explained UAE General Manager, Jean-Francois Dufour.

C o nstruct i o n

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“Our past track record and international standing gives us the advantage both in the UAE and internationally.” www.unibetonrm.com contactus@unibetonrm.com

Global flexibility Reaching the peak of business in 2008 and 2009, the years immediately following presented much more of a challenge as a result of a general industry slowdown, but this brought out the best in Unibeton’s proactive, flexible philosophy as it was forced to find profit elsewhere.

“One of the proactive things we did is analyse the market itself in the UAE and took the opportunity to start expanding elsewhere, looking Abu Dhabi Plot 20, street 12 Sector 39, Mussafah PO Box 110353, Abu Dhabi, UAE Tel : +971 2 551 15 00 Fax : +971 2 551 19 29 Dubai Jebel Ali Industrial Area 3, PO Box 38197, Dubai, UAE Tel : +971 4 880 26 00 Fax : +971 4 880 22 99 Al Ain Plot 6, Street 9 Al Khrair, Mezyad PO Box 15915, Al Ain, UAE Tel : +971 3 782 54 74 Fax : +971 3 782 56 30

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia King Fahad Road AL JUMAIAH Center, Riyadh, KSA P. O. Box 60499 Postal Code 11454 Tel : +966 1 456 50 08 Mob : +966 50 443 90 34 Fax : +966 1 210 25 23

email: contactus@unibetonrm.com

www.unibetonrm.com

Unibeton truck at the batch plant

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The batch plant

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into places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Dufour said. “We are very good at assessing the market and we go where the economy is better, and now, anywhere that there is a need for business and we can be profitable and sustainable, we can take the opportunity to go there.”

“We, as a business, decided that we will go anywhere in the world,” Jones continued. “We’ve had excellent relationships and alliances with globally renowned companies, so when they came into Dubai, we were able to leverage these excellent relationships to get more business.”

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Unibeton’s menu of services allows the company to not only offer the concrete, but to essentially take over the complete supply for a client, and as long as the margins, profitability and volumes are beneficial, this service can be carried out anywhere around the world as a result of the business’s flexibility.

Combined with this is the company’s comprehensive portfolio of completed projects and projects in the pipeline, including the New Doha Port on behalf of China Harbour Engineering Construction in Qatar, The King Abdullah Financial City in Riyadh for Saudi Binladin Group and future involvement with the 2022 World Cup, showcasing its carbon free concrete to help meet sustainability objectives.

Business structure To align itself with the continuous improvement occurring within the organisation, the business structure that Unibeton adopts becomes increasingly prevalent.

A full management team set up in each operating country allows for complete autonomy in each case, scaling up to a central team which dictates the overriding strategy; incorporating governance over such issues as technology, environmental decisions and the supply chain, as Dufour explained: “The supply chain is also run centrally in terms of procuring high quality raw materials in each country of operation, allowing us to deliver high-end quality concrete and be

Key Personnel

Jean-Francois Dufour UAE General Manager Jean is a graduate civil engineer with a master’s degree in civil engineering from Laval University, Canada and has been practicing as a Civil Engineer in the field of concrete since 1995.

His leadership skills and knowledge of concrete are reflected in past management successes. Jean’s business and technical attributes and his broad contact network have allowed him to create and further develop new business opportunities for the company.

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Ferrari-World-Abu-Dhabi

competitive in our markets.

“Here in the UAE for example, we have the autonomy and the greatest quality of aggregates and cement around, and this is largely down to the relationships we have kept with the same suppliers over a number of years.”

This leverage of strong, mutually beneficial partnerships has played a vital role in Unibeton’s geographical growth, being able to develop immediate, strong supplier relationships in a country where it previously had no presence.

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Industry leaders Looking forward, Unibeton has every reason to be optimistic about its prospects, starting from a market-leading position and with innovations

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in place to suggest it will remain there for the foreseeable future.

Expansion of operations in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, alongside the sustainable growth within Oman are clear strategic objectives, but consolidation in its current areas remains the primary goal: maintaining the company’s adaptability to expand where the market place is most profitable.

Ultimately, over the next five years, Unibeton aims to build upon its already unparalleled reputation in areas of innovations, environmental issues, sustainability, recycling and the holy grail of cementless concrete.

“These innovations will take Unibeton to the next level and the market will have to adapt to it, putting us in a really good position,” Dufour concluded. “As the most professional people in the industry, we hope in time that the performance criteria will increase to a point where only a handful of companies will be able to meet it, and Unibeton will be one of them.

“Here in the UAE, for instance, we produced 110MPa concrete for structural elements of a high-rise tower in Dubai Marina, meeting Dubai’s new seismic design criteria to withstand earthquake tremors up to 5.9 on the Richter scale.

“This is something that we hope to see more and more of in the future, which will raise the bar for concrete suppliers to meet new structural design challenges, and Unibeton will always be part of that.”

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Abu Dhabi, UAE founded

1988 employees

2,500 revenue

$500 million p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Readymix solutions

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Emirates Gre Council is at th in driving a cultu environment su

Written by: EmiratesGBC Produced by: Ric

een Building he forefront ure of built ustainability

chard Durrant

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Emirates Green Building Council

“The strong participation of regional green innovators and the strong impact of their ideas is a true testament of the tremendous strides that EmiratesGBC has made in a short span of eight years” – Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman

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stablished in 2006 as an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has today evolved as the voice of the green building movement in the UAE. It has rallied together stakeholders across the building industry supply chain for a cause that also reflects the government vision.

“The various activities undertaken by EmiratesGBC complement the ‘green economy for sustainable development’ vision announced

by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai,” said Chairman, Saeed Al Abbar. “We are at the forefront in fostering dialogue and tangible action to promote sustainable built environments.”

The success of EmiratesGBC’s activities was evident at the recent Emirates Green Building Council Awards (EGBC 2014), held in June.

Presenting a unique perspective of the advances made by the country in promoting sustainable building practices, the event underlined the increasing focus on localised innovation, whereby green building materials and products are increasingly being introduced and developed within the country.

“The strong participation of regional green innovators and the strong impact of their ideas is a true testament of the tremendous strides that EmiratesGBC has made in a short span of eight

C o nstruct i o n

years,” explained Mr Al Abbar.

Today, with nearly 200 corporate and individual members from the building industry, EmiratesGBC’s mandate is clear: create awareness, promote dialogue and initiate action in built environment sustainability, given the fact that the construction sector and buildings contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

The Focus Days, training sessions, workshops and networking events organised thus promote awareness on green building standards through a multidisciplinary approach that covers the use of building materials, the importance of green building regulations and energy management measures.

“We are at the forefront in fostering dialogue and tangible action to promote sustainable built environments” – Saeed Al Abbar

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Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC)

Itaque consed quam a sp ero et modite volu 2014 Green Abor eptiaBuilding del mostof the Year Award Winners – The Change Initiative (Dubai)

EGBC team photo from Annual Awards 2014

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Meanwhile, the UAE was also making significant strides in its commitment to promoting sustainable development, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai Municipal authorities outlining their guidelines for green buildings, and the UAE achieving tremendous thought leadership globally with the establishment of Masdar City, and by housing the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

All this has further energised EmiratesGBC’s role as “an advisor, a facilitator and a subject thought-leader”.

Setting an example, EmiratesGBC also moved to a new ‘green’ corporate office, and launched the EGBC Awards to honour outstanding work in the area of built environment sustainability.

Another significant initiative by EmiratesGBC is its focus on promoting the retrofitting of existing buildings, an area that can make a significant impact on sustainable development.

The Council continues to focus on partnering with governmental and non-governmental authorities as well as academic institutions to influence the implementation of sustainable built environments across the whole supply chain.

The Council also serves as the link between the international green building movement and the local industry.

It also facilitates a variety of formal education opportunities as well as being at the vanguard in promoting green building financing by encouraging the different stakeholders to support

Key Personnel

Saeed Al Abbar Chairman of EBGC As well as his professional role as Director of AESG, Saeed is currently the Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council and is the Vice Chairman of the World Green Building Council MENA Network. In this role, Saeed actively works in promoting the advancement of sustainable building in the UAE and MENA region by working with industry, academia and government departments to develop collaborative solutions to some of the regions greatest challenges.

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Emirates Green Building Council

2014 EGBC Awards winners

“We have been able to bring together different stakeholders across the supply chain, inspiring them to take tangible action to promote green building practices” – Saeed Al Abbar

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sustainable projects.

“We have been able to bring together different stakeholders across the supply chain, inspiring them to take tangible action to promote green building practices,” said Mr Al Abbar. “We serve as a platform for dialogue across the region by promoting the World GBC Middle East & North Africa Network – a co-operation between the regional GBCs.” The positive impact of the Council’s activities are clearly felt today as building industry stakeholders are more open to implementing green building practices – not as an afterthought – but right from planning and design stage. Steps are being taken to incorporate ‘green design’

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Association Information A S S O C I AT I ON TYPE

Independent forum LO C AT I ON

Dubai founded

2006 Ke y P e op le :

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman

principles right from site selection and planning to design, development, the materials used and operational stage.

“One of the key challenges before us in the initial days was to strengthen awareness among building owners and developers on the long-term value of sustainable projects,” concluded Mr Al Abbar. “It has taken time but I believe that through the work of the EmiratesGBC, the majority of the industry now sees the significant value in building green.

“We can now confidently say that the UAE is leading by example in the field of sustainable buildings.”

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Al Yousuf GreenTech

Sets the Standard for Regional Energy Transition The Middle Eastern-based Al Yousuf Group has been a key player across numerous industry sectors for more than 60 years and is now leveraging that expertise to align with new eco regulations Written by: Matthew Staff Produced by: Richard Durrant

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“We test every single product we receive from our partners ourselves before launching to the market” – Mohamed Al Rashed, General Manager, Al Yousuf GreenTech

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l Yousuf GreenTech (AGT) is optimising its motto, ‘Energy Saving Without Compromise’ to become a pivotal cog in the overall transition towards heightened efficiencies in the Middle East.

With numerous regulations already in place or on the horizon, the need for all manufacturers and suppliers to adapt their offering is well documented, but this has set the scene for a battle to produce the most refined and forward-thinking offering to that end; a battle which the Al Yousuf Group subsidiary is more than rising to.

General Manager, Mohamed Rashed Al Rashed said: “There’s a huge transition happening within the UAE with regards to the change of lighting within all facilities, streets, governmental departments and the private sector, to become more

C o nstruct i o n

efficient by using less energy. “The President of Al Yousuf Group, Eqbal Al Yousuf had the foresight to see the change coming and created a vision for the GreenTech division which he formed six years ago in anticipation of the regulations.�

The global recession at the time of inception meant that initial movements were slow, but with the market now ready to embrace the concepts on offer from AGT, the company has spent the past year aggressively expanding its influence in line with the introduced regulations.

Setting the standards AGT now consists of a tech department which covers aspects such as installation, technical evaluation, aftersales and estimation, a sales department spread across two offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and a newly formed lighting

Abu Dhabi September 26th, 2012.

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Energy efficient LED lighting

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design department to ensure the internal expertise within the group is not going to waste.

“The Emirates Standardisation and Metrology Authority (ESMA) have started placing standards and regulations for everything,” Al Rashed explained. “Air conditioners, for example, are now rated on a five-star system depending on how efficient they are, and the same applies for lighting from July with a switch towards LED lighting and energy saving lamps.

“This is where we are most focusing at AGT and we plan to include other appliances under the regulations too, but only with a five-star rating.”

AGT’s advantage in the sector largely stems from the world-renowned businesses it has partnered with over the years, many of which have encountered similar regulation changes in Europe already.

“The work involved does not just come down to us but also requires us going back to the partners and manufacturers as well,” Al Rashed added.

Meeting global demands The current set of services being offered by AGT all revolve around the common, global target of energy saving and sustainability, so the push into the green market has been focused into three key areas; lighting, climate control and solar applications.

Solar lamppost

“The current set of services being offered by AGT all revolve around the common, global target of energy saving and sustainability” – Mohamed Al Rashed

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AGT test every single product before launching to the market

LED comprises the major part of the company’s lighting developments, driving the adoption of reduced prices and improved quality of the light emitting diode.

Revenue from LED lamp sales are projected to rise to $8.7 billion by 2021, contributing to the 50-70 percent energy savings that come from using the more modern lighting technology.

“In the coming years, LED prices are expected to fall to a point where savings from electricity consumption will provide a short payback period that will encourage consumer adoption en masse, according to a recent report by Navigant Research,”

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With over 30,000 hours lifetime and available in various colour temperatures, beam angles and physical sizes, these luminaires provide high quality, low energy lighting for homes, retail, offices and outdoor spaces where an IP65 rating is important.

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Al Rashed explained. “This shift will be most dramatic in the share of lamps sold for retrofit projects, where older lighting is often replaced specifically to improve efficiency.

“Although Navigant Research forecasts that only five percent of lamps sold to retrofit projects worldwide in 2013 will be LEDbased, that share is expected to grow to 40 percent by 2017 and 63 percent by 2021.”

Technological Innovation Lighting is currently responsible for 19 percent of global electricity use and around six percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making AGT’s commitment to the global trend all the more vital in the Middle East. However, in everything AGT does, the testing prior to market release is stringent and specific to the necessary environment in regional conditions.

“We test every single product we receive from our partners ourselves before launching to the market.” Al Rashed said. “Our testing facility is in our own corporate offices where we carry out live, actual scenarios.

“In the future we may introduce a laboratory or specific testing facility, but I think the method we are using right now is a more realistic approach and is working very well for us.”

Technological innovation is another area where AGT is especially thriving at present, epitomised by its work in harnessing solar power.

Boulevard Tower, Lighting Control project

“LED is also evolving towards OLED which will be an entirely new experience to what people are used to at the moment, so we need to make sure we are setting the standards in this evolution” – Mohamed Al Rashed

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Organic light-emitting diode (OLED)

Al Rashed added: “There is a lot of evolution going on across the board and solar power is now really reliable and being utilised in a proper way.

“LED is also evolving towards OLED which will be an entirely new experience to what people are used to at the moment, so we need to make sure we are setting the standards in this evolution.”

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Market leader AGT not only sells its aforementioned energy

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saving products & solutions, but provides an entire service from design through to technical support, installation, aftersales and return on investment calculations.

To make sure that its offering reaches as many clients as possible though, the company has also established a green loan scheme to enable businesses to afford the transition immediately, via a customised loan.

“There is no excuse now for anyone not to opt for going green and to start energy saving. However, to help raise awareness even more, we have been participating in a lot of exhibitions and have recently designed a green stand which will be situated in malls across Dubai to educate and make people aware of the benefits that products like LED lighting can have on their businesses, compared to conventional lighting,” Rashed explained.

Integral partnerships such as the one shared with Verbatim, alongside a hugely beneficial relationship with German company, Theben AG regarding light & climate controls and automation will ensure AGT has state-ofthe-art products to exhibit to the masses over the coming months as the regulations continue to take hold, giving the company every reason to be positive about the future.

“If we look three years from now, our goal is not only to be successful in the market here in the UAE but to be a leader in energy saving solutions across the Middle East region.”

Company Information I n d us t r y

Energy usage headquarters

Dubai, UAE founded

2008 (Al Yousuf Group – 1952) employees

16 (Al Yousuf Group – 3000) revenue

Not disclosed p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Energy saving lighting

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Mota-Engil

Building for the Future in Africa Written by: Joel Levy Produced by: Kiron Chavda

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The Group’s subsidiary on the continent is helping to raise the economic prospects of the ten nations in which it has a presence with the successful delivery of crucial infrastructure projects

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ith a deep knowledge of the African market and commitment to improving and diversifying its services, civil engineering and construction group Mota-Engil is expanding its presence and offering on the continent.

The company is preparing to increase its focus on services including logistics, industry and environment, as well as waste collection, street cleaning and other services in urban areas, with a view to further strengthening its position in local markets.

Mota-Engil Africa, a subsidiary of the Portuguese parent company, has a presence in 10 African nations: namely Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Ghana, São Tomé and Príncipe, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa,

C o nstruct i o n

Da Ponte Emilio Guebuza, Zambeze River, Malawi

it is a leading provider of integrated engineering and construction services and a wide range of other utilities across Sub-Saharan Africa, where it employs some 14,600 people, and reported revenue of €1 billion in 2013.

Entering Angola The global Mota-Engil Group has roots in Portugal and Angola dating back to 1946, when founder Manuel António da Mota opened twin branches of construction company Mota and Companhia in both countries. Since then, it has strongly supported the Angolan infrastructure development process while expanding into other Portuguese-speaking African countries.

In 2000, Mota acquired Engil SGPS, creating Mota-Engil. The company then implemented a significant programme of investment in equipment, premises and talented young staff,

14,600

Number of people employed by the company across across Sub-Saharan Africa

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Mota-Engil has become a truly global company

and has become a truly global group, operating in Europe, America and Africa, and comprising 214 companies.

Angola has remained a key location for the African subsidiary, where, as Mota-Engil Angola SA, it has become one of the largest construction firms. Its long history of successful project deliveries in the nation dates back to the construction of the Luanda International Airport in 1952.

The capital has also been the location for two of Mota-Engil’s most high-profile projects in Angola, where its work on the rehabilitation of the Luanda Bay and construction of the Towers of Luanda earned it an outstanding reputation.

Karbochem (Pty) Ltd is an Independent South African producer of a wide range of synthetic rubbers for the tyre and industrial rubber manufacturing markets, including the commodity types: • ESBR (Afpol) • SSBR (Afsol) • Low cis-BR lithium catalysed rubbers (Afdene) As well as: • High cis-BR neodymium catalysed rubber (Neodene) • 3,4 Poly-isoprene (Isogrip)

Karbochem Holdings wholly owns Karbochem (Pty) Ltd and The Synthetic Latex Company (Pty) Ltd For further information contact our marketing office at: Tel: +27 11 601 1660 Fax: +27 11 616 6651 CONTACT PERSONS John Lithgow Carrie Blackburn Eastgate Office Park, Block A, Ground Floor, South Boulevard, PO Box 581, Bruma 2026

Global Logistics & Heavy Lifting Powervia Africa is a global logistics and heavy lifting operator active in two key areas: abnormal transportation and crane rental. The company is based in Mozambique with a strong regional presence, with operations in the country´s key areas: Maputo, Nacala, Beira, and also in neighboring countries, such as Malawi.

www.powerviafrica.com

C o nstruct i o n

Torres Atlântico Angola

SADC Including Angola, Mota-Engil’s African growth strategy is centred on the SADC region. Here, the company has also conducted extensive works in Mozambique, including a bridge over the Zambezi River, refurbishment of the Milange to Mocuba road and, more recently, the Nacala Corridor project to construct a new railway line connecting the Moatize Mine to the Port of Nacala, through Malawi.

Malawi has recently been the location of works for the mining sector, adding to the Group’s portfolio of road infrastructure projects in the country. It is also currently building a railway for the large mining company Vale SA, making MotaEngil the first European company to build a rail line on the continent in 60 years.

Luanda Bay, Angola

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Engineering and construction of a 483-metre-long suspension bridge over the River Catumbela, Angola

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This development is set to impact hugely on the prosperity of the nation by decreasing the cost of living and greatly boosting the economy - a fact that Mota-Engil takes great pride in.

Malawi is also the scene of one of the company’s most important CSR schemes, where it is currently converting the Chauncy Maples, Africa’s oldest ship, into a mobile clinic to provide anti-Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS services while also offering maternity care. This is but one example of Mota-Engil Africa’s comprehensive social improvement projects, conducted through its Fundação Manual António da Mota charity arm.

In Zambia, the company was recently awarded the contract to refurbish the important Great East

A fr i ca

Road connecting the country to Malawi, a project that will create 1,000 jobs for locals.

East and West The West is an area where the ambitious Group has seen recent expansion. Having formerly operated solely in the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, where it focuses on civil construction and public works, it last year entered Ghana, after being awarded a contract to protect a 200 kilometre stretch of coastline in the capital, Accra.

The most recent geographical move for MotaEngil Africa saw a push into the East, where it entered Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. With these nations enjoying strong oil and gas resources, they will be future focus areas and ones where the Group sees considerable growth potential as it pursues a policy of entering countries with GDP growth above six percent.

With an already-impressive portfolio of projects, a long-term strategic outlook and an expanded horizon for work, Mota-Engil is looking forward to an even more successful future in Africa. To this end, its strategy is to develop partnerships to enable diverse infrastructure projects in transport and logistics, energy, oil and gas, and environmental.

As it does, it will remain true to its values of developing bespoke projects for clients and commitment to elevating the African continent to its full economic potential with the quality infrastructure it deserves.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Johannesburg, South Africa founded

1946 employees

14,600 revenue

€1 billion p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Construction and Civil Engineering

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Mexican Construction Chamber: (CCI) Written by: Daniel Rivera, Communications Manager

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History

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he Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure (CCI) was established on June 10, 2003, as a result of the visionary fusion of traditional sector unions, namely the Colombian Association of Engineers Builders (ACIC); Colombian Association of Consultancy and Engineering (AICO); Consultants Association of Colombia (ASCOL), and the Colombian Association of Dealers Infrastructure and Services (CONCESIA).

Porce III

The organization is made up of representatives of business activities that make up the value chain infrastructure sector: manufacturers, consultants, dealers, and suppliers of goods and services.

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Organization We have a team led by the National President, based in BogotĂĄ, comprised of professionals and consultants specializing in technical, legal, economic, administrative and communication areas. Through sectional offices in Barranquilla, Cali and Medellin, the union extends its reach into the regional and local levels.

Objetives We are a business trade association that promotes socio-economic development of the country through a modern and efficient infrastructure, defends the institutions, ethics and transparency, and equally legitimate interests they represent their members, we seek balance in relationships contractual, pretended to strengthen the companies involved in the value chain and its human resources, and influences well in the design, construction and implementation of public policies related to the sector.

The Chamber is a union of national coverage, self-regulated, broadly representative and robust in its internal organization, in constant interaction with its affiliates, capable of generating business initiatives, and influence the development of public policies related to the sector.

Key People

Juan Martin Caicedo Ferrer President

“We are a business trade association that promotes socio-economic development of the country through a modern and efficient infrastructure�

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B E N E F I TS Provision of Information - Issue ContrataCCIon: weekly online publication where the main processes and Competitive Bidding Merit for infrastructure projects of national and territorial entities are consolidated order.

Viaduct Pipiral

- Legal Bulletin: Weekly online publication of regulatory monitoring, concepts and jurisprudence.

- Business Community Newsletter: monthly online publication that brings business opportunities and partnership between companies, agreements signed by the ICC with private sector companies to provide discounts on products and services, new members and upcoming events.

- Economic Bulletin: monthly online publication that disseminates economic information related to the field of transport infrastructure by presenting joint analysis and political economy.

Training In order to strengthen and develop the skills of human resources in the sector to increase

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Vial exchanger Los Fundadores Envigado

0pain - International airport

productivity and competitiveness, exclusively CCI offers regular courses in technical, legal and economic factors, such as quality management systems, administration and finance issues regulatory updates, information technology, marketing, infrastructure construction, topography, occupational health, machinery simulators, safe working at heights, AutoCad, among others.

Corporate Social Responsibility In order to promote education in the areas of engineering in the low-income population, the ICC promoted Acres-Actions-Social Responsibility Foundation, which contributes to the training of future engineers, providing a monthly stipend to students , ostensibly to

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reduce the school drop-out in this area, to ensure that the sector has the human resources to develop infrastructure projects.

Hiring Practices As part of the ICC’s commitment to transparency and plurality of bidders, the guild has the explicit purpose of tending to the widespread implementation of best procurement practices.

To this end, within the body has been prepared a number of documents that collect and synthesize those practices that contribute to transparent government procurement and plurality of bidders.

“The Chamber is a union with national coverage, self-regulated, broadly representative and robust in its internal organization”

Company Information name

Mexican Construction Chamber I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Colombia founded

June 10th, 2003 key people

Jorge Marín (Technical VP), Ruben Ortiz (Administrative Manager), Ana Ramirez (Director of Economic Affairs), Ernesto Ortiz (Counsel), Daniel Rivera (Communications Director) PRE S I DENT

Juan Martin Caicedo Ferrer s e r v ic e s

Association and representation number of members

Approximately 700 web www.infraestructura.org.co/nuevapagweb

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A Joint of Construction Leaders: Solidifying Salfacorp and Conconcreto’s fusion with distinctive innovation into new markets and expand their businesses range in the construction industry

Written by: Rebecca Castrejon Produced by: Jassen Pintado Interviewee: Rodrigo Hübner Grasso, CEO of ConSalfa

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C o n S a l fa For the Progress of the Construction Sector in Latin America he month of May of 2010 marked a milestone in the history of construction in Latin America, after the birth of Consalfa, a company created by two industry leaders that direct some of the most important regional projects in this sector: Conconcreto, based in Colombia, and Salfacorp, from Chile. Both companies participate equally with 50 percent of the shares.

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Fireplace construction for a thermoelectric in Colombia

Values such as experience, industry innovation, construction expertise, technical excellence, operational capability, powerful software, industrial safety and occupational health, commitment, flexibility and efficiency characterize Consalfa and their outstanding work in the sector in its less than five years of operations. These values are also part of the strategic integration and business history of the aforementioned shareholders.

The “new� company has focused almost exclusively on construction activities and assemblies for industrial facilities in Colombia, demonstrating their ability to rapidly evolve, following a series of strengthening stages that seek a position in the industry alongside the founding companies.

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Key People

Rodrigo H端bner CEO of ConSalfa

Civil works: Cartagena Refinery

A Trajectory of Industrial Consolidation Consalfa became operational in January 2011 in Bogota, Colombia. That same year, civil engineer Rodrigo H端bner Grasso, who had a ten-year career in the Chilean Company Salfacorp, moved to Colombia to began his new business path as the Operations Manager of the newly established construction company ConSalfa. By mid-2012,

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C o n S a l fa

Sea fuel transfer work through boats for Melones Oil Terminal, the main contractor was Intercoastal Marine

he moved to the post of CEO, a position he holds today.

“This company carries the expertise to develop all construction specialties under one head in the Colombian market. This has been quite operational and has allowed us to grow,” says Hübner.

Advanced engineering

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is in Phase Two, which began in mid-2012 with the diversification of projects, the establishment of procedures, certifications and a major national and international presence.

The consolidation stage, or Phase Three, hopes to maintain their current sustainable growth, which will double the size of the company in the next five years, reaching a turnover of $120 million in annual sales.

Hidrosogamoso Project

“We look forward in growth and positioning that will allow us to strengthen the foundations of the company in all areas,” says Hübner.

Operational Diversification The company has been working in the private sector, with a primary focus in energy.

Throughout the years, they have established contracts for all ranges of services such as mechanical, electrical, assemblies, structures, civil works, piping, instrumentation and commissioning among others.

“This company carries the expertise to develop all construction specialties under one head in the Colombian market. This has been quite operational and has allowed us to grow” – Rodrigo Hübner Grasso, CEO of ConSalfa w w w. c o n s a l f a . c o m

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C o n S a l fa Regarding the development of new businesses, Hübner said: “We haven’t explored the marine industry in Colombia, but we have projects with a company that is ours in Panama. In mining, we have not succeeded due to the current backlog in this sector, but this year, we are going to begin activities in the oil & gas field.”

Quality control

Competitive Advantages Through Salfacorp’s commercial office in China, Consalfa imports specific equipment for their current projects. For example, in the construction of a 100-feet high Thermoelectric chimney

Tu Solución en Suministros Industriales

Tu aliado en Seguridad induSTrial

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located in Santander, innovation and the latest machinery made the difference when completing a major project under competitive conditions of safety, quality and time.

“We have been trying to implement our technology, contacts and innovative systems that we have had for decades in Chile. It has not been easy, but when we have the opportunity to innovate, then we see those benefits. That’s the operational capacity of this company,” says Hübner.

Machinery with high standards

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Human Capital

C o n S a l fa

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Suppliers ConSalfa seeks to standardize all processes and maintain valuable partnerships with suppliers of equipment, scaffolding, engineering, materials and design. Since their foundation in Colombia, various strategic suppliers with whom Salfacorp in Chile had a relationship, offered their services to the new company and moved to the neighboring country.

Competitive human resource

“As we grow we are having new needs, which involves having more strategic partners in our act,” says Hübner.

Projects 2014-2015 For the remainder of the year, their portfolio of projects includes both civil works and electromechanical assemblies in various industries. ConSalfa seeks to expand its portfolio by 2015. Additionally, by the end of 2014, they expect to close a major contract in the oil & gas sector.

“Stepping into other markets will allow us the growth we expect and the opportunity to participate in bigger projects” – Rodrigo Hübner Grasso, CEO of ConSalfa

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C o n S a l fa

Jenny Quinche & Rodrigo Hubner

Mining Sector: Installation of coal g

International Projection As the result of two international companies that are highly recognized in the industry, ConSalfa has been invited to participate in several important projects in other countries in Latin America, but their main goal is to position themselves within the domestic market.

Having consolidated operations in Colombia, Consalfa will start a stage of research and market analysis abroad, mainly in the Caribbean region and in countries such as Panama or the Dominican Republic.

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Company Information c o m pa n y

ConSalfa I n d us t r y

Construction and industrial installations headquarters

Bogota, Colombia founded

2010

grinding in Cundinamarca

employees

1,500

ConSalfa’s Future Nowadays, ConSalfa is concentrated on the industrial and energy sector, but their next strategic step is to shift their focus into the mining and hydrocarbons industry.

revenue

USD $60 millions email

jquinche@consalfa.com

“Stepping into other markets will allow us the growth we expect and the opportunity to participate in bigger projects,” concluded Rodrigo Hübner, CEO of Consalfa.

w e b si t e

www.consalfa.com

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Peru’s new home: Upgrading Peru’s housing infrastructure through Inmobiliari’s modern concepts

Written by: Rebecca Castrejon Produced by: Jassen Pintado Interviewee: Carlo Mario Varas Montoya 153

INMOBILIARI Innovation: Inmobiliari’s base for growth

P Project Lux

eru is becoming one of Latin America’s fastest-growing capitals regarding infrastructure, thanks to the endeavors and housing innovations in projects developed

by Inmobiliari, an Ingroup company whose vision is to raise the bar in quality, class, style and real estate project engineering in the country. The company has also completed works for the business, entrepreneurial and industrial sectors, each with a solid, actual feel to each company’s property.

It should be noted that Inmobiliari has been building for less than ten years, making them one of Lima’s fastest-growing companies with an important series of projects under development, including: • Moon project: It has about a thousand square meters of green areas; a large natural space that resembles the beauty of the site Golf Los Incas.

Within the area, people can enjoy a stylish and comfortable launch for ladies and another one for gentlemen, aside from a media room with video games and board games for teens.

• Nouvel project: Its design combines the ideas from the prestigious architectural firm FXFOWLE (New York) and the input from Inmobiliari’s architects. The common areas are: a heated swimming pool, gym, lounge, children’s room and an interior garden, among others.

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Key People

Carlo Mario Varas Montoya CEO, Inmobiliari

Inmobiliary interior design

• Hyde project: luxury three-bedroom apartments in an exclusive neighborhood, designed by Design Corp. studio, from Canada. Innovative features include central air conditioning as well as automated sound and lighting. • Lux project: The tallest residential building in the country with one of the best views of the city, offers the opportunity to be connected with w w w. i n m o b i l i a r i . c o m . p e

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INMOBILIARI all Lima in minutes. The complex has 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with: 3D cinema, gym, pool, sauna and other common areas.

• Project Villa In The Polo: has 20,000 square meters of open areas, parks and gardens for children to grow up with the freedom and safety in one of the most exclusive areas of Lima. The project has 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, with the inclusion of: a large pedestrian mall, movie theater, heated pool, tennis court, squash and other common areas.

Project Hyde

The constant training of Inmobiliari’s staff resulted in more than 3,500 specialized employees, able to produce competitive advantages to the company’s projects currently under construction through the use of advanced design software and the latest machinery. Every single operation is performed with the highest quality standards and always in compliance with improvement policies.

Active entrepreneurship from above Engineer Carlo Mario Varas Montoya is the CEO for Inmobiliari; his leadership and over ten years of experience in the trade and strategic management paved the road to the top for him.

Varas, first hired in 2012 as manager for real estate development, was in charge of different processes: from paperwork processing, project inception and analysis to project initiation and execution. A year later, Inmobiliari went through 156

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restructuring after consolidation from the Ingroup corporation, a move that promoted Varas to CEO. During his tenure, Varas has masterminded US$200 million-plus investments for residential projects, including “Villa Marina”, Peru’s largest housing complex.

“We have increased the number of ongoing projects in recent years, diversifying our activities while sustaining our growth in different socioeconomic sectors of our setting, where we were able to find growth opportunities through certain brands,” said Varas.

Inmobiliari, Recrea and Vibien: synonymous with progress Inmobiliari has extended its reach into Peruvian cities’ growing market through three different

“We have increased the number of ongoing projects in recent years, we have diversified our activities while sustaining our growth in different socio-economic sectors of our setting, where we were able to find growth opportunities through certain brands” – Carlo Mario Varas Montoya, CEO, Inmobiliari

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INMOBILIARI

Project Nouvel

brands: Inmobiliari, Recrea and Vibien.

Inmobiliari, as parent company and the corporation’s HQ, stands out for continuous development of exclusive projects in the area; Recrea is designated for housing construction in collaboration with the government-run Mivivienda program, created to help low income families buy a home through a purchase process involving the State along with the real estate and financial sectors. The corporation’s third brand, Vibien, pursues the development of Techo Propio, a public housing plan. Vibien recently became part of the Villa Marina program in north Peru, designed for low-income families to subsidize the purchase, construction or improvement of their housing or property.

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the purpose of growing our presence; building for each different sector. Our market management has already introduced us to the three main categories for land use; Inmobiliari has already diversified into every socio-economic level,” said Varas.

Making a difference in quality of life Inmobiliari’s differentiation effect generates architectural, design and engineering improvements in each project. Their concept of ‘comfort’ begins with the first sketches of a facade emulating a certain style, to the balance of gardens and buildings in a condominium or housing project, with the purpose of providing end users with ease, safety and a comfortable

“Work abroad is an ambitious goal for the future; we know this will happen one way or another as we accomplish every single goal within our growth vision” – Carlo Mario Varas Montoya, CEO, Inmobiliari

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www.terratest.com.pe

contactos@terratest.com.pe

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place to be at or pass through.

“We do our best at keeping one step beyond requirements while providing projects of notable features; we believe that building inhabitants’ interactions will improve with time once their immediate needs are met, as well as their social activities. We are able to accomplish a complete integration with the purpose of contributing to pleasant lifestyles,” said Varas.

Projections into 2015 Short-term plans for Inmobiliari include the acquisition of land in Peru’s major cities for the development of new sustainable housing projects such as in in Piura, Arequipa, Huancayo and Chimbote. Also, three new projects are ready

Project Moon

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www.hpdglass.com

proyectos@hpdglass.com ventas@hpdglass.com

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to be sold in the cities of Trujillo, Chiclayo and south of Lima. Other projects due for completion during 2014 include the offices at Lima Central Tower, Capital Golf and a company-owned project whose first stage will be finished before the year’s end.

The consolidation of very important projects is scheduled for 2015, such as Recrea Magnolias in Breña, as well as Lux apartments in Lince; both the former and the latter being districts in Lima. These projects solidify the corporation’s commitment to its clients, the community and to Peru, providing also financial stability to Ingroup.

“We have many important projects not only for housing purposes, but also for business; there are many opportunities for growth thanks to the lands

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we purchased last year, so sustained growth for the corporation is guaranteed,” Varas said.

Human resource Part of Inmobiliari’s expansion consists of adding and developing new, talented professionals; also a key area in the company’s restructuring process. A big number of current employees have been trained in different trades within the sector.

Motivation, grants, scholarships and internal development opportunities within the corporation are some of Inmobiliari’s strategies to keep human resources.

Competitive progress During the last two and a half years, Inmobiliari has created viable, safe and modern alternatives for project completion through global processes and cutting-edge technology, creating an added value to the real estate development market.

The tallest housing development in Peru—a 33-story apartment building in Lince—is an example of this. Their office project demanded the most recent technology and innovative design, such as patented lights, insulated glass and prefab structures. Sustainable features include LEED energy for water, power and air conditioning savings.

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INMOBILIARI a building itself, but also contributing to an environmentally friendly city, country and planet”, Varas said.

Logistics “I’m fully convinced of our suppliers’ important role adding value to our corporation,” said Varas, adding that this kind of partnerships play a major role that is visible when projects are completed.

“Our suppliers understand our philosophy when applied to the end product we thrive on completing. This helps when working hand in hand with them,” he said.

L AT I N A M E R I C A

The future for real estate developers Two years ago, the company set goals for 2017.

One of these goals was curricular diversification, which has been achieved through the three brands servicing every socio-economic sector.

Keeping up with strategic partnerships with existing suppliers and striking new partnerships is another goal for the company’s growth.

The planned expansion will become the result of the development of different projects in the country’s major cities. Vibien, for example, is already working in different parts of the country.

Inmobiliari is working towards earning Peru’s trust, thus solidifying their brands.

Company Information C O M PA N Y

Inmobiliari INDUSTRY

Construction HEADQUARTERS

Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru FOUNDED

1997 EMPLOYEES

150 REVENUE

USD $225 million

“Work abroad is an ambitious goal for the future; we know this will happen one way or another as we accomplish every single goal within our vision of growth,” says Carlo Mario Varas Montoya, CEO for Inmobiliari.

EMAIL

aoviedo@inmobiliari.com.pe W E B PA G E

www.inmobiliari.com.pe

“Our suppliers understand our philosophy when applied to the end product we thrive on completing, this helps when working hand in hand with them” – Carlo Mario Varas Montoya, CEO, Inmobiliari

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Global competitiveness in industrial buildings: Representatives in the development of international mining projects

Written by: Rebecca Castrejon Produced by: Jassen PIntado

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S a n M a r t i n C o n t r at is ta s G e n e r a l e s

S

an Martin Contratistas Generales is a company that provides contracting services for mining and construction projects since the 80’s. As industry leaders they are involved in major mining developments at a national and international level in the public sector, these industrial activities occupy 95 percent of their long-term operations.

San Martin Workers

In 2012 the contracting company experienced a transformation period after being acquired by the biggest construction company in Latin America, ICA. Ingenieros Civiles Asociador or ICA bought 51 percent of San Martin’s stake and since then, the Peruvian company has strengthened its leadership through international businesses.

Aside from the company’s experience, another competitive advantage in recent years is having their own distinguishing machinery that helped them be the top mining contractor in Peru. San Martin’s main work is to satisfy the demands of their customers and complete the promised service in the estimated time frame according to the initial budget and with the best operating quality.

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San Martin Workers and Heavy Machinery

among other infrastructure projects.

In addition of being industry leaders, San Martin Contratistas Generales has not stopped worrying about their social activities, these being the collaboration and support for environmental best practices regulated by the authorities in Peru. Their social and corporate responsibilities

“We are the prime mining contractor in Peru�

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Team work from Project Toromocho

go beyond the ecological care, by returning some of their success to the people around the area through the sponsorship of community events.

This 2014, the company has more than $600 million in construction projects of public works.

Machinery

Human Resources San Martin Contratistas Generales has some of the most relevant talent in the construction field.

Their human resource ranges from management, engineering to mining specialists, but all departments work to capture a specific goal, to create specialized works with substantial value for the client.

The company also seeks stability in their employees; consequently they take various

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training programs on best business practices to ensure a climate of health and safety within the project. Examples of these procedures in occupational safety and health are their certificates of international standards, such as OHSAS 18001:2007.

Among the programs for job improvement are: Developing Leaders-PAD with the University of Piura, Forming Guidelines for Safe Work - FATS, Programming Operator Training-Training School San MartĂ­n, Young Professionals Program for Retention, Individual Development programs - PDI, Succession Planning, Performance Evaluation, Team Building, Building Effective Teams, among others.

Project in Tantahuatay Cajamarca

Technology and Machinery The company has digitized its operations with the use of software for connecting their units, such as SAP. Their other achievements are in the field, by having the largest fleet in the construction sector, with machinery from world recognized brands such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo, Atlas Copco, Sandvik, among others. Thanks to their equipment the company is able to operate in the process of drilling, loading, hauling and road maintenance. Their drilling reach 75,000 pounds of pull down, their hydraulic excavators go up to

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400 tons of operating weight of 24 cubic meters capacity and their mining trucks go up to 150 metric tons.

For the construction sector they have hydraulic excavators that go up to 70 tons of operating weight, dump trucks reach up to 20 cubic meters of capacity and they also have ancillary equipment such as bulldozers, tractors, rollers, crushing plants, etc.

Operations 2014-2015 As the top contractors in Peru for the mining sector, their knowledge and experience makes a difference in mega-industrial projects.

Cutting-edge equipment

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www.neumaperu.com.pe

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Some of their major projects in the construction sector this year include: 1. Plinths Construction, Drilling and Injections of phase V for Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. 2. Construction of PAD leaching phase 2A and 2B, Pucamarca Project for the company Minsur.

3. Facilities for export and import of concentrate Phase I - Patio Puerto Ilo for Southern Peru Copper Corporation.

4. Mass Movements of Project Lands, a Constancia Project for the client HudBay/ Ausenco.

Company Information c o m pa n y

San Martin Contratistas Generales I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

San Juan de Miraflores, Lima, Peru founded

07/11/1990 employees

+5.000

This 2014 they are investing more than $55 million in equipment and machinery upgrades, 15 million more than the amount used one year ago.

revenue

USD $330 millones email

comercial@sanmartinperu.pe

Read more of this company profile in the September issue...

w e b si t e

www.sanmartinperu.pe

“We have the largest fleet for mass movement within the contractor industry” w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / s a n m a r t i n p e r u . p e

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Elevating the Country with Outstanding Buildings: Docsa has maintained a path of sustainable growth for more than three decades, building major industrial projects and seeking an international presence  Written By: Rebecca Castrejon Produced by: Jassen Pintado Interviewee: Eduardo Lobeira Ortiz (Technical Director) Arturo F. Richardson (President and CEO)

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Tower Koi

Sustainable Creations for more than 30 Years t was 1984 when Docsa, a company whose work would focus on the recruitment of civil works, was created in the state of Nuevo León and led by its founder and civil engineer, Arturo F. Richardson. Over the years, the company has gathered national presence thanks to major projects in Mexico and for their qualitative realization of commercial and industrial buildings.

Reaching new heights

By the mid nineties, Docsa expanded their management to other markets in Mexico, with the inclusion of industrial buildings in the states of San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City.

In their entrepreneurial history they have the experience of creating works for recognized global companies such as Caterpillar, American Standard and Cerveceria Modelo, among many other clients.

I

The company’s vision went global after building a manufacturing and laboratory for American

“…we are the company that has built the most square meters of concrete in Mexico” – Arturo F. Richardson (President and CEO)

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Standard, the work lasted two years in Sevlievo, Bulgaria from 1996 to 1998.

Key People

“I unequivocally believe that we are the company that has built the most square meters of concrete in Mexico,” says Arturo F. Richardson, President and CEO of Docsa Among their certifications are ISO 9001 and LEED methodology in more than 40 percent of their projects.

“Since 2010 we have become vertical construction leaders in the country, we see a stronger consolidation in this sector because Mexico is growing their buildings and we should be headed in that direction,” says Eduardo lobeira, Technical Director of DOCSA.

Arturo Richardson Founder and Executive Chairman of Docsa

Key People

Eduardo Lobeira Oficina central de Constructora DOCSA

Technical Director

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Towers Liu

DO C S A

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Industrial and Commercial Construction Leaders Industrial activities initially occupied 70 percent of Docsa’s operations, followed by the creation of commercial ships. Years later they evolved their operations into the construction of buildings given their demand in Mexico.

“In our beginnings we were devoted to industrial construction. Today 80 percent of our work lies in the vertical and horizontal construction of concrete buildings, where we have become specialists,” says Richardson.

Featured Project of 2014 The residential and commercial complex “Arboleda” is one of the most important construction works this year. Arboledas general contract specifies a development within 18 months in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon.

The company will cement 124 thousand square meters in the commercial part and 81 thousand square meters in the residential area.

Foundation of 7,438 cubic meters in Torre Koi

Strategic partners with CEMEX

““…80 percent of our work lies in the vertical and horizontal construction of concrete buildings, where we have become specialists” – Arturo F. Richardson (President and CEO) w w w. d o c s a . m x

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DO C S A Sustainable Construction Docsa is a company characterized by their sustainable development, following the “green” trend and implementing this in more than 40 percent of their projects. One example is the residential construction “Arboleda” in the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon.

Foundation

www.vslmex.com.mx

Although each project depends on the customer’s specific requirements, Docsa expects that 100 percent of their projects become sustainable over the next three to five years.

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“This is a reality, the trend towards sustainable construction is unstoppable, it is also a necessity as a human race. In the next three to five years we have no doubt that all projects will be sustainable,” Lobeira adds.

Suppliers “Without reliable suppliers our course of action is impossible to meet, suppliers are strategic partners. We have alliances such as CEMEX for concrete and VSL for post-tensioned slabs, among other companies we work with in practically all projects,” says Lobeira.

Human Competitiveness

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DO C S A Other strategic partners in construction are our suppliers of labor, who have worked with Docsa for more than 10 years in various projects all over Mexico. “They perfectly know how we place the steel, the quality that we demand in concrete finishing, and are strategic allies without whom Docsa could not operate,” he adds.

Aerial view

Global Management Among their short-term projections, Docsa plans to position themselves abroad. One of their goals for the next four years is to participate in international projects, mainly in the South American region.

DOCSA’s Future Docsa seeks to boost its industrial works to equalize their services 50/50 in both industrial and building areas.

“If you ask me for the next two years I would say that we continue to innovate in vertical construction but with more emphasis on the industrial area. We would also like to return to work abroad, “ concluded Richardson.

– Arturo F. Richardson (President and CEO)

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Company Information c o m pa n y

DOCSA I n d us t r y

Design and construction headquarters

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico founded

1984 employees

300 employees + 1,500 workers revenue

USD $150 millions email

info@docsa.mx w e b si t e

www.docsa.mx

Raising the country with memorable buildings

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G.S. Wark Limited Gener Contractors

G.S. Wark: Sixty and Strong Written by: Laura Close

Produced by: James Hayes

ral

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G . S . Wa r k

McMaster MDCL SCCRI 5th Floor

Milestones are important for any business, marking the time and accomplishments that have molded it from its inception into the business that it is today. In 2015, G.S. Wark Limited General Contractors will reach its 60th year in business.

G. S. Wark Limited has been committed to improving Ontario by providing public & private sector clients with quality built projects that are delivered on schedule and on budget. For the past six decades they have been finding ways to keep continually growing and improving its capabilities and services for their clients.

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Growing Projects G.S. Wark has been involved in industrial-commercial-institutional construction for decades, but the company is continuing to look for new and exciting projects to undertake. Recently G. S. Wark has been working on several projects of increasing complexity such as the Juravinski Hospital Breast Assessment Center, the Town of Oakville’s North Operations Facility, and its largest project to date – the Lewis Road Layover Facility for Metrolinx. This project has G. S. Wark building a comprehensive train layover facility that will be used

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Oakville North Satellite Operations Depot and Patrol Yard Facility

by GO Transit, a high speed train service connecting the Greater Toronto Area to Hamilton. The Metrolinx layover facility at Lewis road project involves intense and complex industrial work from the installation of utilities and services, to building several operational facilities such as diesel filling stations and snow clearing operations as well as providing wayfinding signage.

With projects under its belt such as the Trafalgar Rd. Via Train station in Oakville and Industrial projects such as the train car filling of food grade product at Bunge in Hamilton,

G.S. Wark has been building up to projects such as Lewis Rd. throughout its career. With a budget of $20 million and a 25 acre project site, Lewis Rd. is the largest single value project to date that G.S. Wark has taken on. “Coinciding with the company’s 60th year anniversary, G.S. Wark has strategically implemented processes and efficiently managed resources to attain the achievement of taking on our largest project to date.� says Project Manager Ryan Kniesz.

The G.S. Wark Difference What sets G.S. Wark apart from w w w. w a r k . n e t

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SINCE 1981

Providing Concrete Foundation Walls, Commercial and Residential Forming.

St. Catharines Concrete Forming Larry Sinke I Owner

stcatharinesconcrete@talkwireless.ca

Phone: (905) 384-0674 Fax: (905) 384-0676

G . S . Wa r k the competition? The company prides itself on dedication to not just quality construction, but also developing quality relationships with subcontractors, suppliers, architects, clients and employees.

“What differentiates us from our competition is our respectable relationships with subcontractors, as well as the diversity and variety of our subcontractors,” says Kniesz. “A big part of what we do is working with subcontractors to ensure that all tasks run as efficiently as possible, to ultimately produce a completed project of superior quality, within the scheduled timeframe. We have developed internal methods that allow us to streamline the process of obtaining tender documents and information for providing quotes to our subcontractors, which assists them by relieving the additional cost of obtaining this information via different methods or having to physically be present at our office. By using these efficient practices we are able to secure a large group of extremely diverse subcontractors for all types of work to partner with our company. In our

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contract management stage, open communication and discussions are vital with subcontractors to ensure that contracts and pricing are established properly. We then commence construction with our subcontractors on the job site.”

G.S. Wark also focuses on developing relationships early on, working with several educational institutions such as Mohawk College and Ryerson University focusing on their construction health & safety and civil engineering co-op programs. “A few of our employees originally began working with for the company as co-op students. We offer these students a placement through their co-op program while they are completing their education, some of which have turned to future full time employment with the company” notes Kniesz. “By developing these relationships early on, it helps build a superior company dynamic and excellent teamwork, which ultimately leads to increased productivity and increased efficiency. This gives us a leading edge over our competitors. Having brilliant and eager young staff that are well versed in technology is what w w w. w a r k . n e t

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McMaster Innovation Park - BTECH FIT UP - McMaster Automotive Research Centre

SKEATES CONTRACTING INC. T: 905-333-3252 F: 905-333-6894 E: info@skeates.ca Skeates Contracting specializes in industrial, commercial, retail and institutional projects in Ontario, completing all facets of wall and ceiling work including: • • • • •

Light & Heavy Gauge Metal Stud Framing Gypsum Board, Finishing and Insulation Demountable Partitions / PC350 Frames Acoustic Ceilings Specialty Acoustical & Millwork Assemblies

Some of the projects we are proud to have worked with GS Wark on include: • • • • • •

Juravinski Breast Assessment Centre, Hamilton McMaster University Stem Cell Cancer Research Institute, Hamilton McMaster Hospital Biosafety Lab – Level 3, Hamilton George R. Allan School, Hamilton North Satellite Operations, Oakville Hamilton Port Authority – Pier 26 Working together as a team to ensure that we exceed our client’s expectations is what makes Skeates Contracting a competitive and successful choice.

For more information, please visit our website www.skeates.ca

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allows G.S. Wark to differentiate itself from its competitors in the marketplace.

Planning for the Future Sixty years is a long time, but it’s far from the end of the road for G.S. Wark. So what is in the company’s future? “Building on a family heritage, we value ethics, excellence, safety, sustainability and mutual respect. We plan and act for the future- for the long-term good of our company.” says Kniesz. “We will continue to be selective of the projects we take on to ultimately achieve our

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Company Information I n d us t r y

General Contractor headquarters

Ontario, Canada founded

1955 employees

25

company goals, visions and values.

Succession planning is a major factor in G.S. Wark’s success throughout the last 60 years. As second-generation CEO, George Wark makes plans to step back into a less demanding role.

“George is 60 now, and by 65 he is looking to take less of a role in the company,” says Hambly.

“He has been very instrumental in the training and teaching of his staff for the succession of the company. This allows him to be able to step back and enjoy retirement while still seeing his goals, visions and values for the company remain strong and continue to grow under the G. S. Wark brand.” With that strong guidance, and the third generation already on the rise within the company, the future of both G.S. Wark and high quality construction in Ontario seem bright and secure.

revenue

$50 million

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Delnor Construction:

Quality and Values at Thirty Y

Delnor Construction CEO Glenn Cyrankiewicz discusses th dedication to workmanship that have shaped the company construction powerhouse it is today Written by: Sasha Orman

Produced by: Sean Bakke

Years

he core values and y into the Canadian

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CANADA

In 1983, Ron Hinz and Ed Cyrankiewicz founded Delnor Construction on two principles: quality workmanship and strong relationships with clients and suppliers. Thirty years later, Delnor Construction continues to meet those goals every day as it provides high quality commercial construction services throughout Alberta and interior British Columbia. To this day, the

company strives to expand its reach and capabilities while never compromising the strong family values at its core.

Committed to Safety and Quality From its inception, Delnor Construction has been a business heavily invested in values like quality, safety, sustainability and community. This is more w w w. d e l n o r. c a

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Profile Electrical offers electrical construction in the commercial, and light industrial sectors, as well as fully equipped service vehicles. Profile Electrical has successfully completed major projects for a variety of clients in the Edmonton area and across Alberta.

Tel: (780) 444 2604 Fax: (780) 481 3091 info@profileelectrical.ca www.profileelectrical.ca

Your interior specialists We have proudly worked with Delnor Construction for the past 30 years.

Here’s to the future.

Unit 210, 280 Portage Close

Crafting the finest quality custom millwork throughout North America for over 30 years.

Sherwood Park, AB T8H 2R6 Email: info@interspaceconstruction.ca

Phone: (780) 467-1922 I Fax: (780) 467-1933 tel: (780) 448-9084 fax: (780) 454-7160 e-mail: reception@rbkmillwork.com web: www.rbkmillwork.com

D e l n o r C o n s t r uc t i o n

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than just part of its mission statement: Delnor backs this up through membership with several organizations that vouch for the company’s ongoing commitment.

Safety is crucial to any construction company – projects must be safe for the workers on the job in the present, and for the people who will be moving through the finished products on a daily basis in the future. An emphasis on safety is built into every part of Delnor Construction from training to monitoring to the presence of an inhouse corporate safety officer. That emphasis is noted with Certificates of Recognition in Alberta as well as British Columbia, assuring clients that Delnor is among the best of the best.

“Safety is of course a big factor to our business, to make sure that we work in a safe environment,” says Glenn Cyrankiewicz, CEO at Delnor Construction. “We have one safety director that goes around projects and makes sure everything is in a safe manner, and that everything is done correctly, up to code and per regulations. We really put emphasis on doing a good job for people and municipalities, a job that customers

can be proud of.”

Delnor Construction is equally committed to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, striving to make sustainable construction a common practice rather than an exception to the rule. With active participation in the Canadian Green Building Council, plus multiple LEED®certified employees on board at each of Delnor’s three locations, sustainability at Delnor is business as usual.

Set Apart By Family Values After three decades in the business, Delnor Construction has only continued to grow its client base and thrive. Much of this can be attributed to the company’s family owned nature, with multigenerational core values like teamwork and trust that have yet to waver.

“We’re a family business that has a lot of experience in these fields,” notes Cyrankiewicz. “When you have a family business like this, there’s a lot of trust in the fact that we can depend on each other, and we know our roles and how that plays into each part of the business. w w w. d e l n o r. c a

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“YOU GET THE BEST DEAL AT IDEAL” At Ideal Tile and Terrazzo Ltd. we custom fabricate stone and tile for both Commercial and Residential applications.

Phone: 780-447-4777 Fax: 780-447-4774 Email: ittl@telusplanet.net www.idealtileandterrazzo.ca

CANADA

We strive to trust each other in matters of our clients, getting work done on a timely basis, getting the job done under budget, and I think all those together make up our core emphasis and values that we look at as a day-to-day basis. We also do a very good job of working together as a team and that makes a big difference – it’s not one person but several coming together on certain issues, and for things that have to be resolved we can count on being able to work together and complete a project when it needs to completed so that schedules are met.”

That aspect of the company is a strength that is poised to continue, as the next generation grows up and comes into the fold of the business.

“It’s been a very good situation as far as working with both my father and son – most people don’t have that luxury the opportunity to have three generations working together, and I think when you have those values in place, it lets people know that we’re very honest and truly a company that people can rely on and work with over and over again,” says Cyrankiewicz. “We love the people that work for us, and I think that makes a big difference in our end result. We see our bottom line not only in terms of profit, but also how we handle our business with other individuals.”

With these values paired with Delnor’s recognized craftsmanship no matter the project, success is in the cards for the next thirty years as well.

Company Information In 1983, two friends Ron Hinz and Ed Cyrankiewicz established Delnor Construction with the primary goal of building a business based on solid relationships backed by superior workmanship for their clients.

Delnor has now been providing professional commercial construction services across Alberta & Interior BC for 30 years. Delnor began with a dedication to the commercial renovations sector and is still committed to renovations with an expanded focus on new construction.

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Aquicon Construction

Quality Workmanship Clients

Daniel Aquino, President of Aquicon Construction, discuss community and how the company has sustained its growth Written by: Lindsey Ryan

Produced by: Richard Gentile

s Can Trust

ses recent projects within the h in the industry.

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Niagara College

Aquicon Construction was founded by Mario Aquino in 1986, in Brampton, Ontario. From its origins in 1986, the company’s primary focus was on developing educational facilities for the various local District School Boards. Since then, the company’s portfolio has progressively grown to include an array of facilities spanning Sports and Recreation centres, Educational facilities, Long-Term Care facilities, Administration offices and Operations centres.

At the heart of Aquicon’s methodology is their “Partnering Approach” where trade partners are 206

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encouraged to share their project ideas and expertise within their respective fields. This open-forum style of communication allows for identification and resolution of conflicts at the earliest stages of the project. Daniel Aquino, President of Aquicon Construction, explains, “Our approach from day one that set us apart is our Partnering Model.

On each project, we bring together a team of experts from the different construction disciplines and strive to bring out the best in each team member by providing a platform for them to offer input and add value to the finished product.” This

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partnering approach to the business has garnered Aquicon the trust and respect of their clients and peers, and has propelled the company to new heights in successfully delivering projects of increasing size and complexity.

Council in 2013.

After successfully completing their new Student Athletics Centre and Learning Commons project, Niagara College turned to Aquicon as Construction Managers for their new Applied Health Institute. The 90,000 square foot institute features Recent Projects state-of-the-art classrooms and Aquicon Construction has built over laboratories, and provides a new 300 structures in Ontario to date and home for all of the College’s applied continues to add to their impressive health programs under one roof. portfolio of projects completed.

The project was a huge success One notable example being the Vale for Niagara College having been Health & Wellness Centre, a $32 completed on time and under million state-of-the-art facility for budget, meeting stringent federal sport, recreation, health, wellness, funding requirements. From the entertainment and commerce – all start of the project, Aquicon took a under one roof – the first of its kind very hands-on approach providing in the Niagara region. Developed construction guidance to the design in partnership with the City of Port team before the construction Colborne and the YMCA, the facility drawings were completed. boasts two NHL-sized ice pads, Another Greater Toronto an aquatic centre, triple gymnasia Area marquee project, Aquicon with an all-season jogging track and constructed the Brampton East six outdoor bocce courts amongst Library and Community Center other amenities. The facility was which was composed of many developed with a strong emphasis unique elements suited to the local on energy efficiency, subsequently community. “There were a lot of achieving LEED® Gold certification new types of construction that from the Canada Green Building were used on that project, a lot of w w w. a q u i c o n . c o m

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Wishing Aquicon Continued Success www.brytedesigns.com

www.goodfellowinc.com

Congratulation to Aquicon For their Achievements Goodfellow Goodlam – Glulam Laminator & Fabricator

Bryte Designs – Glulam Engineering+Drafting & Installation Bryte Designs is Goodfellow’s Engineered Wood Products & Solid Timber Ontario Representative and Engineering Office

Bryte Designs 134 Jarvis Street, Second Floor Toronto Ontario M5B 2B5 Tel. 416.638.1932 Fax: 416.638.7305 Goodlam@brytedesigns.com

A q uic o n C o n s t r uc t i o n incorporations with steel, wood framing - a lot of exposed wood framing.” explains Aquino. The east façade housed a wave wall system – the first of its kind in Canada designed to reflect the appearance of a wave from the outside of the building.

Expected to be completed this fall, Aquicon is currently working on a new People Mover Bus Maintenance and Storage facility, a $20 million project, for the City of Niagara Falls. Once completed, the new facility will have a tremendous effect on the community as it will provide a service area for the bus transit system for the Niagara Falls community. The 100,000 square foot facility will comfortably accommodate parking for 40 buses inside and 48 buses outside.

Safety Job-site safety is of the utmost importance to Aquicon Construction. “As far as we’re concerned there’s nothing more important than safety. Everything else takes a second seat.” says Aquino. The company makes big investments into the health and

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safety of its staff, hiring industry experts to train them on leading procedures and methods. All employees are provided training free of charge and are informed of the latest policy and legislation changes that involve health and safety on the job site.

In addition to their own employees, Aquicon Construction stresses the importance of safety for all other trades and consultants working on their projects. Aquino believes it is critical that everyone involved in the field is specifically oriented to the site and aware of the safety procedures before beginning their work.

Standing Apart from the Competition Aquicon Construction has made a name for itself in the industry by consistently providing quality workmanship to every project. A rarity in the industry, the company has an extremely low turnover rate.

The senior staff have been a part of the company for over 20 years and have developed a great range of experience in the process.

“A big thing for me is the strength w w w. a q u i c o n . c o m

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Brampton East Community Centre & Library

Besseling Mechanical is proud to have been part of the Aquicon team on a number of complex projects. We congratulate Aquicon on their past accomplishments, and look forward to being part of their continued success.

Besseling Mechanical Inc. 79 Covington St Hamilton, ON, L8E 2Y4

Phone: (905) 560-0200 www.besselingmechanical.com

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of our employees, our staff both internal and on site. We are known for our quality workmanship; we focus on a schedule and pay attention to detail, and I think that really comes from the experienced staff we have.� states Aquino.

With exceptional employees and quality performance, Aquicon Construction has developed long standing relationships with its clients, many of which have returned to the company time and time again for additional projects.

By maintaining a wide range of

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Ontario, Canada founded

1986 employees

80

clients in various industries, Aquicon is able to stay busy even when certain markets are in a lull.

Aquino explains, “A big factor to our progressive growth over the years has been our ability to diversify our portfolio and undertake different types of construction. Having expanded from mainly school construction many years ago, Aquicon is able to win business in other core sectors that may not be affected by funding slowdowns.”

As the new president of Aquicon Construction, Aquino looks forward to growing the company in this next generation of leadership. He is focused on building the company’s portfolio in DesignBuild projects and exploring the viability of publicprivate-partnerships which are becoming a very popular method of delivery in industry.

revenue

$200 million

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Premier Building Solutions LTD Better Building Through Experience Alberta’s Premier Building Solutions wants to be the “go-to” contractor for hospitality and senior construction projects in the province.

Written by: Kevin Smead

Produced by: Rich Gentile

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Masa Kokoro Calgary 2

Established in 2011, Alberta’s Premier Building Solutions is a general contractor in the hospitality and senior markets. Since its inception, the company has become a leader in Alberta and continues to grow.

The company was founded as a partnership between Chuck Roberts and Ron Gehring. Combined, the 214

September 2014

duo had more than 80 years of experience in the commercial and hotel construction markets.

Tragedy struck in June of 2013, though, as Ron Gehring passed away. While this was a difficult time for the company, it’s continued to provide the high-quality construction services it always has.

sect o r

“He was a strong part of our implementation, his experience with hotels and seniors projects was instrumental in getting us started and going,” Roberts said. “Our desire is to continue on in that vein.”

The Experience Advantage Even though Premier Building Solutions is a relatively new

company, Roberts and Gehring were able to hit the ground running.

“The 80 years of experience seemed to bode well for us, picking up where the customer wanted us to go,” Roberts said.

Premier aims to become the “go-to” contractor for senior and hospitality projects in Alberta, and only 3 years in, it’s well on its way. w w w. p r e m i e r b u i l d i n g . c a

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30 Years

in the Construction Industry

RNB Contracting is a trade contractor specializing in concrete formwork including foundations (2’ grade beams to 8’ walls), ICF foundations, concrete stairs, light standards and flat work.

Phone: (403) 597-0148 Fax: (403) 346-4193 E-mail: rsbiccum1@shaw.ca

Serving Alberta since 1985.

We provide geotechnical, material testing and environmental engineering services for: • Government

• School Boards

• Private Industry

• Commercial, industrial and residential projects

• High Rise Buildings

T: 403-291-5091 I F: 403-291-9729

Email: global.engineering@shaw.ca

www.goglobalfirst.com

Mechanical Contractors World Class Contracting Ltd. specializes in Mechanical Construction and Management Services, includes plumbing, gas fitting, hot water heating, and mechanical systems for the construction industry in Alberta.

403-346-9699

www.worldclasscontracting.ca

P r e m i e r Bui l d i n g S o l u t i o n s LTD “We pride ourselves on the ability to work with designers and builders to build what the customer needs, look for cost saving measures, and manage the projects for the appropriate budget,” Roberts said.

Premier gets a large amount of business from word-of-mouth clients, though their repeat business is very high because of the quality of their work. “Once you establish a relationship with a partnership group, the expectations of what’s going to be required becomes easier,” Roberts said. “Everybody understands their role and the expectations, making it easier to deliver based on that expectation.

Project to project, the owner expectation doesn’t really change much even though the project does. You’ve still got that level of accountability and service to provide, so there’s an expectation there that we continue to strive to meet and exceed.” Roberts stresses the importance of sub trade partnerships and how these positive relationships have played a huge role in the company’s success.

Premier Building Solutions is also working to ensure that these

standards are passed down to the next generation of employees.

Promotions are generally from within the company’s current roster of employees, which allows for holders of future management positions to know what’s expected.

“When you come up through the ranks, you have a pretty good idea of what our ideals are and what our level of quality is,” Roberts explained. “We hold ourselves accountable to the owner and that starts at the laborer. All the way through the system there’s a high level of accountability and we’re very open-book and transparent in how we do our work.”

Premier also capitalizes on its many years of experience in mixing its younger talent with veteran staffers. While the younger employees are eager to learn, the vets are invested in ensuring the company is in good hands for years to come.

A Commitment to Alberta The vast quantities of experience present at Premier Building Solutions are helping them complete projects across Alberta. Premier w w w. p r e m i e r b u i l d i n g . c a

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P r e m i e r Bui l d i n g S o l u t i o n s LTD

has a number of ongoing projects, ranging from various hotels to senior living facilities.

The company has broken ground on a five-story, 140-room Wyndham Gardens hotel at the Calgary Airport, as well as a similarly sized assisted living facility in Red Deer, about an hour and a half north. Also in Red Deer is a 100-room Microtel, a subsidiary of Wyndham, which recently crossed the halfway mark in terms of completion.

The company recently completed an 83-room Super 8 motel in Lloydminster, as well as a 92-room 218

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TownePlace Suites, a subsidiary of Marriot, in Red Deer. Both projects also involved aquatic components, including pools and spa construction.

Not all of Premier’s projects are larger scale, however. “We’ve done some community projects in Caroline for the Caroline AgSociety and Clearwater County,” Roberts noted.

Always Planning Ahead With so many projects underway, it’s important to always be looking to the future. Luckily, Premier

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manages its business by managing in both the short and long term. This is exemplified through its commitment to sustainability.

“I think we try to be a little bit visionary on the upcoming building codes,” Roberts said. “We’re cognizant of present code, but we try to be proactive in seeing where the code’s going. We try to build those kinds of contingencies into the projects so the end-user won’t be saddled with costs to either maintain a new code requirement or provide labor for a future code requirements.

We try to be visionary in the way we build, so we build in some of the code requirements we see coming down the pipe.”

With its strong delivery of a solid end product at a reasonable cost, Premier is soon to be a much-sought after partner for a growing number of projects. In the short term, the company hopes to maintain its strong customer base by providing its top-quality project delivery, all while fostering growth within the company and in its customer base.

Premier Building Solutions is always looking for ways to improve on the time honored triedand-true methods of construction by finding and implementing new and improved products.

Currently, Premier is working on some administrative upgrades. Roberts said the company is “continuing to implement advanced software to make accounting and budgeting even more accurate.”

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Alberta, Canada founded

2011 employees

20-40

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Nor-Built Construction

An Energy Star Certified Com Promotes Accessibility

Norbert Bolger, president of Nor-Built Construction, discus common public desire for accessible housing and how the provide accessible homes and show rooms to the commun Written by: Lindsey Ryan

Produced by: Rich Gentile

mpany that

sses the growing need and e company is doing its part to nity.

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Norbert Bolger started working in the construction business since he was 17 years old and in 1988, when he was only 20 years old, he started his own business, Nor-Built Construction. In 1991 Bolger built his first house and ever since then he has been leading the company in developing subdivisions and homes. The company builds a range of homes including attached units, townhouses and single family homes. They have even built an entire townhouse project in which every home was accessible. Bolger started building accessible homes because his daughter, Brittany, has 222

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special needs that limit her mobility and because of this, Bolger sees a growing need for accessible housing and is aware that mobility issues are more common than one may think.

Accessibility Makes a Difference Accessible homes are becoming increasingly important to buyers and Bolger recognizes it as a growing market. Bolger explains that there has been a positive reaction to the accessible homes that Nor-Built is building because even if the individuals living there do not need it, if a friend or family member does it is

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important for them to be able to visit.

“A lot of our clientele are older and one of the first things they notice is that there are no steps. Even if they don’t need it themselves, they say it will be perfect for their mother or aunt or dad, and more people can visit because they don’t have any steps to get in,” says Bolger.

In addition to building accessible homes, the company also has an accessible in house show room for customers to pick our any interior finishes for their home. Bolger, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, recognizes that many people have or develop mobility problems

which is why he began focusing on accessible housing and sees the importance in having an accessible show room as well. The show room is a convenient one stop shop for customers and because it is all on one floor, it is easily accessible for anyone.

“You can come here and pick out everything for your house without leaving and its all on one floor so if you have accessibility issues you can come here for the day and pick everything out for your place. You don’t have to worry about going somewhere that you can’t get in to,” explains Bolger.

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Continuous Improvement So why choose Nor-Built Construction? The company prides itself on being a locally owned company that consistently leaves customers satisfied with the quality of work and the experience with the employees. The company uses the same core group of partners on almost every project, which clearly demonstrates their ability to maintain positive relationships.

Nor-Built also is proud to hold a certification for Energy Star Certified

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Homes. The company was the first of its kind to be certified energy star in Amherstburg and continues to develop energy efficient homes that pass the certification. Bolger explains, “We were the first one to be certified energy star in Amherstburg and we make sure we take care of any issues. We’ve been around for a long time so we are stable in the community and we do a lot of work in the community.� The company is very involved in the community and sponsors a miracle league team every

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year, which plays on an accessible baseball field.

Nor-Built Construction has won a number of awards for their quality craftsmanship and service, including a multitude of Golden Hammer awards and GWHBA Best Home awards. Bolger was even president of the Greater Windsor Home Builders twice.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Looking Ahead Two of Nor-Built’s recent projects are Golf View Townhomes and Meadowview Estates. Golf View Townhomes is coming to the end of its completion and is made up of accessible townhomes available in 1375 and 1400 square feet models.

Nor-Built is partnering with Great Lake Properties, a company which Bolger owns half of, to develop Meadowview Estates, which will be a 146 unit subdivision made up of a mix of attached, detached and commercial space.

To save time and become more efficient in the field, Nor-Built has recently began using ipads and has transferred everything to shared files so that any supervisor or project manager can have access to anything they may need while being out of the office. Bolger is looking forward to how much time and space this will save for his employees.

Ontario, canada founded

1988 employees

10

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Calhoun Super Structure

Family-owned business at its

Jeremy Calhoun of Calhoun Super Structures discusses th and unveils its newest product for launch Written by: Robert Spence

Produced by: Rich Gentile

es

s finest

he company’s recipe for success

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VP Series- Fertilizer

Since 1992 Calhoun Super Structures has been a family-owned business specializing in engineering and manufacturing the best steel and fabric building structures across North America.

Their mission is simple: to provide excellence in all aspects of product design, manufacturing and supply with an emphasis on innovation and people. In return, Calhoun Super Structures is becoming the leader in the fabric building industry.

The proof is in the name Although Calhoun Super Structures 228

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was founded by Leonard Calhoun in 1992, his two sons (Jeremy and Sean) have helped drive the business where it is today.

For the Calhoun brothers, the name of the game is longevity. It encompasses everything they do - from the products they engineer and manufacture to the culture they employ within their company.

“We’re a long standing, second generation family business. We’ve been doing this for 20 years and we plan on being here for another 20,” says President Jeremy Calhoun.

As a family-owned business,

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First Calhoun Super Structure on Home Farm

Calhoun knows a thing or two about building structures. They built the first Calhoun Super Structure on their family farm in Ontario and continue to take pride in ownership on every building they manufacture and sell today.

“When one of our customers or vendors calls they can still talk to one of the original founders – someone with Calhoun in their last name,” says Calhoun. “I think that means a lot to them and when our customers and vendors want to discuss something, they know they can always talk directly to one of the owners.”

The driving force of the company One of the biggest driving forces for the Calhoun company is their employees and their dealers.

According to Calhoun, they pride themselves on not only being a family owned business but treating and developing employees like family.

“I pride myself as being a coach.

I build my company just like I would a hockey team or baseball team.

Employees are integral part of our company. Each one needs to fill a niche where one person is weak or I’m weak. I need strong people and I hire people based w w w. c a l h o u n . c a

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C a l h o u n S u p e r S t r uc t u r e s on where I’m weak at to make our business strong.”

Along with developing their dealers and employees, the company is committed to treating them with fairness and respect.

“The biggest thing is we respect our employees and in return, they respect us. That’s the way it needs to be,” says Calhoun.

The company doesn’t stop there. Along with respect the company strives to promote from within. By doing so, the company is maintaining a low turnover rate while providing employees ample opportunity to grow from within.

According to Calhoun, promoting from within is paramount for the company. “I think it’s critical for the basis of any company. If we don’t promote from within we don’t give our employees any incentive to become better. In fact, I present

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opportunities to people within the company before I go externally.

Even if I know they don’t want the position, I always give them the opportunity to say yes or no.”

Cornerstone of the business Providing great service is one thing but what makes Calhoun great is their experienced engineering team.

“One of the cornerstones of what Calhoun does is engineering. We’ve spent a lot of time dissecting the different building codes across North America as well as a lot of researching different engineering techniques,” says Calhoun. “We want to be the best at what we do and our engineering team exemplifies that.

“In fact, I’m putting the company through a self-evaluation course to become better. We’re constantly evaluating ourselves and we’re

“Although we’ve been in the business for 20 years, we’re young, we’re new and we strive to demonstrate we’re here for the long haul, – says Calhoun w w w. c a l h o u n . c a

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VP-Dairy Barn

The ‘Vanguard’ of Rigging Hardware We are a Canadian company that was established in 1960, we supply industrial rigging products and specialty steels with five locations spanning Canada.

Wire Ropes & Cables

Rigging Hardware

Strands

Trailer Hardware

Wires

Mining Hardware

Chain Hooks

‘Golden U-Bolt’® Forged Clips

Chains

‘Gold Pin’® Shackles

Chain Hoists

Builder’s Hardware

Hardware Phone: (905) 821-1100 I Fax: (905) 821-2024 Email: toronto@vanguardsteel.com I www.vanguardsteel.com

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always looking at new changes to code and making sure we can maintain our level of excellence.”

By having great people in place, Calhoun Super Structures is providing great products. The company has recently unveiled a new sealant they plan to showcase in the upcoming months.

“It’s a rubberized coating that looks like galvanizing. It’s silver and goes over and extends the life cycle of the product,” says Calhoun. “If galvanizing is in constant contact with sand, salt and fertilizer, this sealant actually has more resistance to the

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction founded

1992 employees

50-100

https://www. facebook.com/ SuperStructuresCalhoun

corrosive materials.”

“We’re unveiling it as we speak. We’ve shown it at a couple of shows but the big roll out will be at the Public Works Congress at the end of August.” https://twitter.com/ With an emphasis on customer service, quality CalhounSS craftsmanship and client satisfaction, Calhoun Super Structures is becoming the premier manufacturer in its industry.

“Although we’ve been in the business for 20 years, we’re young, we’re new and we strive https://twitter.com/ to demonstrate we’re here for the long haul,” CalhounSS says Calhoun. https://www.linkedin.com/company /5044601?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3 A1408667112893%2Ctas%3Acalho un%20super%2Cidx%3A2-1-6

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CG/LA Infrastructure Inc Written by: Norman F. Anderson, President & CEO

c.

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The North American infrastructure market is poised for take-off, ready to ride the way of three fundamental economic transformations. First, the explosion in energy production has given us a tremendous lift, with natural gas prices at less than $5 MMBtu less then 1/3 of our European and Asian competitors. Second, the tremendous growth in US exports is causing a re-design in our freight infrastructure (rail, ports, waterways, highways and intermodal facilities).

Third, the increasing orientation toward transit-oriented communities - particularly among millennials - is creating driving new investments in urban mass transit (heavy rail, light rail and even streetcars) along with social infrastructure (schools and hospitals).

CG/LA Infrastructure, a global market maker focused on doubling the level of infrastructure investment focuses on identifying priority projects, and ensuring that those projects go forward optimally as productively and rapidly as possible. Through our Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum Series and revolutionary online projects platform, GViP, CG/LA is 236

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bringing order, predictability and even imagination to the global infrastructure marketplace.

Strategic Project Identification Norman Anderson, President and CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure and former project developer, founded the company to help countries and regions around the globe become more competitive and successful by making smart, robust investments decisions on strategic infrastructure projects and initiatives. Strategic project identification is the cornerstone of CG/LA’s global vision - bringing innovative leaders together from both the public and private sectors to focus on specific projects and push them rapidly forward to completion.

CG/LA releases a quarterly market intelligence report, the Strategic Top 100, of the top infrastructure projects, with business opportunities in the next 3-18 months, in regions that complement the next Leadership Forum. The Strategic Top 100 is the cornerstone on which the Infrastructure Leadership Forums

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are built. The most recent report, The 2014 Strategic Top 100 North America list, shows what is actually required – in terms of financial and human resources – to rebuild the competitiveness of North America.

Projects were selected over a sixmonth process, beginning with a preliminary list of over 400 projects and narrowed down using CG/ LA’s proprietary ranking model.

Comprised only of shovel-ready projects with business opportunities within the next 3-18 months, the 2014 Strategic Top 100 North America is valued at US$369 billion. Download the Strategic Top 100 NA here.

The Infrastructure Leadership Forum Series As a project developer, Norman saw firsthand that the key to both infrastructure project development and business success was leadership. And the Leadership Forum - whether the Global Forum, the North American Forum, the Bahrain/EMEA Forum or the Latin American Leadership Forum - identify and recognize the dedicated and sophisticated executives who develop the strategic infrastructure that defines their country’s futures.

The Leadership Forum events w w w. c g - l a . c o m

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Gen. Bostick

C G / LA I n f r a s t r uc t u r e , I n c are differentiators in the industry, gathering a community of 500+ experts around a dynamic projects marketplace. Forum events focus on 11 infrastructure sectors, from highways, to power generation to water & wastewater projects, convening a global community that includes decision makers from all aspects of a project lifecycle: financial lenders and investors, legal, design, engineering, and construction firms, as well as owner operators.

Save the Date: 6th North American Strategic Infrastructure Forum On October 28-30, 2014, over 500 executives will gather at the 6th North American Strategic Infrastructure Forum at the Mayflower Renaissance in Washington, DC to meet with the sponsors of the Strategic Top 100 infrastructure projects in North America ($369 billion in total project value).

The North American Forum is a dynamic 2.5 day event, focused on infrastructure development in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,

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while facilitating business and promoting projects across the region. Key Features of the leadership Forum include: • Project Presentations: Rapid project presentations of priority projects, allowing developers to make targeted presentations focused on their needs and business opportunities.

• Private Meetings: Prescheduled private meetings system allows registrants to pre-schedule up to 10 meetings with project sponsors and Forum speakers, for the second day of the Forum.

• Workshops and Roundtables: Thought leader discussions and debates on critical issues, fundamental for thinking about and building great infrastructure.

• Community Building: Receptions, Special Breakfasts, and especially GlobalViP allow you to build strong relationships with project developers and sponsors, and experts throughout the global infrastructure community.

GlobalViP (GViP) GViP harnesses the energy of the Infrastructure Leadership Forum w w w. c g - l a . c o m

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Series, taking it online for users to access 24/7/365. GViP brings together nearly 1000 (10,000 by the end of 2014) infrastructure experts as a Just in Time resource for project managers to identify and access critical expertise - when they need it, and how they need it.

GViP’s algorithms cut down project development costs by 60%, and diminish the time required to develop a project by 50%. This translates into significant costs

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savings -- and also generates productivity increases that exceed 100%. Join GViP and access this thriving community of infrastructure experts today.

About Norman Anderson As President and CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure, Norman Anderson has 35+ years of competitive project identification, advising strategic infrastructure investment, and conducting regional analysis

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Energy/Construction headquarters

1827 Jefferson Place NW Washington DC 20036 USA

on energy projects worldwide. As the Founder and President of CG/LA Infrastructure, Inc., Norman oversees the development and execution of CG/LA’s proprietary analytic and regional infrastructure demand models, the successful Leadership Forum Series which selects, highlights, and hosts four regional events focused on infrastructure project investment. He is a member of both the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on Infrastructure and the Strategic Infrastructure Initiative and is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Guarani.

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Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo HFSE

BUILDING CONNECTIONS HEALTHCARE DESIGN

Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo Fosters Collabora Chicago Conference Author name: Liz Miller , Marketing Director

E

IN

ation & Innovation in Annual

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The Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo is the original event that examines the trends in healthcare and the trends in healthcare design as one single movement. Industry leaders from design firms to healthcare owners come together for three days of education and collaboration. The Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo will take place September 30 - October 2, 2014 in Chicago with pre-conference events on September 29, 2014.

Resonating through the event is the theme of Building Connections.

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Symposium & Expo is known as a collaborative environment where connections are formed through networking opportunities, sparked by creative ideas, and answering the challenges of attendees by connecting them with solution providers or expert speakers.

A hallmark of the event is the willingness of attendees to look past competition and share ideas to further the mission of turning brilliant design into improved healthcare delivery.

Building Connections is also echoed by keynote presenter John S. Milne, MD, MBA, FACEP, Founder

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and CEO, Avnew Health. Milne will explore the rapid transformation of healthcare delivery and discuss trends including ACO structures, mobile apps, and big data. “I am incredibly excited to be addressing healthcare planners and facility designers at this year’s Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo” says Milne. “I hope that through my presentation, they will see the connections between care delivery trends and the built environment and be inspired to transform the way patients experience healthcare” The conference program will feature sessions presented

by leading healthcare facilities and design firms. Case-studies and instructional sessions will tackle issues challenging design teams today including integrating technology, influence of the Affordable Care Act, sustainability, renovation projects, and the task of doing more with less.

Returning for the second year is the Student Charette sponsored by CannonDesign and in partnership with AIA Chicago, the AIA Chicago Healthcare Knowledge Community and The Caritas Project. Promoting interaction and idea exchange between university students and w w w. h c a re f a c i l i t i e s . c o m

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attendees, this year’s design challenge will be Completely Reimagining Outpatient Health and Wellness Environments.

A Technology Pavilion featured in the Exhibit Hall will bring big data alive in an enticing visual display where attendees will interact and explore how technologies are helping us view, investigate, 246

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analyze data and understand how technology can make a difference for a health system seeking to know their patients and proactively manage their health. “Two years ago the advisory board of the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo saw a need to bring technology to the exhibit floor” said Gary Collins, Principal, PFB

sect o r

Architects. “Something that would capture the interest and imagination of the younger tech generation yet offer real solutions for today’s Healthcare leaders. I was fortunate that Jenabeth Ferguson, VP, Symposium Director, and her staff believed in my Technology Pavilion idea and now we are preparing to launch an immersion experience

like no other.” The project is led

by Sensory Technologies, Blue Cottage, Power Construction, PFB Architects, KaziaLi Design Collaborative, Koroseal Interior Products, and Interface.

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John Milne

• Educational sessions featuring case-studies and instructional sessions presented by the upper echelon of thought leaders and industry authorities.

• Exclusive networking opportunities on the show floor and 248

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off-site, including The Symposium Party with activities, music and the Annual Raffle which will benefit The Cure It Foundation.

• An Exhibit Hall with the latest products and solutions critical to designing cutting-edge facilities.

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Events Company headquarters

: 5520 Park Avenue, Suite 305 Trumbull, CT 06611

• Facility tours of the Northwestern Medicine’s 259 East Erie Facility and the Erie Family Health Center (Waukegan).

For more information on the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo please visit www. hcarefacilities.com .

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New Generation Constru

A New Generation of Constr

New Generation Construction Group returns the focus to t Written by: Ian Hanner

Produced by: Tom Venturo

uction Group

ruction Company

the client and the employee

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If there’s one thing to take away from a conversation with the senior management team at New Generation Construction Group, it’s that relationships are important to them.

Founded in 2009, NGC didn’t just survive the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression; it thrived. It’s taken the company only five years to go from start-up to a business that reported close to $80 million in revenue last year. According to President Justin Hernandez, the relationships that company has built are the glue that holds their vision together.

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“We build relationships,” Hernandez said. “We really focus on understanding our clients [and] delivering a project that meets our client’s needs, but more importantly building a long-term relationship.

Approximately 70 to 80 percent of our business is repeat.”

That’s a responsibility that NGC takes seriously. Since a company operating in the construction market, like so many others, can go for periods of time without having enough work, many businesses turn to subcontractors for both specialized and generalized labor.

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St. Michaels

Forging Strong Relationships NGC currently has around 50 employees, according to Hernandez, but that number fluctuates in the summer when work picks up. It’s precisely for this reason that the company tries to make sure that their subcontractors feel like they’re part of one cohesive team.

“We do work with our subs; we don’t beat them up,” said Zach Watson, superintendent. “We try to come up with solutions without holding a gun to their head. We realize that not everything’s perfect and not everything works out well.

We try to come to a solution together

that’s going to benefit both of us.

People, I think, have begun to see that and say, ‘they’re pretty good guys to deal with.’”

And he seems to be right; especially as employees are concerned.

“I deal with the subcontractors every day,” Watson added. “A lot of them will come up to me and say, ‘ Hey, I have a nephew’ or ‘a son that’s looking for a job and I told him that you guys would be a good place to work.’ I hear that a lot.”

The company doesn’t just attribute their relationships with employees and subcontractors to their desire to w w w. n g c g ro u p i n c . c o m

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build strong relationships. They also attribute their growth to that trait. “[Our relationships] have allowed us to grow from doing work for one client in 2010-- we started out doing hourly work with him at $35 an hour-- and now we do roughly $10 to 15 million a year for that client,” Hernandez said. “And it’s through not only building those project with him that we’re successful, but we really focus on that relationship and building a strong relationship based on trust and principles that both

our clients and NGC can respect and build upon. It’s allowed us to continue our growth as they refer us on to many other clients also. I would say that’s what sets us apart and it’s how we’ve grown. It sounds simple, but it goes back to just taking care of the client and really building that relationship while listening to [their] needs.”

Looking Forward Now the company has seen those efforts pay off. They’re

N e w G e n e r at i o n C o n s t r uc t i o n currently working on a host of large scale developments, not the least of which is a $32 million redevelopment project in Lincoln, Nebraska. The project is called the Arena Lofts.

It encompasses “68 living units and a rooftop bar between and on top of the original buildings built in 1891 and 1922.”

According to Hernandez, “That one’s really been kind of the pinnacle of the company.”

So if that’s the pinnacle of the company’s work to date, what’s next for the innovative construction company?

“We’ve been on a rapid growth pattern for the last four and a half years,” Hernandez said.

“Currently we’ve added a lot of key members to our team that have experience with larger companies and larger projects. We realized that we don’t know everything. And I think that’s also what’s helping us grow strategically. As we move forward, we look for others that can help us answer questions that we might not be experts in.”

“I would just like to add that one thing that was unique in our industry is our name: Group,” he added. “I see a lot of companies that are named after one person or two people or initials. It’s New Generation Construction Group. We’re doing things a new, different way that might not be accustomed to the older generation and we’re doing it together as a group.”

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Lincoln, Nebraska founded

2009 employees

~50 revenue

$80 million

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Bosworth Steel Erectors

Employees Take Priority at B

Bosworth Steel sees investing in employees as an investme Written by: Ian Hanner

Produced by: Alex Hortaridis

s, Inc.

Bosworth Steel

ent in the company

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The next generation of the company means a lot to Jimmy Kepple and he’s got every confidence that they’ll be able to carry the torch. Kepple is the vice president of project management at Dallas-based Bosworth Steel Erectors, Inc. Having been with the company since 2004, he’s seen Bosworth go through times of plenty and times of economic downturn. Now as a selfproclaimed member of the older generation, he gives more thought to those that will take over when he eventually leaves the company.

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replace and the one thing that you can’t train is experience,” Kepple said. “So what we’re trying to do is take [from] some of the older generation, which I guess I’m considered now, and pass some of those decades of knowledge to the younger generation to shorten the learning curve.”

Formerly a part of John F. Beasley Construction Company, the organization was founded in 1995 when John Bosworth and a few other partners purchased company assets and started Williams-Beasley, which would later become Bosworth Steel. While

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Bosworth Steel’s predecessor had already seen a good deal of success, it was no easy task building the company into the trusted and thriving organization it is today.

“From day one, the company has had a reputation to maintain,” reads the company’s website. “[John Bosworth] also became responsible for maintaining the legacy of customer satisfaction.”

The efforts of everyone at Bosworth Steel appear to have paid off. Kepple estimated that last year the company brought in about $28 million

“We’ve had about three years of drought in the industry with the economic system taking the dive that it took, but that seems to be turning around nicely now” – Kepple

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Bosworth Steel Erectors, Inc. in revenue. To add to any pride they might feel over their financial success, Bosworth has attracted a number of high profile clients in not just the company’s native Texas, but nationwide.

Significant Projects One of their most notable projects is the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., slated to open in 2015. According to Kepple, the museum is being built

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with two floors below ground and eight above in a heavy cantilever structural system with four interior concrete core walls. Bosworth has been an integral part of the process the whole way as a construction consultant.

Bosworth has also been involved in a project for Lockheed-Martin relating to their F-35 aircraft, which is being developed for use throughout the U.S. military. “Lockheed’s expanding their production capacity, specifically for the F-35,” Kepple

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said. “We’re currently finishing up on a component final finish addition [and] looking at a total expansion on the paint building for the F-35. We built the first building for Lockheed in 2007. They’ve got [more] funding now and they’re doubling the capacity of that building.”

or redevelopment of the Browns Stadium in Cleveland,” Kepple added. “Last year we completed the new Cleveland Convention Center.

And those were specifically clientdriven jobs there. We don’t normally go to Ohio.”

Next Level Training Plans for Expansion Kepple said he feels none of the Despite the bevy of high profile company’s successes would be clients that Bosworth has been possible if not for the excellent doing business with, Kepple employees that work for them. remains optimistic about the Feeling that the employees are the company’s ability to expand to an company’s greatest asset, Bosworth even greater market. invests heavily in on-the-job “I think we’ve got room to expand. training. In addition to extensive It’s kind of an evolving market,” he safety training that Kepple said said. “We’ve had about three years goes “above and beyond” industry of drought in the industry with the standards, the company also economic system taking the dive that offers a course for employees who it took, but that seems to be turning want a career rather than a job in around nicely now. We’re able to steel erecting. actually look at projects that have “[We] do that through a program a little bit more potential for profit in the company called Next Level margin in them. And of course the Training where we’ll take some of potential for profit margin drives our the brighter, more enthusiastic, desire to go to the national market.” interested, younger guys--and the Bosworth has recently been key word there is interested-- and operating in states that, in the past, we’ll actually try to have them absorb they have had little, if any role in. some of that decades of trial and “We’re also doing the expansion error so that what might have taken w w w. b o s w o r t h s t e e l . c o m

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us four or five years to learn, they can learn in a 30 day class session,” Kepple said.

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from his role.

“There comes a point in time that older steps down for younger,” he said. “My hope is that all the work that we’ve done as ‘olders’ transfers

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Company Information Bosworth Steel Erectors, Inc. is an industry innovator in steel construction and modification. From project conception to implementation and completion we lead the way with experience, knowledge, and leadership.

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Ocala Water Resources

Ocala Water Resources Comme Construction to modify Wastew Facility to Increase Nitrogen Rem

Ed Earnest, Water Resources Engineer, discusses Ocala W one of the Wastewater Reclamation Facilities to increase n effluent and the plans for modification and expansion of (2 so that 100% of the waste water receives increased nitroge Wastewater Treatment) standards.

Written by: Lindsey Ryan

Produced by: Tom Venturo

ences water Reclamation moval

Water Resources project to modify nitrogen removal in the wastewater 2) two other city operated facilities en removal, to AWT (Advanced

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Oc a l a Wat e r R e s o u r c e s

The City of Ocala’s Water Resources Department is over one hundred years old and in the early years began by modest means with manual labor, and hand dug and/or pulled a plow behind truck to begin to lay pipe and supply the increasing need for essential water and sewer utility services. In the early 1900’s Ocala bought out a private water company, developed its own power company and in 1949 built its first wastewater treatment facility to meet the increasing needs of the growing community. Ocala currently is in the master planning stages of what will the needs be in 266

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the future and how will it overcome those with limited funding resources, increasing regulatory requirements and a community that feels an economic impact. One option is a comprehensive plan that looks at the utility as one environmental engine that strives for a holistic approach by upgrading treatment systems so that they are more efficient, have less of an energy use footprint, and are still able to supply the same demand but at a lower cost and is better option for both the business and the environment.

Ed Earnest, Water Resources Engineer, discusses the most recent

USA

project Ocala Utilities has been working on and what the plans are for the future to bring all three Ocala Utility Wastewater Reclamation Facility locations up to the state’s new regulatory requirements.

Earnest graduated from University of South Florida with a bachelor of science in civil engineering and began working for with City of Ocala for twenty six years ago.

100% Recycled Water Ocala Utility Services prides itself on providing high quality and 100% recycled wastewater to the community and in 2008 they were

able to reach 100% recycled “AA” bio-solids as well. The city had in the past used Land application of class “B” Biosolids, however in 2003 the city contracted with a company to build a dryer facility at one of its wastewater treatment facilities, that uses an indirect drying process to reduce moisture and kill pathogenic organisms, and then contracts with a company called “Nutri-Source” to a distribute the “AA” Biosolids to the agriculture market for fertilizer.

In 2008, they had their other two facilities set up to route to this facility so that everything is being recycled 100%. w w w. O c a l a f l . o r g

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Ocala Water Reclamation Facility

AUMA Actuators is a manufacturer of Electric Valve Actuators and Manual Gearboxes for Valve Automation.

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Oc a l a Wat e r R e s o u r c e s Earnest explains, “We’re 100% reuse on our water and 100% on our Bio-solids. Basically in waste water, after the treatment you separate the water from the solids so you have reclaimed water and you have what we call bio-solids and we’re able to recycle our reclaimed water 100% meaning we put it back on the ground at golf courses, baseball fields soccer complexes, and parks and a few residential re-use areas. The Bio-solids we actually treat to “AA” standards and we’re able to sell it to a fertilize company. Any water that comes through the treatment plant we’re able to recycle 100% so we don’t waste anything.”

New Reclamation Facility Now that the waste water Ocala Water Resources produces is 100% recycled, the new goal is to focus on spring protection and the removal of nitrogen from wastewater.

Ocala Water Resources has (3) three Wastewater Reclamation Facilities (WRFs) and though WRF #3 was built in 2003, with some modifications in 2012, it can remove nitrogen down to the level of AWT

standards that the state approves of, the other two WRFs do not. This prompted Ocala Utilities’ current project to convert WRF #2, a 6.5 million gallons per day facility, into a location that also removes nitrogen at a level that meets the state requirements.

Ocala Water Resources reached out to a company called OVIVO, who originally assisted in the design of WRF #3, to confirm if WRF #2 could also be modified to remove nitrogen. OVIVO evaluated the plant and determined that it could be altered to remove nitrogen, and not only that, they could do it without having to build a new treatment system, which had been made by a previous engineering firm working with the city.

“We started working with [OVIVO] directly and put together this project and we’re able to save over a million dollars in design services by doing it in house and by converting the existing basins to a “hot-dog” type Carrousel treatment design.

Our consulting engineers were estimating a cost of around $18 million to do everything and when the project went out to bid it came w w w. O c a l a f l . o r g

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back in at approximately $10.5 million, so we were able to save about $8 million by converting our existing basins and using the concrete basins that we now have, and just modifying them to incorporate the new design,” says Earnest.

In addition to saving money by modifying the existing basins, the St. John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD), the Florida

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Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the State of Florida have also contributed to the funding, further reducing the cost to the rate payer. Earnest is happy to announce that, “We were able to get 31% grant from SJRWMD and DEP, along with the state granting the city an additional $750,000 toward the project costs. We’ve received approximately $4 million through grants so instead of costing the tax

USA

payers $10 million out of our reserves to fund the project, it’s going to cost us around $6 million.�

Ocala Water Resources awarded the project to Brandes Design Build on May 6, 2014, and commenced construction on June 9, 2014.

The project is predicted to be 535 days of construction and is expected to be completed by November 26, 2015.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Water and Sewer/ Utilities headquarters

Looking Forward Once WRF #2 is completed, the near future goal will then be to take WRF #1 offline, as it was built in 1949 and is an outdated facility, and reverse the flows so that all flows are going through WRFs #2 and #3 so that all the water flowing through Ocala Water Resources wastewater treatment facilities will have nitrogen removed to the level of AWT that the state approves of, and will be required to reduce nitrogen loading for Springs protection.

Designs are also currently in the planning horizon to expand WRF #3 and expand that facility from a design capacity of 4 million gallons per day to design capacity of 8 million gallons per day which will assist in maintaining current total treatment capacity when WRF #1 goes off-line and will add some additional capacity for future growth. Just as was done for the current WRF #2 treatment facility improvement project, when the design has been completed, Ocala Water Resources will try to reduce costs and applying for any available grants to help with the funding.

Florida founded

Over 100 years ago employees

82 revenue

$25.6 million/per year

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Transcity Joint Venture Way Project:

Crafting a Legacy in Brisban Council’s Legacy Way Projec

Construction on the Legacy Way Project started in 2011 an improvements and innovations throughout project delivery Written by: Laura Close Produced by: Nick Ledue

- Legacy

ne: Brisbane City ct

nd has seen many design y.

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T r a n sci t y J o i n t V e n t u r e - L e g a c y Way P r o j e c

Excavation works for Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot

LEGACY WAY IS part of Brisbane City Council’s long-term plan to improve travel across Brisbane, Queensland. The Legacy Way tunnel, the fourth of five TransApex projects, is currently under construction. It will connect the Western Freeway at Toowong with the Inner City Bypass (ICB) at Kelvin Grove.

The benefits of the project are wide-reaching, but the biggest will be its effect on the traffic in that area of the city. By providing an alternative route for Western Freeway traffic travelling to and from the ICB, Legacy Way will 274

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almost halve peak period travel times between the Centenary Bridge and the ICB. The project will also reduce traffic on Milton Road and Coronation Drive and reduce through traffic on some local streets.

While construction is taking place, Transcity has made it a priority to significantly reduce the construction footprint and the impact construction has on the neighbouring residents and areas of environmental significance, like the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha.

Transcity is the combination of three companies, a joint venture

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Legacy Way tunnel boring machines

between Brisbane’s local civil engineering and construction experts BMD Constructions (BMD), Italian tunnelling specialists Ghella, and Spanish tunnelling and civil infrastructure giant Acciona Infrastructures. These three companies joined together in 2010 for the work on the Legacy Way project.

Legacy Way Project Construction on the Legacy Way project began in 2011 and is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

The contract Transcity has with Brisbane City Council states that the company will also be responsible for tunnel maintenance for 10 years after the completion of the project.

The project consists of the

“The tunnel is probably one of the most advanced tunnels in traffic control and traffic safety. The safety system is the most advanced that you can find anywhere in the world now.” w w w. t r a n s c i t y j v. c o m . a u /

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T r a n sci t y J o i n t V e n t u r e - L e g a c y Way P r o j e c t construction of 4.6 kilometre twin tunnels – two tunnels with two lanes in each direction. One of the tunnels will direct traffic west to the portal at Toowong, the other to the east portal at Kelvin Grove.

Excavation for the tunnel began in August of 2012 and took less than 10 months for both machines to get from one end of the project to the other.

“It’s a four year project, so it is very sensitive to the community,” said Project Director Jose Antonio Sanchez, a civil engineer with 27 years’ experience, who’s

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working on the project.

“That has been one of the key items, the key focus from Transcity and the project as a whole during construction, to minimise impacts on the surrounding community and environment.”

Transcity is responsible for all construction activities during the period of the project, including civil works, tunnelling and mechanical and electrical fit out. The company has self performed most of the activities and implemented a mechanical and electrical alliance for the fit out process.

Strategic Management of Project The project has seen a large workforce – over 7,600 people have participated in the safety inductions for the site. At the peak of construction, the work sites saw around 1,100 workers, but the current workforce is closer to 650 to 700. The mechanical and electrical workforce number is around 340 just on its own.

There are four distinct sites to the Legacy Way project including – the western worksite, tunnel alignment, eastern worksite and the

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Moggill Road/Western Freeway interchange project.

Construction takes place on all four sites year round, but Transcity is restricted to night work on the majority of sites that impact the road network so the construction efforts interfere as little as possible with the travelling public. Tunnelling and underground fit out work can take place 24 hours a day.

To keep things orderly in the construction zone, Transcity has their own logistics team on site which manages the delivery of supplies and materials throughout the site and to work areas. Because of the nature of the project, the teams have restricted workspace, which causes some issues. “We have a very restricted worksite when it comes to space, so we don’t have the advantage to bring a mass of materials and store them on site, we basically have to bring things in as they are required,� said Chris Brett, Construction Manager.

There is also an in house procurement team that shares all updates and important information with the different parts of the team.

With a project this large,

challenges in communication are inescapable. Sanchez shared that having different workers with different levels of expertise in different fields has led to challenges in communication between the different crews. With their on-site management however, these challenges have been few and far between, and usually resolved quickly.

Transcity has also made a concerted effort to eliminate the impacts the community and environment have experienced.

By working with the Brisbane City Council to minimise these impacts, Transcity has been successful in maintaining a positive working relationship with those impacted during construction.

Electrical and Mechanical Fit out The project is currently full speed ahead with the electrical and mechanical fit out, which began in February of this year. Transcity has made an alliance with the mechanical and electrical contractor RCR, which is based out of Perth in Western Australia.

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Mechanical and electrical fit out gantry

project includes compounding a set of systems that will provide full operational functionality to the tunnel, including fire systems, ventilation, traffic control systems and lighting.

“The tunnel is probably one of the most advanced tunnels in traffic control and traffic safety,” Jose

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Sanchez shared. “The safety system is the most advanced that you can find anywhere in the world now.”

Technological Innovations on Site Transcity has been responsible for several innovative solutions to restrictions and challenges on the Legacy Way tunnel project.

C o nstruct i o n

For example, the original design had the tunnel alignment affecting the surrounding roads, roundabouts and parks in a big way. The design included a lot of cut and cover structures, which were going to have to be built on the same existing road alignment. Traffic patterns had the potential to be thrown into chaos.

The team at Transcity worked with the design to come up with a largely offline alignment, changing where the entrances and the exits to the tunnel were to be built. Because of this alteration, 90-plus percent of the project can be built without affecting existing traffic alignments, and has had little effect on the travelling public.

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T r a n sci t y J o i n t V e n t u r e - L e g a c y Way P r o j e c

TBM Disassembly

Another crafty solution Transcity developed during construction was an alternative way to move the spoil from tunnelling. Originally the company was going to build an overland conveyor to send material to an existing bank of a nearby quarry, which Brisbane City Council owns and operates.

The crew developed a better idea however – better than running the spoil above ground through the Botanic Gardens, creating noise and environmental issues.

Instead, the team built an underground tunnel from the 282

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worksite to the quarry and conveyed all of the materials produced by the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and stockpiled it there.

The TBMs were an issue as well.

Because of the restrictive space, Transcity had to get creative with how the TBMs were brought to site.

Instead of bringing the fully-formed machine to the site, the TBMs were assembled at the west end of construction in a 75-metre long open trough structure. Overhead was a large craneage system that assisted with the build process.

There was a lot less space at the

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east end of the job, and there was the existing issue of a carriageway that wasn’t due to be moved until later in the project. Disassembling the TBMs was done with the help of a hydraulic jacking system, which allowed the guys who did the tunnelling to disassemble the TBMs within the existing cut and cover structures.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha The Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha are located at the western end of the tunnel. Part of the bid for the project included that the design for the tunnel at the western end would form part of an expansion to the Gardens.

The reinstatement of the Toowong worksite will be the largest upgrade to the Botanic Gardens since they opened in 1970, and includes a kitchen garden, amphitheatre, forest walk, playground and an 18 megalitre lagoon to help drought proof the Gardens.

The expansion will also feature a range of attractions for visitors including lagoon walks and a new events lawn with amphitheatre seating Completion of the tunnel project is little less than a year away. “We’re always concentrating on the lessons learned as we continue with construction,” Brett commented.

“Construction solutions from the beginning of the project have influenced our decisions through the rest of the project, and will continue to do so until the completion of the tunnel.”

Toowong, Australia founded

2010 employees

230-380 p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Transcity is the combination of three companies, a joint venture between Brisbane’s local civil engineering and construction experts BMD Constructions (BMD), Italian tunnelling specialists Ghella, and Spanish tunnelling and civil infrastructure giant Acciona Infrastructures.

These three companies joined together in 2010 for the work on the Legacy Way project.

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M+W Group:

M+W Group Is Opening Up in Malaysia

The company believes keeping its books open and stay the curve are keys to success.

Written by: Kevin Smead Produced by: Andrew Zhao

p

ying ahead

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M+W Group

M+W GROUP ISN’T exactly new to the game. The company, which is more than 100 years old, is a global engineering and construction partner for technology-based clients in a variety of sectors including energy, environmental technologies, life sciences, IT and telecommunications, and much more.

However, the company is best recognized as the market leader in several segments: semiconductors, photovoltaics, biotechnology, and high-tech infrastructure.

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The company’s Malaysian office is helming some of its most innovative projects, but most important, exemplifies some of its best practices.

A Competitive Advantage M+W believes it has a competitive advantage in the market for a few reasons, the first of which is its commitment to its customers and community.

M+W Group is a big proponent of social responsibility and strong ethical values. It’s also strongly supports its employees and places environmental concerns

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among its top priorities, making it a business that others want to work with.

“Our objective is to be a partner of choice, by offering transparency, best in class execution, and setting industry benchmarks in quality, safety, time to market and total cost of ownership across diverse industries,” Managing Director of M+W’s High-Tech Projects in Malaysia Richard Kimber said.

“We are committed to creating long lasting relationships, value for customers and want to be ‘partner of choice’ delivering on time and with cost certainty.”

M+W also believes its global operations and 100-plus years of experience—with 18 in Malaysia—puts it ahead of the pack in the various industries it serves.

“We are committed to creating long lasting relationships, value for customers and want to be ‘partner of choice’ delivering on time and with cost certainty.”

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SIEmens

For 166 years, Siemens AG has stood for innovative strength, a passion for technology, sustainability, responsibility and an uncompromising commitment to quality and excellence. As a globally operating technology company, we’re rigorously leveraging the advantages that our setup provides. To tap business opportunities in both new and established markets, we’ve organized our Company into four Sectors: Energy, Healthcare, Industry and Infrastructure & Cities. In fiscal 2013, our roughly 362,000 employees generated revenue from continuing operations of about €75.9 billion and income from continuing operations of about €4.2 billion – further proof that we’re thinking for the long term and providing answers for the challenges of our time.

Website: www.siemens.com

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KHOR KHYE HING CONSTRUCTIONS

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Build Right And Deliver On Time 62-5B, Jalan Bukit Raja, Taman Seputih, 58000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia email: kwbcsb@gmail.com phone: 60 3 2272 3136 fax: 60 3 2274 2731

M+W Group Regardless of which office is approaching a project, the standard operating procedure (SOP) will be the same.

“M+W has one SOP that uses knowledge transferred from all global entities within M+W, intercountry or regional engineering, resource support, and a ‘lessonslearned’ culture,” Kimber said.

“We ensure that quality and commissioning starts on Day 1.”

This doesn’t mean they approach every project the same way, though. M+W uses customized solutions to meet the needs of each customer. This is streamlined thanks to all of its engineering processes being done in-house.

An Open Book Approach Tackling projects in this manner

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works so well mainly because of M+W’s open book approach.

“This allows M+W to provide a ‘total facilities solution’ under one roof, and for efficiency and consistency,” Kimber explained.

“It promotes ‘fast track’ projects’ success since design and construction are overlapped. We have proven that time and cost can be reduced when compared to a lump sum approach—where typically the design is not fully completed when issued for pricing to contractors.”

This emphasis on openness is a boon to business in more ways than just increasing efficiency. It also allows for increased dialogue between M+W and its customers.

Kimber believes the approach is built on transparency and trust, and that everyone benefits from it.

“We seek to be open, honest, transparent, and true to our word. At times this doesn’t help us when we are competing against local contractors or clients that are blinded by the cheapest price.”

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“We have delivered numerous projects under this procurement approach and we share in the savings by managing the construction process to agreed timescales, budget, and quality levels,” he said.

According to Kimber, it’s also about giving the customer the right advice at the right time.

“The difference we can make to saving costs and influencing the final product diminishes the later we come in.” For M+W, it’s about maximizing its work and giving the

customer the best value, all while keeping them fully in the loop.

This is especially important to the Malaysian operation, since this is one stop shop open book service M+W can offer that many others cannot. The company believes that this is in the best interest for the customer, since many are promised the complete package, but often end up getting burned by.

“There are local contractors who would do anything to win jobs—offer unrealistic promises,

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M+W Group agree to schedules that cannot be achieved and submit low bids,” Kimber said. “We seek to be open, honest, transparent, and true to our word. At times this doesn’t help us when we are competing against local contractors or clients that are blinded by the cheapest price.”

In Malaysia, an understanding of the correlation between risk and cost is vital. Customers often select the service provider who makes lowest bid without realizing the potential risk. In recent years,

there have been many unfortunate cases of contractors taking on too much risk and failing to deliver, which ultimately leads to them going bust and leaving the customer with a distressed project.

Kimber explained that while the customer may be paying more for contractors that are resourced and managed correctly, the risk is dramatically reduced.

“It’s all about managing risk,” Kimber stressed. “Clients need to ask themselves: would they

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deposit money in a bank that they haven’t heard of, has a limited track record, but promises a good return? No, they will go to a bank that gives certainty at a competitive price.”

Playing it Safe For M+W, physical safety for its employees is just as important as investment safety for its customers.

“Safety is a core value and we are committed to an injury free work place where everybody goes home safe,” Kimber said. “There is no compromise and work will stop even if this means program delays. We set working conditions to ensure that our work practices and procedures meet or exceed all applicable legislations related to health, safety, and the environment.”

M+W also expects trade partners to actively contribute to the implementation of its Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) policy. In Malaysia, the policy has continuously developed using M+W’s global and regional EHS requirements and practices as a basis, while

also taking into account particular EHS considerations for working in Malaysia. To accomplish this, M+W has worked alongside the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources regulations.

Not surprisingly, these practices are working and it’s not going unnoticed. M+W in Malaysia received the Gold Star for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for construction in 2011, 2012 and 2013. M+W are targeting OSH platinum award for 2014, the highest possible award for OSH. Looking Ahead Looking ahead toward the future, M+W is optimistic, but understands it faces certain challenges, such as a shortage of skilled laborers in the state of Johor.

“Based on experience and lessons learned, we have told our clients and potential clients that worker retention is and will continue to be a challenge— especially with the proximity of Singapore, which offers higher salaries and lower taxes,” Kimber explained. “This is also

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a challenge with the impending Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Johor. We need to address this by paying realistic labor rates, offering incentive schemes for project completion, etc.”

Despite this, M+W has some exciting projects happening in Malaysia, including the design of one of the largest data centre projects in Asia, two biotech projects, one in Johor and the other in Negeri Sembilan. A customer in Malaysia since 2006, First Solar continues to expand its presence in Kulim High Tech Park and M+W supports First Solar as its partner on an open book basis. Similarly, Infineon, a global partner with M+W have had a presence in Kulim High Tech Park since 2005, and M+W have recently completed the design and build of their 2nd Fab on an open book basis.

“We have also streamlined our trade partner data base and will engage with those that truly share the same values as M+W,” Kimber noted.

On top of all of that, Kimber was clear in saying that M+W Malaysia is always looking to improve how it conducts business.

“As an engineering and construction company, there is a continuous effort to improve on efficiency, facilitate smart solutions for both engineering and construction, and together with our partners, seek to provide better solutions that always ensure a win-win situation with our new and existing clients.”

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Stuttgart, Germany founded

1912 employees

7000 p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

M+W Group with headquarters in Stuttgart/ Germany is one of the leading global companies in the field of high-tech engineering, procurement and construction. From concept development to turnkey solutions the Group manages projects of all sizes for industries like Electronics, Pharma and Chemicals, Energy and IT.

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Waikato Expressway Project – NZ Transport:

The Waikato Expressway Projec for a Common Goal

The Transport Agency is delivering the 102km Waikato Expre Roads of National Significance.

Written by: Laura Close Produced by: Br yan Giles

ct: Collaboration

essway, one of New Zealand’s Seven

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Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t

The 200m long bridge over the Karapiro Gully has been a challenging engineering project on the Cambridge section.

THE WAIKATO EXPRESSWAY is a key highway project the New Zealand Government identified as one of the Roads of National Significance in 2009. The Expressway runs from the top of the Bombay Hills in the north through to just south of Cambridge and will provide a key link for Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty which includes nearly half the country’s population and produces 40 per cent of GDP. When complete, this 102km continuous divided four-lane highway will allow for a safer, quicker 300

September 2014

way to get freight and people through New Zealand’s upper North Island.

The Expressway is being built in several sections, with some already completed, and will reduce travel times for through traffic by up to 35 minutes.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is responsible for the delivery of the $2.1 billion project, with Peter Simcock, the project services manager, in charge of managing the operations from the Transport Agency’s office in Hamilton.

Like any major infrastructure project, challenges have been

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Earthworks along Victoria Road on the Cambridge section.

encountered. But with constant, strong collaboration the agency has with contractors, workers, the surrounding community and Maori, the completed sections of the Waikato Expressway have thus far been on time or early, and on or under budget.

“A key to that has been our extensive consultation processes,” said Simcock. “We have a no-surprises policy with our stakeholders and the public, and I believe the project overall enjoys good community support because we have been consulting with them

all the way along.’’

The consultation process has included a combination of site visits, individual meetings, newsletters and public information days, plus strong website backup.

“We have also set up a Visitor Centre at the Cambridge section project site office where people can call in to view graphics, maps, a DVD, posters, pick up an information sheet and ask questions. It’s also been popular with group bookings.’’

Te Rapa section – Fulton Hogan The Te Rapa section of the

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y 3 0 1

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t Waikato Expressway opened on 3 December, 2012. The 8km stretch of road was constructed by Fulton Hogan, and came in at around $194 million. Harry Wilson, the Transport Agency’s Waikato-Bay of Plenty regional director, attributed the ahead-of-schedule delivery to the collaboration within the Te Rapa Alliance, which included the agency, Opus International Consultants and Fulton Hogan.

“Procuring the Te Rapa section through a competitive alliance has delivered a firstclass roading project for all stakeholders,” said Peter Murphy, the Transport Agency’s project manager for the Te Rapa section.

“The Te Rapa Alliance team has been able to successfully manage the scale and complexity of this project while working within the uncertainty of unresolved designation and property procurement matters. The team delivered the project at least 12 months earlier than could have been achieved through more traditional procurement methods.”

In total 300,000 square metres of road and six bridges were constructed, including the 150m long curved steel and concrete composite bridge over the North Island Main Trunk railway line.

This effort took enormous resources,

including 25,000 tonnes of concrete and 2200 tonnes of reinforcing steel to build the bridges, 6000 metres of piles for the bridge foundations and 7000 square metres of anti-graffiti paint.

The section starts in the northwest corner of Hamilton City and extends into the Waikato district. It connects with the completed Ngaruawahia section to the north.

Ngaruawahia section – Fletcher Construction The Ngaruawahia section of the Waikato Expressway opened on 16 December, 2013. The 12.3km project cost around $200 million, nearly $50 million under original estimates. Fletcher Construction was responsible for the four-lane road, which runs from Taupiri in the north, crossing flat farmland and the Waikato River before connecting with the completed Te Rapa section.

“The project was delivered using a Design and Construct model,” said Mercedes Santos, the Transport Agency’s project manager for the section. “This model provides greater flexibility to the contractor and enabled innovation and consequent cost savings.

“The health and safety record was a highlight of the project with very few incidents and those were of a minor

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nature. The agency takes health and safety on site very seriously, and so we take great pride when our projects are delivered in safe work environments.”

Construction of the Ngaruawahia section began in September 2011 and included seven bridges, six of which are overbridges and a new 142-metre bridge over the Waikato River.

Santos expressed her gratitude for Fletcher Construction’s hard work on the project: “With their expertise and willingness to go the extra mile, we have shaved $50 million off the estimated cost and got the road open before Christmas.’’

“Procuring the Te Rapa section through a competitive alliance has delivered a first-class roading project for all stakeholders.” – Te Rapa section Project Manager Peter Murphy Cambridge section – HEB Construction Construction began on the Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway in

The Rangiriri section, looking from north to south, will see SH1 shift away from the historic village towards the Waikato River. w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y 3 0 3

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t September 2013 and the 16km stretch has an estimated cost of around $230 million. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. HEB Construction is the contractor on the project.

Around 300 to 350 staff and subcontractors are on site at peak and to date 650,000 cubic metres of earth has been moved. There are eight bridges to be constructed in this stretch of the Expressway and on completion the Cambridge section will contain about 360,000

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newly-planted trees. This section is predicted to reduce traffic through the picturesque rural town of Cambridge by up to 10,000 vehicles a day.

As the longest Expressway section that has been worked on to date, there have been several challenges for HEB Construction and the Transport Agency to overcome. One of the eight bridges is over the Karapiro Gully and is one of the biggest structures built in the region in recent times. The bridge

“The Rangiriri project has provided plenty of challenges.”– Rangiriri Project Manager Peter Murphy. “We are constructing a new Expressway through an area of national historic and cultural significance. Working with a good team and taking the time to thoroughly engage with all our stakeholders will reward us with a project that we can all be proud of.”

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“This model provides greater flexibility to the contractor and enabled innovation and consequent cost savings.” is 200 metres long and 40 metres above the bed of the gully, with piles between 40 and 60 metres deep.

“There have also been, and will continue to be, a number of temporary road closures and diversion routes that change through the course of the project development,” said Peter Simcock, Project Services Manager at the Transport Agency.

HEB Construction’s contractor representative Gary Budden has said that their good progress thus far wouldn’t have been possible without the goodwill of nearby residents and travellers.

“We’ve established a haul road along the site, closed some roads, put up temporary traffic signals, created a diversion road, and moved a lot of earth … and right through it all the people have been wonderful,” Budden said. “I think they really ‘get’ what we are doing here and what will be achieved.”

The Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway starts south of

the existing Tamahere interchange and runs for 16km, ending just south of Cambridge where it connects with the existing SH1.

Rangiriri section – Fletcher Construction The Rangiriri section is also currently under construction.

Work on this 4.8km project is scheduled for completion in 2016.

The estimated cost of this section is $106 million; Fletcher Construction is the main contractor.

When complete, the section will connect the Longswamp and Ohinewai sections of the Expressway and improve connectivity between Auckland and Huntly and further south. The project is being delivered using an Early Contractor Involvement model (ECI), which allows for the contractor to be involved in the design phase and ensures designs developed are robust, constructible and are appropriately staged.

During the last summer season,

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y 3 0 5

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t more than 75,000 cubic metres of earth was moved each month. Like the other sections of the Waikato Expressway, bridges are a large part of the construction work. Current efforts on the project include stabilised earth-retaining walls at the interchange bridges and structural work at the Rangiriri bridge. The Expressway route is away from the current SH1 alignment which cuts through the historic Rangiriri village – scene of a fierce battle between Maori and colonial troops in 1863.

“The Rangiriri project has provided plenty of challenges,” said Peter Murphy, the Transport Agency’s project manager for this section. “We are constructing a new expressway through an area of national historic and cultural significance. Working with a good team and taking the time

to thoroughly engage with all our stakeholders will reward us with a project that we can all be proud of.”

Other challenges have included poor ground conditions and the quality of natural materials. The project crosses some very low-lying areas near the Waikato River. Significant ground improvement was required in order to support the embankment. The soils are of a very poor nature, and have been quite challenging for the contractors to work with.

Upcoming work – Huntly, Hamilton and Longswamp sections The Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway is in the physical works procurement stage, and will soon go to tender for detailed design and construction. The 15.4km project has a target contract award of April

“We’ve established a haul road along the site, closed some roads, put up temporary traffic signals, created a diversion road, and moved a lot of earth … and right through it all the people have been wonderful.” – Cambridge section HEB Construction’s Gary Budden “I think they really ‘get’ what we are doing here and what will be achieved.”

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September 2014

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2015 and opening date of 2019. The estimated cost is around $470 million.

The section passes to the east side of the Huntly township and through the Taupiri Range, connecting to the completed Ngaruawahia section at Gordonton Road. It is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety within the Huntly and Taupiri townships by significantly reducing through traffic.

The Hamilton section is in the secondary investigation and specimen design stage, with consenting processes under way.

The 21.8km road – the longest stretch on the Expressway – has a target opening date of 2019 and is estimated at $790 million. It meets with the Ngaruawahia section in the north, runs to the east of Hamilton, and will connect to the existing Tamahere interchange and Cambridge section just south of Hamilton. Like the Huntly section, the Hamilton section is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on the local road network by reducing through traffic.

The 5.9km Longswamp section

is currently in the secondary investigation stage and has a target completion date of 2018.

The $70 million project will link the already completed Mercer section to the north with the Rangiriri section to the south.

Collaboration with local Maori

Waikato Expressway map timeline Jan 2014

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y 3 0 7

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t

Opening day for the Ngaruawahia section in December 2013, with traffic crossing the Waikato River.

Maori are New Zealand’s indigenous people and they have strong cultural ties to the land. With a project of this magnitude, many Maori in the region are keenly interested in how projects will impact on land and waterways.

“There are areas along the length of the Expressway project, particularly around Rangiriri and Huntly, where there are sites sacred to Maori. As a consequence they have a very strong interest in the development of our projects and are keen to contribute in any way in order to ensure that the completed projects acknowledge the sacred nature of the sites,” said Simcock.

To ensure that Maori interests 308

September 2014

are satisfactorily addressed, the Transport Agency engages closely with Waikato-Tainui, the main tribe in the region, and their representatives in the areas of the projects, and involves them throughout the investigation, design and construction phases of the projects.

Maori culture and custom have contributed to the projects’ landscaping designs. Wood carvings and story boards are erected at strategic locations along the Expressway to share Maori history. Maori are keenly interested in ensuring the natural vegetation is retained and, where possible, extended. They also

austral i a

have a guardianship role when it comes to the protection of the surrounding waterways.

“All of the streams crossed by the Expressway flow into the Waikato River, and we have to comply with requirements to ensure that runoff from the Expressway does not contaminate any of those waterways,” commented Simcock.

The Transport Agency has strengthened its relationship with Maori through the Expressway project. And because of the project’s length that has meant involving various sub-tribes or iwi.

That sort of collaboration and consultation has been a feature of Expressway sections completed or under way, and is already being woven into the remaining three sections as they come on stream.

“With a project of this size a lot of effort goes into designation, investigation and design, getting consents, tendering etc and then getting on with the build. But if you have people on board and involved every aspect is made easier,” Simcock said.

Company Information I n d us t r y

NZ Transport Agency / State Highways headquarters

Wellington, New Zealand founded

2009 p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

The Waikato Expressway is one of the seven state highways called “Roads of National Significance” in New Zealand. It has significant benefits, including reducing travel times between

When complete, this 102km continuous divided four-lane highway will allow for a safer, quicker way to get freight and people through New Zealand’s upper North Island.

Auckland and Tirau (South Cambridge) by 35 minutes (total travel time now two hours), significantly reducing the number of fatal and serious injuries crashes and enabling economic growth.

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309

The Waikato Expres Collaboration for a Comm

The Transport Agency is delivering the 102km W New Zealand’s Seven Roads of National Signific Written by: Laura Close Produced by: Bryan Giles

ssway Project: mon Goal

Waikato Expressway, one of cance.

311

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t Ag

Rangiriri southern end

THE WAIKATO EXPRESSWAY is a key highway project the New Zealand Government identified as one of the Roads of National Significance in 2009. The Expressway runs from the top of the Bombay Hills in the north through to just south of Cambridge and will provide a key link for the Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty “Golden Triangle” which includes nearly half the country’s population and produces 40 per cent of GDP. When complete, this 102km continuous divided four-lane highway will allow for a safer, quicker way to get freight and people through 312

September 2014

New Zealand’s upper North Island.

The Expressway is being built in several sections, with some already completed, and will reduce travel times for through traffic by up to 35 minutes.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is responsible for the delivery of the $2.1 billion project, with Peter Simcock, the project services manager, in charge of managing the operations from the Transport Agency’s office in Hamilton.

Like any major infrastructure project, challenges have been encountered. But with constant, strong collaboration the agency

Ag e n c y

austral i a

“When complete, this 102km continuous divided four-lane highway will allow for a safer, quicker way to get freight and people through New Zealand’s upper North Island.”

call in to view graphics, maps, a DVD, posters, pick up an information sheet and ask questions. It’s also been popular with group bookings.’’

Te Rapa section – Fulton Hogan The Te Rapa section of the Waikato Expressway opened on 3 December, 2012. The 8km stretch has with contractors, workers, of road was constructed by Fulton the surrounding community and Hogan, and came in at around $194 Maori, the completed sections of million. Harry Wilson, the Transport the Waikato Expressway have thus Agency’s Waikato-Bay of Plenty far been on time or early, and on or regional director, attributed the under budget. ahead-of-schedule delivery to the “A key to that has been our collaboration within the Te Rapa extensive consultation processes,” Alliance, which included the agency, said Simcock. “We have a Opus International Consultants and no-surprises policy with our Fulton Hogan. stakeholders and the public, and “Procuring the Te Rapa section I believe the project overall enjoys through a competitive alliance good community support because has delivered a first-class roading we have been consulting with them project for all stakeholders,” all the way along.’’ said Peter Murphy, the Transport The consultation process has Agency’s project manager for the Te included a combination of site visits, Rapa section. individual meetings, newsletters and “The Te Rapa Alliance team public information days, plus strong has been able to successfully website backup. manage the scale and complexity “We have also set up a Visitor of this project while working within Centre at the Cambridge section the uncertainty of unresolved project site office where people can designation and property w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y /

313

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procurement matters. The team delivered the project at least 12 months earlier than could have been achieved through more traditional procurement methods.”

In total 300,000 square metres of road and six bridges were constructed, including the 150m long curved steel and concrete composite bridge over the North Island Main Trunk railway line. This effort took enormous resources, including 25,000 tonnes of concrete and 2200 tonnes of reinforcing steel to build the bridges, 6000 metres of piles

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Website: www.rouse.co.nz

for the bridge foundations and 7000 square metres of anti-graffiti paint.

The section starts in the northwest corner of Hamilton City and extends into the Waikato district. It connects with the completed Ngaruawahia section to the north.

Ngaruawahia section – Fletcher Construction The Ngaruawahia section of the Waikato Expressway opened on 16 December, 2013. The 12.3km project cost around $200 million, nearly $50 million under original

austral i a

estimates. Fletcher Construction was responsible for the 4-lane road, which runs from Taupiri in the north, crossing flat farmland and the Waikato River before connecting with the completed Te Rapa section.

“The project was delivered using a Design and Construct model,” said Mercedes Santos, the Transport Agency’s project manager for the section. “This model provides greater flexibility to the contractor and enabled innovation and consequent cost savings.

“The health and safety record was a highlight of the project with

very few incidents and those were of a minor nature. The agency takes health and safety on site very seriously, and so we take great pride when our projects are delivered in safe work environments.”

Construction of the Ngaruawahia Section began in September of 2011 and included seven bridges, six of which are overbridges and a new 142-metre bridge over the Waikato River.

Santos expressed her gratitude for Fletcher Construction’s hard work on the project: “With their expertise and willingness to go the extra mile, we have shaved $50 million off the

TK interchange w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y /

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Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t Ag estimated cost and got the road open before Christmas.’’

One of the eight bridges is over the Karapiro Gully and is one of the biggest structures built in the region Cambridge section – HEB in recent times. The bridge is 200 Construction metres long and 40 metres above the Construction began on the bed of the gully, with piles between Cambridge section of the Waikato 40 and 60 metres deep.

Expressway in September 2013 “There have also been, and and the 16km stretch has an will continue to be, a number of estimated cost of around $230 temporary road closures and million. The project is expected to be diversion routes that change completed by the end of 2016. HEB through the course of the project Construction is the contractor on development,” said Peter Simcock, the project.

Project Services Manager at the Around 300 to 350 staff and Transport Agency. subcontractors are on site at peak HEB Construction’s contractor and to date 650,000 cubic metres representative Gary Budden has of earth has been moved. There said that their good progress thus far are eight bridges to be constructed wouldn’t have been possible without in this stretch of the Expressway the goodwill of nearby residents and on completion the Cambridge and travellers. section will contain about 360,000 “We’ve established a haul road newly-planted trees. This section is along the site, closed some roads, predicted to reduce traffic through put up temporary traffic signals, the picturesque rural town of created a diversion road, and Cambridge by up to 10,000 moved a lot of earth … and right vehicles a day. through it all the people have been As the longest Expressway section wonderful,” Budden said. “I think that has been worked on to date, they really ‘get’ what we are doing there have been several challenges here and what will be achieved.” for HEB Construction and the The Cambridge section of the Transport Agency to overcome.

Waikato Expressway starts south of

Ag e n c y

austral i a

the existing Tamahere interchange and runs for 16km, ending just south of Cambridge where it connects with the existing SH1.

to be involved in the design phase and ensures designs developed are robust, constructible and are appropriately staged.

During the last summer season, Rangiriri section – Fletcher more than 75,000 cubic metres of Construction earth was moved each month. Like The Rangiriri section is also the other sections of the Waikato currently under construction.

Expressway, bridges are a large part Work on this 4.8km project is of the construction work. Current scheduled for completion in 2016. efforts on the project include The estimated cost of this section is stabilised earth-retaining walls at the $106 million; Fletcher Construction interchange bridges and structural is the main contractor. work at the Rangiriri bridge. The When complete, the section Expressway route is away from the will connect the Longswamp current SH1 alignment which cuts and Ohinewai sections of the through the historic Rangiriri village Expressway and improve – scene of a fierce battle between connectivity between Auckland Maori and colonial troops in 1863. and Huntly and further south. The “The Rangiriri project has project is being delivered using an provided plenty of challenges,” Early Contractor Involvement model said Peter Murphy, the Transport (ECI), which allows for the contractor Agency’s project manager for this

“We’ve established a haul road along the site, closed some roads, put up temporary traffic signals, created a diversion road, and moved a lot of earth … and right through it all the people have been wonderful.”

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y /

317

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t Ag section. “We are constructing a new expressway through an area of national historic and cultural significance. Working with a good team and taking the time to thoroughly engage with all our stakeholders will reward us with a project that we can all be proud of.”

Other challenges have included poor ground conditions and the quality of natural materials. The project crosses some very lowlying areas near the Waikato River.

Significant ground improvement was required in order to support the embankment. The soils are of a very poor nature, and have been quite challenging for the contractors to work with.

Fletcher Construction Fletcher Construction is the main

contractor on the Rangiriri section of the Waikato Expressway project, and was the main contractor on the Ngaruawahia section, which opened last December. The Rangiriri project is currently 18 months into a 42-month contract.

All site enabling, ground improvement - including wick drains and stone columns, gully undercut, cross carriageway drainage and structural foundations - are complete. The end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 will be a large earthworks season.

“The earthworks season in the Waikato, as a general rule of thumb, is 100 working days due to the wet weather and conditions needing to be amenable for drying fill back to optimum moisture. The upcoming season is being elongated with the

“The Rangiriri project has provided plenty of challenges.”– Rangiriri Project Manager Peter Murphy. “We are constructing a new Expressway through an area of national historic and cultural significance. Working with a good team and taking the time to thoroughly engage with all our stakeholders will reward us with a project that we can all be proud of.”

318

September 2014

Ag e n c y

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use of imported aggregates and field stabilisation through the addition of lime and cement together in order to provide confidence that the required productivity targets are being meet to achieve programme certainty,” said Charles Stokes, project manager at Fletcher Construction.

Because of the wet season, Fletcher has approximately 60 personnel on the site through winter. The project team consists of around 20 staff (administration, management and engineers), and workers in the field. The summer season will have around 150 workers on site.

Besides having to deal with the elements and the seasons, the project “has a complex geology from the Waikato River flood plains to the south and highly variable materials in the rolling topography to the north of the project site,” said Stokes. The land area along the site contains sensitive airfall ash, flooddeposited pumice and silts derived from the Taupo volcanic region.

This combination has made bulk earthworks challenging. However, with the help of its sister company Winstone Laboratory, Fletcher

Construction has been able to implement a testing regime to help ensure that quality is achieved while still allowing productivity to be left unimpeded.

Another challenge Fletcher Construction has contended with and overcome on the Rangiriri section was the change of design during construction. “The technical landscape was evolving following on from lessons learnt in the recent Canterbury earthquakes,” said Stokes. “Our in-house technical design capability working alongside our design consultant MWH was able to navigate through some complex issues ensuring a robust solution was realised.” This included installing a considerable amount of stone column ground improvements.

Before Fletcher Construction was awarded the contract for the Rangiriri section, Stokes was involved on the project as a Contractors representative. The Transport Agency used the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) model to develop the plans for the section.

“Part of this role involved ensuring that the technical knowledge

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y /

319

c o m pa n y n a m e

Construction Site

within our organisation was fully harnessed to ensure that the design solution adopted was efficient and mirrored the intended construction methodology that would be used during the construction phase,�

Stokes said.

The goal of the ECI model was to ensure that the consents and land take matched the construction requirements in terms of access 320

September 2014

points to and from the site and environment controls. The contractor, designer, planner, client and Waikato Tainui (a significant stakeholder), were part of the project team. The team ensured that the design was robust, buildable and that the planning consents mirrored the construction methodology.

Fletcher Construction’s involvement on the Waikato

sect o r

Expressway has done nothing but good things for the company.

“Our reputation has been enhanced as a company that is true to our values of being ‘Good to work with, Good to work for, and Good to own’,” commented Stokes. “The Waikato Region is going through a period of considerable infrastructure and commercial investment and we are well placed to leverage our

skills and experience following on from the successful completion of the Ngaruawahia section and subsequently this project.”

Upcoming work – Huntly, Hamilton and Longswamp sections The Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway is in the physical works procurement stage, and will soon

w w w. n z t a . g o v t . n z / p r o j e c t s / w a i k a t o - e x p r e s s w a y /

321

Wa ik at o E x p r e ss way P r o j e c t – N Z T r a n s p o r t Ag go to tender for detailed design and construction. The 15.4km project has a target contract award of April 2015 and opening date of 2019. The estimated cost is around $470 million.

The section passes to the east side of the Huntly township and through the Taupiri Range, connecting to the completed Ngaruawahia section at Gordonton Road. It is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety within the Huntly and Taupiri townships by significantly reducing through traffic.

The Hamilton section is in the secondary investigation and specimen design stage, with consenting processes under way.

The 21.8km road – the longest stretch on the Expressway – has a target opening date of 2019 and is estimated at $790 million. It meets with the Ngaruawahia section in the north, runs to the east of Hamilton, and will connect to the existing Tamahere interchange just south of Hamilton. Like the Huntly section, the Hamilton section is expected to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on the local road network by reducing through traffic.

322

September 2014

The 5.9km Longswamp section is currently in the secondary investigation stage and has a target completion date of 2018. The $70 million project will link the already completed Mercer section to the north with the Rangiriri section to the south.

Collaboration with local Maori Maori are New Zealand’s indigenous people and they have strong cultural ties to the land. With a project of this magnitude, many Maori in the region are keenly interested in how projects will impact on land and waterways.

“There are areas along the length of the Expressway project, particularly around Rangiriri and Huntly, where there are sites sacred to Maori. As a consequence they have a very strong interest in the development of our projects and are keen to contribute in any way in order to ensure that the completed projects acknowledge the sacred nature of the sites,” said Simcock.

To ensure that Maori interests are satisfactorily addressed, the Transport Agency engages closely with Waikato-Tainui, the main tribe in the region, and their representatives

Ag e n c y

austral i a

in the areas of the projects, and involves them throughout the investigation, design and construction phases of the projects.

Maori culture and custom have contributed to the projects’ landscaping designs. Wood carvings and story boards are erected at strategic locations along the Expressway to share Maori history. Maori are keenly interested in ensuring the natural vegetation is retained and, where possible, extended. They also have a guardianship role when it comes to the protection of the surrounding waterways.

“All of the streams crossed by the Expressway flow into the Waikato River, and we have to comply with requirements to ensure that runoff from the Expressway does not contaminate any of those waterways,” commented Simcock.

The Transport Agency has strengthened its relationship with Maori through the Expressway project. And because of the project’s length that has meant involving various sub-tribes or iwi.

That sort of collaboration and consultation has been a feature of Expressway sections completed or under way, and is already being woven into the remaining three sections as they come on stream.

“With a project of this size a lot of effort goes into designation, investigation and design, getting consents, tendering etc and then getting on with the build. But if you have people on board and involved every aspect is made easier,” Simcock said.

Company Information I n d us t r y

Construction headquarters

Wellington New Zealand founded

2009 p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

The Waikato Expressway is one of the 7 state highways called “Roads of National Significance” in New Zealand. It has significant benefits, including reducing travel times between Auckland and Tirau (South Cambridge) by 35 minutes (total travel time now two hours), significantly reduce the number of fatal and serious injuries crashes and economic benefits.

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John Holland Rail

Building Infrastructure and Comm

GM of Operations Richard Stewart discusses John Holland the corporate culture that helps the business and its comm Written by: Sasha Orman Produced by: Nick Ledue

munity

d Rail’s most recent projects and munities thrive

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John Holland Rail

John Holland Rail track services

WHEN YOU THINK of railways in Australia, you may think of John Holland Rail. As the owner and operator of 30 percent of Australia’s government- and corporate-owned railway networks, as well as the owner and operator of the largest and most technically advanced fleet of railway maintenance and construction equipment, John Holland Rail is 326

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the largest private operator of the infrastructure in Australia. With specialization in everything from planning and construction to maintenance, John Holland Rail offers a complete approach to railway infrastructure that sets it apart from the competition.

“I do believe it is a very unique value proposition in the market – there are

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railway operators, railway maintainers and railway constructors, but there is no other company that offers that full life cycle,” says Richard Stewart, General Manager of Operations at John Holland Rail. “We self-perform, and we have a very large in house engineering and project management capability. We have 2,500 John Holland people working on railway projects at the moment and another 4,000 subcontractors. So we are a large employer, and people are really at the center of our values.”

Moving Projects Ahead with Efficiency As a major force in Australia’s railway industry, John Holland Rail’s portfolio is full of complex and vital projects significant to the country’s development – projects like Perth City Link.

“If you’re familiar with Perth, its central business district is basically split right down the middle by its railway lines – Perth Central Station sits between an area called Northbridge and the actual business district of the CBD, and over the years it’s created a bit of a divide in the city,” says Stewart.

With the Perth City Link project,

John Holland Rail succeeded in the daunting task of bridging that gap while keeping Perth’s commuters moving in the meantime.

“The Perth City Link project was about sinking a section of the Fremantle rail line underground, so that the land above could be developed, effectively bringing the two parts of the CBD together,” says Stewart. “It was a very complicated project because we had to keep Perth Station and the train network operating all the way through the project. That meant several rail slews to divert the existing railway into temporary lines to open up areas we needed to work in to build a new cut and cover tunnel and railway infrastructure underground. That’s an exciting project, and I think it’s really changing the face of Perth CBD forever for the better.”

Other notable recent projects from John Holland Rail’s portfolio include the Southwest Rail Link to connect new homes in Sydney and prepare suburbs for further development; the $4.5 billion Victoria infrastructure project – Regional Rail Link - that has John Holland completing two of six segments, the Southern Cross Station and the City to Maribyrnong w w w. j o h n h o l l a n d . c o m . a u

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John Holland Rail River sections; and the recently completed Sydney Inner West Light Rail extension, which doubled the size of Sydney’s light rail system by adding nine new rail stops between Lilyfield and Dulwich Hill .

“A key thing to note is that they have been completed significantly ahead of schedule,” says Stewart, explaining that the company utilizes an array of efficiency techniques, including modulization and prefabrication offsite, to meet these goals. For its Springvale Road Rail Alliance project, for instance, John Holland Rail engineers were able to condense a projected nine months of weekend work down to a finished project in 20 days back-to-back while still maintaining the needed quality of work. As with any industry that can potentially cause disruptions and disturbances in the lives and schedules of everyday citizens, John Holland Rail recognizes the importance of meeting and exceeding schedule projections. “When you’re causing these disruptions to local communities, the quicker you can get out of there and let them get back on with it, the better it is. I think we’re well recognized for achieving that that

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among all the communities in which we’ve worked.”

Focusing on People Railway construction may be John Holland Rail’s business, but the factor that drives that business is the people behind it. “Our tagline is ‘Powered

by People’ – I think that is really the sentiment of our values,” says Stewart. “Innovation and care are two of our core values, and we are really connected to enhancing the wellbeing of all our people.”

The best way to protect your employees is by offering them a safe work site, and John Holland Rail is committed to safety. “We have an unwavering commitment to safety – safety is at the heart of what we do,” says Stewart, noting that the business has developed powerful strategies to meet mandated global safety requirements. “All of our projects must ensure that they are meeting those requirements as absolute minimum standards. Our people are very clear about our expectations in relation to safety, and that is strongly supported by leading indicators.” It is through these strategies that John Holland Rail has reached such achievements as a w w w. j o h n h o l l a n d . c o m . a u

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John Holland Rail lost time incidence frequency rate of 0.08 per million man-hours.

Building Communities But this focus on people does not solely apply to its employees, either – John Holland Rail is also committed to positively impacting and improving the communities in which it builds.

“Community relations are something we’re very strong on,” says Stewart.

“All of our projects have community initiatives embedded in their delivery – things like assisting skills within the local communities near projects

we’re working on, working with local community groups on initiatives that they’re looking to implement, and aiding healthcare organizations and local care centers. We spend millions of dollars per annum initiating these projects and monitoring them as part of our monthly board review.”

John Holland Rail boasts several examples of this community outreach activity, including the work that its staff did at a neighboring elder care facility while conducting work on its Cronulla rail line upgrade and duplication

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project. “We were duplicating a line from Sutherland to Cronulla, and we had a project office at Sutherland and those project offices were next to an aging care center,” says Stewart. “Our people on that project dedicated their own time to do some landscaping of the aging care home grounds, updating the kitchen and retiling, as a ‘thank you’ for putting up with us being next door to them for an extended period of time.”

John Holland Rail workers have achieved a number of successful community initiatives, from raising $150,000 in donations for New South Wales-based children’s hospice care facility Bear Cottage to partnering with Camp Australia for a two-day program over school holidays for children of workers on John Holland’s South Morang Rail Extension project. “It was a very simple initiative, but one that was very powerful,” says Stewart. “We brought the kids in to a designated safe area within the construction site, introduced them to engineering and construction as a career and gave them backpacks filled with goodies including a children’s hard hat, vests, disposable cameras so that they could take pictures. We got some

different games going on, and were just trying to give a little back to the community – looking after kids for a couple of days during the school holidays, so that parents didn’t have to worry about child care for those days.”

John Holland Rail also works extensively to promote diversity, from its commitment to increase female participation to 20 percent by 2015 to its extensive work with Australia’s indigenous communities through such projects as its Career Tracks Strategy. This program in particular works to provide education and training opportunities for indigenous peoples, especially those in rural areas. Stewart cites the company’s Roy Hill Rail program in Pilbara, Western Australia – a 390km railway running from the Roy Hill mine to Port Hedland – as a prime example of John Holland outreach. “There we have three groups we’re working closely with to see how we can leave a legacy there for those communities,” he says.

“We also look to partner with local indigenous companies and work with them to help train them and get them up to the level we need to be able to work for us – and hopefully lead a legacy for them to continue working w w w. j o h n h o l l a n d . c o m . a u

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Work on the Regional Rail Link in Melbourne is progressing well.

with others when we move out of the area when our projects are complete.”

A Legacy to Uphold “John Holland is steeped in culture,” says Stewart, noting that the company has recently turned 65 years old.

“Our founder John Holland was an incredible person – an engineer who 334

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served in the Special Forces during WWII, he really brought the values to the organization. That legacy still lives on in every one of our projects That pride in a job well done and a community linked closer together shines through in John Holland’s people to this day. “That’s one thing

John Holland Rail

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Company Information I n d us t r y

Supply Chain, Rail headquarters

Melbourne, Victoria founded

1949 employees

1,600 revenue

$1.4 Billion p r o d uc t s / s e r v ic e s

Rail Construction Projects / Infrastructure

I’m most proud of, that I get to be involved in some of these really life changing projects. To get involved at the start, when we come up with these concepts, and see them implemented and then to see the community taking them up – there is a lot of pride in me and the team to e able to see what we’ve done.”

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BKO Incorporadora Enjoys Making a Difference

Company provides excellent work environment, meets customers’ needs and promotes social activities Written by Tania Franco Produced by Sergio Ambrosino

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BKO Incorporadora

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stablished in the capital of São Paulo, BKO Incorporadora has been following its mission of making a difference working in the sector for 28 years. “BKO is a company that reinvents itself all the time and it is always making sure that its customers are being served well during the whole purchase process. The majority of real state buyers, whether they are buying as an investment or as their home, are not specialists. We try to meet all their needs”, explain Joe Yaqub Khzouz, president of the company. “We care about people, whether that is the customer, the employee, a supplier, partner, or financial institutions.

FOCUS ON PEOPLe To meet the property buyers needs, an internal branch of BKO called My Blend helps buyers to customize their units. The service helps customers manage and execute the entire project including choosing layouts, finishes

Office located at Av. Faria Lima, São Paulo 338

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and furnishings. Another service offered to the clients is the Club Prime BKO. This service is for people who are loyal to the brand and acquire more than one BKO unit, be it commercial or residential. They have benefits such as early and exclusive information about future developments, relevant data on the housing market, and special trading conditions.

Targeting people also extends to the workplace. “Among the companies in our industry and about our size, BKO is the one that has the most developed people management department. We maintain an excellent organizational environment and offer our employees several quality life programs. We can assist, with permanent education, offer profit sharing plans and give regular performance reviews. We also have a program called Espiral de Liderança which develops leaders, as well as the Projeto Multiplicar where through an internal class, the employee can share his own w w w. b k o . c o m . b r

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so B Kl OeItnrcoolr p o r a d o r a

experience with others,” says the CEO. In addition, the company provides it employees with access to a gym, massage spa and salon.

A project named Gincana Sustentável is another initiative that shows how the society matters. Every month, employees, partners and clients are involved in social and environmental actions such as the collection of books, clothing, food and toys, as well as blood and marrow donation, tree planting, and much more. In 2011, the company created a partnership with Pacto Global – an organization that helps to fight for the end of corruption and child labor.

ACTION MEETS INNOVATION Created in 1986 by Joe Yaqub Khzouz, Maurício Bianchi and Luiz Olivé, BKO Incorporadora operates in the Brazilian real estate market developing medium and high standard commercial and residential buildings in São Paulo, Sorocaba, Campinas, Limeira, Jundiaí, Americana, São José do Rio Preto, Santos and in the south part of the country. The company invests

BK30 lobby, Alto da Boa Vista

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Electric bike delivered in enterprises and available in the office for use of contributors BKO

BKO Incorporadora constantly in qualified personnel, customization, constructive technologies, customized plants and environmental responsibility.

Since 2007, the company has focused on a number of mergers. It has also partnered with a publicly traded company and took the governance in recent years. According to Khzouz , one of BKO’s key strengths is anticipating market trends. “We study sociologically what the costumers should consume in the next cycle, we create the product and then our team of new businesses seeks new areas where we will develop the strategy for this new product.”

With the increase of social costs and direct labor, BKO has pursued to industrialize and streamline the processes at each jobsite. The company uses various production management resources. “At the end of each construction project, professionals examine for any disruptions, make corrections when needed and implement the processes. BKO has 26

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BK30 Alto da Boa Vista facede

processes in line which make it work”, says the executive.

Monthly meetings are also held ensure standards of excellence are maintained at the company. “Currently we have a board dedicated to building relations with partners and investors. They provide the senior management team with monthly updates regarding progress,” explains Joe. Currently, BKO is also deploying two technological innovations - BIN, project management software and MEGA, an enterprise management system.

Regarding environmental sustainability, the director mentioned that “it is in BKO’s DNA, from the time of purchase of the land until the construction w w w. b k o . c o m . b r

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BKO Incorporadora

iGLOO Alphavile entrance

of the project.” The company works to a booklet with 500 sustainability guidelines and evaluates each area every six months to verify their fulfillment. Since 2011, the company prepares inventories of greenhouse gases and neutralizes the gases poured in the environment.

In all those years of operation, BKO has delivered around 1,700,000 m² of work sites. Currently, approximately 180,000 m² of new projects are under construction - in the medium and high market standards in São Paulo and Santos alone. The expected launch in 2014 is a PSV of over U$ 1 million.

The president also talks about the company’s plans for the next five years: “We want to continue to grow organically and sustainably in order to retain and motivate our personnel. In this process, BKO wants to remain an 344

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Company Information Industry

Real Estate development headquarters

São Paulo, SP founded

1986 products/ services

Joe Yaqub Khzouz

innovator in products and services. We want to be known as a company that really cares about the people, the community and the environment. “ Accordingly, cross branding is one of BKO’s corporate strategies. The company has already signed partnerships with companies such as NET, Pantone, Zazcar, Limelocker, Whirpool, RUN & FUN, Engemix and Bayer. “We are working to innovate the company and these partnerships will help with that,” concludes Joe Khzouz.

Operates in the real estate market developing commercial and residential buildings of medium and high standard. Provides the product line iGLOO and Club Prime BKO Key people

Joe Yaqub Khzouz, President of BKO

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Big landscapes Inspire big thinking

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE AUSTRALIA FOR YOUR NEXT BUSINESS EVENT. This year we chose Australia for our global congress. It was an easy choice, as Australia’s proximity to Asia gave us the opportunity to attract many new delegates. The program was one of the best in years. New Australian developments in our field attracted a lot of interest and strong international research partnerships were established.

Australia is on everyone’s list to visit, and it lured our highest number of delegates yet. There’s no doubt they’ll be talking about this convention for years to come.

Dr Louise Wong, International Board Member

visit australia.com/businessevents/associations for everything you need to plan your australian event.