Engineering Matters

In this Engineering Matters Awards episode, we celebrate the winners of the Health & Safety Champion category, which recognises engineers who are changing how we protect people in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Engineering is often measured by what we build: the bridges, tunnels, infrastructure, and systems that shape our world. But true engineering excellence is also defined by how we build, and how we protect the people who make it possible. This episode explores how innovation, preparation, and predictive technology are helping to reduce risk and improve safety across the board. Our two award-winning entrants are: Scott Shipley, Director of Swiftwater and Whitewater Parks at Caliber Engineering, who is transforming emergency response training by creating realistic, controlled environments where first responders can prepare for extreme flooding scenarios. Monica Calle, co-founder and CTO of Geprode, is using predictive analytics to address one of underground construction’s biggest challenges: geological uncertainty.The post #369 Health & Safety Champion – Engineering Matters Awards first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Sustainability experts often use a hierarchy to help their thinking about interventions. The best way to limit your impact is to do nothing at all. If that’s not possible, then use as few materials as you can. And finally, if extensive work must be conducted, then replace more carbon-intensive materials with those with less impacts. In this episode, Lucas Grisoni describes three projects in Paris that demonstrate different approaches to sustainable construction. For the University of Chicago’s new campus, the focus has been on reducing the use of materials, both in order to keep the structure light—it is built over a railway—and to minimise carbon impacts. On WoodUp, one of Europe’s tallest timber structures, the focus is on selecting a lower carbon material. And on the Eiffel Tower, the historical nature of the project has demanded limited interventions—which has the benefit of reducing carbon impacts, as well as preserving the structure. Guest Lucas Grisoni, Head of Structural Engineering, Low-carbon/Complex Structures & Envelopes, Elioth, by Egis Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, construction engineering, operations and mobility services firm. Egis creates and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to the climate emergency and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development. Its 22,000 employees operate across over 100 countries, deploying their expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge innovations and solutions for clients. Through the wide range of its activities, Egis plays a central role in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.The post #359h Sustainability in Paris first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Retrofitting is an instrumental step in reducing the carbon footprint of a city’s building stock. It also extends the life of a building and has a lower environmental impact than demolishing inefficient properties and building anew. Even a new development, such as the East Village in Stratford London, although just 12 years old, is still largely heated by fossil fuel. Adaptable designs are critical to bring future improvements to existing structures. Marion Baeli is a pioneer of sustainable architecture, her practice identified easy-to-deliver improvements to energy use on one of the buildings in the development, at the same time as adding capacity that could finance the project.  Guest Marion Baeli, Principal, Sustainability Transformation at 10 Design Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, construction engineering, operations and mobility services firm. Egis creates and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to the climate emergency and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development.Its 22,000 employees operate across over 100 countries, deploying their expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge innovations and solutions for clients. Through the wide range of its activities, Egis plays a central role in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.The post #359f Sustainability and Adaptation in East London first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Nuclear power promises to provide energy when other sources can’t. But nuclear plants currently take a long time to build—often more than a decade. Anthony Burch, digital manager, Egis, and his colleagues, are working on the key components of Hinkley Point C in England. These form the so-called ‘nuclear island’—the reactor building and four associated safety buildings. In this episode, Anthony describes the challenges of delivering ‘right first time’ construction on a highly complex, one off, and long term project: Hinkley Point C. He explains the challenges of clash detection on a project that has continued to evolve, and how the use of BIM and digital tools has smoothed this process. He describes how work on this project will feed into future projects, such as Sizewell C, and open the way to a new generation of nuclear power plant construction. Guest Anthony Burch, Digital Manager, BIM Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, construction engineering, operations and mobility services firm. Egis creates and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to the climate emergency and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development.Its 22,000 employees operate across over 100 countries, deploying their expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge innovations and solutions for clients. Through the wide range of its activities, Egis plays a central role in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.The post #359d A Digital Path to Nuclear’s New Generation first appeared on Engineering Matters.

There is a changing view of the environment among public sector clients in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has ambitious goals like generating 50% of electricity from renewables by 2030, the UAE has targets such as diverting 80 percent of its waste from landfill by by 2031, and Qatar is moving towards 100% treated wastewater reuse. With environmental considerations now at the core of new projects, rather than being a problem to be dealt with, each project must consider its impact on the environment. This means a shift from reacting to problems, to planning with goals being measured. Countries like UAE, Saudi and Qatar, are putting in place long-term plans for strategies that include waste diversion, emissions reductions and renewable energy. In benchmarking these strategies against international standards and best practices, the deployment of digital tools is critical. Guest Yassman AlKhatib, Regional Director for Water, Environment, and Energy Transition, Egis Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, construction engineering, operations and mobility services firm. Egis creates and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to the climate emergency and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development. Its 22,000 employees operate across over 100 countries, deploying their expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge innovations and solutions for clients. Through the wide range of its activities, Egis plays a central role in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.The post #359b Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Society needs to consider the impact of climate change on our cities because it is no longer a future challenge; it is a present reality. Cities with their concentrated populations, infrastructure and supply challenges are uniquely vulnerable to climate-related shocks, exposed to risks such as floods, heatwaves, water scarcity and any disruption to their systems. Engineers and decision-makers must embed sustainability and resilience into every stage of the planning and design process to ensure adaptability to these changes.  In this introduction to a series on sustainable approaches to the global built environment, we begin a journey that will take us around the world, to meet engineers on the front lines of this civilisational challenge. Guest Thomas Salvant, Chief Executive Officer – Energy and Sustainable Cities, Egis Partner Egis is a leading global architectural, consulting, construction engineering, operations and mobility services firm. Egis creates and operates intelligent infrastructure and buildings that both respond to the climate emergency and contribute to balanced, sustainable and resilient development.  Its 22,000 employees operate across over 100 countries, deploying their expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge innovations and solutions for clients. Through the wide range of its activities, Egis plays a central role in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.The post #359 Intro – A Sustainable and Resilient World first appeared on Engineering Matters.

A wise asset owner builds on solid ground. Unless ground risks are clearly identified, projects can easily be delayed or delivered over budget. Some risks may not even be fully understood until an asset begins operations. In this final episode of three on ground risks and the asset life cycle, Karim Khalaf explains how one major European vehicle manufacturer only learned how the soil beneath their new manufacturing plant would act, once steel presses started working—effectively inducing a series of small earthquakes and setting foundations floating off the apparently solid sand they stood on. Assumptions about ground conditions can lead to costly and time-consuming emergencies during construction. An unexpected cavity, for example, may mean that work has to stop until the site is properly modelled. In the past, that could involve substantial costs and lengthy delays, as heavy geotechnical equipment is deployed. But, with the careful use of geophysical screening, answers can be delivered quickly, and work resumed, with costs kept under control. Rod Eddies describes how these two sets of techniques, namely broad geophysical screening and strategic geotechnical investigations, can be used together to create a detailed 3D model of the subsurface. This can be shared and used by those making strategic decisions, as well as by technical specialists and other stakeholders. Matt Waddicor of Fermi Development, who we heard from in the first episode, rounds up the advantages of using this approach throughout the asset life cycle, and shares how early investigations may support on time and on budget delivery, across the infrastructure sector. Guests Matt Waddicor, Development Programme Director, Fermi Development Rod Eddies, Solutions Director, Land, Fugro Karim Khalaf, Regional Business Line Manager, Middle East, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #357c Well-Grounded Decisions: Construction and Operations first appeared on Engineering Matters.