U.S. Green Building Council: Exploring sustainable solutions
www.constructionglobal.com
FEBRUARY 2020
Leveraging technology and innovation to build better
SAVILLS CRITICAL FACILITIES GROUP: How knowledge builds trust through expertise
Adaptive Data Centers
Data centers aligned Delivering adaptive data centers at scale and pace, with while offering missionyou critical stability DATA CENTER TRENDS
BUILDING BETTER
MODULAR ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS FOR DATA CENTERS
www.fibrebond.com
FOREWORD
W
elcome to the February issue of Construction Global magazine! Aligned grace the cover of this month’s issue. Global Head of Design & Delivery Mike Coleman reveals how Aligned designs “a physical, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure that is very quickly deployable, but also deployable in the right-sized increments to meet customers’ unique capacity needs and requirements now and in the future”. Oracle Construction & Engineering’s Executive Director of Innovation Burcin Kaplanoglu gives us the lowdown on its Innovation Lab. The simulated worksite provides hands-on experience of the transformative power of the internet of things (IoT), drones, autonomous equipment, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other developing technologies. Throwing the spotlight on Canada, we discover how construction leader Pomerleau is disrupting the industry
with the ability to self-perform and build better; a ‘one stop shop’ for all its clients’ needs from development to design and build. Elsewhere, we learn how Balfour Beatty is delivering the UK’s M4 Smart Motorway Program, aided by BIMfuelled design from Autodesk; and examine how the City of Los Angeles is harnessing community engagement to build a sustainable future. Also in this issue, we profile Savills Critical Facilities Services who advise on all aspects of data centre services from infrastructure to IT; and hear from the temporary power and temperature solutions experts Aggreko on best practice for cooling systems in mission critical structures. Do you have a story to tell? Email daniel.brightmore@bizclikmedia.com to join the conversation. Enjoy the issue! Daniel Brightmore, Editor
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
03
A simpler approach to a future-proof data center. With scalable pre-fabricated solutions like Vertiv™ SmartMod™ and the quickly deployed Power Module, Vertiv is standardizing modular systems so you can get your data center running, faster. Vertiv.com
Click the home icon (top right of page) to return to contents page at anytime
EDITOR IN CHIEF
DANIEL BRIGHTMORE MANAGING EDITOR
MATTHEW HIGH CREATIVE DIRECTORS
WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAY BUTTON ICON, CLICK TO WATCH OUR VIDEO CONTENT
DANIEL CRAWFORD STEVE SHIPLEY CREATIVE TEAM
OSCAR HATHAWAY ERIN HANCOX SOPHIA FORTE SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ PRODUCTION MANAGER
Wherever you see these icons in the magazine click to be directly connected via social media
OWEN MARTIN DIGITAL VIDEO DIRECTOR
JOSHUA S. PECK DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER
KIERAN WAITE MARKETING DIRECTOR
05
LEIGH MANNING DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVES
JACK GRIMSHAW DANIEL WEATHERLEY EVELYN HOWAT KAYLEIGH SHOOTER PROJECT DIRECTORS
RICHARD DEANE MANUEL NAVARRO TOM VENTURO DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTORS
ARRON RAMPLING JASON WESTGATE
CLICK NOW TO SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
ALEX BARRON GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR
JAMES PEPPER CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
ANDY TURNER PRESIDENT & CEO
GLEN WHITE
PUBLISHED BY
Visit constructionglobal.com and sign up to receive exclusive access to one of the world’s fastest growing business news platforms.
CONTENTS
Adaptive Data Centers
10 32
44
56
HELPING DATA CENTRES KEEP THEIR COOL
68
Data centre experts deploy
With less complexity
Introducing the HyperPod: a fast, flexible and cost-optimized architecture designed to deploy IT increments of 8−12 racks • Rack-ready system • Freestanding pod • Easy to configure
se.com/ca/hyperpod
86 Pomerleau Inc.
106
124
City of Los Angeles
Savills
Adaptive Data Centers
10
WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY
TOM VENTURO
FEBRUARY 2020
11
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
ALIGNED
Aligned is focused on designing and delivering dynamic solutions with industry-leading technology and adaptive infrastructure that align with customers’ needs and requirements
“ 12
O
ften when a large hyperscale provider is looking for a space, it has an internal plan for the year for capacity and compute
- typically based on the individual business being able to support projected growth and requirements for the year. That need for sophisticated capacity planning in the data centre industry is often due to sector volatility or how fluid the business requirements for individual applications are…” Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery at Aligned, leads the company’s clients through the minefields of mission-critical; a solution provider able to react quickly to changing needs. “A customer may have planned for 10MW of space, but the business might realise it needs 15MW, and right now,” he says. “At Aligned, we have the capability to help them through that and ensure they have the space they need, where and when they need it.” FEBRUARY 2020
13
2013
Year founded
550MW
Current portfolio under development
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
IF YOU HAVE THE NEED, WE HAVE THE SOLUTION. WHO WE ARE Power Cool Engineers, PC is a mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firm located in Blountville, Tennessee. Our management and key staff have been together for 20 years. We have extensive experience designing commercial, educational, industrial, medical and mission critical facilities.
OUR SERVICES: • MECHANICAL DESIGN • ELECTRICAL DESIGN • PLUMBING DESIGN
VISIT OUR SITE
321 Maple Ln. Suite 101 Blountville, TN 37617
CONTACT US
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ALIGNED – BUILD-TO-SCALE’ 15 Aligned’s approach is to design
down to as little as 750KW of cooling
a physical, electrical, and mechani-
capacity in an individual increment.
cal infrastructure that is very quickly
Allied to this, our electrical topology
deployable, but also deployable in
is extremely flexible, allowing us to
the right-sized increments to meet
make adjustments towards a specific
customers’ unique capacity needs and
customer.”
requirements – now and in the future.
Coleman highlights that this flexibility
“Instead of building a 50MW data
allows Aligned to deploy incrementally
centre and having it sit there waiting
across a building in two ways. “We
for it to be fully utilised, we’re able to
can add to the planned capacity for
build the physical structure, whether
the building, but also if the customer
it’s a cold or a warm shell, and then
decides that they’re going to grow in
incrementally deploy infrastructure at
place,” he explains. “From a density
pace,” assures Coleman. “For example,
perspective, we can add that capacity
we can get the mechanical backplane
in their current physical footprint and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
ALIGNED
16
not require additional square footage
our suppliers, with incremental release
or a lift-and-shift of equipment into a
dates that allows us to keep them up
different space. That’s the philosophy
and running.”
behind the design and the way that
Aligned has commoditised its pro-
we’re able to meet those commitments.
cesses allowing it to deploy mechanical
Once we have the cold channel, we
and electrical equipment in modules.
make the space ready maintaining
This reduces onsite construction and
approximately 50MW of our mechani-
the labour required while also minimis-
cal and electrical infrastructure rolling
ing disruption for any tenants using
through the supply chain. We manage
the facility. “We aim for our work to be
that very closely between the sites. By
seamless and the process to go almost
standardising that infrastructure from
unnoticed,” adds Coleman.
site to site, we’re able to make delivery commitments with our vendors, with FEBRUARY 2020
Future-proofing its infrastructure solutions is critical for Aligned when
contemplating the overall design of a project. “Future-proofing is typically focused on increased density; with CPUs getting increasingly powerful, they draw more and more power,” notes Coleman. “Historically, what happens in the data centre when you look at the retail or wholesale environment, is that a company with a traditional 15-year lease for a larger deployment will start to see a lot of empty space in the room because as they go through a tech refresh cycle, the equipment they’re installing is getting smaller, while requiring an equal amount of
“ Aligned’s approach is to design a physical, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure that is very quickly deployable, but also deployable in the right-sized increments to meet customers’ unique capacity needs and requirements – now and in the future” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
17
CRITICAL POWER Legendary Customer Service. Dynamic Results. 100% Uptime Reliability. HOLT CAT is known for delivering legendary customer service, no matter the industry. Aligned Energy relies on HOLT CAT to provide value engineered custom Generator Set Packages, for any critical power situation. For a 21st century power plant, it is crucial to have 100% uptime reliability; with Vendor Managed Inventory, HOLT CAT is able to support these mission critical build schedules by reducing lead times. Whether you’re planning to integrate into existing facilities, or develop new infrastructure, our on-site project management will ensure customer expectations are always met. Visit us online today at HoltCat.com
HoltCat.com Š 2019 HOLT CAT
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Mike Coleman A former head of global data center operations at Google and Yahoo, Mike Coleman has spent 15 years on the electrical engineering design side for data centers and mission critical, working almost entirely on design-build. “I’ve worked on buildings for Microsoft, Adobe, VMware, Intel, Facebook, Apple… You name it,” he says. “I have a very strong understanding of the overall cost, construction, scheduling and value engineering needs to help end users, owners and operators focus on their original requirements while ensuring the associated costs and benefits are achieved.” 19
Coleman offers a unique perspective on the process to plan for yearly deployment by individual business units across large global infrastructure and the challenges that need to be overcome. “I appreciate the complexity of their software platforms and how that translates into what our physical infrastructure needs to be able to accommodate,” he confirms. “Being able to meet their needs with overall business and capacity planning helps me provide f lexible solutions and overcome challenges for our customers at Aligned.”
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
ALIGNED
cooling. When Aligned started in 2013, our goal was to drive a more sustainable approach to providing a physical structure in a number of ways. Today, we match 100% of our IT load with renewable energy sources.” Aligned saw that with traditional cooling systems, faults would occur and this became the driving force behind the push for future-proofing. “With our Delta Cube arrays, we’re able to start off with a customer at a low density, which today averages about 20
five to 10 kW per rack. However, the way that our mechanical structure is deployed enables that customer to then scale up, or in place, without having to maneuver or adjust their infrastructure. They then typically scale to anywhere from the 10kW up to 50 kW a rack. We can incrementally add capacity quickly, and our customers never have to worry about looking for a new space. We call this capability Expand on Demand.” At the core of Aligned’s bespoke approach is its proprietary cooling technology – Delta CubeTM and CACTUS®. “It could not be any more flexible,” confirms Coleman. “For higher FEBRUARY 2020
21
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
Delivering Safe, Reliable and Efficient Medium Voltage Power Solutions for all Data Center Applications The adoption of medium voltage power (5-15kV) within data centers has been driven by the deployment of larger facilities and increased power densities. Until VESTA-AR, data centers had to balance the potential benefits of medium voltage power distribution against the loss of valuable floor space when MV Switchgear was installed. IEM’s VESTA-AR, the industry’s premiere medium voltage distribution and control system solution, delivers the benefits of MV but with the minimum space requirements, saving over 30% verses standard MV switchgear. VESTA’s high build quality, front accessible connections and withdrawable breakers reduce maintenance time and maximize uptime, and its metal-clad, arc-resistant design allows operators to work safely and confidently around energized gear, reducing interruption to daily operations and contributing to the highest levels of power availability. VESTA-AR Switchgear allows data centers to attain the very highest levels of safety and reliability, while saving valuable floor space and maintaining environmental sustainability. Learn more at www.iemfg.com
Fremont, CA | Jacksonville, FL | Vancouver, BC |
866.436.8668
For more information please visit: www.iemfg.com or email info@iemfg.com
densities than 50 kW per rack, it is also easily integrated with liquid-cooled solutions. The industry really hasn’t standardised around anything, so whatever we do right now will not be a catch all. It would be a unique deployment for an individual customer, which we could accommodate.” Aligned’s electrical topology, and how it deploys power, is based around a standard offering which is also incredibly flexible. “Many of our customers might have some core systems
“ We can incrementally add capacity quickly, and our customers never have to worry about looking for a new space. We call this capability Expand on Demand” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned 23
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ALIGNED – DELTA CUBE TECHNOLOGY, DESIGNED FOR SCALABILITY’
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
ALIGNED
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• Aligned matches 100% of our IT load with renewable energy sources. • Aligned’s cooling system is capable of operating using 80% less energy and 85% less water than traditional cooling systems.
24
FEBRUARY 2020
that require more robust electrical reliability. They might have an N+1 environment for the production equipment and network gear, or more critical systems that are usually deployed in a smaller footprint. These might need to be more robust, whether it’s twoline or double-corded, even with our standardisation around our design, we can easily accommodate those adjustments because of the way that we designed the physical infrastructure.” Aligned has the ability to offer any type of renewable energy to its customers. In the U.S., more often than not, this green energy is brought in via the utility, but Coleman notes that some of Aligned’s customers are investing directly into wind farms and solar that support their local grid. “Taking this approach, you’re shaping and leading the power. We have experience doing this and are happy to work with them.” The company’s green approach extends to its cooling system, which is capable of operating using 80% less energy and 85% less water than traditional cooling systems. “There’s the Delta Cube, and we also have a proprietary chiller that we develop and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
25
Data Center Trends “When you look at the large hyperscalers, the appetite right now to take down space is tremendous,” says Aligned’s Global Head of Design & Delivery, Mike Coleman. “The pace that they need to fill to try to keep up with the demand is unattainable. Hence, innovation has become secondary to iteration just so they can meet the demand, because every time you add some new technology, it slows the build process down. You have to vet it, there’s more testing, you’re not exactly sure how well it’s going to work, and the business simply cannot tolerance any delay or misses on delivering capacity.” Coleman sees less innovation right now, simply because of the sheer build volumes. “However, it’s also allowing the overf low to drive growth in businesses like ours,” he says. “Providers are becoming much more strategic partners so that they can meet demand. Therefore, our capital, infrastructure and people provide a great recipe for them to reach out to us for support.”
Coleman also highlights the significance of what he calls “the return to the metro” of the early 2000s. “In the past, data center construction was almost entirely in a metro area, close to the customer due to latency, with content stores closest to the user. Then, we saw the trend of everybody moving out of the metro to massive campuses in remote locations. But now, the tremendous growth in cloud is leaving the majority of the large cloud users in a hybrid environment. We’ve gone back to that latency requirement where large cloud deployments need to be close to the metro because very often, they’re providing services to an on-prem IT infrastructure, so you need close proximity to that. We’re starting to see 30-50MW deployments between these large hyperscalers in areas where they wouldn’t look to be building data centers because their sites are typically 200-500MW. The growth in this area is going to be immense.”
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
27
ALIGNED
THE NAME SAYS IT ALL Optimal Power Solutions has the experience in the critical power industry to create the Optimal Power Solution for your critical environment.
LEARN MORE
optimalpwr.com
cooling system that can kick in as well, so we really have all conditions covered.” He maintains the system is designed to run on 100% outside air as much as possible and that reduced energy and water consumption is driving the industry-leading 1.15 PUE that Aligned operates at. Aligned typically partners with the top five contractors in the U.S. data centre market, drawing on the technical expertise of those who have heavily invested in the talent needed to support mission-critical projects. “Very often, we’re partnered with a large manufacturer – the CACTUS,” reveals
general contractor to establish the
Coleman. “The chiller itself runs pre-
original building,” confirms Coleman.
dominantly on 100% outside air when
“The other reason is the pace that we
conditions allow (when dewpoint is low
build at, nine or even six months in
and temperature is in the right range).
some cases, requires enormous cash-
It’s not until we see adverse conditions,
flow efforts, and a very large workforce.
which are not consistent annually, that
We have a handful of both capital
we activate the adiabatic cooling in the
and construction partners capable
chiller, which does not run all the time.”
of supporting that. Once the site is
Coleman notes that adiabatic cooling
established and you’ve got iterative
runs for a fractional number of hours
work, whether it’s multiple additional
a year compared to the outside air.
buildings on the site or additional build
“When dewpoint becomes an issue or
down to the shell, we’ve developed
humidity is a little higher and adiabatic
partnerships locally. The local MEP
isn’t effective, we do have a traditional
contractors and subcontractors are w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
29
ALIGNED
critical alliances for us moving forward to continue the expansion of our operations and be good partners to the communities we work in.” Aligned’s recipe has resulted in some notable successes. “I’m very impressed with our first building in Salt Lake City. That was a brownfield conversion of a chip plant where we were able to purchase and retrofit the building, as well as get customers deployed there in under a year; that’s almost unheard of in our industry,” says Coleman. “Similarly, 30
based on the way that our infrastructure is designed, we were able to complete our first phase of capacity in
“ I’m very impressed with our first building in Salt Lake City. That was a brownfield conversion of a chip plant where we were able to purchase and retrofit the building, as well as get customers deployed there in under a year; that’s almost unheard of in our industry” — Mike Coleman, Global Head of Design & Delivery, Aligned FEBRUARY 2020
31
Ashburn in about six months, which is
infrastructure funds are not looking for
the fastest I think I’ve ever seen. Both
quarterly earning updates and require-
amazing accomplishments for us.”
ments back on their investment. We
Aligned recently secured a $575mm
have the ability to accomplish anything
credit facility, which will further support
our clients need, which makes the road
its goals for 2020 with expansion of
ahead truly exciting.”
its adaptable colocation and build-toscale solutions at current campuses; Salt Lake City and Phoenix expansions are already underway. “We can achieve
Adaptive Data Centers
whatever our customers need. We’re not capital constrained, our partners’ w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
LEADERSHIP
32
DELIVERING A SMART MOTORWAY EXPANSION WITH BIM-FUELLED DESIGN
FEBRUARY 2020
33
The M4 Smart Motorway Programme, undertaken in the UK by Balfour Beatty, is using BIM (Building Information Modeling) and VR (virtual reality) to turn a design from Arcadis and Jacobs into reality WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHT MORE
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
LEADERSHIP
T
he M4 Smart Motorway Programme will deliver technology upgrades to manage a 50mph speed limit and road widening
project along a 52km stretch of the M4, running
from junction 12 at Reading to junction 2 in London. The challenge is to find the most cost-effective way to work around existing structures, including bridges, and to find the best solution without using more land. Undertaking the project in 2015 as a 60/40 joint venture with VINCI, Balfour Beatty’s Head of Digital Project Delivery, Harry Parnell, is leading on Smart Motorway upgrades that will reduce congestion and shorten journey times 34
for thousands of road users. Traffic is monitored so that when congestion is detected, the hard shoulder can be opened as a permanent running lane to add extra capacity at a controlled speed. Meanwhile, it’s a huge task to keep the motorway moving while doing the construction and making sure the three priorities of Highways England are upheld — customer, delivery and safety.
MEETING THE BIM MANDATE WITH MDM AND 3D MODELS The team is applying Autodesk tools such as BIM 360, Navisworks and Revit in a connected workflow to meet the challenges of Highways England’s BIM mandate. The level of detail and information needed for Highways England’s asset requirements is paramount. Arcadis and Jacobs have collaborated FEBRUARY 2020
35
with Autodesk on the development of Mobile Device Management (MDM), which helps amend asset data to the 3D models. “We’ve been agreeing the model production delivery table - an ISO 19650 responsibility matrix - for the level of detail of the assets and the attribution which goes into the Autodesk MDM tool,” explains Parnell. ISO 19650 certification is the international ISO standard recognised for managing information over the whole life cycle of a built asset using BIM. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
LEADERSHIP
“We use Autodesk tools to analyse our sequencing to see how we can be more efficient, and take days or weeks off our programme” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty In the process of delivering the infrastructure design from Arcadis and Jacobs, Balfour Beatty has been working with these 3D models to create the drawings for construction. “Infra-
36
structure clients need to make sure the designer is going to give the contractor what they need. We’re actually getting a 3D model cut into 2D drawings with unique IDs against that 3D project information model,” says Parnell. “Then with Jacobs, we’ve done a series of workshops, running thorough clash detection reporting to make sure we’re achieving a buildable design.”
BUILDING ON PREVIOUS SUCCESSES WITH INTERCONNECTED TOOLS A collaborative approach helped Parnell’s team agree on the BIM execution plan and build on the success of its M5 project, FEBRUARY 2020
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘4D MODELLING AT THE M5 SMART MOTORWAY’ 37 which received the 2013 BCIA Award
efficient, and take days or weeks off our
for Safety Excellence. He sees the M4
programme,” reveals Parnell. “The key
programme as a “lighthouse project”
thing is, we’re engaging with multiple
where all the different processes
people on the project and getting them
Balfour Beatty has developed will come
to use tools like Navisworks to review
together on a scheme valued at £850mn.
the design and get those benefits.”
Having the right tools to manage the logistics of such a vast project has been
DEVELOPING NEW BIM TOOLS
vital for the team to enhance buildability,
Balfour Beatty is working closely with
while meeting the challenge of a
Autodesk and Excitech on the develop-
three-and-a-half-year timeline, so that
ment of a cross-section tool in response
expansion works at Heathrow airport
to the 3D/2D challenges posed by the
can begin.
M4 project. Parnell’s team needs to be
“We use Autodesk tools to analyse our sequencing to see how we can be more
able to cut through multiple applications (such as Revit, Civil 3D and AutoCAD) w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
LEADERSHIP
38
“We’re aiming to get 4D sequencing inside of the VR environment to review designs, health and safety risks and buildability. It will be the next step-change in the industry” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty FEBRUARY 2020
D ID YOU KNOW
The Digital Rehearsal Room The introduction of new tools has brought its own challenges for the M4’s grand project delivery team - including Balfour Beatty, VINCI, and Taylor Woodrow. Balfour Beatty’s Head of Digital Project Delivery, Harry Parnell, has run
Located at the M4 site office, the digital rehearsal room supports the continued flow of construction by providing a safe environment for the delivery team to analyse the project while avoiding unnecessary disruption on
training sessions with Navisworks Manage and Navisworks Freedom to get everyone on the same page and educate staff in the use of models, reviewing them, marking up, and as a tool to enhance information sharing around the design in project meetings. This has improved the team’s ability to interact with the design on the M4 project.
the motorway.
“We’ve created a digital rehearsal room,” explains Harry Parnell. “It’s driven by three projectors with a touch-screen environment to actually move around a model — a collaboration area where we can get the designers, contractors and the supply chain into the same room to review the project.”
For Parnell’s team, Autodesk applications such as Civil 3D, Revit, and AutoCAD are key. “We choose an application depending on the discipline,” he says. “We’re using Revit for bridge structures and gantries; AutoCAD for all our comm’s, and Civil 3D for highways alignment, emergency refuges and central reserve areas. We federate all of that inside Navisworks to perform clash detection.” Infraworks models allow the team to communicate with key stakeholders throughout the project. “We can show them the job and what we’re actually going to be building at the end of it,” confirms Parnell.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
39
LEADERSHIP
so that the construction teams can get the cross-sections at a specific change location with all the disciplines included. Rather than having to refer constantly to the CAD team, Parnell believes this will enhance speed and efficiency in the ongoing design process. “We’re seeing the potential for it to be used for linear infrastructure projects and handle large models,” he says. “Breaking the models into smaller locations, and smaller chunks 40
of data, will make associated applications work more efficiently.” Autodesk has also worked with Balfour Beatty to develop BIM 360 Field in situ, ahead of its rollout across the M4 Smart Motorway Programme.
MAKING THE MOVE FROM PAPER TO DIGITAL
He estimates a saving of around three
Balfour Beatty has enjoyed a 300%
staff. “By doing things digitally, the
return on investment through the use
mobile devices pay for themselves
of BIM 360. The move away from
within seven weeks per person,” he
paperwork to the use of mobile
adds, noting that significant savings
devices on site, loaded with BIM 360
have been made on the M4 project
Docs, makes project information
using the Autodesk AEC Collection.
accessible to Parnell’s team along
“If a clash went undetected, the cost
the 52km stretch of the M4 motorway.
would be £500 for each instance.
FEBRUARY 2020
hours per week for each member of
41
“For our future infrastructure schemes, it’s about early engagement and collaboration; agreeing the level of detail and information while getting the models, standard methods and procedures agreed up front” — Harry Parnell, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Balfour Beatty w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
LEADERSHIP
Using Navisworks we’ve achieved savings in the ballpark of £4mn.”
3DR DEVELOPS A FORGE-POWERED DATA SUPERHIGHWAY The use of models also helps to track and share progress on the project. Balfour Beatty’s in-house drone team creates fly-through videos and process photogrammetry, transforming data into actionable maps and models to fuel ongoing design along the M4 scheme. This also keeps the motorway active 42
while supporting the safety of workers. Balfour Beatty is taking advantage of a collaboration between Autodesk and 3DR. “With this integrated solution we can collect the data, pull it into 3DR, process the information into meshes and point clouds, then export the data into BIM 360 to share out with the grand
for teams to collaborate on during
project delivery team,” explains Parnell.
a project.
The combination of 3DR and BIM
“With 3DR, it’s not just about the
360 allows for rapid data sharing
processing,” says Parnell. “The online
during the ongoing design process.
portal application is very easy to
In the past, these large files would
use, and learn. When we’re analysing
be distributed via hard drives sent
progress on the M4 project, we can
through the mail. However, this would
overlay two different sources of data,
lead to duplicated information and
and compare one month’s drone
the lack of a single source of truth
flight with another.”
FEBRUARY 2020
on where they should stand inside of the environment. In the VR room, this translates to the permanent works design providing a platform to enhance safety before construction staff visit the site for real. The M4 Smart Motorway Programme has further benefited from this innovation by allowing workers to wander around sections of the project to gain a vision for the ultimate aims of the design. VR links delivery team offices, enabling exploration of the site without the need for team members to be in the same room or having to travel to site for presentations, saving time and money. “We use a HTC VIVE, Oculus Rift scenario, so people can more easily understand the project while immersed in that environment,” reveals Parnell.
VR MAKES 3D DESIGN A REALITY FOR CONSTRUCTION TEAMS
“We want to push boundaries. We’re
Balfour Beatty is also pushing bounda-
of the VR environment to review designs,
ries by using virtual reality applications
health and safety risks and buildabil-
for the M4 Smart Motorway Programme.
ity. It will be the next step-change in
The company previously used VR on
the industry.”
aiming to get 4D sequencing inside
its sister M6 project for plant/people interface training. Parnell’s team runs design models and creates yellow, amber and red zones to train operatives w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
43
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
44
Visit your construction tomorrow, today WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE
How Oracle Construction & Engineering’s Innovation Lab is encouraging collaboration and providing the gateway to an ecosystem that can support the plan, build and operate lifecycle
FEBRUARY 2020
45
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
46
O
racle employs over 40,000 peo-
Andy Verone, Oracle Construction &
ple across nine industry specific
Engineering’s Global Vice President
business units. The genesis for
for Industry Strategy & Innovation.
construction and engineering was
the acquisition of Primavera over
BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM
10 years ago, a strategy which has
“It starts with a secured common data
continued with the purchase of Ac-
environment and ecosystem,” explains
onex, Textura and Skire — $3bn of
Verone. “We know we can’t do every-
acquisitions inside one global busi-
thing for every customer, so our eco-
ness unit. “We’ve focused on having
system supports the plan, build and op-
expert DNA to help our customers
erate lifecycle - everything from capital
not only to solve today’s problems,
planning, portfolios, risk-management
but also look to the future,” pledges
and pre-construction to design coordi-
FEBRUARY 2020
47
nation, job site mobility and payments.
ogy. By working with them and under-
We’re giving our customers the insights
standing their use cases we’ve taken
they need to more efficiently perform
a different approach,” he says. “Rather
their large capital projects.”
than being API-driven, we’ve focused
Burcin Kaplanoglu, Oracle Construc-
on the problems we need to solve and
tion & Engineering’s Executive Director
the companies we can partner with to
of Innovation, recalls the company’s
develop those applications and hard-
goal was to create an ecosystem
ware solutions.”
capable of looking at the market and evaluating new technologies. “We
THE INNOVATION LAB
decided to work with a small group of
To support Oracle’s exploration of
companies - some startups and some
new tech, the company chose to
more mature - to validate their technol-
develop its own Innovation Lab. “We w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
48
“ We decided to build our own construction site. The Innovation Lab is a platform for integrations and use cases where you can experience solutions in action” — Burcin Kaplanoglu, Executive Director of Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering
FEBRUARY 2020
decided to build our own construction site. The Innovation Lab is a platform for integrations and use cases where you can experience solutions in action,” confirms Kaplanoglu. “We asked our customers what they wanted to see.” The site opened in the summer of 2018 and has since welcomed over 1,000 visitors. “Technologies can help our customers deliver their projects, but what we’re really focused on is how can we help them improve the process and the skills of their workers.”
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UK GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL – ADVANCING NET ZERO’ 49
Oracle aims to support customers
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
with its own tech stack via its partner’s
Verone explains that visitors to the lab
solutions. “The Innovation Lab has
start the experience in a construction
shown how successful this approach
trailer on site, the antithesis of a confer-
can be with 80% of the technolo-
ence room or corporate visitor centre.
gies that we’re working with at the site
“It’s an environment which allows our
now commercially available,” reveals
customers to better explain the prob-
Kaplanoglu. “We’re curating how these
lems they face,” says Verone. “It always
technologies can work together with
leads to a second visit from the project
input from our customers. Alongside
managers that are actually delivering
plans to extend the Innovation Lab in
projects out there in the world.”
Chicago with an indoor/outdoor site
“It’s an immersive experience, from
space, Oracle is looking at rolling out the
wearing your hard hats and the safety
concept globally, starting with Europe.
requirements of entering the site,” he w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
adds. “We’re really keen to reach out to the educational community across the US and get people excited about this industry again. We open our doors to high schools and universities to show the next generation of constructors and civil engineers that the activities happening on job sites today are very technology driven. Everything from drones, and the potential for 5G to reshape project delivery on site, to IoT, VR and BIM modelling.” 50
“ We know we can’t do everything for every customer, so our ecosystem supports the plan, build and operate lifecycle” — Andy Verone, Global Vice President, Industry Strategy & Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering FEBRUARY 2020
51
CONSTRUCTING AN ECOSYSTEM WITH TRUSTED PARTNERS
that are visualised in an interactive
Oracle is collaborating with the likes
for contractors, clients, and govern-
of Bosch, Reconstruct and Triax to
ment organisations around the world in
develop an ecosystem of solutions to
the energy, infrastructure, and building
support construction customers. UK-
sectors. “They’ve trained their algo-
based startup, nPlan, uses machine
rithms working with 250,000 sched-
learning technology and a large data-
ules for a broad range of contractors,”
set of construction programs to help
adds Kalplanoglu. “Based on the data-
understand uncertainty and risk in con-
set, they build models for customers
struction projects. The company’s soft-
to predict what the outcome will be per
ware makes high-quality predictions
schedule activity. Their analysis can
front-end web app and a suite of APIs
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
FACT BOX
Innovation in Action
52
Kaplanoglu has identif ied key areas of interest from the customer feedback received where Oracle will be looking to partners within its ecosystem to provide solutions. The Innovation Lab provides a hands-on trusted space for customers to see solutions in action and collaborate with Oracle’s partners (including the likes of Bosch and nPlan) on how to build construction tomorrow. “Our customers told us they wanted a solution that links a project schedule to the materials on site. They want to be able to digitally track that shipment and know where it sits in the production process and be notified once it has been installed,” he reveals. “We also have solutions to manage crew on site, the zones they’re expected to be working in, and safety alerts should an accident occur – it’s about being proactive rather than reactive.”
FEBRUARY 2020
Kaplanoglu believes that whether you’re an owner or subcontractor progress reporting is essential. “With the ultimate goal being the completion of the project so everyone can get paid, we’re working with one of our customers to look at ways of automating that reporting process with verification in the field,” he explains. “By scanning the site with a robot that alerts a 3D model in the cloud linked to a partner solution called Reconstruct (a ‘Visual Command Center’ that shows you what is there vs what should be there), the schedule can be updated. During 2019, one of our customers trialled this concept with 360-degree cameras and brought their findings back to the lab to learn what robot scanning of the environment will add through Augmented Reality (AR). You can actually do progress reporting based on the data that comes from the field and you don’t even need to be on the site.”
“ Whether we collect it with sensors or humans, we need to find ways to better understand data and use it to predict what’s next” — Burcin Kaplanoglu, Executive Director of Innovation, Oracle Construction & Engineering
help us deliver efficiencies and realise benefits for our customers.”
CONNECTING TRENDS Oracle Construction & Engineering focuses on creating a connected platform to serve the ecosystem, supply chain and project team network of four key markets: residential and commercial, public infrastructure, energy and resources as well as industrial manufacturing. “Connecting processes is a must for our clients pursuing plan, build and operate,” says Verone. “We need to connect everything from capital planning through building, execution and assets and facilities management. We’ve got to leverage that data to enhance visibility. Driving adoption is key. No software application in the world is going to be successful unless you encourage adoption from your customers.” Verone maintains that trust plays an important role in delivering results. “In today’s market that user experience has to be positive and very easy for our customers to consume with the security they demand,” he says. “The model management gives our customers a comprehensive integrated platw w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
53
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
form, a standardised asset register for handover on a scalable platform capable of taking on the biggest infrastructure projects in the world.” The connecting trend uniting all these solutions is data. “Whether we collect it with sensors or humans, we need to find ways to better understand data and use it to predict what’s next,” urges Kaplanoglu who notes three key issues: we either have too much data and not enough ways to understand it; not enough data 54
because areas of work site productivity are not being tracked with automated processes, or much of the data lacks the opportunity for real-time insights. “This creates an environment where we react,” he adds. “Moving us from, ‘let’s check the box when the work is completed’ to, ‘let’s have sensors to track live data so we can actually continue to see the progress without even needing to be on site.’”
BUILDING COLLABORATION IN 2020 Expanding its engagement with more customers in the physical site environment will continue to be paramount for Oracle and the development of its ecoFEBRUARY 2020
system of partner solutions. “We’re not just simulating, we’re learning a lot from the lab and general contractors to help us innovate,” confirms Kaplanoglu. Oracle is also heavily engaged with global construction organisations such as Building Smart International (BSI), which drives transformation of the built asset economy through the creation and adoption of open, international standards. “We’re playing a role in their work groups,” explains Verone. “It’s helping us validate what we’re doing from customer requests and engagement to our own product strategy and development teams.” To validate the tools that will enable solutions for customers, Oracle is continuing its collaboration with Texas University’s Construction Industry Institute research unit to document and create 16 best practices from an EPC contractor perspective. It’s all part of Oracle’s push to encourage collaboration and integration, and help build a stronger, smarter, and more connected future for the industry.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
55
TECHNOLOGY
HELPING DATA CENTRES KEEP THEIR COOL
56
WRITTEN BY
NICK OSBORNE
Following the news that the 2010s was the hottest decade on record, Nick Osborne, Data Centre Specialist for Aggreko, explores how providing sufficient air conditioning equipment is a key measure to avoiding overheating and ensuring against downtime
FEBRUARY 2019
57
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
TECHNOLOGY
58
D
elivering many key day-to-day
As global temperatures continue to
services such as our
rise and adverse weather conditions
communications, energy systems,
become more prevalent, controlling
transport and health services, data
and mitigating the vast amount of heat
centres and large-scale server rooms
that data centres produce is a more
are an integral part of daily life. Ensuring
pressing issue than ever for the sector.
these facilities and their equipment
With over 175 zettabytes of data pre-
remain continuously operational is an
dicted to be in existence by 2025, it is
absolute priority. One such factor that
even more vital than ever that existing
can affect the smooth operations of a
and future data centres have the cor-
data centre is extreme adverse weather,
rect infrastructure in place to ensure
which can cause equipment to fail and
heat generated by server racks and IT
result in costly downtime.
apparatus is balanced.
FEBRUARY 2019
EXTREME HEAT CAUSES DOWNTIME Climate change is a contentious topic across all industries, not least the data centre sector. With the market predicted to account for a third of global electricity consumption, as well as 3.2% of worldwide carbon emissions by 2025, the growth of the data centre industry threatens further climate change and ensuing effects on weather and temperature. High temperatures and humidity that could become commonplace in the future are conditions that spell disaster for data centres. Equipment in these facilities produce vast amounts of heat as it stands, and, with elevated Cooling systems, both liquid and
temperatures from extreme weather
air-derived, are available to data centre
patterns, the risk of overheating be-
providers to suit the requirements
comes higher than ever.
of facilities of all sizes and outputs.
The large amounts of heat gener-
However, a survey by Science Direct
ated by server racks and IT apparatus
found that 61% of data centres are
have been a long-standing concern
running at low efficiency, particularly
for companies across many industries.
thanks to unsuitable cooling systems.
With worldwide spending on data
With this in mind, it is vital that data
centres hitting $93bn in 2019 accord-
centre providers understand the
ing to Synergy Research Group, it is
requirements of their facility and can
no surprise that stakeholders want
benefit from the expertise of a special-
to prevent downtime and the ensuing
ist to select the best cooling solution.
costs that come from it. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
59
TECHNOLOGY
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POWER, HEATING AND COOLING FOR THE LIFECYCLE OF YOUR DATA CENTRE’
60
As technological advancement
The rises in temperature caused by
drives further implementation of in-
by-product heat within a facility can
novations, such as Edge Computing,
affect infrastructure performance
Artificial Intelligence and IoT, new
and lead to potential disruption and
hardware to satisfy the higher demand
plant failure – consequences data
of the data centre will produce even
centres and businesses reliant on
larger amounts of heat. Companies
server rooms are keen to avoid.
investing in advanced technologies to
Consequently, it is of paramount
enhance their offering means not only
importance that IT professionals and
that data centre providers will need to
data centre managers carefully con-
construct more facilities, but will also
sider whether their existing cooling
need to more carefully consider how
equipment is suitable for their busi-
they will cool equipment with more
ness’ needs.
advanced hardware. FEBRUARY 2019
KEEPING COOL
This approach is most applicable
When it comes to removing heat in
for data centres and facilities with
data centres, the two most common
comparatively smaller power load
methods currently in use are air or
densities, where the power load
water-cooled systems. As higher tem-
required for the mixing process is
peratures begin to put data centres of
a small fraction of the facility’s total
all sizes at risk of overheating, it is vital
power load. Where this is not the
that providers select the correct solu-
case, the system’s efficiency declines.
tion for satisfying the requirements of
Instead of balancing the tempera-
their facility.
ture of the room, a water-cooled
An air-cooled system delivers cold
system transfers chilled water to ex-
air into the data centre or server room,
actly where it is required – the server
extracting warm air from the room,
racks and computer banks. This
mixing both to eliminate hot spots.
targeted approach is more efficient
“With over 175 zettabytes of data predicted to be in existence by 2025, it is even more vital than ever that existing and future data centres have the correct infrastructure in place to ensure heat generated by server racks and IT apparatus is balanced.” — Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
61
TECHNOLOGY
C O MPAN Y FACT S Aggreko is a world-leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services. We are working at the forefront of a rapidly changing energy market and are focused on solving our customers’ challenges to provide costeffective, flexible and greener solutions across the globe.
62
We harness innovation that helps us maintain a global reach and supply portable equipment for a wide range of uses. From unique commercial industrial projects, through to utility provision and humanitarian emergencies. We bring expertise and equipment to any location, from the world’s busiest cities to its most remote places. Aggreko specialises in serving eight key sectors: Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Mining, Petrochemicals & Refining, Business Services & Construction, Events, Data Centres and Utilities. Across these, our equipment offers maximum fuel f lexibility, using gas, diesel (including HFO), and renewable fuel sources. We offer microgrid and FEBRUARY 2019
storage solutions and are developing our offer to include more tools to help our customers adapt to the energy transition the world is experiencing. What makes us unique is our extensive expertise, experience and values. This means we put our customers first, innovate and deliver leaner and more efficient equipment quickly. Since 1962, Aggreko has grown from a small local business to a global energy pioneer. We have more than 7,300 employees, operating in around 100 countries. With revenues of approximately £1.7bn ($2.2bn or €2bn) in 2017, we are listed on the London Stock Exchange (AGK.L) and headquartered in Scotland. Aggreko draws together global expertise and technology development to go further for customers. The ability to provide power, heating and cooling will continue to open-up opportunity and create potential for individuals, communities, industries and societies all over the world. Together and over time, we believe our services will make a massive difference.
63
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
TECHNOLOGY
64
“ As technological advancement drives further implementation of innovations, such as Edge Computing, Artificial Intelligence and IoT, new hardware to satisfy the higher demand of the data centre will produce even larger amounts of heat.” — Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko
FEBRUARY 2019
for companies operating larger data centres or server rooms. Though cooling systems of these types are usually installed as a permanent fixture within a data centre, temporary rental of cooling solutions may also need to be employed with extreme hot weather patterns occurring more frequently than ever. With data centres already using more and more power than ever before and the resulting impact on the environment a key industry concern, temporary solutions will alleviate the effects of a sudden heat wave without permanently using large amounts of power across a facility’s lifespan. Within a data centre that uses free cooling, a system where cool air is supplied directly from the outside in cold weather locations, such temporary solutions may be required in unusually warm conditions that may suddenly occur. As a contingency strategy, the implementation of chiller stab points within the cooling system allows for pre-existing access points for temporary chilling solutions to be quickly installed, ensuring downtime is kept to a minimum. w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
65
TECHNOLOGY
It must be noted that no two sites are the same, and may be subject to a wide array of changing variables such as temperature, humidity levels and available space. So, before selecting air conditioning and cooling equipment, a site survey should be carried out to clarify the site’s power and temperature requirements, and what environmental factors need to be considered.
FINDING THE RIGHT SOLUTION 66
Specifying the right temperature control system can be a highly technical task, usually requiring an expert in heating, ventilation and air conditioning to develop a bespoke plan. With
“With data centres already using more and more power than ever before and the resulting impact on the environment a key industry concern, temporary solutions will alleviate the effects of a sudden heat wave without permanently using large amounts of power across a facility’s lifespan.” — Nick Osborne Data Centre Specialist, Aggreko FEBRUARY 2019
67
this in mind, it is advisable companies
weather fronts, choosing the right cool-
use a third party to carry out this
ing equipment for a data centre is vital
service. Companies such as Aggreko
to avoiding downtime and added cost.
offer full consultation as well as
Being sure of the facility’s demand, the
equipment to ensure that the cooling
weather patterns in its location and,
system within each data centre suits
crucially, consulting an expert of data
their individual requirements.
centre temperature control will ensure
Whether it is a long-term solution for
such issues do not occur.
temperature control, or a short-term hire of a system to alleviate the effects of sudden heatwaves or extreme w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
T O P 10
68
FEBRUARY 2020
DATA CENTRE TRENDS Following a recent Gartner report, we count down the key trends shaping the infrastructure architecture of the data centres of the future WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
69
T O P 10
10
DATA CENTRES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED, AS HYBRID IT BECOMES STANDARD
Gartner sees IT organisations as brokers of ‘hybrid IT’, forecasting that enterprise data centres will become increasingly distributed, with applications and workloads located where they have the best fit and can deliver the best possible business outcomes. New infrastructure models will continue to emerge including: modular micro/ edge enterprise data centre models and cloud radio access network (C-RAN) edge solutions; on-premises cloud services options, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts, Microsoft Azure Stack and Google GKE On-Prem; consumption-based purchasing models for on-premises; and colocation interconnection options provided by 70
the likes of Digital Realty and T5 Data Centers.
FEBRUARY 2020
71
09
SIMPLIFIED, STANDARDISED AND RATIONALISED
Data centre infrastructures are changing from predominantly complex or proprietary systems to repeatable and predictable, standardised around commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) infrastructures. In addition, fast-paced adoption of new advances with systems such as hyperconvergence, software-defined and composable infrastructures is adding resources for consolidation initiatives. To increase rationalisation, nonstandard workloads and applications will stay on-premises or move to hosted off-premises. w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
T O P 10
72
08
INTELLIGENT, SOFTWAREDEFINED AND AUTOMATED
In Gartner’s I&O Leaders Survey, I&O leaders indicated plans to work with business leaders to implement AI and machine learning technologies, such as predictive and prescriptive analytics and deep learning. This will improve business productivity and help the business transition into a zone of productivity necessary for digitalproduct-driven organisations. Gartner recommends managing and driving AI capabilities that are embedded by infrastructure vendors, in addition to reusing artificial intelligence for operations (AIOps) capabilities to drive end-to-end (from digital product to infrastructure) automation. FEBRUARY 2020
07
RESILIENT AND SERVICE-DEFINED
As enterprise data centres become more intelligent, automated, software-defined and modernised by new technology, their resilience will improve. Gartner stress the importance of the selection and design of infrastructure that is adaptable to the requirements of digital business systems by establishing planning principles that account for the changing nature of infrastructure resilience debt. Meanwhile, a culture of continuous resilience improvement throughout delivery teams should be supported by emphasising, governing and rewarding behaviour that promotes resilience, such as ownership, collaboration and transparency.
73
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
T O P 10
06
SMALLER, DENSER AND MORE VERTICAL
Five years ago, enterprise data centres were frequently designed with average energy densities as high as 5 kW/rack. Today, new designs are often built with averages higher than 8 kW/rack. The increasing redistribution of workloads to cloud, colocation and edge means less physical space is required in data centres. Increased virtualisation, integrated systems, HCI options and advanced solid-state array (SSA) storage require less physical space, but similar amounts of, if not more, energy. This means that more attention must be given to power and cooling systems. 74
FEBRUARY 2020
75
05
EFFICIENT AND COST-EFFECTIVE
Improving data centre efficiency has long been the mantra of I&O leaders focused on infrastructure modernisation. Compounding the issue, the complexity of business-driven environments and demands from an increasing number of business areas are growing faster than most organisations’ IT budgets. As a result, organisations across the world have developed, adopted and improved numerous technologies for improving data centre efficiency.
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
T O P 10
04
AGILE AND FLEXIBLE
Enterprise data centre infrastructures require multiple adaptive modes of IT. Some are based on core IT transactions and systems of record. Others are based on rapidly evolving systems of innovation and engagement. Continuous delivery and deployment practices advocate the complete automation of the delivery pipeline — from the point where developers commit their code to the actual release of the software application to the user. In continuous delivery scenarios, stop points allow decision makers to determine when to move forward. With continuous deployment there are no stop points. Code 76
moves directly from the developer’s commit, through the development life cycle to the production servers, with no human action required.
FEBRUARY 2020
77
03
MULTICONNECTED NETWORKS
Network connectivity is one of the most critical elements of hybrid IT. When critical workloads started moving to the cloud, the latency created by this traffic backhauling became unacceptable. The enterprise WAN needed to be readjusted. Organisations are developing network initiatives, such as using colocation and cloud interconnects, adopting software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), software-defined networking (SDN) and APIs for implementing a multiconnected environment. w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
T O P 10
02
GREENER AND SUSTAINABLE
A green data centre gleans the maximum amount of production from the minimum amount of materials and energy, without compromising performance, resilience or security. A green approach requires an end-to-end integrated view that includes the configuration of the building, energy efficiency, waste manage78
ment, asset management, capacity management, technology architecture, support services, energy sources and operations. Aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, future data centre infrastructures will be increasingly green and sustainable, because sustainability and profitability are no longer seen as competing interests. In business performance reporting, the boundary between these objectives is disappearing. Investor, regulator and shareholder demand has driven 78% of the Global 250 to integrate corporate responsibility information into their financial reports. This represents an increase from 65% in 2015.
FEBRUARY 2020
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘VOLVO IT’S GREEN DATA CENTER’
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
79
T O P 10
80
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INSIDE THE HEART OF AN IBM CLOUD DATA CENTER’
FEBRUARY 2020
01
REGULATED BY GOVERNMENTS
Enterprise data centres are becoming increasingly regulated by governments due to the growing focus on digital ethics, privacy and risk. Several regulatory controls have direct implications for data centre infrastructures. These include: SEC Rule 17a-4 which outlines requirements for data retention, indexing and accessibility for companies that deal in the trade or brokering of financial securities; The US Department of Defense (DoD) which requires all of its contractors to adhere to the NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171 standard to “protect controlled unclassified information in non-federal information systems and organisations�; NIST Special Publication 800-53, a catalogue of security controls spanning U.S. federal information systems and the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
81
EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S
The biggest events and conferences around the world for construction leaders EDITED BY DAN BRIGHTMORE
82
4–7 FEBRUARY 2020
World of Concrete [ LAS VEGAS, USA ]
At World of Concrete, you will discover
Attracting 1,500-plus exhibitors,
all the products, resources and
World of Concrete (presented in
insights necessary to strengthen your
partnership with the likes of the
business. The commercial construc-
National Demolition Association and
tion industry’s first, largest and most
InfraRoi) welcomes 60,000 industry
important annual international event
professionals representing all seg-
for concrete and masonry professionals
ments of the construction industry
across the globe hosts original equip-
from commercial contractors and
ment manufacturers from around the
architects to engineers and precast
world and exclusive US distributors of
producers. The event is also home to
equipment, tools, products and ser-
the Mason Contractors Association
vices for the commercial construction,
of America (MCAA) convention.
concrete and masonry industries.
FEBRUARY 2020
83
3–5 MARCH 2020
Futurebuild [ LONDON, UK ]
Futurebuild brings together 27,000
of structured learning across
industry influencers and opinion
six keynote stages. Check out the
shapers to drive real change. A
Big Innovation Pitch, where a host
world class knowledge programme,
of manufacturers will offer radical
alongside an immersive exhibition
solutions to six key construction
of 450 innovative and inspiring
challenges, brace for Digital Impact
brands, and a host of networking
where visitors can discover all that
events, will combine to explore the
the digital ecosystem has to offer
latest thinking and debate the
the industry, and take the Innovation
biggest issues facing the built
Trail in partnership with Geberit,
environment now and in the future.
Hadley Group and Smart
The event features over 200 hours
Architectural Aluminium.
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S
The biggest events and conferences around the world for construction leaders EDITED BY DAN BRIGHTMORE
6–9 APRIL 2020
19–22 MARCH 2020
Megabuild, Indonesia 84
Building Innovation 2020 [ VIRGINIA, USA ]
[ JAKARTA, INDONESIA ]
The National Institute of Building
Megabuild was launched in 2014
Sciences (NIBS) eighth annual
and is Indonesia’s premier architecture,
conference and expo offers a platform
interior design and building exhibition
for all those who impact the built
and conference, organised by the
environment. It brings together labour
industry for the industry. Featuring six
and consumer interests, government
key segments (Construction Materials,
representatives, regulatory agencies,
Bathroom & Kitchen, Doors & Windows,
and members of the building industry
Roof & Flooring, Interior Furnishing
to identify and resolve problems that
and Building Materials) Megabuild
hamper the construction of safe,
runs over 21 concurrent seminars, with
affordable housing and commercial
CPD points awarded for professional
structures throughout the US and
architects. Megabuild welcomes over
beyond. Join the innovators sharing
38,000 visitors annually, making
ideas, initiatives, practices and policies
connections and gaining invauluabe
to optimise building performance
insights from 380-plus exhibitors.
and sustainability.
FEBRUARY 2020
6 MAY 2020
National Construction Expo 2020 [ MILTON KEYNES, UK ] The National Construction Expo provides a platform to showcase the innovative technologies capable of delivering the
9–10 JUNE 2020
required to meet the needs of the UK’s
Women in Construction Summit
growing population. Addressing the
[ LONDON, UK ]
challenges of Industry 4.0, the expo will
Part of a world series of Women in
analyse the impact and efficiency of BIM,
Construction events dedicated to
sensors, data analytics and smart
championing diversity across the
systems. It will also consider the array
construction industry, London’s Olympia
of offsite manufacturing technologies
will welcome 1,400 attendees for two
that can reduce waste and risk while
days of development workshops and
speeding up the construction process
inspiring keynotes across 50 sessions.
and weigh up different approaches to
Built for women, by women, the summit
energy generation and storage. The
will examine the disruption required
expo is also set to examine the whole life
to redefine the onsite experience,
asset performance approach — focusing
dismantle culture barriers and reposition
on the costs of a project across its
the wellbeing agenda. Speakers will
lifecycle. Last year’s keynotes included
include Mott MacDonald’s Technical
insights from the likes of BAM Nuttall,
Director, Dr Barnali Ghosh, Skanska’s
Skanska, Willmott Dixon Construction
Global Diversity Manager, Pia Hook
and the University of Cambridge Centre
and Michelle Dix, TFL’s Managing
for Industrial Sustainability.
Director for Crossrail 2.
sustainable buildings and infrastructure
w w w. c o n s t r u c t io n gl o b a l . c o m
85
86
Leveraging the power of innovation, Pomerleau enables its people to provide added value to its clients WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE
FEBRUARY 2020
PRODUCED BY
TOM VENTURO
87
University of Ottawa - Advanced Research Complex, Ottawa, Ontario w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
POMERLEAU INC
Canadian construction leader Pomerleau is leading the industry through a period of profound change and delivering unparalleled results for its clients coast-to-coast
“W
hy try to earn a spot in a field that already exists? It’s much better to be on the cutting edge and create the field.” More than half
a century since he established the construction busi88
ness that bears its name in St-Georges de Beauce, Quebec, Hervé Pomerleau’s mantra has proved successful. With a coast-to-coast presence across Canada, Pomerleau offers a host of construction services encompassing infrastructure, design-build, lean and modular approaches, public private partnerships and more. “We have strong partnerships across the country enabling us to be a one-stop shop for our clients and assist those who want to be more involved on an open book basis,” explains Eric Gaulin, Pomerleau’s Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations (CBO). “The sooner we’re involved, the greater value we can bring. We can engage partners from across our network to achieve a common goal from planning, to design and construction” FEBRUARY 2020
89
Willowbrook Rail Maintenance Facility, Toronto, Ontario w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
POMERLEAU INC
“ Why try to earn a spot in a field that already exists? It’s much better to be on the cutting edge and create the field” — Hervé Pomerleau, Founder, Pomerleau Inc Gaulin believes Pomerleau’s entre-
90
practices and push boundaries. And most importantly, it is employee driven and taps into the creativity of every
preneurial spirit, combined with the
member of the Pomerleau family. “FOX
inclusive culture of a family-owned
allows us to share initiatives across the
business, has created a solid platform
company from a central point and is the
to innovate and achieve success. “We
vehicle that guides our own transforma-
want our people to learn from their
tion and helps us in turn transform the
mistakes while ensuring they are taking
construction industry,” confirms Gaulin.
the initiative to become better people and employees,” he says. Pomerleau is taking the initiative to support them through its Foundation for Operational Excellence (FOX); created to keep the company agile, while future-proofing its business model. FOX helps create and maintain synergies, to standardise
Aerial rendering, longterm care facility, Gander, Newfoundland FEBRUARY 2020
Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POMERLEAU IS THE FIRST CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IN THE WORLD TO USE THE SPOT ROBOT ON ITS SITES. ’ 91
Gaulin highlights the successful
Gaulin. “Our job is not just to create
launch of cloud-based platform Procore
the concrete and physical foundations,
across the country, as an example of
to pour concrete, build roads or put
how FOX has enabled Pomerleau to
together steel structures. It’s to help
adapt to ultimately provide more value
build communities; we are building
for its clients. “Due to ongoing labour
the future.”
shortages, it’s becoming more impor-
In order to build the future,
tant. FOX is supporting champions for
Pomerleau relies on two things: the
this in each of our offices to draw on
excellence of its people and innovation.
best practices from around the world
That commitment was recognised for
and enhance our day to day operations.
the second consecutive year in 2019
It helps us deliver better and faster.”
with a CanBIM Innovation Spotlight
‘The Pomerleau Way’ delivers best
Awards for Pomerleau’s work on the
practice through collaboration, says
Willow Square Continuing Care Centre w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
INTERIOR SYSTEM SPECIALIST
TOTALLY COMMITTED
COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SECTOR
Specializing in the design and installation of high performance interior systems, Humaco Acoustique obtains a Canada wide reputation. We successfully maintain quality and compliance of soundproofing, construction and finishing work on sophisticated interior design projects. Whatever your needs and the uses of the building, our team is able to offer you innovative, high-quality and realistic solutions with your resources and deadlines.
LEARN MORE
Partners of choice for contractors in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
Top quality hollow metal and wood doors and frames. Sound rated, fire rated and medically certified doors. Wide variety of architectural hardware including all major brands.
BUILDING SATISFIED CUSTOMERS SINCE
5069 St-Jean Baptiste Blvd. Montreal (Quebec) H1B 5V3 (514) 645-1687
(514) 645-2141
soumissionsarj@arjanvier.com
WWW.ARJANVIER.COM
in Fort McMurray. “We strive to imple-
and the Innovation Team is helping lev-
ment digital technology processes
erage the potential of technologies like
and methodology in our day to day
BIM across the company’s construc-
operations from project conception to
tion, maintenance and management
delivery and beyond,” assures Gaulin
services. “The BIM process is being
who is keen to see innovation become
used throughout a project’s lifecycle,
the norm on job sites. “Leveraging tech-
from planning, design, and precon-
nology helps us to reduce costs, avoid
struction to operation & maintenance,
delays onsite and, more importantly,
retrofits, expansion and even at times,
frees up our people to do what they
deconstruction,” she explains. “BIM has
do best: give expert advice that’s a
also allowed Pomerleau to produce a
value add for our clients.” At Pomerleau,
Digital Twin - a virtual version of a -job
technology is not an end onto itself, but
site. Using BIM helps us accelerate
rather a means to empower the team
the integration of other technologies
to provide advice and create added
such as virtual and augmented real-
value for the clients.
ity. Integrating technology on our
Lieu Dao, Innovation Manager, R&D
sites allows us to monitor progress
and Special Projects at Pomerleau,
for a higher productivity, to optimise
“ Integrating technology on our sites allows us to monitor progress for a higher productivity, to optimise scheduling, to get accurate data useful for operations and maintenance and more” — Lieu Dao, Innovation Manager, R&D and Special Projects, Pomerleau Inc w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
93
POMERLEAU INC
94
scheduling, to get accurate data use-
is forecasted to deliver 28% of
ful for operations and maintenance
Pomerleau’s revenue in 2020. “Our
and more. Ultimately, using technology
goal within the next three years is
helps us deliver higher quality and bet-
to deliver a third of that revenue
ter value for our clients.”
through CBO,” adds Gaulin. “We
Gaulin’s CBO team is one of three
are seeing a lot of momentum in our
operations teams at Pomerleau
Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, and Calgary
which also include Quebec
offices and are extremely proud
Building Operations (QBO) and Civil
of getting a first CBO pro-
Infrastructure. CBO is making a
ject in British-Columbia
significant contribution to the ongo-
in 2019 with the South
ing success of the business and
Burnaby Arena.”
FEBRUARY 2020
CBO’s expansion, alongside the work
in Newfoundland for the Gander and
of Pomerleau’s other divisions, contrib-
Grand Falls long-term care facility; a big
utes to its overall success. “In two years
win for us. In Ottawa, we delivered the
in Atlantic Canada we transformed our
Science & Technology Museum with
business from being 100% lump sum
their new storage building, which alto-
contractors to now being 80% design
gether was a $200mn project.” Set to
build projects,” explains Gaulin. “In 2018
double Pomerleau’s revenue in Toronto
we also won our first P3 (public-private
via forthcoming high-rise and key pro-
partnership) project outside of Quebec
jects, CBO is also making headways
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Eric Gaulin Eric Gaulin has spent almost two decades working at Pomerleau in a variety of roles from Project Manager in Quebec to his current post as Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations (CBO). “I used to want to be involved in every decision. Now, because of the size of my portfolio, I’ve learned to delegate,” he explains. Gaulin works closely with Pomerleau’s regional vice-presidents and regional -directors leading CBO’s offices, as well as with the leadership team from Pomerleau’s other divisions. “Now I see my role as a support one, providing guidance and giving my teams autonomy to make sure they use an entrepreneurial mindset when making decisions. I offer support when they need it, while ensuring the communication across our group is open and constant,” he adds. It’s a vision of management that has evolved throughout Gaulin’s career: “I want us to resolve issues together and learn from each situation. At the end of the day, my goal is to make sure that the members of my leadership team are ready to take my position, and that the people under them are also ready and have the opportunity to step up.”
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
95
INFINITE POTENTIAL Janick Electric Ltd provides complete in-house electrical engineering, electrical construction and continued service in the commercial, industrial, process and residential/retirement industries. Learn More 416-635-8989 electricalservice@janickelectric.com
Š Photos : StÊphane Groleau
1966
Year founded
3,500 Number of employees
150
active job-sites coast-to-coast
and for facility management. It will allow us to automate time-consuming tasks and optimise time and resource allocation,” confirms Dao, who is keen for Pomerleau to keep pushing the envelope and lead by example as the Canadian construction industry undergoes an important digitalisation process. “Using coordinated 3D models is the key for efficient prefabrication planning and off-site construction. Using robots, autonomous drones and scans to monitor site progress and quality assurance.” Gaulin notes a significant trend: that the projects Pomerleau is taking
in Ottawa, as well as in Western and
on are getting larger and more com-
Atlantic Canada. In fact, Gaulin’s
plex, with operational responsibility
team won its first building project in
being transferred to the company
British Colombia in 2019, the East
from its clients. “It can make a project
Burnaby Arena ice sports complex.
even more challenging when we’re
Gaulin recognises the need
trying to deliver in the fastest way
for Pomerleau to stay focused on
possible,” he says. “The labour short-
executing projects like these in 2020
age adds another layer of complexity
while increasing the company’s use of
and is really forcing us to innovate the
technology and innovative solutions
way we approach construction. In sum-
to build better. “We are furthering
mary, all our projects are mainly like
the BIM process, coordination and
a prototype; there are no two build-
progress analysis with artificial intel-
ings that are the same and we don’t
ligence on building & civil project
want our clients to waste time and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
97
POMERLEAU INC
DID YOU KNOW?
East Bloc Designated as a Classified Heritage Building by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, the House of Commons’ East Bloc is one of Canada’s finest examples of Ruskinian Gothic Revival Architecture. Pomerleau has been hard at work on the rehabilitation and seismic upgrading of the building since April 2017. The project marks the first rehabilitation initiative of this scale since construction its construction
in 1859. Four areas were selected for critical restauration work: the South East Tower, the South Entrance, the South West Tower and the Governor Generals Entrance. Pomerleau can count on the collaboration of partners AtwillMorin, Tower Scaffold, Heather & Little, McGowan Electric, Modern Mechanical, and Heritage Grade on this project, which is scheduled to be completed in November 2021.
Established in 2013, Lamarche Electric Inc is a reputable electrical contractor serving the greater Ottawa area, as well as Gatineau. Lamarche Electric Inc is a true full service electrical contractor.
Learn More
lamarcheelectric.ca ECRA/ESA Lic 7002052
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POMERLEAU IN 2 MINUTES’ 99
“ Our job is not just to create the concrete and physical foundations, to pour concrete, build roads or put together steel structures. It’s to help build communities; we are shaping the future” problems and minimize delays. With — Eric Gaulin, Executive Vice President, Canadian Building Operations, Pomerleau Inc
the experience of having put the project together virtually before even stepping on site, we have already reasoned through potential challenges
money by making mistakes on these
and have a multitude of solutions in
prototypes. That’s why we need inno-
our back pocket.”
vation. We have tools that allow us to build virtually to help us anticipate
Technology also plays a key role in how the company recruits, trains and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
We make buildings work. WE HANDLE MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, BUILDING CONTROLS, AND BUILDING SERVICES PROJECTS ON ALL SCALES, LARGE AND SMALL. WE’RE THERE TO SUPPORT YOUR INVESTMENT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY — FROM ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND DESIGN TO CONSTRUCTION AND ONGOING MAINTENANCE.
modernniagara.com retains staff. “We are increasing the support to our people by giving them the right training, mentoring and leadership,” says Gaulin. “In order to leverage technology for our clients we are investing in face-to-face interaction more than anyone else in the industry, because our people have always been the key to our success. We are a people business undergoing an important internal transformation to future-proof our strategy. At the heart of Pomerleau is a spirit of entrepreneurship, which we want every employee to take part in through FEBRUARY 2020
DID YOU KNOW?
SOPREMA Woodstock Plant Pomerleau was awarded the contract for the construction of a 7,432 square metre production plant in Woodstock, Ontario. An international manufacturer, SOPREMA specializes in the production of innovative products for waterproofing, insulation, soundproofing and vegetated solutions for the roofing, building envelope and civil engineering sectors. Work was carried out between November 2017 and June 2019. Pomerleau was charged with the construction of an
exterior storage area, a one-storey office building and mezzanine, and a laboratory used for quality control. Pomerleau also oversaw the installation of the production equipment. The project was rewarded with an Excellence Award in steel construction from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction in November of 2019. These awards recognise teams (client, architect and general contractors) that collaborated to deliver unique and original steel construction projects.
SOPREMA Plant, Woodstock, Ontario
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
101
POMERLEAU INC
102
FEBRUARY 2020
DID YOU KNOW?
Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant The Pomerleau Bessac General Partnership will oversee building a new outfall pipeline for the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP), a largely industrial island in the Fraser River, southeast of Vancouver. This outfall was desperately needed as the Annacis Island WTP could no longer service the growing population of the area. The new WTP will meet the regional growth needs for the next 100 years.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
103
POMERLEAU INC
VidĂŠotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec
CONCRETE PEOPLE. CONCRETE RESULTS. REIMAR has built a reputation for the highest skilled tradespeople in the region. Combined with an emphasis on a family environment that encourages the growth and success of its members, the REIMAR team brings the right ideas with the abilities and resources to execute.
LEARN MORE
www.reimar.ca info@reimar.ca
DID YOU KNOW?
Longterm care facilities from Newfoundland Pomerleau was awarded, as part of a consortium, the contract for the design and construction of two long-term care facilities in Gander and Grand FallsWindsor in April 2019. The project, awarded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, is one of twelve P3 projects Pomerleau has worked on since 2010. 105 initiatives like FOX and PX3 so that
people first approach is one of the
everyone in our business can bring
many reasons why Gaulin believes
forth an idea that will help us main-
the future is bright for Pomerleau.
tain and even surpass our high
“We are not just keeping up with the
standards.”
pace of change that we see in our
PX3, Pomerleau’s new on board-
industry, we are thinking 10-15 years
ing and training program, launched
ahead, leveraging innovation, and
last August. It offers an ecosystem
investing in our people like we’ve
of initiatives to support excellence
done all along for 53 years.”
by focusing on three core principles: Pomerleau’s unique corporate culture, positive leadership and exceptional strategy. It delivers personalised support for job integration and personal growth. Pomerleau’s w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
106
THE CITY OF LA: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE THROUGH UNITY WRITTEN BY
OLLIE MULKERRINS PRODUCED BY
CRAIG KILLINGBACK
FEBRUARY 2020
107
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES
Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Resiliency Officer, discusses the innovative approach to creating a more sustainable Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Olympic games
D
oug Walters is currently engaged in a project under the direction of Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, focused on
addressing the escalating challenges of climate change. LA’s geographical location brings a host of varying landscapes within the vicinity of the city. 108
This, combined with the increasing challenges of climate change and our impact on the environment, presents several unique obstacles to the infrastructure and maintenance of the city, as Walters explains. “We’ve seen rising temperatures; pollutants that we inhale are increasing concerns about public health rates and our ability to breathe freely; we’ve seen wildfires in our hillsides and, when it does rain, we often see flooding in our streets. It’s a challenge for any advancing society, particularly as people start to develop and build further into the outlying area of the city,” he says. The diverse range of challenges faced by Walters has led him towards a holistic approach, where contributing factors from urban and natural environments have to be considered and siloed solutions must be set aside for a more focused FEBRUARY 2020
Japanese gardens at Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant
1781
City founded
$1.2bn Annual budget in US dollars
3,500 Number of employees
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
109
CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES
“ We have a host of low impact, best management practices to get homeowners or businesses to capture that first inch of rain and treat it”
110
— Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer
FEBRUARY 2020
approach. Often, this means looking at transforming behaviors alongside the technologies to support the change. “There are many instances where there are environmental emergencies and economic opportunities that call us to tackle climate change and start looking at different ways we can change our behavior to limit our carbon emissions,” Walters explains. “Whether that be in our urban environments or in the suburbs or elsewhere, we’re working to reduce the negative impacts that certain communities have faced from
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LA SANITATION & ENVIRONMENT ROADSHOW’ 111 decisions made decades ago that result in some bearing the brunt of a lot of industrial waste or dirty air, for example. We’re moving a lot of those new technologies into those communities to manage waste.” Walters has been working closely with Mayor Garcetti’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Lauren Faber-O’Conner, along with 27 other CSOs across the city’s departments to outline over 200 goals that, if achieved, will meet Los Angeles’ aspirations. Those led by LA Sanitation and Environment include initiatives for 100% recycled water, w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
Watershed experts building ecologically-based adaptation and resilience into our communities. Learn More
For more information, contact Wendy Katagi
213.336.0001
wkatagi@stillwatersci.com
solar installations, alleviating health
the plan because many of the goals
concerns around homeless encamp-
that were on track to be achieved,
ments by creating rapid response
about 90%, had already been met.”
teams to collect abandoned waste, and
Alongside technology, Walters is
abating the rat population. Discussing
keen to reiterate that education is a
the progress the department has made
key factor in tackling climate change:
towards its own sustainability goals,
“There’s a lot more awareness in
he says that “our Mayor put forth a
the population as a whole,” he says.
sustainability plan back in 2015, which
“We’ve been educating children on
is committing all of us in the city – and
environmental issues for several
certainly the municipal departments
decades and, as they have matured,
– towards a more low-carbon, green
they have fostered a more socially
energy future. In April, he updated
responsible population.” 113
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Douglas Walters In his dual role as LA Sanitation & Environment’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Resiliency Officer, Doug Walters, P.E., BCEE, has been a leader on many fronts since his graduation as a Civil Engineer at UCLA. He’s been instrumental in numerous breakthroughs in ceasing ocean discharge of biosolids, designing composting facilities, transforming landfills, improving water quality, integrating water assets and planning, recruiting talented engineers, strategic planning, and touting environmental justice and equality causes. In June, he rode his bicycle 545 miles from San Francisco to LA to raise money and awareness in support of people living longer and stronger with HIV and AIDS.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES
“ We are closer to nature, we’ve planted more trees and made leaps towards a sustainable future for our citizens and for the environment” — Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer
114
FEBRUARY 2020
115
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S U STA I N A B L E L A Black & Veatch has been proud to partner with Los Angeles for more than 35 years on over $1 billion in constructed environmental projects, including numerous award-winning facilities that have promoted the city’s water quality, reclamation and resilience.
ECHO PARK LAKE An award-winning rehabilitation effort redefined this LA icon as a stormwater treatment facility. Today the lake protects nearly 800 acres of Los Angeles River watershed while sparkling as the jewel of revitalized Echo Park, which has been a central part the city’s history for more than 150 years.
HYPERION WATER RECLAMATION PLANT LA’s oldest and largest wastewater treatment facility was completely reengineered and rebuilt without once going out of operation, including innovative solutions to control odor, reuse water, save energy, and restore Santa Monica Bay, earning recognition as a public works masterpiece.
117
This cultural shift has forced indus-
flooding regularly over the past dec-
tries to take note of the necessary
ade, making water management an
changes, and municipal bodies now
increasingly pressing issue. The city’s
meet less resistance from commercial
stormwater programme is set to
and technological sectors. “It allows
tackle both of these problems through
those who are more ambitious, which
the redirecting and repurposing of
is certainly a growing number in the
stormwater. “The programme started
city including our Mayor, to really
in the early 90s and it recently had a
scale up a lot of these goals and bring
huge boost,” Walters explains. “When
in industries that have new ideas or
it does rain in LA, for maybe 30 days
new technologies so that we can be
of the year, we get a lot. We tend to
more aggressive in our timelines and
get floods, and the sad part is that so
approach,” Walters elaborates.
much of that water runs straight off our
LA has experienced drought and
streets and directly into the ocean and w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES
river. It is, effectively, wasted. By rethinking our approach and broadening our appeal to other sectors, we can reuse water to preserve and enhance the city’s biodiversity, something that most urban dwellers don’t often think about.” The new initiative is looking to engage the community in environmental conservation through educational programmes and focused funding. Through such engagement, citizens are able to actively contribute to the wellbeing of the city and themselves. 118
“We have a host of low-impact, best management practices to get homeowners or businesses to capture that first inch of rain and treat it,” says Walters. “We can then provide guidance on what the treatment practices and equipment may be.” Technology is playing a vital role in managing and meeting the demands the city has on its limited water resources. With regards to this, Walters is working with teams to develop these technological innovations and increase the supply of key resources. He explains: “We’re reducing our dependence on water from a snow pack up in the northern part of the state. We’re FEBRUARY 2020
119
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
Innovation through partnerships to focus on the future. The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWAî‚‚ is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its founding this year. Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LASANî‚‚ was one of a handful of clean water agencies that had the vision and foresight to create NACWA and ensure improved water quality and environmental protections to everyone across the United States - so thank you LASAN!
As NACWA reflects on five decades of clean water progress, we celebrate the accomplishments of our now nearly 500 public and private organization members. But none should be more celebrated than the accomplishments of LA Sanitation & Environment. LASAN is a recent recipient of the coveted Water Resources Utility of the Future Today award and is looked to as an innovator by its peer utilities for its pioneering work on many projects, including but by no means limited to the following: The Residential Food Waste Diversion Pilot Program, which converts consumer food waste into renewable energy and reduces the amount of trash sent to landfills and gas emissions; and The Water Recycling Program, which protects environmental resources and provides a local, reliable water supply. Congratulations LASAN on behalf of your fellow public clean water agencies across the country. Keep blazing the trail!
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies 1130 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1050 Washington, DC 20036 Learn more at nacwa.org
looking at different membrane tech-
standards. “We can never forget trees.
nologies, membrane bioreactors,
They are such a powerful asset to have.
reverse osmosis and other advanced
They absorb pollutants through root
treatments so we can process and
systems, convert carbon from
manage our wastewater more effec-
our atmosphere and shield us from
tively while reducing costs to the city.”
the heat and airborne pollutants.
Walters supports low-tech, green
We’ve been planting trees in impacted
solutions that will not only reduce
neighborhoods, and this has become
the city’s net carbon emissions but
a big part of our strategy to cool the
also improve its aesthetic and living
environment down,” said Walters.
121
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
CIT Y OF LOS ANGELES
“ We’ve been rolling up our sleeves, looking at ways to make this the most sustainable games ever. We have a commitment to making them the ‘zero-waste’ games”
122
— Doug Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Resiliency Officer
FEBRUARY 2020
In 2028, from 21 July to 6 August, LA will play host to the Olympic Games. Walters and his team have been working towards making the games a zero-carbon event, as well as to raise awareness of the city’s sustainability goals. Speaking on the ambitions in place, Walters says, “We’ve been rolling up our sleeves, looking at ways to make this the most sustainable games ever. We have a commitment to making them the ‘zero-waste’ games. The Olympic planners are directly working with all of our big sponsors. They
have a huge role; they commit a lot of
says Walters. “We are proud of that
money to make the games successful,
image, but there is more to it. Now, we
but we want to make them aware that
are closer to nature, we’ve planted
we don’t expect to see lots of plastics
more trees and made leaps towards
making their way into our environment.”
a sustainable future for our citizens
LA is meeting the challenge of
and for the environment.”
becoming a leader in sustainability and intelligent resource management while using its reputation to change opinions and raise awareness around the solutions a government can enact to better its citizens’ lives. “We want people to think of LA as more than a jungle of entertainment, glitz and glamour,”
123
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
124
Savills Critical Facilities Group: how knowledge builds trust WRITTEN BY
SHANNON LEWIS PRODUCED BY
TOM VENTURO
FEBRUARY 2020
125
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S AV I L L S
Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, and Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, discuss Savills Critical Facilities and building client trust through IT expertise
W
hile Savills was founded in 1855, Critical Facilities Services only became a part of its brand in the mid-2010s, when it
purchased American-based tenant representation specialist, Studley Inc. The Critical Facilities 126
team has served clients since 2000, when it began working as a consultancy focused on helping companies define strategy around its data center needs, whether that meant building a facility or leasing space from a provider. “Our core focus,” Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, says, “is representing users of space and services. Across all business lines, we focus on user representation.” In the late 2000s, cloud service providers rapidly gained popularity, which led to an increased client demand for analysis and discussion of outsourced infrastructure alternatives. Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, adds that “it became clear that, to really engage with customers appropriately, we needed to understand their entire infrastructure stack from a detailed technology perspective, starting with FEBRUARY 2020
127
1855
Year founded
39,000 Number of employees
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S AV I L L S
“ We’ve talked about opensource software, but now there’s open-source infrastructure. People are contributing for the greater good of the industry, trying to lessen the impact on the planet as data center growth continues”
128
— Rick Drescher, Corporate Managing Director of Technical Services, Savills
FEBRUARY 2020
applications and moving deeper into systems and network requirements, as well as legacy platforms.” According to Zilla, in the early 2010s, the team was looking to expand its IT expertise to engage clients on a more technical level. In came Drescher, a 20-year IT professional with a focus on network engineering and large-scale infrastructure project experience. Drescher notes that he and Zilla pair in two fundamentally connected areas: the technical aspect, helping clients analyse their current and future
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SAVILLS CULTURE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE’ 129 technical requirements and develop-
According to Zilla, this allows them to
ing strategies to get them there based
connect to IT clients as they are knowl-
on what is important to them; and
edgeable about both their experiences
the financial analytics and structure
and the subject matter. Drescher
aspect, which focuses on strategic
notes, “we’ve been in the trenches
acquisition planning and identifying
of IT and understand the challenges
financial structures that best suit each
those professionals face. Our goals
client and project. Critical Facilities
are to reduce friction by educating vari-
works with a wide array of clients at
ous organisational stakeholders, and
different stages of their company life
move digital initiatives forward to help
cycle, from startups to Fortune 100
empower our clients’ businesses.”
businesses, meaning customisation
A point of pride for Savills is its hir-
and specialisation are key elements
ing strategy that seeks out-of-the-box
of its client dynamic. Both Zilla and
problem solvers with diverse back-
Drescher have IT backgrounds.
grounds and varied expertise. “We look w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
S AV I L L S
130
at what a project is likely to need from a
“The real value of having a multidis-
skillset perspective. While many of the
ciplinary team is being able to meet
engagements brought to the company
our customer where their need is,” Zilla
have common elements, each client
says. The team is analytical, with a
has access to our full team to provide
consulting-focused planning process.
the best possible advisement for their
It provides advisory, strategic and trans-
specific situation,” Drescher says. This
actional services, as well as real estate
can mean anything from bringing on an
and financial planning from the begin-
additional IT specialist to analyse chal-
ning of any project. This allows clients to
lenging network connectivity needs in
know from the start what their require-
a particular geography, to consulting
ments are and what decisions lie ahead.
with an engineer to review technical
“We are continuously keeping updated
drawings and ensure the client is being
on the latest developments in the data
delivered what they are expecting.
center industry, and, just as importantly,
FEBRUARY 2020
on what technology trends are shaping
which choices are correct but rarely is
infrastructure moving forward,”
the best decision to do nothing.” This
Drescher says. “We’re a nimble firm that
is where Savills comes in, as a trusted
gets creative with client solutions.”
advisor. A proven track record of
With how quickly technology solu-
experience in the field, as well as its
tions change, it is difficult for users
exposure to the marketplace, allows
to discern between options. “The
the firm to be a knowledgeable partner
speed at which new technologies are
in a constantly changing industry with
being released is a constant chal-
an overwhelming amount of options
lenge,” Drescher says. “People are
for end users. As a firm that believes
apprehensive about making decisions
in providing clients an objective view
on something that they could change
of their best options, Savills Critical
their mind on in 12 months’ time. There
Facilities Services values partners
is a lot of analysis paralysis around
with the same priorities. “We’ve been
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Ian Zilla Zilla joined Studley (now Savills) in 2005 as a member of the Corporate Services Group (CSG). His background in computer science, technology and finance complements his team’s quantitative strategic planning approach and financial consulting services, and contributes to clients’ mission-critical facilities and complex headquarters transactions. Zilla’s experience with critical power acquisition, as well as his expertise with scenario modeling and financial analysis, has positioned him as one of the practice leaders of the Savills Critical Facilities Group (CFG), working on the largest and most complex transactions and gained national experience implementing portfolio-wide strategies focused on data center and headquarters transactions.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
131
S AV I L L S
HYBRID & HYPERSCALE BUILT ON INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE QTS is a leading provider of hybrid colocation and hyperscale data center solutions, throughout North America and Europe. We are partner-focused, with an innovative, real-time Service Delivery Platform, and industry-leading customer satisfaction. LEARN MORE
fortunate enough to partner with firms that have the same user-first belief system we do,” Zilla says. “Ultimately, it comes down to ensuring the customer feels comfortable with their final decision. Clients often face a lack of transparency from service providers. Different service providers don’t always provide services, such as colocation, in the same way,” Drescher explains. “We understand the provider landscape and the areas where they excel. We are able to engage the right potential partners for our clients.
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Rick Drescher Drescher is recognised for unparalleled technical expertise and creative solutions at the intersection of real estate and technology analytics. His over 20 years’ IT experience in the financial services, technology and global telecommunications industries and extensive knowledge of enterprise IT systems has been leveraged to successfully design, plan and execute the fit-out and migration of more than 30 data centers and trading f loors, totaling more than one million square feet. As a founding partner of the firm’s Critical Facilities Group, Drescher provides strategic planning and advisory services pertaining to data centers, interconnection, cloud infrastructures and other technology-intensive real estate transactions.
w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
133
S AV I L L S
134
“ D uring a recent facility expansion project, the Savills team combined a diligent analytical approach — backed by significant market research — with a strong dose of tenacity. Working with them has been a pleasure, and the results create significant new opportunities for our business going into 2020” — Zac Smith, CEO, Packet
FEBRUARY 2020
It takes a solid understanding of each client’s technical, financial and operational goals to dig into the details of what’s being offered from various proposals. It’s about making sure our client is entering into a partnership with a service provider that meets their current and future needs most closely.” This wide base of knowledge allows Savills to build client trust. IT knowledge is increasingly important; real estate and IT are now interwoven thanks to phone systems, cloud computing and network services. An often-overlooked element of cloud migration, for instance, is the effect it will have on network connectivity. By providing a strategic planning process that does a full technical and operational assessment, the company mitigates these challenges. Zilla notes: “It creates trust and a partnership. Decisions are made by the entire organisation, which helps solve problems as they come up through objective, data driven analysis. The need for deep IT and financial knowledge is a must.” Client trust is important as many transactions between Critical Facilities and clients are long term, lasting 12-24 months. “There is nothing w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
135
S AV I L L S
136
“ The real value of having a multidiscipline team is being able to meet our customer where their need is” — Ian Zilla, Executive Managing Director, Technical Services, Savills FEBRUARY 2020
more important than building a trusting relationship,” he adds. Savills’ involvement in the Asian and European data center markets has been expanding rapidly, a trend that will continue based on demand from the cloud technology industry, as well as expanding end user needs. As a result, sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority for tech companies, with users driving the change by demanding greener alternatives. “The good news,” Drescher says, “is that the industry is addressing it. Energy
137
efficiency continues to improve across
the impact on the planet as data center
several key areas. Utility providers are
growth continues.” According to Zilla,
providing more access to renewables,
there is also an economic incentive to go
equipment manufacturers continue to
green. “People feel more of a responsi-
develop more efficient MEP systems
bility to the planet, and tech innovators
for data centers, and most importantly,
and markets are responding to that feel-
service providers and end users are
ing with services that align with client’s
incorporating these advancements
corporate sustainability initiatives.”
into their designs. “We’ve talked about open-source software,” Drescher continues, “but now there’s open-source infrastructure. People are contributing for the greater good of the industry, trying to lessen w w w.c o nst ruc t i o ngl o b a l. com
BUILDING BETTER
MODULAR ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS FOR DATA CENTERS
www.fibrebond.com