JANUARY 2012
A watershed moment
Halcrow is a CH2M HILL company
January 2012 Contents
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Project showcase: A watershed moment: Cutting-edge technology increases certainty in west-central Florida’s watershed management program ‘Green’ fireboat berth upgrades help New York’s bravest keep waterways safe Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Organic form meets meaningful journey New container terminal eases port congestion in Brazil
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Expanding expertise: CH2M HILL acquisition: Together, we deliver you more
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Spotlight on: Proven proficiency in public-private partnerships (P3) Safety on land and at sea: Maritime security training
We are happy to bring you the January edition of our Americas magazine. Each quarter it comes to you full of information about what’s going on with Halcrow’s people, places and projects and how we’re helping to solve some of our clients’ greatest challenges through planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide.
A Cutting-edge technology increases certainty in west-central Florida’s watershed program
PROJECT SHOWCASE
watershed moment stream. The watershed management program enables communities to proactively manage flooding by identifying risks and setting a roadmap for improvement. In particular, the program provides a sustainable and A ‘watershed’ is an area of land that water resilient spatial framework to support flows across as it moves toward a common decision making, while helping to reduce body of water, such as a lake, coast, or flood damage, loss of green space and soil In October 2010, Halcrow’s water team was selected by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) for their ongoing five-year multi-milliondollar watershed management program.
erosion, as well as improve water quality. The SWFWMD encompasses 10,000 square miles within 16 counties in westcentral Florida. This includes 13 major rivers, 1,800 lakes that are ten or more acres, three major estuaries, 1.1 million acres of wetland, three aquifiers, and numerous rivers, creeks, and streams.
Halcrow has been retained to evaluate flood risk across these counties. Specific work elements include watershed evaluations, delivering watershed management plans, inundation mapping, model maintenance and devising best management practices. The spectrum of inputs to be delivered includes basin parameterizations, field reconnaissance, inventory of stormwater facilities, geodatabase development, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, flood inundation mapping, public engagement, and development of flood management strategies. The team has been using a blend of cuttingedge techniques and instruments developed by Halcrow in parallel with SWFWMD’s suite of geographic information systems (GIS) tools. These include Delta Mapper, which allows for the viewing of topography in three dimensions, and ISIS FAST, which calculates initial flood depths and probable flow paths. Delta Mapper was successfully used in Halcrow’s peer reviews as it seamlessly captured flooding areas of concern in a three-dimensional environment to assess flood projections. ISIS FAST (www.halcrow. com/isis/isisfast.asp) is a rapid inundation model that quickly assesses flooding using simplified hydraulics, providing initial flood depth results in seconds or minutes, as opposed to hours or days. ISIS FAST has greatly benefited the team by streamlining knowledge transfer between key stakeholders on problem areas where flooding has occurred. Collectively, the use of these tools has enabled Halcrow to increase certainty in our deliverables. To date, Halcrow has been assigned nearly a dozen watersheds, ranging in size from ten to 200 square miles, throughout west-central Florida. For more information on our GIS and watershed management expertise, contact Chris Niforatos at niforatosca@halcrow.com
Delta Mapper three dimensional view
PROJECT SHOWCASE
Identifying flooding concerns
Field work map, Flo
rida
‘Green’ fireboat berth upgrades help New York’s bravest keep waterways safe With increased vessel readiness, new capabilities, and shortened response times, the team designed this facility to provide shore power for vessels at berth, allowing them to reduce their emissions and fuel costs
Left:The Navy Yard before the upgrade. Old fireboats can be seen in the extreme right hand portion of the photograph Below: Commissioning the USS Spokane in 1946
PROJECT SHOWCASE
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) selected Halcrow to design upgrades to the FDNY Marine Division’s facility within the 300-acre historic Brooklyn Navy Yard. The yard operated as a US Navy shipyard from 1820 through 1965 and is now an industrial park. Halcrow served as prime consultant on this project, performing above and underwater inspection and conceptual and detailed design; preparing permit documents; and providing construction administration, support, and inspection services. The team designed this facility to provide shore power for vessels at berth, allowing them to reduce their emissions and fuel costs by shutting off power, while keeping the boats in a required state of readiness – a process known as ‘cold ironing’. This is a relatively new development for vessels that use high
line voltages. It greatly reduces vessel emissions in the immediate area and provides a cleaner and quieter working environment for on-site personnel.
Above: Lifting the first fireboat with the new travel lift Inset: The float and dual gangways as
A new travel lift with a 50-ton capacity was installed. It is capable of lifting all but the largest vessels in the fleet. The lift has reduced costs associated with removing vessels from the water at remote locations and greatly lessened the environmental impact associated with hauling boats between these locations and the yard. To work in all types of weather conditions and to simplify maintenance, new electrical and water lines rely on the innovative use of automotive radiator hose and standard split-tube insulation. Quick utility disconnects were provided at the gangways and floats, and each gangway was designed to be disconnected by removing a single hinge pin.
seen from the water
The facility allows the FDNY to be self-sufficient by not needing to rely on other organizations or facilities to haul or launch boats from their fleet, perform maintenance, fuel vessels, or conduct training. With increased vessel readiness, new capabilities, and shortened response times, New York’s bravest can continue to protect New York’s harbors. For more information on our maritime expertise, contact Jonathan Goldstick at jgoldstick@halcrow.com.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Organic form meets meaningful journey Halcrow Yolles is the structural engineer for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The structural engineering team designed all structural elements of the museum, including foundations, walls,
PROJECT SHOWCASE
Various views of the museum construction progress
floor plates, and façade. The design of the project was highly complex due to the building’s geometric irregularities and organic forms, as well as a unique mix of materials, including reinforced concrete, structural steel, and glass. The team employed unusual and creative design tools often found in the industrial automotive and aircraft industries. The museum’s unique architecture creates a path to take the visitor from darkness to light, and symbolizes hope for a changed world. The multi-level development consists of four main structures: Roots, Clouds, Mountains, and Tower of Hope. The journey starts in the museum’s roots and, rising up from the ground, visitors ascend a series
of bridges, encountering human rights stories and the people who lived them along the way. The journey encompasses over 47,000 square feet of exhibit space through nearly a kilometer of bridges, leading people to the Tower of Hope, a 23-story glass structure overlooking the horizon. The average floor-to-ceiling height of each level is 5.2 meters, creating a sense of vastness and openness within the museum. The immense glass cloud that encapsulates the building will fill the upper portion of the museum with light, completing the visitor journey from darkness to enlightenment. The goal of the museum is to explore the subject of human rights, with special but not exclusive reference
to Canada, in order to enhance the public’s understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others and to encourage reflection and dialogue. Once completed, it will be Canada’s first museum devoted entirely to this subject. It is physically located at the Forks, a national historic site where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet. This spot has served as a meeting place for thousands of years, where people have come to trade and resolve disputes peacefully. Once finished, the museum will be a center for learning, with a large reference center and library, and archives available for scholars in residence and researchers. Construction is projected to be completed in 2012. For more on our structural engineering expertise, please contact Neb Erakovic at Neb.Erakovic@halcrowyolles.com.
PROJECT SHOWCASE
New container terminal eases port congestion in Brazil Halcrow was commissioned by Embraport (Empresa Brasileira de Terminais Portuários S/A) in April 2011 as design reviewer and resident engineer for the construction of a new container terminal in Santos, Brazil. The port is being built adjacent to Porto de Santos, and aims to ease congestion at the port, which is the largest in the region. Halcrow contributions include performing a review of existing site data, including surveys, ground investigations, etc; a review of the contractor’s designs; site supervision; and providing technical advice and guidance to the client. The development of the contractor’s design is scheduled to be performed over a period of 22 months, with construction activities undertaken in parallel over 34 months. For information on our maritime expertise in Latin America please contact Guillaume Lucci at luccig@halcrow.com.
Start your engines... Halcrow participated in the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) 2011 Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans in October. In attendance were transit personnel, policy makers, board members, government agencies, manufacturers, suppliers, and consultants. APTA has been the leading force in advancing public transportation since 1882. Its mission is to ensure that public transportation is available and accessible for all Americans in communities across the country. APTA serves and leads through advocacy, innovation and information sharing.
around New York employees entered CANstruction’s Annual New York City Design/Build Competition in November. The goal is to construct giant-sized structures made entirely out of canned food, which is then donated to local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs. The works of art were on public view from November 10 to 21, 2011, at The World Financial Center.
The Halcrow team created a CANtainership, celebrating Halcrow’s involvement with ports. The CANtainership developed by the team was composed of 1,680 cans, which included chicken noodle soup, tuna fish, kidney beans, corn, tomato paste, pears, and pineapples. CANstruction has grown to become one of the largest contributors to food banks in the world. Since its
humble beginnings in 1992, CANstruction has held design/ build competitions in over 140 cities worldwide, and has donated over 15 million pounds of canned food to alleviate the plague of hunger and malnutrition.
EXPANDING EXPERTISE
CH2M HILL acquisition: Together, we deliver you more CH2M HILL and Halcrow Now that we’re together, we can deliver you more. We’re stronger than ever and better placed to play our part in solving the world’s most complex and challenging problems.
Geography Our key markets – Asia, Australasia, Middle East/ North Africa, North America, Latin America, and UK/Europe – are all set to benefit from our enhanced portfolio: a greater depth of local knowledge and project experience, and a combined expertise to rival that of any of our competitors.
Leadership Bigger is often better, but our real aspiration is to be the most respected company in our industry, leading the way with the highest standards in quality, safety, project delivery and ethics.
Culture Our two values-based cultures have knitted together naturally, combining industry-wide recognition of achievements in health and safety, meeting client needs and being a respected employer. Our common principles of honesty, integrity and respect remain at the heart of our business.
People Technical talent and best-in-class project and program management are what our people bring to each of our clients’ greatest challenges. We’ll continue to deliver game-changing solutions for projects around the world and rewarding careers for all of our people.
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“I think this is an historic moment. This is the day we welcome one of the most respected firms in our industry, Halcrow, to our growing CH2M HILL family.” Lee A. McIntire CH2M HILL Chairman and CEO
SPOTLIGHT ON
Safety on land and at sea: Maritime security training We are proud of our exceptional expertise in maritime security training. Under the guidance of industry veteran Al Westerman, director of maritime security, we tailor cutting-edge training techniques to fit the needs of our diverse client base across the entire sphere of marine security. Our training programs focus on both terrorism and narcotics interdiction efforts and combine port security with customs operations. They involve both classroom learning and hands-on practice in the field, and are taught in line with the guidelines
sponsored by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Halcrow provides security assessments and training to ports, terminal operators, cruise and shipping lines, and energy concerns throughout the US, Central America, and the Caribbean. of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) and the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, as well as multiple new initiatives
For more on our maritime security offerings, please contact Al Westerman at westermanah@halcrow.com.
Proven proficiency in public-private partnerships (P3) America wrestles with infrastructure funding issues at every level of government, but the hope is that private-sector investors will step in to fill the financial gap. Public-private partnerships are one mechanism by which they can do this. Halcrow’s national and international track record on P3 infrastructure development is acknowledged by the industry. Our strategic transaction advice helps clients harness the potential of P3s in infrastructure delivery, through: • pre-tender due diligence • tender design • strategic procurement
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• technical reviews • risk management • asset management Our decades of experience and detailed understanding of P3 transactions have produced strong working relationships with public agencies, project promoters, concessionaires, and financiers. Over the years, Halcrow’s portfolio of P3 projects has included some of the largest and most complex arrangements in the US marketplace. Halcrow’s public-sector clients in the US market include the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. Most recently, Halcrow and a strategic consulting partner were awarded a five-year advisoryservices contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation, taking responsibility for P3 support activities. For information on how we’re solving some of our clients’ greatest infrastructure development challenges, contact Jonathan Startin at startinja@ halcrow.com, Andrew Dobson at dobsonan@halcrow.com, or Charles Nicholas at nicholasca@halcrow.com.
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