Discover URS Bulletin DACH & Benelux region
Autumn 2014 Edition
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCTION 5 SWISS FILLING STATION DEMOLITION
6
NEW URS OFFICE IN SWITZERLAND SUPPORTS GROWING BUSINESS
8
SWISS ‘SKYLAB’ PROJECT GOES FOR BREEAM-CERTIFICATION
10
GOING FOR GOLD: HELPING VODAFONE ACHIEVE ITS SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES
12
REMEDIATION AND REDEVELOPMENT OF A BROWNFIELD SITE IN FLANDERS
14
PRIZE-WINNING DUE DILIGENCE TEAM
16
BERLIN ENVIRONMENTAL RELIEF PROGRAMME II
17
BATTELLE’S ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
19
URS A KEY SERVICE PROVIDER TO MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CLIENTS
20
NEW URS OFFICE IN ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
22
3
4
Welcome to the new edition of ‘Discover URS’. I’m proud to report that our operations in the DACH and Benelux region experienced strong growth in the first eight months of 2014. Earlier this year we opened two new offices - the first in Olten, Switzerland and the second in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In this edition, we will introduce you to these offices and some of the projects they are involved in. Through these new office locations, we are much closer to our clients and ideally positioned to provide them with local expertise as well as access to our global resources. Our workforce has grown more than 15 percent over the last eight months and we are still recruiting heavily to support our growing business. Through our new recruits we have enhanced our existing offering and now also provide fire protection engineering and Project Management / Construction Management (PM/CM) services. Some of our recent PM/CM projects are showcased in this edition. We have also given you an overview of some of the recent projects we are currently delivering across the DACH and Benelux region, including our work for the Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment of Berlin, the Vodafone Campus in Düsseldorf and a brownfield redevelopment for the Red Cross in Flanders. We hope you enjoy reading! Gert Vermeiren Managing Director DACH & Benelux Region
5
Swiss filling station demolition For many years, URS has been working with some of the best known companies in the international oil and gas industry as a highly valued partner offering a wide and diverse range of services.
In 2013, a prominent industry client retained URS to carry out the demolition of a filling station in Switzerland. The service station, situated in the greater Geneva area, was located within an existing building complex built during the 1960s in a central residential area. The top priority was to remove all the separate elements of the station, including a car wash, without hindering the use of the building for other purposes or impeding traffic on the neighbouring roads. In addition to the general hazards commonly associated with the demolition of tank facilities, such as the risk of fire and explosion, the work was made more difficult by the limited space, the main road running adjacent to the station, the continued use of the building and, in particular, the location of the fuel tank in the basement.
6
URS first assessed the location and composition of the building and filling station elements and then conducted a contaminated site investigation, followed by asbestos screening. The filling station and all its amenities and systems (such as petrol pumps, shop, alarm system) were subsequently dismantled and the tanks and product utility lines emptied and cleaned. The tanks, which had been completely backfilled with sand for explosion protection reasons, were located in the tank basement below the filling station. An underground car park running alongside the tank basement was in use during the entire demolition. The site conditions made it necessary to drill or cut openings into the concrete ceiling of the tank basement so that the backfill sand around the tanks could be extracted by suction, to allow subsequent dismantling of the tanks in the closed basement.
The underground car park was separated from the demolition work by means of a barrier wall and plastic sheeting to avoid the risk of splintering and to minimise dust in the car park.
DEMOLITION PROCESS
Due to space limitations, the tank could only be dismantled manually in the tank basement by means of hot works. This required extensive safety preparation and supervision.
X X X
X X
X X X
X
1. INITIAL SITUATION – TANKS UNDERGROUND IN TANK BASEMENT
4. DISMANTLING AND FULL DEMOLITION OF TANKS
2. OPENING CONTAINMENT
5. INSTALLATION OF CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS, BEAMS AND SUPPORT UPRIGHTS
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
On behalf of the client, URS managed all of the planning, construction and demolition work, and was also responsible for construction site management, health and safety, and emissions supervision for the duration of the project. The safety measures applied, minimised disturbances to residents and users of the building. Efficient planning and cooperation between all stakeholders resulted in successful completion of the demolition by the end of 2013, on time and within budget. The building was handed over to the owner in its original pre-filling-station condition.
X X
The successful demolition of all the filling station components was followed by the repair of the floor and ceiling of the tank basement and also of the concrete top at street level. Beams and support uprights were installed in the former tank basement to maintain the requisite structural stability. The disposal of demolition material was conducted in accordance with the waste disposal concept drawn up by URS prior to the demolition.
X
The demolition work on the tank required permanent exhaust extraction and a fresh air supply in the tank basement to ensure the safety of the technicians performing the work.
4t
3. SAND EXCAVATION AND START OF TANK DEMOLITION
6. REINSTALLATION OF CEILING AND FLOOR
7
New URS office in Switzerland supports growing business Earlier this year, URS opened a new office in northern Switzerland. Strategically located in the city of Olten, the office has easy access to Zurich, Basel, Bern and Geneva. Our newly formed multilingual team is well connected to our other established operations in Europe.
8
The new office allows us to enhance our existing service offering to a broad range of public and private sector clients in Switzerland, providing a direct point-of-call within the country. It is our aim to grow over the next years and become one of the main environmental and engineering businesses in the country. Our specialist services in the region include contaminated land; environmental, health and safety consultancy; architecture and engineering; and nuclear decommissioning capabilities.
URS to deliver the most complex and challenging assignments.
Our clients in Switzerland benefit from access to the broad and diverse expertise of a global corporation. This, combined with our understanding of the drivers and challenges specific to the Swiss market, enables
From 2001 to 2007, URS was heavily involved in the planning phase, including permitting, for the remediation of the site. Following our success at KĂślliken, URS was also appointed to assist with the
URS is not new to the Swiss market – over the past decade, we have worked on a variety of projects in the country providing environmental, project management, design and health and safety services. One of the landmark project URS was involved in is the former KÜlliken waste landfill, for which the remediation is almost complete.
remediation of hazardous waste sites at Pont Rouge in the canton Valais and Feldreben in the canton Basel Landschaft. We also provide contaminated land services to major oil and gas, pharmaceutical and chemical multinationals in Switzerland. Only last year, we remediated a site in Geneva city centre where we combined the remediation with the demolition (design, permit and project management) of parts of the facility.
We have worked on multiple technical and environmental due diligence projects for a wide variety of clients. For various multinationals, we have developed, implemented and audited environmental, health and safety compliance programs. We have also developed and implemented environmental, health and safety management systems including sustainability and supply chain management. From our new office in Olten, we look forward to being closer to our clients, growing our business locally and building on our multidisciplinary service offering.
In the Geneva canton, we are providing green building services for a new office and residential project with the aim of achieving BREEAM certification.
9
Swiss ‘Skylab’ project goes for BREEAM-certification In 2013, URS and its Belgian environmental health and safety team was appointed to assist Concordo (Project Management), and Induni (General contractor), with BREEAM consultancy services for the ‘Skylab’ project – the first Swiss project to be registered for BREEAM-certification.
10
Located in Geneva, 15 minutes from the airport and city center, the six-floor building will house mainly offices but also a few shops, a restaurant, a nursery and the local fire brigade. In addition to the three-floor underground parking facilities, 125 cycle storage spaces will be installed to promote alternative modes of transport. More than 75% of the proposed development’s footprint is on an area of previously developed land. To address energy consumption, the project has been designed to comply with the Swiss label MINERGIE®. Detailed calculations of energy performance (for heating, hot water, ventilation and air conditioning) have to be delivered. Specific energy consumption is used as an indicator to quantify the required building quality. In order to reduce NOx and CO2 emissions, heat will be recovered from the servers of a neighboring company. The design team has also integrated rainwater collection for reuse in sanitary facilities, a green roof to increase biodiversity and the use of construction/insulation materials with a low environmental impact over the full lifecycle of the building. The designs aim to increase the sustainability of the project and hopefully achieve a BREEAM ‘excellent’ score. Construction started in September 2013 and the project team continues to hold regular BREEAM workshops to evaluate progress. We aim to submit the BREEAM post construction file by the end of 2015.
11
Going for Gold: helping Vodafone achieve its sustainability objectives With the help of URS, the newly built Vodafone Campus in Dusseldorf received a LEED Gold rating earlier this year – a proud achievement for Vodafone and everyone involved.
After two years of construction, Vodafone opened their brand new office complex in December 2012. Built to accommodate 5,000 employees, the complex is an extremely functional building that puts sustainability and employee comfort at the heart of its design. It consists of five buildings, with an elliptical, 19-storey building as the focal point of the complex. Construction of the complex was in the hands of the joint venture of Zechbau GmbH and Ed. Züblin AG. URS was responsible for the LEED® certification services for the project, which incorporates an array of sustainable building features. 12
Features include water and energy efficiency, efficient use of materials and resources, the use of light and space, with a focus on reducing CO2 emissions. The effective combination of these sustainability features all led to the LEED Gold rating. The Vodafone Campus is also one of the first international LEED-NC projects using the Group Certification option, where multiple buildings with a single LEED project boundary may be certified as a group and share a single certification.
Our planning and design process is based on strong sustainable principles. We assisted Vodafone to implement these through our LEED consultancy services: •• Sustainability as an integrative principle for all design disciplines •• Construction on a previously developed site with excellent connection to the city, with easily accessible public transportation •• Energy efficient cooling and heating systems with central CHP and a chiller plant •• Commissioning of all energy related systems with URS as Commissioning Agent
ENERGY
GARDENS AND GREEN ROOF
The predominant heating source for the whole campus is a central gas-fired combined heat and power plant. In summer, the heat is used for interior cooling via a central absorption chiller plant. This helps to reduce the peak electricity demand, thereby saving resources.
The Berkshire Garden is central to the campus providing a tranquil place with lush vegetation, a small pond and seating areas for people to relax.
•• Low-flow fixtures and rainwater harvesting for irrigation
Greenery also covers the upper areas of the Vodafone Campus. The roof of Complex B even has a garden with lavender and ornamental grasses.
•• Selection of sustainable materials and products
Because the campus has its own energy system as opposed to relying on district heating, the campus can save up to forty percent of its primary energy consumption. Any excess energy is returned to the energy grid.
FACADE The building uses high quality, double-glazed windows and aluminium architectural fins. The fins automatically adjust with the angle of the sun so direct sunlight does not overheat the interior. This reduces reliance on high energyconsuming airconditioning and artificial lighting. Windows can also be opened to allow fresh air to enter the building.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE Employee satisfaction, comfort and health are at the forefront of the design. The campus has a nursery, medical centre and a gym. The nurser y is available for Vodafone employees and has an outdoor play area. The gardens and green areas offer places for employees to unwind and relax. These factors all contribute to balancing employees work and private life.
•• Construction waste diversion from landfills
•• Consideration of occupancy health during design and construction •• Vegetated areas with native, non-invasive plants •• Green courtyard for use by employees and the public
13
Remediation and redevelopment of a brownfield site in Flanders URS helped to redevelop this 13 ha brownfield site on the former grounds of a railway wagons factory, at a strategic location near the city centre of Mechelen. The Client, Beherman Group, used the site first in 1899 for the production of train wagons, before being used for the assembly of armored vehicles in 1953. Production stopped in 1973, after which most buildings were demolished or used as warehouses and offices. These historical activities resulted in complex contamination. During the preliminary phase I and II investigations in 2011, URS detected several contamination sources with CVOCs, TPH and BTEX in both the soil and groundwater. Additionally, contamination of the groundwater originating from a former gas factory close by, including cyanides, CVOCs and BTEX, entered the site at a depth of 13 m-bgl and interfered with contaminations originating from the site itself.
REDEVELOPMENT Due to the strategic location of the site, Red Cross Flanders was interested in the fallow part of the
14
site as a location for its new building which will house a new blood donor center, several laboratories and offices. To meet Red Cross Flanders’ timing requirements, URS (Soil Expert), LDR (Environmental Lawyers) and BOPRO (Construction manager and BREEAM expert for SDM, development company in partnership between Beherman and BOPRO) searched for a legal solution to the accelerated transfer of contaminated land by deviating from normal procedures. Only in exceptional cases, can the transfer of a contaminated site take place before the transferor has met its legal commitments under the Flemish Soil Decree. For the redevelopment of the site, cooperation was required from both the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) and from the Flemish Minister of Environment. The proactive approach by URS and the other project team members, made it possible to partially redevelop this complex contaminated site in a relatively short timeframe.
REMEDIATION Beherman Group appointed URS to produce redevelopment plans and a remediation plan for the contaminations present at the fallow par t of the site. The objective of the remediation was to mitigate the human health and migration risks. URS calculated risk-based remediation values, made cost estimates of the different feasible remediation techniques, and selected the most appropriate solution under the prevailing site context. The result was the excavation of two source areas to a depth of 5 m-bgl, followed by monitoring of the natural attenuation for the remaining groundwater contamination.
After obtaining the approval and necessary permits in early 2013, URS started the tendering phase of the project. URS and the client selected the contractor with the most favourable technical and financial bid by mid-2013. Remediation works were carried out between September 2013 and April 2014. URS monitored remediation works daily. This included observing and offering guidance for the excavation works and remediation management and control sampling of the excavation pit. We also provided assistance with the specific health and safety procedures related to the presence of unexploded ordnances which could potentially be present as a result of intense bombing of the site during World War II.
URS was able to reduce the quantities of excavated soils resulting in an overall cost saving for the project by detailed sampling during the excavation works, and reevaluating the risks associated with the contamination. A large dewatering unit supported the excavation, during which approximately 20,000 tonnes of soil was removed. By collaborating closely with the different authorities, URS also succeeded in obtaining nonstandard discharge values, resulting in lower operational costs of the water treatment unit.
15
Prize-winning Due Diligence Team URS receives another award for the “Best Due Diligence Provider”.
In May, the Corporate LiveWire magazine presented URS’ international Due Diligence team with the “2014 Environmental Due Diligence Firm Of The Year – Global” award. This adds to URS’ awards given by compliance publications for special due diligence services – supported by feedback from major players in the field. The awards recognise the high quality of consulting URS provides in risk estimation of company and real estate transactions. Approximately 1,000 URS employees worldwide work with local teams in the assessment of environmental and technical risks.
16
Berlin Environmental Relief Programme II URS is assisting the Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment of Berlin with the Environmental Relief Programme II – evaluating the energy efficiency of Berlin’s refurbished buildings.
Berlin city council has prioritised environmental protection since the 1980’s. During this period numerous funding programmes for the optimisation of environmental protection have been conducted and since 1990, these have been developed with support from the European Structural Funds. The Environmental Relief Programme I (ERP I), introduced in 2000 in Berlin, received EU approval for six years in 2001. The programme included a large number of measures concentrating on: • the energy-efficient refurbishment of building stock; both commercial and non-commercial • commercial energy efficiency • the creation of green space in public areas. Due to the success of ERP I, particularly in the areas of education, child and social welfare, the programme
was extended in 2007 to form the Environmental Relief Programme II (ERP II). ERP II focuses on climate protection and energy efficiency. It includes identifying the development and evaluation of innovative methods for managing climate change to advance the sustainable development of Berlin. Within the framework of the ERP II, a total of 133 support programmes were founded (as of March 2013), of which 72 addressed the energy-efficient refurbishment of non-residential buildings such as schools, childcare centres and public swimming baths. URS was appointed in September 2013 by Berlin’s Senate Department for Urban Development, to verify both the amount of energy actually preserved and the effects of the ERP II programme on climate protection. Our scope included three successive evaluation 17
phases including a one-year monitoring programme of the 72 support projects completed within the programme. In Phase 1, URS identified measures required to ensure energy efficiency in buildings and through cost/benefit analysis established which of these measures were the most effective in regard to achieving CO2 reductions.
Building inspections included interviews with their users to enable an evaluation of the quality of the refurbishments. URS then provided a comparison of the actual versus predicted costs in accordance with the EnEV energy efficiency standard of Germany. This determined the extent to which the measures in ERP II influence the costs of building utilisation.
In the last phase of the project, URS will prepare a catalogue of recommendations summarising the insights gained from all preceding phases. This catalogue is intended to allow Berlin’s Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment to effectively select the most suitable projects for future funding periods.
Phase 2 was conducted in cooperation with the Senate Department and an advisory council made up of the representatives of the project sponsor (B&SU – Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbH) and the BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany). This group selected seven “best practice” cases including 3 childcare centres, 3 schools and 1 diocese.
Subsequent to these detailed investigations, URS launched a one-year monitoring programme in June 2014 to observe four of the “best practice” cases and gain a better understanding of the internal energy flows within the buildings. The results will be used to determine how user behaviour can be optimised from the aspect of energy reduction.
Evaluation of the ERP is being co-funded by the European Union. Funding originates from the European Regional Development Fund (funding period 20072013) of the state of Berlin.
18
Battelle’s annual International Conference For the second year running, representatives from URS in Germany presented at Battelle’s annual International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, in the United States. Our Federal Business Line Lead and leading soil and groundwater specialist, Tim Conley and Theo Woll, presented the work URS completed for a federal client on a challenging project, where gaining regulatory approval presented a high hurdle. A former heating plant and hazardous material storage area were severely contaminated by chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) due to maintenance activities. Several remedial approached were applied, but proved ineffective. After conducting a number of additional investigations, URS gained a better understanding of the contamination plume, which revealed that contaminants had migrated into the bedrock forming the upper aquifer.
URS recommended enhancing the natural degradation process as an alternative to the ongoing pump and treat system. In addition, URS utilized a groundwater hydraulic barrier to contain the down gradient flow of the plume. The process was so successful that pump and treat could be discontinued and URS further enhanced the degradation process by mixing the highly contaminated groundwater with emulsified vegetable oil (EVO) which was injected into infiltration wells. As a result, the EVO injection increased the degradation rate of CHC’s by a factor of 10 and finally all CHC species could be reduced. Given that complete dechlorination to ethane occurred, the regulators are now considering implementing a full-scale system recommended by URS.
The overall lessons learned were: •• Local presence: knowledge about local language, conditions and regulators give you the option of getting the regulatory authority on board and making the process successful. •• Innovation: use of innovative techniques and proving they work through a low risk pilot study. •• Flexibility / expect the unexpected: even though things might not go to plan – the project’s success will benefit from making the best out of every situation and turning a challenge into a solution.
19
URS a key service provider to multinational industrial clients URS has signed three separate Project Management / Construction Management (PM/CM) contracts with Siemens in Germany under an existing global Master Service Agreement (MSA) with the engineering and technology services giant. Siemens is an important global client for URS and these latest wins signify a milestone in developing relationships with MSA clients. The projects also expand our PM/CM service offering and strengthen our position as a key service provider to multinational industrial clients in Germany.
20
Our first contract is for a new production hall for the manufacture of electrical switchboards in Fürth that will house more than 400 employees. We have been project managing the construction phase of this fast-track scheme, which was completed at the end of March. We are also providing LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification services on the same project under a separate global MSA with Siemens that URS has held since 2009.
The second contract is for the extension of a production hall for industrial couplings at a facility in Bocholt. URS has been involved in the project since design development phase and construction is scheduled for completion in 2015. The extension will provide an additional 10,000 m² of manufacturing space. Construction will require close coordination with ongoing factory operations at the site.
Under the third two-year contract, we will deliver services for the development of a new canteen and convention facility at a manufacturing site in Nuremberg. The project also includes a new kindergarten, which is in line with Siemens’ strategy to provide day-care facilities for its employees. Construction will start later this year. URS teams in Hamburg and Nuremberg are delivering the work on all three contracts.
21
New URS office in Rotterdam, the Netherlands In July 2014, URS opened a new office in the Netherlands. Located in Rotterdam, the office will support our growing local business and strengthen our presence in the DACH & Benelux region.
22
Besides offering existing and new clients a broad range of environmental services, the Netherlands business will also focus on expanding our service offering within the maritime sector. Having previously supported our clients in the Netherlands from our operations in Belgium, we can now serve them locally. It will ensure our clients benefit from our local market expertise and direct connections to local regulators.
23
FEDERAL
OIL & GAS
INFRASTRUCTURE
POWER
INDUSTRIAL
URS Corporation is a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies worldwide. We offer a full range of programme management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; information technology; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure services for federal, oil and gas, infrastructure, power and industrial projects.
URS Deutschland GmbH Siemensstr. 10 63263 Neu-Isenburg Germany www.urs.com
Š 2014 URS Corporation