WET News

FEBRUARY 2017 WET NEWS 7 Balfour Beatty takes steps to make flood risk management efficient • Infrastructure engineering group creates ten-point plan to achieve efficiencies in delivering and maintaining flood defences without compromising on quality and safety. Maureen Gaines takes a look at the plan. C ollaboration and better use of data and information are among ten steps that international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty believes will ensure the effective delivery of flood protection schemes across the country without compromising on quality or safety. With more than 75 coastal protection and flood defence projects, worth more than £500M for clients such as local authorities and the Environment Agency (EA), under its belt Balfour has drawn on its own experience to create the ten- point plan. It has published the plan in its paper Ten Steps to efficiency in Flood and Coastal Risk Management. These ten steps range from undertaking schemes simultaneously enabling resources to be shared, through to improving procurement processes such as employing collaborative framework agreements, like those offered by Scape Group. Launching the document, Jim Hutchison, Balfour Beatty business development director, Flood and Coastal Risk Management, said: "Managing the cost of UK flood damage, for homeowners and businesses, will continue to be a pressing issue given the widespread changes in weather patterns with six of the seven wettest years occurring since the year 2000. "We work closely with the Environment Agency, local authorities and supply chain to ensure the effective delivery of flood protection schemes across the country. Taking a collaborative approach, early project involvement and standardising solutions can deliver significant efficiencies. "With over 20 years' experience within the coastal protection and flood defence industry, combined with our in-depth knowledge and the use of developing technologies such as Building Information Modelling, we are able to deliver efficient schemes that can significantly reduce the risk of flooding to local communities and surrounding areas." Burden The document reveals that on average floods are a £1bn annual burden on the UK economy, while statistics by the Committee for Climate Change (CCC) suggest storms, flooding and drought already account for between 10% and 35% of service delays and interruptions to utility and transport infrastructure. The government has already confirmed a £2.3bn flood defence building programme and that Defra and the EA will collaborate to deliver efficiency savings of at least 10% by 2019- 20. Centralising office processes will be a major contribution to achieving these efficiencies but Balfour also knows that big savings will still need to be found. "…This paper considers steps which commissioning authorities, government and the infrastructure industry could take together in order to drive the efficiencies in the effective delivery and maintenance of flood defences, without compromising on quality or safety," says Balfour. The ten steps for contractors, commissioning authorities and government comprise: • A collaborative approach and encou- raging innovation • Investing in strong relationships • Better procurement • Undertaking schemes simultaneously • A longer-term view • A long-term funding approach • Rebalancing the economy • Better use of data and information • Working with nature • A comprehensive strategy Working on schemes simultaneously makes common sense, and Balfour makes a strong case for implementing this strategy to achieve significant savings. It involves packaging schemes, and Balfour highlights the Humber Flood Prevention Strategy as an example. A significant saving has been made straightaway as the result of a single tender process, then there is the sharing of staff and resources across the various schemes; buying supplies in larger quantities; materials re-use; and employing a core team in a centralised location to provide input over the project lifecycle. The use of data and information has gathered pace in recent years, and modelling had enabled more accurate forecasts on how flood risk will be impacted by extreme rainfall and climate change. But according to the document "there is no evidence" that the data is being fully used by policy makers, planners, developers and property owners. And it adds that "from the water companies to railways, power companies and others" are o¥en ill-prepared for flooding. Balfour Beatty believes that measures should be put in place to ensure that these organisations have to build in flood resilience, something that could be pursued through regulatory regimes and would involve more planning, analysis and investment by asset owners. This would encourage asset owners to ensure that they fully understand their risks. Compliance The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a process that Balfour says that can help bring about savings, and it is calling for consistency and compliance with BIM level 2 to be prioritised across the industry. The company is pro BIM and has been among the first contractors to be officially certified for BIM level 2 compliance, and played a founding role in establishing the Construction Industry Council BIM 2050 Task Group, But the company is very much aware "many other companies have still not adopted BIM, meaning that opportunities to deliver innovation and efficiencies are being missed". Balfour has put a lot of thought into this document and it is a great way to put experience to good use. And the company is absolutely right – collaboration and long-term thinking is vital for flood and coastal risk management. Sometimes it needs the people on the ground who are delivering schemes to have their say. It is up to the powers that be to listen if the right and most efficient flood and coastal risk management strategy is to be put in place. The government has confirmed that £2.3bn will be spent on building flood defences News+ NEED TO KNOW • Since 2010, approximately 100,000 properties have had their risk of flooding reduced significantly due to Balfour's work on flood prevention schemes • The company has delivered more than 75 coastal protection and flood defence projects worth £500M-plus • For every £1 spent on flood defences, an estimated £8 is saved in areas such as insurance and mitigation of potential damage • Balfour says BIM level 2 consistency and compliance should be prioritised • Deals that allow for delivery over the long-term allow for real innovation, cost savings and adapting to new data

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