Civil Engineering Surveyor June 2013

CIVIL ENGINEERING
SURVEYOR
The Journal of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
June 2013
Mapping
Dispute Boards
Photogrammetry
Project Management
Using remote sensing and photogrammetry techniques to map the Moon.
See article on pp31-33
14
Chartered Institution of
CIVIL ENGINEERING SURVEYORS
Dominion House, Sibson Road,
Sale, Cheshire M33 7PP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)161 972 3100
Fax: +44 (0)161 972 3118
Email: cices@cices.org
Website: www.cices.org
Civil Engineering Surveyor is compiled, edited and designed exclusively in-house by Darrell Smart and Abigail Tomkins, SURCO Ltd. All rights reserved.
Civil Engineering Surveyor is published monthly by the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors. Statements made and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the institution, its Council
of Management or other committees. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Civil Engineering Surveyor is printed using PEFC-certified paper as part of the institutions
commitment to promote sustainable forest management. Printed by Buxton Press Limited, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. 2013 Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors. ISSN 0266-139X
The birth of a profession
Jon Prichard, Engineering Council
28
Confessions of a contracts manager
in Nigeria
Michael Hawkyard, Michael Hawkyard & CO
37
Taking asset management to the
next dimension
Richard Casselden, Atkins
22
Structure from motion: The ancient
Egyptian town of Amara West
Susie Green, University College London
31
Mapping the Moon: Classification and
mapping of the lunar surface
Iaki Ordez Etxeberria,
University of the Basque Country
39
What is construction project
management? Part 2
Robin Jones FCInstCES and Ken Chapman
27
Upskilling for HS2
Rob Searle, CareerStructure.com
34
Reflections on dispute boards
John Papworth FCInstCES
46
Modelling Nigeria: Spatiotemporal
climatic variatons and their impact on
transportation infrastructure
Joseph Olalekan Olusina, University of Lagos
ICES Regions 04
News Roundup 08
Letters 16
Events 20
Profiles 51
Classifieds 52
Where to Buy Guide 53
Subscriptions 53
Recruitment 54
CIVIL ENGINEERING
SURVEYOR
The institution is a registered charity, no. 1131469. Its affairs are
managed by a Council of Management, whose principal officers are:
President: Alan Barrow
Honorary Secretary: AH Palmer
Chief Executive Officer: Bill Pryke
Institution Advisory Solicitors
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100 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6JA
+44 (0) 20 7919 1000 www.bakernet.com
Mayer Brown (Jonathan Hosie)
201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AF
+44 (0) 20 3130 3343 www.mayerbrown.com
A hotline advice service is available free of charge to members of ICES
calling either of the above firms.
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Operations Director: Darrell Smart BEng
Deputy Editor of Publications: Abigail M Tomkins BA(Hons)
Media Sales Manager: Alan Lees
SURCO Limited, Dominion House, Sibson Road, Sale, Cheshire M33 7PP United Kingdom
+44 (0)161 972 3110 www.surco.uk.com
General Enquiries: surco@cices.org
Darrell Smart, Operations Director
dsmart@cices.org www.twitter.com/darrellsmart
Abigail M Tomkins, Deputy Editor of Publications
atomkins@cices.org www.twitter.com/amtomkins
Alan Lees, Media Sales Manager
alees@cices.org www.twitter.com/alan_lees
CES July/August 2013 will feature hydrographics.
Copy date: 14 June 2013. Please note that this date applies to
news, calendar items and letters. Articles, reviews and other
lengthier contributions inevitably require a longer lead in time.
Scan the QR code to
launch the eBook of CES
ICES Regions
4 CES June 2013 www.surco.uk.com
ICES Anglia & Central
Chair: John Elven
+44 (0)7958 102334 john.elven@btinternet.com
Secretary: Tim Brennan
+44 (0)1295 814417 tim.brennan@msurv.co.uk
ICES www.cices.org/anglia_central.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/eastofengland
ICES Eastern & Midlands
Chair: James Hulme
+44 (0)7786 650005 jhulme@towersurveys.co.uk
Secretary: Lukasz Bonenberg
+44 (0)7835 403144 Lukasz.Bonenberg@nottingham.ac.uk
ICES www.cices.org/eastern_midland.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/westmidlands
www.ice.org.uk/eastmidlands
ICES Hong Kong
Chair: Michael Wong
+852 6226 8288 michael.wong@leightonasia.com
Secretary: Ralph Leung
+852 9850 6639 ices.ralphlcw@gmail.com
ICES www.cices.org.hk
ICE www.ice.org.uk/hongkong
ICES Ireland & Northern Ireland
Chair: Ken Stewart
+44 (0)28 90388492 Ken.Stewart@dfpni.gov.uk
Secretary: Ciaran Bruton
+353 87 6425340 ciaran.bruton@osi.ie
ICES www.cices.org/ireland.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/ireland
www.ice.org.uk/northernireland
ICES Northern Counties
Chair: Steve Aspinall
+44 (0)191 4173545 steve@evanspiling.co.uk
Secretary: Ian Cussons
+44 (0)1429 864617 ian.cussons@volkerstevin.co.uk
ICES www.cices.org/n_counties.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/northeast
ICES North West & North Wales
Chair: Peter Randles
+44 (0)161 7903000 peter.randles@pbworld.com
ICES www.cices.org/nwest_nwales.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/northwest www.ice.org.uk/wales
ICES Scotland
Chair: Bob MacKellar
+44 (0)1786 825516 rmackellar@yahoo.co.uk
ICES www.cices.org/scotland.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/scotland
ICES South East
Chair: Eric Zeeven
+44 (0)7779 888253 eric.zeeven@cwcontractors.com
Secretary: Nicola Boriel
+44 (0)7904 774775 nboriel@cices.net
ICES www.cices.org/s_east.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/london www.ice.org.uk/southeast
ICES South West & South Wales
Chair: Mark Phillips
+44 (0)1454 422433 Mark.Phillips@electricityalliance-sw.com
Secretary: Steve Lailey
+44 (0)7868 503363 stevelailey@yahoo.co.uk
ICES www.cices.org/swest_swales.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/wales www.ice.org.uk/southwest
ICES UAE
Chairman: Dhammika Gamage
+971 43811111 dhammika@imgaladari.com
ICES www.cices.org/uae.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/nearyou/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates
ICES Yorkshire
Chair: Neil Harvey
+44 (0)1924 822482 neil.harvey@metsurveys.com
Secretary: Matthew Lock
+44 (0)7974 255597 matthew.lock@korecgroup.com
ICES www.cices.org/yorkshire.html
ICE www.ice.org.uk/yorkshire
Scotland
21 November 2013: James Attwood Annual Lecture 2013, Inverness
The Institution of Civil Engineers will be hosting this annual lecture for the Continuing
Professional Development in Construction (Highlands and Islands) Group at the Town
House, Inverness.
Highland and Islands CPD
The Continuing Professional Development in Construction (Highlands and Islands) Group,
of which ICES is a member, has released an updated events booklet at www.cpdc-hi.co.uk
South East
18 June 2013: Getting paid for your work, London, 5.30pm
This evening seminar will focus on the increased strain on contractors facing problems
getting paid. With many companies in the construction sector reducing prices to keep
work coming in, profit margins are often slim, so late or non payment is causing more
damage than ever. The seminar will be led by Edward Quigg, engineer and barrister at
Quigg Golden. The seminar will be held at MWB Paddington, 1 Kingdom Street, London,
W2 6BY. Refreshments will be provided, book via seminars@QuiggGolden.com
20 June 2013: Survey control, setting out and monitoring on the Crossrail
Paddington C405 project, London, 6.30pm *NEW DATE*
The speaker will be Steve Thurgood who is responsible for geospatial engineering
surveying, survey control, setting out and monitoring (manual and automated) for the
project. The project runs the largest homogeneous ATS network operating on Leica
GeoMoS in the world with 34 Leica TM30s interlinked measuring over 1,600 prisms per
cycle with up to eight cycles per day. In addition to this the team is manually monitoring
over 450 precise level points across the Paddington zone. The operation runs 24/7 and
data is managed via SQL/VBS systems and displayed via a graphical interface self
designed, written and implemented. The talk will be held at the University of East
London.
4 July 2013: Networking evening cruise, London, 6pm
A summer evening cruise along the Thames will leave Westminster Pier at 6pm, returning
at 10pm, with an earlier drop at Tower Pier. A buffet will be provided, along with a cash
bar. Please note The Old London does not accept cheques or credit cards. The event is
kindly sponsored by Topcon and Commercial Solutions. Tickets cost 10 and are available
from Serena Ronan at sronan@cices.org
Members enjoying the ICES South East geocache in Greenwich back in
April. The event involved several challenges including replicating the sails
of the Cutty Sark.
Regional CPD Events
Do you want to provide CPD opportunities for members in your region?
Are you thinking of organising events, but have little time or support?
Do you want to increase the level of service you currently provide?
Are you interested in sponsorship opportunities for your event?
ICES regions should provide a minimum of two CPD events per year in line with the commitment our
members make to maintaining their CPD requirements. ICES HQ can help. We can book venues and
handle associated paperwork. We can investigate sponsorship opportunities. We will advertise your
event on the regional pages of the ICES website, eNewsletter, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. We will be
the point of contact for bookings and create attendance lists, feedback questionnaires and issue
attendance certificates. Following the event, we can produce event feedback analysis and add slides and
presentations to the regional webpage. Let us help.
Need a helping hand?
Contact: Professional Development Coordinator
Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
+44 (0)161 972 3100
development@cices.org
www.cices.org
The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors is a registered educational charity.
ICES Regions
North West & North Wales
18 June 2013: Committee meeting, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
26 June 2013: NEC problems exposed, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
Book with Serena Ronan at HQ at sronan@cices.org
3 July 2013: FIDIC, Manchester, 6pm for 6.30pm
A CPD event on FIDIC contracts at Eversheds, Eversheds House, 70-76 Great
Bridgewater Street, Manchester M1 5ES. Refreshments provided. Book with
Serena Ronan at HQ at sronan@cices.org
10 September 2013: Committee meeting, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
18 September 2013: NEC setting off on the right track, ICES HQ, 6pm
for 6.30pm Book with Serena Ronan at HQ at sronan@cices.org
15 October 2013: Committee meeting, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
6 November 2013: NEC protecting your entitlement, ICES HQ, 6pm for
6.30pm Book with Serena Ronan at HQ at sronan@cices.org
19 November 2013: Committee meeting, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
14 January 2014: Committee meeting, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
18 March 2014: AGM, ICES HQ, 6pm for 6.30pm
South West & South Wales
ICES SWSW thanks Mark Richards for the insightful CPD presentation
recently held on the design and construction of tall buildings.
9 July 2013: Mobile mapping, Bristol, 6pm
Free CPD seminar on the earthmine vehicle based mobile mapping system.
Committee meeting to follow, featuring a special guest.
August /September 2013 - Cliff stabilisation site visit, Lyme Regis
A visit to the Dean & Dyball cliff stabilisation and sea defence project. TBC.
10 September 2013: Legal matters, Bristol, 6pm
A talk from UWE lecturer Jim Mason. Committee meeting to follow.
8 October 2013: Buried services and GPR, Bristol, 6pm
Free CPD seminar from Peter Barker. Committee meeting to follow.
November 2013: EA flood risk centre visit, Exeter
A visit to the Environment Agencys flood risk control centre. TBC.
10 December 2013: Handheld scanning, Bristol, 6pm
Free CPD seminar from Graham Hunter on the Zebedee handheld laser
scanner. Committee meeting to follow.
All Bristol events are at the Atkins Hub, BS32 4RZ.
Anglia & Central
12 June 2013: A11 Thetford Bypass project, Thetford, 7pm for 7.30pm
Geoff Chatfield, Highways Agency project manager, and Richard Turnbull,
Balfour Beatty project director, will speak about the A11 Fiveways to
Thetford improvement scheme. The main construction works commenced in
January 2013. The last remaining section of single carriageway on the A11
between the M11 and Norwich is being upgraded to dual carriageway. The
9.1 mile scheme provides an online upgrade to D2AP of the main
carriageway and an offline bypass of Elveden Village. The presentation will
cover development of the A11 scheme, works to-date and programme,
environmental and archaeological activities, technical aspects (earthworks,
drainage, pavement, structures, materials and traffic management), safety
risks and hazards. It will be held at the Keystone Innovation Centre,
Croxton Road, Thetford IP24 1JD. Light refreshments will be provided. Book
with Gordon Clarke at gordon@collinsprojectdelivery.co.uk
ICES NWNW members and guests at the recent key
time and money issues event held in Manchester. The
region would like to thank Weightmans for hosting
the event and all the speakers for their time.
Hong Kong
6-7 June 2013: 4th International Infrastructure Investment and
Construction Forum, Vietnam
Jointly organised by CHINCA and Macao Economic Services.
7 CES June 2013 www.cices.org
Institution News
Nominations open for Council of Management
The institution is now seeking nominations from members and fellows (MCInstCES and
FCInstCES) to join its council of management. No previous experience of any committees or
panels is necessary. This year there are three vacancies on council open for election.
The institution is conscious to reflect the diversity of the industry and encourages
nominations from all those who are keen to help shape its future. New council members,
all of whom are directors and trustees of ICES, will receive a trustees handbook outlining
the role and responsibilities of a council member and literature issued by the Charity
Commission will be distributed. Expenses incurred in council activities are reimbursed. The
term of office will begin on 21 September 2013, following the AGM.
If you would like more information or to speak to an existing member of council about what
the role entails, please contact ICES CEO, Bill Pryke.
A nomination form has been distributed with this issue of CES. Additional forms are available on request from ICES HQ or via the
website. Completed forms must be returned to ICES by no later than noon on Monday 8 July 2013.
ICES HQ: +44 (0)161 972 3100 admin@cices.org www.cices.org/downloads.php
Student awards
ICES recently supported the University of the
West of England by sponsoring its business
game. The simulated tender game is an
assessed component of the first year of
building surveying, quantity surveying and
construction management undergraduate
courses at the university.
The game, which ran from January to
March this year, consisted of four rounds
where teams of students had to submit
company formation details and tenders on a
fictional housing development project.
Pictured above: ICES CEO Bill Pryke presents Sophie Leann
Roberts with her runners up certificate, and the winning
team of Adam Kings, James Harrison, Oscar Nicholson-
Potter and Clifford David. The students fulfilled the roles
of managing partner, human resources, project manager
and silent partner.
Class of her own
Alison Watson, director of the education
company Class of Your Own, has been
awarded The Survey Associations presidents
award. Ms Watson, a former land surveyor,
established Class of Your Own with
architect Dan Gibson in 2009 and is the
creator of the Design, Engineer Construct!
curriculum. The scheme gives upper primary
and secondary school students practical
experience of being planners, surveyors,
designers, engineers and project managers
on sustainable building projects.
TSA president Graham Mills (pictured
below with Ms Watson) said: It is essential
in a very technical world and for the
future recruitment needs of our member
companies that we encourage more young
people to follow careers in surveying,
engineering, design and construction.
Strategic partnerships established by COYO
give young people industry support to be
decision makers and problem solvers on real
building projects.
Ms Watson has chosen to donate her
100 prize to the young oncology unit at the
Christie cancer centre in Manchester.
Congratulations Ubon
Ubon Martin Essiet has won the ICES
student prize for best first year paper at
Salford University.
Paul Brown, ICES education, membership
and professional development manager, gave
Mr Essiet (pictured above left) his award at
the universitys international postgraduate
research conference at Salfords MediacityUK.
Bitesized support
The Construction Youth Trust has launched a
shorter version of its scheme to encourage
young people into construction. Budding
Brunels Bitesized is a one-day career
workshop for students aged 14-18.
CYT is looking for companies to take part
in the scheme by offering students work
placements either on site or in an office.
Further information is available from Ben
Churchill at ben.churchill@cytrust.org.uk
New project for RedR
Lloyd's Charities Trust is to support a three-
year project by engineering disaster response
charity RedR. The programme will provide
training to aid agency engineers on how to
quickly reinstate clean water and waste
water systems and structurally assess
buildings after mega earthquakes.
Institution News/News Roundup
Engineering Council survey
The Engineering Council is carrying out a
survey of its registered engineers and technicians to gauge the levels
of employment and employment benefits.
Participant names are being randomly selected from the councils
register and those who are picked will be contacted either by post or
email during late May/June.
CIAT awards now open
for entries
The Chartered Institute of Architectural
Technologists has announced details of its
awards scheme for 2013. Nominations are being
received for two student awards and two awards for architectural
technology excellence. The deadline for entries is 28 June 2013.
Further details can be found at www.ciat.org.uk/en/awards/
GLCE student competition
The Council of European Geodetic Surveyors has launched its annual
student competition. Students and surveyors under the age of 36 can
submit papers under three categories; i) geodesy and topography, ii)
GIS, mapping and cadastre or iii) engagement with young people. The
prize is 1,000 and papers must be submitted by 5 August 2013.
See www.clge.eu for details.
Happy birthday TI
Transparency International, the global anti-corruption body,
celebrated its 20th anniversary last month. The organisation, founded
in Berlin in 1993, now has independent chapters in 107 countries and
legal advice centres in over 60 countries.
Huguette Labelle, chair of TI, said: Looking into the next 20 years
Transparency International will pour its efforts into creating a
corruption-free world where people can both truly hold their leaders
to account and not face the daily denigration of bribery.
Stolen equipment
An ICES member has had two survey instruments stolen from the
Leatherhead area of the UK. A Trimble S6 (serial no. 92820286) and
Trimble 5605 (serial no. 6350015) were taken from the roadside in
early May. If any reader is offered the equipment, please contact the
police.
Heads of the five families
The heads of the five UK mapping and charting agencies are to take
part in a discussion on the future of mapping. Ordnance Surveys
Vanessa Lawrence, Paul Hancock from the Defence Geographic
Centre, John Wilkinson from Land and Property Services, the UK
Hydrographic Agencys Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff CBE, and British
Geological Surveys Professor John Ludden will headline the British
Cartographic Societys 50th annual symposium.
The symposium will be held from 3-6 September 2013 at Hothorpe
Hall in Leicestershire. It will also feature talks from the map librarian
at the Bodleian Library, the Unites States Geospatial Intelligence
Foundation, Glasgow School of Art and British Antarctic Survey.
See www.cartography.org.uk for details.
Surgery by Skype
The ICES membership team is holding a
Skype upgrade surgery on 10 June.
Members wanting to upgrade and prospective
new members can arrange a 30-minute appointment to talk
through any questions about their application using the free online
video system Skype.
To reserve an appointment email Paul Brown at pbrown@cices.org
To download the free Skype software visit www.skype.com
Major Connaught surgery
1
3 MILLION litres of water were drained from the Royal Victoria
Dock in London to access the Connaught Tunnel underneath,
which is being modified for the citys Crossrail project. A
cofferdam measuring 1300m
2
was put in place allowing enough water
to be drained for workers to create a hole through which to access
the Victorian tunnel below.
The hole will eventually be widened to 20mx10m to allow the
engineers access to strengthen, deepen and widen the tunnel to
accommodate Crossrails trains. Linda Miller, project manager, said:
The tunnel is testament to the engineering skill of the Victorians, but
after 135 years theres a lot of work that needs to be done to get it
ready for Crossrail. Now weve opened the top of the tunnel well
start the engineering equivalent of open heart surgery; widening and
deepening the structure so that it can accommodate up to 12 trains
an hour in each direction.
The Connaught Tunnel, which was built in 1878, is the only
existing tunnel that will be re-used for Crossrail.
Pictured below: The draining of the dock revealed the Connaught Tunnel below.
News Roundup
Procurement to blame for Balfour blip?
Balfour Beatty has blamed procurement for its 50m shortfall in UK
construction profits. A statement from the contractor said: Change
in procurement trends has persisted, allowing customers to impose
increasingly stringent conditions onto contractors. Other factors
mentioned in the profit warning were poor performance in its UK
regional construction and building major projects arms, and internal
reorganisation. The company has also been affected by a 10m drop
in its German rail operations and weak performance in professional
services in Australia. However, US transportation, Asia and the Middle
East are all areas that have exceeded expectation. Andrew
McNaughton, Balfours CEO, has now taken charge of the UK
construction business.
Consolation came in the form of a 1b contract from Thames
Water that Balfour Beatty is a joint venture partner in. Skanska and
MWH Global will share the spoils in the seven-year asset
management plan AMP6 contract to design and construct the water
infrastructure network including replacing pipes, pumping stations
and water treatment works. A 23-month early contractor involvement
phase began last month ahead of the start of AMP6 in April 2015.
Award for laser wall monitoring
The use of laser scanning to monitor a historic rail retaining wall has
won an award for Mott MacDonald and Malcolm Hughes Land
Surveys. Contractor Interserve was working on the construction of
Sandwell College in the West Midlands.
The survey work provided a heat map of the physical changes to
the wall, and helped ensure Midland Metro operations were not
disrupted. The scheme was highly commended by the Institution of
Civil Engineers West Midlands branch.
Bright future for power station
Turner and Townsend has been appointed as project manager and employers agent for the initial phases of Londons Battersea Power
Station redevelopment. The six acre site will feature homes, offices and retail developments and will be served by a new
underground station. First occupancy is expected in 2016. Contractor Carillion has been selected as the preferred bidder.
Skies getting busier
The first satellite of Galileos next phase has arrived at ESAs test
centre in the Netherlands. It will be the first satellite to join the
constellation with full operational capability, the existing four
satellites in orbit are for validation purposes.
The satellite will now undergo testing for temperature extremes,
vibration, noise, electromagnetic compatibility and antenna
operability. A further two satellites are due to be tested over the
summer before the three launch in the autumn. Two more launches
are planned by the end of the year.
On 15 May, the same day the Galileo satellite arrived for testing,
over in the US the fourth GPS IIF satellite was successfully launched
from Cape Canaveral. The IIF satellites provide greater navigational
accuracy and the third civil signal, L5. Colonel Bernie Gruber, director
of the Space and Missile Systems Center's GPS directorate, said: The
GPS constellation remains healthy and continues to meet and exceed
the performance standards to which the satellites were built.
Pictured below is the Galileo satellite arriving for testing. ESA.
Tyne tunnel restoration
The Grade II listed pedestrian and cyclist tunnels under the River Tyne
are to undergo a 5m restoration. The 274.5m long tunnels run in
parallel 12.2m below the river bed. GB Building Solutions will install
two inclined lifts and remove two wooden escalators, one each side
of the river. They are believed to be the longest wooden-step
escalators in Europe, with a vertical rise of 25.9m and a length of
61m, and are to be preserved for historic significance.
Membership Application and Upgrade Surgeries
Are you thinking of upgrading your membership?
Do you know anyone interested in applying for membership?
Do you want your employees to develop their professional skills?
If you answer yes to any of the above, then these free half-hour surgeries are designed to make applying
to upgrade or applying directly for membership as simple as possible.
Surgeries cover eligibility, application documents and the membership review interviews. They are
equally suitable for applicants wishing to become technical members, members or fellows. Surgeries
are informal and the aim is to ensure that you understand if you are eligible to apply, how to write-up
your documentation and interpret the competencies. Plus, find out how to make the most of your
review interview.
Surgery Calendar 2013
10 June 10am-4pm Skype*
17 June 10am-4pm Sale
3 July 10am-4pm London
15 July 10am-4pm Sale
12 August 10am-4pm Sale
21 August 1pm-4pm London
*NEW for 2013, one to one Skype surgery.
Bookable 30-minute sessions with the ICES
membership team.
To book visit www.cices.org/events.html
Enquiries: Membership Coordinator
+44 (0)161 972 3100
membership@cices.org
*For UAE workshops contact ices.uaeregion@gmail.com
News Roundup
US Navy LiDAR programme
BAE Systems is to develop an airborne LiDAR system for the US Navy and Marines.
The system, part of the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA)
programme, will be used to detect mines in near-shore waters.
The $20m contract to develop the system has been fast-tracked under US law
to accelerate delivery to the armed forces. System testing will take place in
Honolulu, New York State, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Below: How the COBRA LiDAR system will look in action.
Carbon savings for trenchless techniques
A carbon calculator has been developed to compare open-cut utility installation
with non-disruptive techniques, such as pipe-jacking and microtunelling. The
calculator is the result of a project by the Pipe Jacking Association and Transport
Research Laboratory. Already savings of up to 75% in carbon emissions have been
demonstrated on the installation of 500m of 600mm pipeline 6m deep using non-
disruptive techniques. At shallower depths carbon savings are typically in the
range of 50-60%.
TRLs project manager Matthew Wayman said: The findings should encourage
water and other utilities to consider pipejacking and other non-disruptive
trenchless techniques when appraising new utility installations.
The calculator is freely available online at www.pipejackingco2calculator.com
Svalbard snaps
UK-based Earth observation business DMC International Imaging has entered into
an agreement with Kongsberg Satellite Services to use its new Svalbard ground
station (pictured). Due to its location near the North Pole, Svalbard gets 14 passes
from satellites each day so data can be downlinked every 90 minutes, compared
to only two or three passes at the Equator. Dave Hodgson, DMCii managing
director, said: Timeliness of information is of vital importance. The improved
downlink has significantly upgraded data delivery times and has already made
30% more imagery available.
In brief: Past ICES president Mike Sutton has formed
Mike Sutton Consultants and will continue consultancy
and expert witness work for the Environment Agency.
Habtoor Leighton has secured a 44m contract for the
design and construction of an accommodation camp and
associated utilities on two artificial islands as part of the
Satah Al Razboot oilfield development 120km northwest
of Abu Dhabi. Michael Conway has joined Hill
Internationals construction claims and consulting group
as director. A Jacobs and Eurovia joint venture has
been awarded an eight-year contract from Transport for
London to provide highway construction, maintenance
and design services in northeast London. Merrick is to
provide aerial LiDAR surveys for up to 2,600 miles of
transmission line mapping in Colorado. The North West
Fund for Digital and Creative has funded a new on-site
BIM collaboration tool, Sitedesk Dabit. US surveyors
Terrametrix is using the StreetMapper vehicle mounted
laser scanner system to survey more than 7,000 bridges
in California. WSP has been appointed by ABC
Electrification, a JV between Costain, Alstom and
Babcock, as the designer on the west coast power
upgrade project. Siwei WorldView is to provide more
than 8.7 million square kilometres of imagery, covering
more than 90% of Chinas landmass, to create a
nationwide basemap of the country. Europa
Technologies viaEuropa hosted map service has been
accepted into G-Cloud III, the UK governments cloud
computing framework. The service will deliver Ordnance
Survey base maps for use by the public sector in internal
or public-facing mapping applications.
Scotland awards portal contract
Atkins has won a two year contract from Marine
Scotland to provide support for the National Marine Plan
interactive portal. The portal allows the public and
stakeholders to view and query marine spatial data, and
registered users can download and submit information
for the planning process. The portal is hosted in a private
cloud infrastructure and is EU INSPIRE ready.
PB extends Californian high speed rail
contract
Parsons Brinckerhoff has had its programme management
contract with the California High-Speed Rail Authority
extended for a further two years. The contract, worth
78m, covers planning, environmental review, preliminary
engineering, testing and commissioning for the proposed
route from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Trains would
travel at 200mph making the trip around three hours,
compared to six by road. Secondary phases connecting to
San Diego and Sacramento are also planned.
Construction of the initial phase through the states
central valley is due to begin this summer. Parsons has
been programme manager since 2006.
ICES Training Suite
A modern and spacious training suite in a friendly and professional environment
Excellent transport links to Manchesters motorway, Metrolink and airport networks
Five minutes walking distance to Sale town centre and hotels
The ICES Training Suite is now available to hire. Situated on the ground floor of the institutions
headquarters in south Manchester, the suite can accommodate up to 20 delegates boardroomstyle or
80 delegates theatre style. Rates include publication of courses in Civil Engineering Surveyor and online.
ICES can provide your company with a professional,
spacious, modern, and friendly environment to satisfy
your training and meeting requirements.
Anyone hiring the suite has the added benefit
of having their event publicised
in CES to over 4,000 members
of the institution and many
thousand more construction
and engineering practitioners
who view the website
and read the eBook.
Contact: Alan Lees
+44 (0)161 972 3123
alees@cices.org
www.cices.org
www.surco.uk.com/training-suite.php
The ICES Training Suite is operated by the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors information business, SURCO.
Training Diary
Provider Date+Time Course Cost
20 JUN 2013
15 AUG 2013
9.00am 4.30pm
Commercial Awareness (1 Day)
This course provides an introduction to the contractual, legal, financial and other matters that
surround a construction contract. Delegates will gain an understanding of the reasons for
contractor involvement in the construction industry, the range of procurement options, tendering,
contracts, letters of intent, dispute resolution options, risk registers, instructions, variations,
contemporary records, payment and accounts.
195
+ VAT
11 JUL 2013
29 AUG 2013
9.00am 4.30pm
Engaging and Managing Subcontractors (1 Day)
This course familiarises commercial and construction personnel with the process of employing
and managing domestic subcontractors. Delegates will gain an understanding of procurement,
contractual relationships, subcontract terms and conditions, remedies for poor performance and
dispute resolution processes.
195
+ VAT
01 AUG 2013
19 SEP 2013
9.00am 4.30pm
CESMM and MMHW (1 Day)
This course will give civil engineers and quantity surveyors an understanding of the basic
principles of the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement and the Method of
Measurement for Highway Works. Delegates will gain an understanding of the essential
differences between these methods of measurement in the compilation and use of bills of
quantity.
195
+ VAT
10 SEP 2013
9.30am 4.30pm
Digital Marketing (1 Day)
In this digital age every company needs to understand how to exploit digital marketing tools to
improve their offer and overall competitiveness. This course explores why accessible and value
adding websites using inter-connnecting digital marketing tools such as Twitter and Linkedin can
help make your mark in the digital world.
195
+ VAT
12 SEP 2013
9.30am 4.30pm
Marketing Strategy (1 Day)
What is a marketing strategy? How can an organisation concentrate its limited resources on
opportunities? How can you differentiate your company from others? You will discover the
answers to these questions in this seminar.
195
+ VAT
19 SEP 2013
9.30am 4.30pm
Marketing Communications (1 Day)
Attending this seminar will help you improve your ability to manage your marketing
communications and improve the return on your marcoms spend. Find out how to increase your
profile and integrate marketing communications into your business objectives.
195
+ VAT
TO BOOK: Joanne Gray, ICES Training, +44 (0)161 972 3110, jgray@cices.org
18-19 JUN 2013
10.00am 4.30pm
AutoCAD 2D Essentials/Beginners (Autodesk Approved Training) (2 Days)
Delegates will learn the functionality and features necessary for creating precise 2D technical
drawings and designs using AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. The course will cover the techniques for
creating and editing drawings as well as setting up drawings for printing and publishing. Skills
such as annotating, scaling, layering and block creation will be covered in detail. At the end of
the course attendees will be sent an industry recognised Autodesk AutoCAD Essentials Course
Certificate.
495.00
395.00
+ VAT
Autodesk
Approved
Discount
20-21 JUN 2013
10.00am 4.30pm
AutoCAD Civil 3D Essentials (Autodesk Approved Training) (2 Days)
The aim of this course is to teach new users functionality and commands necessary for 3D
modelling and design using AutoCAD Civil 3D. After completing this course attendees will be
able to; navigate through the AutoCAD Civil 3D interface, use the AutoCAD Civil 3D tools to
develop and analyse 3D Civil design models, and create and deliver Civil design models and
drawings in a detailed and visually impressive way.
550.00
+VAT
TO BOOK: Esri Training, +44 (0)1296 745 504, training@esriuk.com, www.esriuk.com/training
10% discount for ICES members. Quote name and membership number on booking.
02--03 JUL 2013
9.00am 5.00pm
ArcGIS Desktop Part 1 (2 Days)
The course introduces the student to ArcGIS and gives an understanding of the main functions
of ArcMap. This includes the creation and manipulation of a map document, geographic
(spatial) data management, selection and analysis of data and creation of a map for printing.
At the end of the course the students will utilise their new skills in a small project by creating a
map from start to finish.
630.00
+ VAT
03-05 SEP 2013
9.00am 5.00pm
ArcGIS Desktop Part 2 (3 Days)
This course is the second of a 2 part foundation in ArcGIS for Desktop (version 10). The Part 2
course expands on the subjects covered in the Part 1 course and introduces new functions.
These include managing data in a geodatabase, further symbology and labelling options and the
use of analysis tools and models. The course can be completed with an ArcGIS for Desktop Basic
licence. At the end of the course, students will test their new skills in a small analysis project.
945.00
+ VAT
10-11 SEP 2013
9.00am 5.00pm
Introduction to ArcGIS for Server 10 (2 Days)
Delegates will acquire the skills needed to share GIS content on the web or across the
enterprise. They will learn a workflow to publish maps, imagery, geoprocessing models, and
feature templates for use in web applications that support visualisation, analysis and editing of
GIS resources. Thefeatures within ArcGIS 10forServerare also explored. These include the
new feature service which is used as the foundation for editing; working with mosaic datasets
and learning how to publish them as an image service, and how time is enabled within the
web environment.
630.00
+ VAT
TO BOOK: Benchmarq, info@bmarq.co.uk, www.bmarq.co.uk/training
Discount given if more than one person from the same company attends.
Engineering Council
The birth of a profession
Jon Prichard CEng FICE FInstRE, CEO, Engineering Council
Following Aprils announcement that ICES is to work with the Institution of Civil
Engineers to put forward civil engineering surveyors for professionally registered status,
Jon Prichard of the Engineering Council explains the history of the professional engineer
and what registration means for members and the society they serve.
U
P until the latter half of the 18th century, engineering was traditionally considered to
be a military function, with public works being mainly constructed in order to further
the influence of the realm. However, as global trade and commerce increased in
importance, a need arose for civil (non-military) engineers to carry out works to support trade,
such as the construction of harbours and lighthouses. Methods and designs were developed
using rules of thumb and accidents and failures were common. In order to address this, the
Society of Civil Engineers was established in 1771 to share and develop good practice. This
society was subsequently renamed the Smeatonian Society, after John Smeaton its founder
and the first person to call himself a civil engineer.
In 1818, a group of younger engineers, who were not sufficiently eminent to join their
seniors in the Smeatonian Society, established their own learned society, the Institution of
Civil Engineers, which was the first professional engineering institution in the world. Under
the leadership of Thomas Telford, its first president, the institution was awarded a royal
charter in 1828, which set out its objects as facilitating:
...the acquirement of knowledge necessary in the civil engineering profession and for
promoting mechanical philosophy.
This object laid the blueprint for all subsequent professional engineering bodies, establishing
two core functions; firstly, as a knowledge standard setting body for members, and secondly,
as a forum for the exchange of good practice. As the Industrial Revolution in Britain took
hold, so did the proliferation of engineering institutions, including amongst others those for
mechanical, electrical, mining, marine and aeronautical; each with its own royal charter.
It is worth noting that in most Commonwealth countries that subsequently established
similar engineering institutions, they elected to establish a sole institution for all engineering
disciplines (notably Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand). This is partially due to
the numbers of engineers who were practising in the respective countries and the related
economies of scale. However, over time, some disciplines with fewer active members have
found that their subject specialism does not receive adequate focus within a larger body to
meet their particular knowledge needs.
The industrial legacy
One of the main benefits of the Industrial
Revolution was the ability it created to mass
produce goods at relatively low cost.
However, a lack of control in terms of
specification and quality meant that the
market was awash with many different types
of similar goods of variable quality. In terms
of public procurement, this was highly
inefficient. As a result, the key chartered
engineering institutions established the
Engineering Standards Committee to address
product proliferation. An early success for the
committee was a 92% reduction in the
number of steel rail beams for trams from 75
different types to just six. As the committees
standardisation work developed to include a
wider spectrum of goods and services, it was
duly recognised with its own royal charter. It
was then retitled in 1931 as the British
Standards Institution (BSI). After the Second
World War, the BSI became the UKs national
standards body and also went on to help
establish the International Standards
Organisation (ISO) to promote and develop
standards globally.
As Britain emerged from the 1950s post-
war austerity, the chartered engineering
institutions became concerned that there
was a lack of conformity in professional
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing
Chartered Institution of Building Services
Engineers
Chartered Institution of Highways &
Transportation
Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating
Engineering
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental
Management
Energy Institute
Institution of Agricultural Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Chemical Engineers
Institute of Cast Metals Engineers
Institution of Diesel and Gas Turbine Engineers
Institution of Engineering Designers
Institution of Engineering and Technology
Institution of Fire Engineers
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers
Institute of Highway Engineers
Institute of Healthcare Engineering & Estate
Management
Institution of Lighting Professionals
Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and
Technology
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Institute of Measurement and Control
Institution of Royal Engineers
Institute of Acoustics
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine
Institution of Railway Signal Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
Institute of Water
Nuclear Institute
Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Society of Environmental Engineers
Society of Operations Engineers
The Welding Institute
Professional engineering institutions licensed by the Engineering Council to award registration.
Association of Building Engineers
Association of Cost Engineers
Association for Project Management
Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering
Surveyors
Chartered Quality Institute
Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors
Institute of Asphalt Technology
Institute of Corrosion
Institute of Concrete Technology
Institute of Demolition Engineers
Institute of Explosives Engineers
Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
Institute of Materials Finishing
INCOSE UK
Institute of Nanotechnology
Institute of Refrigeration
Institute of Telecommunications Professionals
NAFEMS
Safety and Reliability Society
Professional affiliates of the Engineering Council. Prior
to obtaining licensed status, professional affiliates can
enter into an agreement with a licensed institution to
process their members for registration.
Engineering Council
One of the key changes from this previous regime was the
introduction of a common requirement for initial professional
training and an enduring commitment to lifelong education and
training (subsequently termed continuing professional development).
Today the Engineering Council licenses 36 professional engineering
institutions to assess and nominate professional engineers and
technicians to its registers, with over 233,000 individuals currently
having demonstrated to their peers that they have attained the
required competence and display the necessary commitment to
practice. The institutions also fulfil their learned society role, by
informing professional practice and enabling the professional
development of their members, who number some 500,000 in total.
The institutions further influence the work of an additional
1.2 million workers that the Office for National Statistics has
classified as being in engineering roles.
Why self-regulate?
An interest in professional regulation is generally driven by a wish to
protect consumers and society at large. The National Consumer
Council has summarised the justifications for regulation as being
when there is evidence of:
Inadequate competition; where suppliers, individually or
collectively, dominate the market or make arrangements which
reduce competition and consumer choice.
Fraud, deception and oppressive marketing practices; where
suppliers take advantage of consumers in ways that are illegal
or unfair.
Imperfect information; where the information essential to
informed consumer choice is either completely unavailable, or
false or misleading.
Safety; where there is risk of consumers using goods or services
which may damage their health.
Resolution of disputes and the pursuit of redress; where easily
accessible procedures are needed to make sure consumers can get
a remedy for breaches of contract or other laws or codes.
Externalities; where there is a need to ensure that the costs of
producing goods and services reflect all the consequences of their
production (as with pollution).
Social objectives; where the market is unable to make socially
desirable goods and services available for defined groups of
consumers. Also, where an unregulated market is unlikely to
achieve democratically desirable results relating to public order,
taste and decency, and similar goals.
Vulnerable consumers;
for example, those with
weak bargaining power and
children may need special or
additional protection.
During the late
1970s, as the UK
experienced a decline
in its manufacturing
output, a school of thought
developed that the engineering
profession was not making the
efficiency contribution to
productivity that it should be when
compared to Japan and the US.
engineering qualifications and that they should work
together to address this variability by adopting a common
threshold. By 1965, this joint initiative had formally come
together as the Council of Engineering Institutions with
its own royal charter and, for the first time, a central
register of chartered engineers, technician engineers
(later called incorporated) and engineering technicians,
with the post-nominals CEng, TEng/IEng and EngTech
denoting an engineers level of registration. In the early
1970s, the profession also adopted graduate entry for
chartered level qualifications, whilst still maintaining
non-graduate routes for those progressing the hard way
up. Such experiential routes have continued to be
provided to this day, with much work having been
undertaken by the institutions to develop methods to
assess prior learning before candidates come forward for
professional review interview by their peers.
During the late 1970s, as the UK experienced a decline
in its manufacturing output, a school of thought
developed that the engineering profession was not
making the efficiency contribution to productivity that it
should be when compared to Japan and the US. After
much debate, a committee of inquiry was instigated
under Sir Monty Finniston. Amongst the many issues that
the inquiry considered, the key question that came to the
fore was whether engineering should be self-regulating
or be subject to statutory regulation.
When the report Engineering our Future was published
by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1980, self-
regulation was favoured by Sir Keith Joseph, the then
secretary of state for trade, as it was felt that statutory
regulation would introduce an unnecessary level of
bureaucracy and over prescription without significantly
improving outcomes. However, statutory regulation was
provided for in some areas of practice, where the risk to
the public resulting from failure was deemed too onerous
to be left to voluntary registration schemes (notably
reservoirs, aviation and nuclear).
Thus the Engineering Council was created as a body
incorporated by royal charter in 1981, inheriting the
registers for chartered engineers, incorporated engineers
and engineering technicians from the previous council.
Self-regulation is
based on the concept
of an occupational
group formally
entering into an agreement with
government to regulate the
activities of its members. In the
UK, the agreement traditionally
takes the form of the award of a
royal charter.
Engineering Council
Raising standards; in a sector where businesses can
gain a competitive advantage or where there are
known to be problems with compliance with the law.
The justifications that particularly apply to engineering
relate to safety and raising standards.
A spectrum of regulation exists within the wider
professions, ranging from those with voluntary codes
(such as engineering) through to those with statutory
duties (such as architecture and law). Professional self-
regulation is a regulatory model which enables
government to exercise a level of control (the level being
dependent on the relative positioning within the
spectrum) over the practice of a profession and the
services provided by its members. Self-regulation is based
on the concept of an occupational group formally
entering into an agreement with government to regulate
the activities of its members. In the UK, the agreement
traditionally takes the form of the government granting
or recognising self-regulatory status through the award
of a royal charter.
The Privy Council Office, not unsurprisingly, endorses
the view of the National Consumer Council and states
that incorporation by royal charter should primarily be in
the public interest. This consideration is important as it
often differentiates those applying for a charter from
other membership organisations, such as trade bodies
and trade unions, who generally act in the interests of
their members.
Once a body has become incorporated by royal
charter, then it surrenders significant aspects of the
control of its internal affairs to the Privy Council.
Amendments to charters can thereafter only be made with
the agreement of the Queen in council, and amendments to
the bodys bylaws require the approval of the council.
Questions about professional services, consumer
protection and how professionals are regulated have been
commonplace for some time. The principles of professional
regulation can therefore be summarised as follows:
A profession must have a governing body which sets
standards of education as a condition of entry and
achievement of professional status and which sets ethical
standards and professional rules which are to be observed
by its members. These rules are designed primarily for the
benefit of the public. Professionals in breach of such rules
are subject to disciplinary action and a breach may
ultimately result in the loss of professional status.
Professional regulation cannot, however, be a guarantee
against the failure of professional services by individual
members, nor can it be a substitute for other mechanisms
for redress such as the civil and criminal courts or a
substitute for the management of professional staff in the
workplace. Rather, it is part of the spectrum of regulatory
mechanisms which, taken together, are designed to protect
consumers. The engineering institutions, working collegiately
through the Engineering Council, seek to ensure these are
upheld and it is this ethos on which its charter and bylaws
are based.
Jon Prichard CEng FICE FInstRE, CEO, Engineering Council
www.engc.org.uk
Benevolent Fund
Contact: Chair, Finance and General Purposes Committee
+44 (0)161 972 3100
admin@cices.org
www.cices.org
Recognise the achievements of fellow members and help others
reach their potential in the pursuit of civil engineering surveying
excellence. The ICES benevolent fund draws on gifts and
legacies donated to the institution for use in charitable
development activities.
Supporting ICES by
donation and legacy
Letters
A worthwhile geocache
The time was 13:50 when I arrived at Greenwich Park still unsure as
to what to expect. I met up with the rest of the group from ICES and
representatives from Leica and Opti-cal in front of Queens House. We
were quickly organised into teams and got to grips with the Leica GIS
Zeno-5 equipment before disembarking on the hunt for points around
the park and surrounding areas of Greenwich.
The majority of the stations were a fantastic collection of
challenges, history, engineering genius and pub quiz facts, along with
much needed fun, including finding the worst or best curios for 5.
After the geocache had ended we had an enjoyable evening in the
Trafalgar Tavern. After a slide show to go through the answers and
photos, we all went away with huge smiles on our faces knowing in
one challenge we had cleaned up 292 pieces of rubbish and eight dog
poos from the park!
I learned so much about Greenwich Park and having never been to
this part of London, I would visit again and again. There is so much
history wrapped up in such a small part of the city, it makes me
wonder what else I have missed.
My thanks go to the guys who made this happen, from Leica
Geosystems and Opti-cal, to the volunteers who manned the stations
including one poor girl who had to open the bags of dog dirt to
confirm the bonus points I also have to say a huge thank you to
the people of ICES South East who put the event on.
Jack Curran
Thank you ICES
A short note to congratulate ICES on taking the initiative to organise
a BIM conference and also for the innovative way the event has been
made accessible to the general membership through online videos of
the presentations well done.
Nigel E A Ribbands FCInstCES
Event Review
of approach could help reduce costs across
the country. To this end it has produced a
standard suite of contracts, known as the
local highway maintenance contract, which
is available as a free download from the
Department for Transport website. It is
based on the NEC3 term service contract
and embodies partnering within its
principles. A very interesting subject where
you can see a willingness to standardise to
make things easier for contractors.
Neil Bradley, project director for the new
International Criminal Court (ICC) under
construction in The Hague, outlined this
major project. 122 countries make up his
client and he talked about why they had
chosen to contract under NEC3 ECC, using
his time with the civil servants) focused on
the governments infrastructure cost review,
national infrastructure plan and
infrastructure procurement route map.
These documents are aimed at making
government plans clearer and more
transparent. They are all available freely on
the Treasury website; just be warned that
like many such documents they are long
but appear to be well presented and full of
lots of useful information. From my own
Google search it appears that there is a
2013 version of the national infrastructure
plan due soon.
Delegates were treated to three talks
about programmes of work and/or projects
being carried out using NEC3. The first was
from David McLaughlan from Defence
Infrastructure Estates (DIO) who explained
why NEC was such a good fit with DIOs
next generation estate contracts. Whilst
frameworks, both on a regional level
(contracts up to 12m) and national level
(up to 50m), will be let, he outlined how
these will have a greater level of
competition within their structures with
the intent of creating more opportunities
for SMEs. There wasnt any detail about
how SMEs would get work from these
frameworks so those interested will need to
do some investigating.
This was followed by an excellent talk
from Matthew Lugg from Leicestershire
Highways, who has also been on
secondment to central government, and
whose subject was the Highways
Maintenance Efficiency Partnership (HMEP).
This has looked at how the 151
independent local authorities responsible
for highways maintenance had been
procuring work with the intent of finding
efficiencies in this major area of spend.
They have found that of the local
authorities who responded to questions
(about half) 67% use NEC3. The strategic
review recognises that roads are essential
to the economy and is looking for ways of
getting more work for the money spent.
HMEP has recognised that standardisation
This years seminar marks a special
occasion since this year is the 20th
anniversary of the NEC.
So said the users group president, Rudi
Klein, as part of his introductory note in the
delegate pack. The annual NEC Users Group
seminar took place in April 2013 in the
stunning ICE HQ at One Great George Street,
just off Parliament Square. It was fully
booked, the venues capacity of 200 having
been exceeded well in advance and with
another 40 or so people on a waiting list.
As a partner in the event, ICES is
allocated a place for its Contracts and
Dispute Resolution Panel and as my parting
act before standing down as panel chair, I
snaffled it. As someone who has, in the
studious darkened corners of the odd site
cabin, a bit of a reputation for writing
about this family of contracts you might
expect that what follows is nothing but
praise of NEC3. For those of you that dont
know me, before jumping to such a
conclusion, please be aware that I am
someone who readily admits to being a
cynical old QS. As a result, my expectations
that morning were mixed not knowing
whether I would hear something revealing
and groundbreaking or just a lot of self-
congratulating success stories.
The keynote address was given by Peter
Hansford, the current chief construction
advisor to government and a past president
of ICE. This was definitely about
government strategy. He outlined how our
industry accounts for 7-8% of GDP, which
is equivalent to the much vaunted, and
maligned, financial services sector. Some
2 million people are employed in the
industry. The government itself spends
around 10b per annum on construction;
there being seven main departments which
spend most of that money. It was no
surprise to hear that the government is
targeting a 15-20% reduction in costs by
the end of this parliament. It simply wants
its construction projects to be better but
cheaper. In order to achieve this, the
government is supporting key initiatives
such as:
Lean procurement methods.
The use of unamended standard forms
of contract (this one surprised me as
much as it is probably surprising you).
Use of project bank accounts.
Simplifying pre qualification
questionnaires.
The use of BIM on all government
projects by 2016.
New procurement models, including;
- cost lead procurement.
- integrated project insurance.
- open book two stage tendering.
Mr Hansford also told delegates how there
would be an industrial strategy for
construction, to be published this summer.
He finished by congratulating NEC on its 20
years and its continuing success story and
confirmed that the collaborative approach
in the contracts is the reason for the
governments continuing endorsement of
the family of contracts. My impression; well
much of it appears to be old ideas
repackaged. The comment about not
amending standard contracts was new, but
I suspect that I am too old to ever see it
become reality (that cynical streak again),
unless of course NEC writes the
government a version just for its use. You
never know, it might happen. After all,
there are some government specific Z
clauses available already. Would the use of
such clauses make it an unamended
standard form? Based on current practice it
would not.
Steve Hudson, a commercial director
with Carillion who is on secondment to the
Treasury (and based on his talk, is enjoying
NEC: 20 years on and still
room for discussion
Michael Rowlinson FCInstCES, Michael Rowlinson Associates,
Outgoing Chair of ICES Contracts & Dispute Resolution Panel
The comment about not amending standard contracts was
new, I suspect I am too old to ever see it become reality.
Event Review
main option C, instead of FIDIC. There
seems to be a growing belief that big
projects benefit from the principles
engendered by NEC3.
After lunch delegates had a choice of
sessions to attend. Whilst I would have
found them all interesting, the QS in me
selected the workshop on dealing with
defined cost to be jointly presented by
Richard Patterson and Barry Trebes.
Unfortunately, Barry Trebes, who is a QS,
had cried off that morning due to illness,
which left Richard Patterson, an engineer,
to present the talk. Now as someone who
gives talks on a regular basis, I dont like
to criticise others... but when this talk
started with words to the effect of
Defined cost is boring, why are you all
here? my heart sank and the talk never
recovered. As a result, a part of the ECC
which attracts no end of argument and
disagreement was not given the attention
that it warrants. The packed room was
there to try to achieve a greater
understanding, which on the whole was
not given. I dont suspect that this was
intended; I suspect that if the QS had been
presenting rather than the engineer my
report on the workshop would have been
more interesting. This isnt a criticism of
Richard Patterson; it was clear that he had
been dropped in the deep end.
In order to present a highly technical
subject like this you need to be a master of
the detail and content, and have
considerable experience of the area. This
was territory for a QS and not an engineer.
Why did we QSs become appreciated in
civil engineering? Because engineers
realised that they couldnt be commercial
managers as well as engineers, which was
one of the reasons for the formation of our
institution. What this talk reinforced was
something that I have known for a long
time, which is that the schedule of cost
components needs revising in order to remove the high potential for disputes
that it creates.
The final session saw a group from NEC, including Dr Martin Barnes,
informing delegates about the changes that are included in the 2013 edition
of the NEC3 family. The big news is the publication of the professional
services short contract. This new contract plugs a gap by providing a simple
low risk contract for use by employers and consultants for any type of service.
The contract is aimed at all industry sectors. The group pointed out that only
15-20% of project management is concerned with construction. Any sector
involving project management, such as IT or law, could also use this contract.
Whilst little other detail was mentioned in the introduction to this contract it
was said that the compensation event procedure had been simplified; how
much simpler only experience will tell.
The NEC3 family itself has been updated and republished. This is not NEC4;
that may come at some future point but no plans yet. The new versions include
the amendments introduced in September 2011 to cover the changes required
to the construction act by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and
Construction Act 2009. There are also some other amendments that have been
made, all of which are free to download from the NEC website. Having
downloaded these and read through the seven pages, the most noticeable
changes that will affect users are to the compensation event notification
procedure and quotation clauses (61, 62 and 63). Anybody who adopts the new
amendments should familiarise themselves with these changes.
There is also the introduction of secondary option Y(UK)1 for project bank
accounts. I have already read some criticism of this new provision from
lawyers, so before including it users should familiarise themselves with the
provisions and decide whether they are suitable or not. A standard Z clause is
also being provided for the use of building information modelling. On this front
NEC has decided to adopt the Construction Industry Councils BIM Protocol and
has drafted the clause to that end. This has been dealt with as a Z clause
rather than a secondary option at this time due to the continuing development
of BIM as a system and the way it is used across the world. Another thing that
has been added to the boxset is a series of seven how to guides setting out
how to prepare or complete various supporting documents that are required to
make some of the contracts work. These will be useful especially to people who
are new to the family.
So, was it worth the early start and late arrival home? On reflection; yes.
Like all such events there were ups and downs. I dont doubt that some
delegates enjoyed the bits that I didnt find particularly stimulating and vice
versa; that after all is how these things work. It is a difficult task to provide
something that will keep everyone happy all of the time.
I didnt come away convinced that I would want to attend every year but it
would be worthwhile once in a while. That I went to the 20th anniversary bash
just as an update had been published probably made it more interesting. The
more important thing is to keep on using these contracts; they are good and
do focus on the project and commercial management which is necessary for
the successful completion of any project. In doing so, users need to dedicate
some time to understanding the intricacies and nuances in order to tailor the
way they use them so as to maximise the benefit for their projects.
Michael Rowlinson FCInstCES, Michael Rowlinson Associates
Michael Rowlinson is outgoing chair of the ICESContracts and Dispute
Resolution Panel
www.michael-rowlinson.co.uk
It was said that the
compensation event
procedure had been
simplified; how much simpler
only experience will tell.
The big news is the publication of the professional services
short contract. This plugs a gap by providing a simple low
risk contract for use by employers and consultants for any
type of service.
lmport and export from |AS / |AZ / PTS and ESRl
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po|ygons, and by s|m||ar|ty to a reference po|nt.
Ana|yse groups as topograph|c surfaces, 3d structures
or d|sp|ay on|y features.
Out sect|ons through c|ouds and automat|ca||y str|ng
surfaces |n p|an and structures |n 3d
Oompute vo|umes, extract gr|ds and ana|yse c|oud data
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Extract opt|m|zed tr|angu|at|on mode|s from c|ouds
Trace ||near str|ngs based us|ng an a||gnment and
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Snap to po|nts |n 3d, |owest, h|ghest and mean |eve|
then trace str|ngs manua||y
www.sccssurvey.co.uk
Te|: 01480 404888
Existing users ca|| to
add Po|nt O|oud modu|e
New to SCC ca|| for
demo and pr|c|ng
SCC
land survey and modelling package
now integrating Point Cloud data

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Events
Jeremiah Dixon:
Scientist, Surveyor and Stargazer
27 April-6 October 2013: Barnard Castle, UK
www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk
Hexagon 2013
3-6 June 2013: Las Vegas, USA
http://conference.hexagon.com
Height and Heritage: CTBUH 2013 Conference
11-13 June 2013: London, UK
www.ctbuh.org
GeoDATA 2013
12 June 2013: Dublin, Ireland
25 June 2013: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
27 June 2013: Brussels, Belgium
7 November 2013: Edinburgh, UK
21 November 2013: Belfast, UK
28 November 2013: London, UK
www.geoinformationgroup.co.uk
European Construction Institute
www.eci-online.org/events/
RICS National Rural Conference
20 June 2013: Cirencester, UK
www.rics.org
Deriving Value Through BIM in the Delivery of
Infrastructure Projects
20 June 2013: Manchester, UK
www.construct-it.org.uk
CECA Golf Day (open to non-CECA members)
21 June 2013: Chester, UK
www.aldercross.com
London Rail 2013
www.londonrailconference.co.uk
SeaWork 2013
25-27 June 2013: Southampton, UK
www.seawork.com
Government Construction Summit
2 July 2013: London, UK
www.governmentconstructionsummit.co.uk
Digital Heritage 2013: Interfaces with the Past
6 July 2013: York, UK
www.york.ac.uk/digital-heritage/events/cdh-2013/
CASLE: Management of Land & Sea Resources
7-10 July 2013: Glasgow, UK
www.casle.org
Cambridge Conference 2013
2126 July 2013: Cambridge, UK
www.cambridgeconference.com
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
22-26 July 2013: Melbourne, Australia
www.igarss2013.org
SA Surveying + Geomatics Indaba 2013
23-24 July 2013: Ekurhuleni, South Africa
www.eepublishers.co.za
British Cartographic Society Symposium 2013
4-6 September 2013: Leicestershire, UK
www.cartography.org.uk/symposium
FIG/IAG Symposium on Deformation Monitoring
9-11 September 2013: Nottingham, UK
www.fig.net www.iag-iag.org
AGI GeoCommunity
www.agigeocommunity.com
Coasts, Marine Structures and Breakwaters
1720 September 2013: Edinburgh, UK
www.ice-breakwaters.com
FOSS4G
http://2013.foss4g.org
ICES Dinner
20 September 2013: Surrey, UK
www.cices.org
International PMA World Conference
30 Sept-3 October 2013: Dubrovnik, Croatia
www.ipma.ch
Intergeo 2013
8-10 October 2013: Essen, Germany
www.intergeo.de
GSDI 14 World Conference and AfricaGIS 2013
4-8 November 2013: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
www.gsdi.org
Marketing Workshops
training
Contact: Joanne Gray
ICES Training
+44 (0)161 972 3110
jgray@cices.org
www.surco.uk.com/training-suite.php Workshops cost 195 per day +VAT
ICES Training is operated by SURCO, a subsidiary of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
A series of one-day workshops to arm SMEs in construction with the basic marketing
knowledge and theory to help their businesses thrive.
Digital Marketing 10 September 2013
Make your mark in the digital world with value adding
websites and social networking tools.
Marketing Strategy 12 September 2013
Develop a marketing strategy to differentiate your
business from others.
Marketing Communications 19 September 2013
Manage your marketing communications and improve
return on your marcomms spend.
Workshop Leader
Workshops will be led by Lillian Barton,
a chartered marketer and part-time
lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan
University Business School. Lillian has
worked for the Open University, Wimpey
Construction and the Hong Kong Government, as
well as local and central government in the UK.
She is involved in education strategy and
consumer and public interest for the British
Standards Institute, is northwest chair of the RSA
and a trustee for two UK charities.
Legal Q&A
A Yes. If drafted correctly, net contribution
clauses in professional appointments or collateral
warranties can limit the liability of a consultant
for losses incurred by an employer to that which
it would be fair and reasonable for the consultant
to pay, or similar.
There are a number of variations of net
contribution clauses, but the overarching aim is to
avoid the common law position under which a
consultant could end up picking up the bill for all
losses incurred by an employer client where the
consultant is only partly to blame for those losses.
The basis of a net contribution clause:
An employer suffers losses as a result of
negligence which can be attributed to more
than one party on a project. The employer sues
you, the consultant, for all of its losses as a
joint wrongdoer.
You pursue the other party or parties which
are jointly responsible for the losses of the
employer to recover a contribution to what you
had to pay out. But what if the other negligent
party becomes insolvent or has insufficient
funds to pay you?
A net contribution clause seeks to limit sums
due to the employer in the first place. In
theory the consultant will only be liable for
damages for which it is deemed fairly and
reasonably to be responsible for. How that is
determined is another practice.
Net contribution clauses in action
There is limited case law discussing net
contribution clauses but a recent decision
1
looked
at their meaning and effect and where they
might not work.
In this case the employer was a couple who
bought a house with a view to carrying out works
to it. They agreed a specification of works and
entered into an agreement with an architect
which contained a net contribution clause and
separately entered into a building contract.
The works were carried out but there were
defects allegedly both design and workmanship.
By this time the contractor was insolvent.
The employer sought to recover money from
the architect on the basis that the architect had
been negligent in its defective design and failing
to notice the contractor's defects. The architect
argued that the net contribution clause limited
its liability for damages. The court found that the
net contribution clause did not limit the
architect's liability here. In these particular
circumstances, there was ambiguous drafting which did not make
it clear that the contractor's actions were caught by the net
contribution clause. Plus the employer, as a private individual, was
afforded the robust protection of consumer legislation under the
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations therefore the
judge had to interpret the clause in a way that was most
favourable to the consumer.
The moral of the story
If drafted correctly net contribution clauses can apportion financial
blame among those responsible for losses an employer suffers. If
such clauses are in appointments or other documents it is
imperative that the drafting is clear and precisely identifies the
parties covered. If not, this case is a useful warning of how net
contribution clauses can fail to provide their intended protection.
Scott McMaster, Solicitor, Dundas and Wilson
scott.mcmaster@dundas-wilson.com
1
West v Ian Finlay and Associates (A Firm) (2013) EWHC 868 (TCC)
Legal Q&A:
Net contribution clauses
Scott McMaster, Solicitor, Dundas and Wilson
Q Can a net contribution clause limit the liability of consultants?
South East
Bookings: Serena Ronan
+44 (0)161 972 3100
sronan@cices.org
Thames Cruise
10
An evening buffet will be provided
Cash bar (no credit cards or cheques)
ICES South East
Networking Evening Cruise
along the River Thames on
The Old London
Sponsor Main sponsor
Thursday 4 July 2013, 6pm-10pm
Embarking and disembarking from Westminster Pier
Tower Pier drop around 8.30pm
c
o
n
s
t
a
n
t
in

ju
r
c
u
t
SfM
T
HE ancient town of Amara
West sits on the west bank
of the Nile in northern
Sudan, less than 100 miles from
the Egyptian border. Between
1500BC and 1070BC this town
was an administrative centre of
the Egyptian-controlled region of
Upper Nubia. After the end of
Egyptian control the town
continued to be occupied, but
since the seventh century BC the
site and surrounding area was
not inhabited.
Amara West was first
excavated by the Egyptian
Exploration Society in the late
1930s and 1940s
1
. It uncovered a
sandstone temple and mud brick
housing, storage and
administrative buildings, within
substantial city walls. The temple
was reburied to protect it from
the scouring desert winds. In
2008, the site was assessed by
the British Museum and a
magnetrometry survey revealed a
suburb including large villas
outside the Eastern gate. Each
year since then, the British
Museum has sent a team of
experts to Amara West to carry
out further excavations and
survey, focusing upon a
residential district in the north
west of the town known as E13,
on two extramural villas and the
two cemeteries set some
distance outside the city walls.
The excavations are set within a
framework of bioarchaeological and environmental research. You
can learn more about the archaeology of Amara West and the
work carried out there at the British
Museum website
2
.
Structure from motion
In 2013 I was invited by the project director,
Neal Spencer, to carry out a photographic
survey of Amara West in order to create a
pointcloud and ultimately a 3D model of the
E13 district using structure from motion
(SfM). This is a computer vision technique
that is derived from photogrammetry. Its basic principle is that
movement through a scene allows an understanding of the shape of
the scene in three dimensions. In practice, the movement is
represented by a series of photographs taken from different angles.
Traditional photogrammetry uses known parameters such as the
distance between cameras and camera calibration to triangulate the
location of matched points on a pair of
photographs. SfM uses a least squares
calculation to estimate the camera positions
and parameters for a large number of
photographs with matching features, which
Structure from motion
The ancient Egyptian town of Amara West
Susie Green, PhD Student, University College London
An overview of the town taken using the Sutton Flowform kite.
SfM
in turn allows the position of the matched
points to be plotted in space.
In many ways SfM is an ideal technique
for recording archaeology. SfM does not
require expensive equipment or software
which is an important consideration in
archaeology where budgets are often very
limited. The freedom to take photographs
from any point and without camera
calibration allows for fast recording during
excavation and can be carried out under
difficult conditions. It allows photographs
taken by different people using different
cameras to be combined. It is even possible
to use heritage images taken long before
the development of SfM. The results can
have slightly lower accuracy compared to
other techniques such as laser scanning
and photogrammetry, but this is not usually
a concern for archaeologists where
millimetre accuracy is
not as important as
the interpretation of
features visible in the
high precision
pointcloud. For this
reason the colours
recorded in the
pointcloud also give
an advantage over
laser scanning.
Challenges to overcome
The E13 district at Amara West consists of
a collection of houses squeezed into a
corner, with boundaries and internal walls
that have morphed and migrated over time.
In much of the district these walls stand to
their original heights, making a visit to
Amara West a highly evocative experience.
It is possible to walk through the houses
and alleyways and experience them from
the same perspective as their inhabitants
did over 3,000 years ago. The large number
of rooms, as many as 37 depending on
where the boundaries are drawn, made
collecting the necessary number of
photographs a challenge within the three
weeks of fieldwork in Sudan.
On arrival at the site it became apparent
that the intense sunlight would be a
problem. It was difficult to expose the
images correctly for both sun and shade
which meant losing detail. This was
overcome by photographing each room
twice, exposing for both sun and shade,
and waiting a few hours in between to
make sure that there was enough overlap
to join the two together. However, we also
wanted to capture the colour of the
features, and this was being lost in the high
contrast. It was therefore decided that each
room should be photographed in diffuse light.
This allowed about half an hour each morning
to photograph the rooms before the sun began
to creep down the walls. The problem was
compounded by the wind which was
constantly filling the rooms with sand, which
had to be cleared out every morning before
they could be photographed. On two occasions
the wind lifted enough sand to block out the
The framework of the walls.
Pointcloud of the southwest rooms.
SfM
sun, giving two full days of diffuse light, but also making it hard to
see in the stinging sand, and penetrating every piece of delicate
equipment. A set of images in full sunlight for each room was also
taken as a backup, so each room was photographed twice.
In addition to photographing the rooms, a large collection of
images covering the tops of the walls was also taken. This was done
on a hazy day of sandstorms, as well as in
full sunlight. This set was accompanied by
a survey of 22 points across the site that
could be identified within the pointcloud.
These images are later used to create a
single pointcloud which is georeferenced
using the survey points and then used as a
framework within which to line up the
individual rooms. It was established while
still on site that due to the depth of the
rooms the accuracy achieved by aligning
pointclouds to this framework was better than that
achieved by surveying points within the rooms and
georeferencing them individually.
Ground based image acquisition
In order to get good results from SfM it is necessary
to have every surface visible in at least three images,
taken from different points. At Amara West each
surface was photographed five times; facing it directly
and from above, below, left and right. The small rooms
in E13 meant that this had to be repeated several
times for each wall to get full coverage. Where there
were alcoves and overhangs the five images have to
be repeated. The deep circular ovens set into the
Aerial shot of the town.
SfM
floors of the rooms presented a
particular challenge.
There ended up being between
roughly 200 and 500
photographs taken for each room,
which over the three weeks in
Sudan amounted to 180GB of
data. Although this seems
excessive, it has since been
shown to have been necessary, as where
the number of images is less than 200 the
pointcloud is patchy. Luckily, any gaps can
be filled using the backup sets of images
taken in full sun.
Aerial image acquisition
In addition to the ground level photographs
of E13, a large number of aerial images
were acquired. These can be processed
using SfM to create a surface model. The
original images can then be projected onto this surface
from the correct camera positions to create a high
resolution orthographic photograph. These are both
extremely useful for archaeologists; archaeology that is
not apparent at ground level can be seen from the air, and
changes in the surface height can reveal new features. At
Amara West a large scale surface model could also reveal
more details about a paleochannel of the Nile that runs
between the town and the desert. This once created an
island of the hill on which the town is sited and it may
have been the loss of this channel that led to the
abandonment of the town
3
. The aerial photographs were
taken using a 16ft Sutton Flowform kite with a Brooxes
kite aerial photography rig. This is adapted to lift a Canon
Powershot G11 compact camera. The camera can be
pointed in any direction and triggered using a radio
control. The bright light worked in our favour this time
allowing sharp photographs to be created even when the
camera was being blown about. The strong steady winds
that blew from the desert made ideal flying conditions and
the kite could be launched most days, taking over 5,000
images in total. The area covered was just over half a
kilometre in circumference, with particular focus on the
area around the town, and the two cemeteries.
Creating a virtual Amara West
The photographs of Amara West were processed using
Bundler
4
or VSFM
5
, followed by a dense pointcloud
reconstruction using PMVS2
6.
Bundler and PMVS2 are open
source and released under the GNU license which allows
free use and modification of the code if properly
attributed. VSFM is free for non-commercial use.
Processing of the pointcloud was carried out using Cloud
Compare
7
and Meshlab
8
, both also released under the GNU
license. The use of open source software is important in
archaeology as it allows the user to maintain full rights
over their data which is often collected through public
funding, as well as keeping costs to a minimum.
The first area to be processed was the framework of
walls. This was done twice, using kite photographs and
ground level images, and these were compared to ensure
that there were no discrepancies. This pointcloud was
Comparing the pointclouds of the buildings.
SfM/Social Network
georeferenced in Cloud Compare using the ground control points,
and became the basis for all subsequent pointclouds. For each
room the images taken in diffuse light are processed as a single
set, and where the data is patchy the set taken in direct sunlight is
also processed. In total, it takes about a day to create a pointcloud
for one room. The final colour data for these points is created by
projecting the images back onto the pointcloud from the original
camera positions. For this reason it is possible to combine the two
sets of data as the diffuse photographs can be used to colour both.
The resulting pointcloud is detailed enough to show the shape
of every brick, and even the small pieces of pottery that are
occasionally trapped between them. The changing pattern of colour
across surfaces which archaeologists can use to help to unravel the
layers of occupation is clearly visible. However, the pointcloud is
enormous and unwieldy, and it is not practical to view more than a
small section of E13 on a desktop computer. Therefore the data will
be further processed to create a polygon mesh which has detail
only where it is need to give form. This will be augmented by a 2D
texture draped across the mesh and created using the original
photographs projected back onto the surface from their original
positions in space. The detail achieved this way can be even greater
than that of the pointcloud, but at a fraction of the file size.
Having a resource that allows examination of each surface in
detail will allow the archaeologists to continue studying the town
and surrounding area when they are not on site, as well as
allowing research by other archaeologists who cannot visit Sudan.
Further measurements of any feature in the town can be made.
Plans and elevations can be extracted from it, and it can be used
as a visualisation aid for the different levels of occupation,
allowing them to be separated out into different files and
examined individually. The creation of this valuable tool for
research was made at a minimum of cost, with the only expenses
being manpower and the use of a mid range digital camera. Work
on the model of Amara West continues and will be completed by
September 2013.
Susie Green, PhD Student, University College London
susiezgreen@gmail.com www.ucl.ac.uk
www.britishmuseum.org
References
1
Egyptian Exploration Society www.ees.ac.uk/about-us/nubia.html
2
British Museum website www.britishmuseum.org/AmaraWest. See also Spencer N,
Insights into life in oc cupied Kush during the New Kingdom: new research at Amara
West, Antike Sudan 23 (2012), 218; Spencer N and Hay S, Amara West: Remote
sensing at a pharaonic town in northern Sudan, in proceedings of the conference,
Archaeological Survey and the City University of Cambridge, 2012: 176 -201; Ryan P,
Cartwright C and Spencer N, Archaeobotanical research in a pharaonic town in ancient
Nubia, British Museum Technical Research Bulletin 6 (2012), 97-106.
3
Spencer N, Macklin M and Woodward J, Re-assessing the abandonment of Amara
West: the impact of a changing Nile?, Sudan & Nubia 16 (2012): 37-43.
4
Bundler: Structure from Motion (SfM) for Unordered Image Collections
www.phototour.cs.washington.edu/bundler/
5
VisualSFM: A Visual Structure from Motion System
www.homes.cs.washington.edu/~ccwu/vsfm/
6
Patch-based multi-view stereo software www.di.ens.fr/pmvs/
7
CloudCompare: 3D point cloud and mesh processing software www.danielgm.net/cc/
8
Meshlab www.meshlab.sourceforge.net/
The (CES) social network
Four surveyors on one site;
150k of instruments - some
investment! (All a certain shade
of green)
@MSURV
@rorystanbridge
@CharteredICES Just read your
column "You get what you pay
for" Couldn't agree more!
@GCSurveys
Could this be the Surveyors
mantra on a T-shirt! #tagline
#landsurveyors
pic.twitter.com/iisRidoLmb
@RLSurveys
Tomorrow off looking forward
to building my shed!
#iwishiwasatwork.
@QSToby
Iron Man 3 was a perfect gig
for us. Great crew. Talented &
gracious cast & a VFX team to
die for. In the credits too
pic.twitter.com/KgujZlZGSA
@4DMax_Ltd
@chrisjamesgill that's beyond
sellotape.
@amtomkins
Weve just received back a Leica survey
instrument from Poland that we had stolen
in London 2 years agohurrah!!!
@Survey_Solution
You know that scene from the new Star Trek
film? NO not the underwear one the
VULCANO one!! Well Dr. David Ferguson from
Columbia University has answered some
FAQs!
British Geological Survey
The Mars Opportunity rover
keeps going and going..... It's
off to study another area on
the Martian surface!
http://go.nasa.gov/15TFyGJ
NASA
Studying or going to study
#engineering? Download our
student guide to becoming
professionally registered
http://bit.ly/XNlFqb
Engineering Council
The RAF Museum has identified the intact
remains of the worlds only surviving WW2
Dornier Do-17 bomber in the shallows off
the Kent coast.
Chartered ICES
Does anybody know anything
about practical installation of
micro-hydropower? Thinking
about setting it up at a holiday
property in Italy...
CIWEM
Elmer Bol, the Reality Capture
Director at Autodesk says he
does not use the term
pointcloud. He prefers the
concept of a range image.
Laser Scanning
HS2
H
AILED as one of Britains largest and most
ambitious projects since the UKs motorway
network was built in 1950, High Speed Two aims
to bring the UKs existing Victorian railway
infrastructure into the 21st century. The new network
will bring the country closer together, reducing
overcrowding on existing lines and creating better links
for businesses between the south and north of Britain.
Its not just the commuters who stand to benefit,
professionals in the built environment will see a boost
in job opportunities.
Research from the recruitment website
CareerStructure.com found that three quarters of
professionals believe that HS2 will deliver long-term
growth in job opportunities (76%). For built
environment professionals in Britain, this is welcome
news after the turbulent past few years, as
infrastructure and building developments were cut back
during the times of economic hardship; leaving many
out of work, or with reduced prospects. The industry is
already showing signs of recovery, though some regions
are seeing greater increases than others. For example,
job postings increased in southeast England (19%) in
the six months to January 2013, whilst job postings in
the northwest and northeast of England showed a more
modest increase of 9%.
Covering the Midlands and eventually the north,
HS2 will reach many of the areas worst affected by the
lack of jobs. With the potential to result in growth
across the UK, its important that these newly created
positions offer opportunities to the professionals in the
regions that need them the most. As a multi-layered,
substantial project, delivering HS2 will demand
professionals with many different specialisms; from commercial
managers, to site engineers, and those working in health and safety
offering opportunities for a wide spectrum of candidates. Whilst
the advantages of HS2 for career opportunities will be far reaching
throughout the sector, professionals surveyed felt that civil
engineers stand to gain the most (61%), followed by project
managers (50%) and mechanical engineers (43%).
These opportunities are of real importance to the previously job-
stricken sector, and this has certainly captured the attention of the
industry. In fact, 71% of professionals would consider relocating to
work on this project, perhaps driven by its high profile credentials,
and the status of a career working on it. The decision to uproot
and move districts in order to benefit from a career is not a light
one, which suggests professionals perceive some great benefits
from working on the project.
One such benefit could be found in job mobility and
opportunities for the future. The majority of those surveyed (80%)
felt working on the project would make them more employable in
the future, showing the project could be improving prospects for
professionals in the long term, as well as the short. Moreover, for
those who do work on the project, the benefits arent just
confined to the UK. Over three quarters of professionals felt that
this accolade on their CVs would assist them in gaining a future
career overseas.
HS2 appears to have captured the imagination of the industry,
driving job possibilities, whilst also encouraging professionals to up
skill in order to take advantage of the positions potentially
available to them. Given the resulting positivity stemming from the
HS2 development, it is key that government continues to invest in
large-scale infrastructure developments, in order to encourage
growth further, and restore optimism to the industry.
Rob Searle, Commercial Director, CareerStructure.com
Upskilling for HS2
Rob Searle, Commercial Director, CareerStructure.com
Working Overseas
Confessions of a contracts
manager in Nigeria
Michael Hawkyard FRICS FCIOB FCIArb, Michael Hawkyard & Co
that
were
working)
and my
driver stayed
tight up
behind it all the
way until we
entered the big
steel gates of the
guesthouse
compound, also manned
by armed guards. I was beginning to
wonder if I really should not be there,
and I was still a long way from the project
location on the east side of the country.
However, the guesthouse accommodation was
reasonably comfortable, although far from
salubrious, and after evicting the cockroach that was
sitting on the white bedsheet I managed a reasonable
nights sleep, after Id pulled the bed away from the
wall just in case.

Watered-down fuel
The company used an airline called ADC to fly
personnel between Lagos and Port Harcourt, on account
of that airline being apparently less likely to water
down the aviation fuel (it makes it go further you
know!). Theres another unnerving story about ADC
which space precludes detailing here. (The various
European airlines, BA, KLM, Air France etc, always
carried enough fuel for the round trip from/to Europe
on account of such watered-down fuel concerns).
Passing through the metal detector prior to
boarding my internal flight to Port Harcourt for the
first time, most of the people ahead of me were
activating the alarm, but not one was stopped and
searched. On enquiry another passenger told me that
the staff at the detector often dont get their wages
paid and so they dont bother doing their job.
L
ATERAL thinking is appropriate, arguably
essential, in Nigeria. Although I could
write a short book on the many
experiences of my time there, this article is
no more than a light-hearted taster.
Strange at times, for Europeans, but
nevertheless factual.
My initial involvement with the US$270m
Bonny River export terminal project began in
1996 in Kuala Lumpur (KL) subsequently
transferring to Nigeria later that year
where the basic engineering design
was carried out, the drawings and
other design-related documents
subsequently shipped out by hard
copy (this was before electronic
facilities were the norm for
document transmittal/storage). My
presence there was on account of
significant claims having arisen
during the development of this phase.
My EPIC contractor-employer was
Singaporean, interestingly having been set up after
the Vietnam war by a number of ex-US marine officers.

Induction
Being presented in KL with a document purporting to
be an induction to Nigeria, and in particular the Port
Harcourt region, I decided to highlight elements that
indicated potential physical risk to my welfare. There
was a lot of highlighting from this exercise! Perhaps
that document was material
in the problem of many
employees who were being
relocated from KL to the
site, via flight from London,
never boarding the
connecting flight from the
UK. I recall particularly a photograph of the Nigerian
security personnel the company had engaged and
thinking to myself I was glad they were on our side.
On my arrival in Murtala Mohammed airport, Lagos
there being no direct flights from Europe to Port
Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and clearing
customs, I recall never before having been in an airport
anywhere in the world where I felt so intimidated. I
decided to stay where I had emerged from customs until
the promised driver who was to take me to the
companys guesthouse on Victoria
Island found me.
Not only was there a car and
driver for me but also two
Nigerians in military-style fatigues
with automatic rifles in a Toyota
Landcruiser to escort us to the
guesthouse, a route notorious for
armed robbery. That Landcruiser didnt
stop for anything, including traffic lights (the few
Working Overseas
communicate with the rest of the world; both being unreliable. This
was a global operation with kit coming from as far west as the Gulf
of Mexico and as far east as SE Asia, our head office being in
Singapore. Many times I would leave the fax machine on automatic
redial before I left the office at 7pm to transmit a document to
Singapore only to find it still trying to procure a line when I returned
at 7am the next day.
The project, being spread over c.50km, comprised a tank farm
next to the refinery at Eleme, pipelines connecting with a 350m
long sea island (piles, jackets and topsides) where the Bonny River
met the Atlantic, necessitated a two-way radio system. My office
was next to the radio control room and I could overhear many
conversations. I counted in excess of 20 nationalities on this
project; all, nominally at least, communicating in English.
I recall one interesting radio conversation between the master
of the dredger in the mangrove swamps from Montgomery,
Alabama, and the Nigerian head of
security. After a clearly frustrating
exchange where neither was making
sense out of what the other was saying,
the dredger captain lost it, saying,
Goddammit, dont any of you guys speak
English around here? I wasnt sure which
one I had the most sympathy with, given
the strong accents of both men. The
Nigerian state telecommunications
Although, this was before 9/11 it still made one a little nervous. Aircraft were arranged somewhat
erratically on airside, many with jet engines running, of which my fellow passengers and I had to run
the gauntlet taking care not to get fried. I was beginning to get accustomed to the way it is in
Nigeria, and wondering what surprises
were still in store for me.
I suppose one of the disappointments of
my time in Nigeria was never seeing any
wildlife (other than snakes, insects and
small creatures) of the larger genre such as
one would be inclined to expect to see in
sub-Saharan Africa. I was told that the
Biafran war had decimated most wildlife,
due to the desperate shortage of food and
almost universal starvation that typified
that sad period in the countrys history.
The time of my arrival in Port Harcourt was not long after the execution of the Ogoni activist and
playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight of his associates, by the military dictatorship of the time,
despite appeals from the United Nations and many countries, including Britain, for clemency. The
bodies were buried immediately after the execution without giving them to the families.
Consequentially, the military were still very
nervous about any movement of traffic in
and out of Ogoniland (a little over an hour
and a halfs drive along a bush road east of
Port Harcourt, and perhaps a half hour east
of Eleme where the refinery was that
marked the northern extremity of the
project construction works) and checkpoints
were permanently in place as one
approached the region.
By coincidence, my secretary for a time
was from Ogoni and had worked for Ken
Saro-Wiwa, which provided me with the
opportunity to learn somewhat more than
was in the public domain about the issues
and gain a better appreciation of the
suffering of the people from pollution of its
fisheries and agriculture by oil company
operations. I mentioned earlier the hard copy
transport of the design drawings from
Malaysia to Nigeria. Shortly before the arrival
of 20 filing cabinets with these
drawings/documents, filing cabinets became
a banned import in Nigeria, for seemingly
largely spurious anti-smuggling reasons. It
was not a simple matter of saying to the
authorities you keep the cabinets, give us the
drawings. It took five months, plus certain
costs(!), to retrieve these design documents.

Communications
My first few months in Port Harcourt were
at the companys administration
headquarters on the east side of the state
capital. By standards of today,
communications were quite primitive and it
is hard to believe that was less than 15
years ago. There was no email facility, or
mobile telephone network. We had one
telephone line and one fax line to
Working Overseas
company, NITEL, did not send out reminders for its accounts to be
paid. It simply pulled the plug. Getting reconnected was not as
simple as paying the account, with every individual in the supply
chain having to be paid some dash (the Nigerian word for bribe).
Clearly, with the limited communication facilities it was imperative
that we retained the telecommunication facility at all times. One
day our offices had a visit from a squad from the Nigerian SSS (the
military State Security Services), who, it eventually became
apparent were seconded to the local regional office of NITEL to
collect bad debts. Now, the SSS is not to be trifled with to any
degree, having ministerial authority to do absolutely anything it
chooses, with total impunity.

Gun to the head
On hearing commotion in the antespace outside my office, and
being the most senior member of staff in the offices at that time, I
ventured out to ascertain what was going on. Our Nigerian
telecommunications engineer was on the floor being beaten with a
whip made of electrical wire by a man in military uniform, two
others standing by. Shocked at this sight I tried to intervene and to
find out exactly what this was all about. A man in civilian clothes
(who it later transpired was a major in the SSS) immediately began
shouting at me but what he was saying was substantially
incomprehensible. Whilst I was asking what was going on, with a
view to resolving whatever the issue was, the major was telling the
two other men to handcuff me, one of them taking out a gun and
pointing it at my head whilst the other cuffed me, then our
telecoms engineer. With more men then appearing the situation was
quickly turning into something that was not expressly part of my
contract of employment. We were both kicked and punched en
route to an old bus outside the compound. With the worry of where
we were being taken to I necessarily took close note of where the
bus was going, in the event that I may have to find my way back
from some isolated location.
It was some hours before I was able to discover what this was
all about. I was astounded to find out it amounted to debt
collection. This detachment from the SSS was alleging my employer
was indebted to NITEL in the sum of 1.2m (Nigerian naira), when
in fact the company was in credit by c. 185,000. (At that time
the exchange rate was c. 1= 125). My Nigerian colleague and I
were hostages pending payment of the alleged debt. Not quite BTs
modus operandi is it?
After the initial furore my captors actually became quite friendly
towards me, in marked contrast to my Nigerian colleague who was
given a really hard time. Although I thought I had coped well
psychologically with the experience all over within 24 hours
some time later my boss, the commercial director, told me they had
kept a watch on me for a few weeks thereafter as it was apparent to
him that I was affected by it.
By comparison with the SSS, the Nigerian police were pussycats.
Perhaps because they rarely had bullets in their guns (or so I was
told, because they had to buy their own). Travelling after dark my
car would almost always come across a police check point where
on seeing an oyibo (white man) I would be asked have you got
something for me sir? I need some water for the weekend. A 20
note would see us on our way. The police were (almost) always
pleasant and with a sense of humour.
Project claims
Project claims? Ah yes, there were a few of those, not all of a
contractual nature. Although much of the route of the pipelines
was through a region inaccessible by road, there were many
villages in the swamp region. Each village seemed to have its own
burial ground, usually denoted by bamboo poles with chicken heads
mounted on. It did not take long for the villagers to become aware
of this project, and to realise the opportunities to pursue
compensation for appeasement of Juju gods for allowing the
pipelines to pass through these areas. Sometimes it suited the
project team better to dogleg a pipeline around the alleged burial
ground than to pay this compensation. More than a few times the
chicken head-topped bamboo poles moved to the amended route of
the pipeline.
I recall an interesting claim that came from the Fibika-Ado War
Canoe Royal Group of Houses, submitted by the Amanyanabo (king)
of Okrika who averred the route of the proposed pipeline was to be
through the familys ancestral lands near Okrika town. In order for
the claimant to grant permission for the proposed routing they
required employment on the project for 10 of their youths, plus a
shopping list of items for a sacrificial appeasement of the gods,
mermaids, Jujus and evil spirits to avoid doom. These items
included; seven rams, seven dogs, seven he-goats, 21 fowls, 50 yams,
2 gallons palm oil, 10 cups salt, 14 bottles Chelsea dry gin, 14
bottles native gin, five crates mineral water, three cartons beer, hire
of Juju praise singers, drummer and boat, and money for the family
and Juju priest. Juju worship is a serious religion in such isolated
locations and in many ways this claim had the same features as
compensation claims we are more familiar with.
We convened a meeting at the Amanyanabos lodge with the
Amanyanabo, relevant local chiefs, the local subcontractor that was
engaged in clearing mangrove, the project director and myself and
achieved a mutually amicable settlement, which included an (ex
gratia) offer to drill water wells for all villages in the vicinity, which
created a lot of goodwill with the villagers; fresh water being at a
premium for many of the villages.
On the more heavyweight side there were of course significant
claims against the employer from the construction phase,
eventually giving rise to a New York Convention arbitrators award
of circa US$50m. This was not paid due to challenges on the
award, rejected by the Court of Appeal in 2008, with interest. A
less robust contractor would be unlikely to have survived being
denied its rightful cash flow for more than 10 years.
There was also a claim of circa US$35m for delay against the
Sicilian fabricator of the piles and jackets to the sea island. There
were some interesting experiences involving that claim too.
Would I go back? Well, despite everything, I met some larger
than life characters, made many friends and it enriched my life in
many ways, so I wouldnt discount it.
Michael Hawkyard FRICS FCIOB FCIArb
Michael Hawkyard & Co mhawkyardandco@btinternet.com
Photogrammetry
A
LTHOUGH work in remote sensing and cartography usually falls within the
Earths ambit, the same techniques can be applied to images of the lunar
surface. Information made publicly available by the different space
agencies has opened the door to this area and now, from the spectral data
captured by SELENEs lunar mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) and the altimetric information provided by NASAs LRO mission, it is
possible to map geological units in an area of special mineralogical diversity, such
as the Aristarchus plateau on the Moon.
We initially researched different missions that were aimed at the study of the
lunar surface, especially those which took multispectral and hyperspectral images.
We then analysed the techniques and results of the different research teams who
used some of these images as a basis. The following missions were significant:
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA
Chandrayaan-1 Indian Space Research Organisation
Clementine NASA
SELENE JAXA
Smart-1 European Space Agency
Mapping the Moon
Classification and mapping of
geological units on the lunar surface
Iaki Ordez Etxeberria, Project Manager: Aitor Bastarrika Izagirre, University of the Basque Country
Top: How the SMART-1 mission looks above the lunar surface.
Middle: Image from the west face of the Aristarchus crater, obliquely taken by the LROC space probe. The
image shows 3,000m high walls and a 40km diameter of the crater.
Right: Location of the Aristarchus plateau on the near side of the Moon.
Photogrammetry
These missions have become turning points in the understanding and
study of the Moon. Some of them offer an accessible repository and
free access to the majority of the captured information. There are also
many studies that have analysed the images and data they captured.
The area
The particular area of the Moon we studied was chosen according to
two criteria; first, this area is geologically diverse, a fact that makes
it possible to identify a range of varied surface materials, second,
previous works have been made on this area, which offer the
opportunity to evaluate, at least qualitatively, the results obtained.
We have chosen the southern region of the plateau Aristarchus,
which is located between longitude 46W - 52W and latitude 22N
- 25N. This area includes the crater Aristarchus, the start of the
Vallis Schroteri with the cobra head formation that belongs to a
volcanic cone and the Herodotus crater. Both impact craters, which
result from meteorite crashes, are interesting, not only because they
redistribute the material found in the laminates under the lunar
surface, but also because the energy generated by the impact
melted the rock, which then crystallized into different forms. As for
the cones, they provide magma of a different chemical composition
from the one on the surface.
Sensors and images
The images selected for the spectral classification of the different
materials come from the sensors MI-VIS and MI-NIR from the
Japanese SELENE mission. The main objective of this mission was
to obtain evidence that could explain the origin and evolution of
the Moon, in order to develop necessary technology for future
lunar explorations. The satellite was launched in September 2007,
and the mission ended in June 2009 with a controlled collision on
the lunar surface.
We combined the data from the sensors MI-VIS and MI-NIR, to
get an image of nine bands and 62m per pixel. The final mosaic
included a total of 120 images and covered an area of about
10,000km
2
; making up the entire study area. Different areas were
selected from the studied region, with images corresponding to
different types of materials identified by a research team from
2009. These areas have shaped regions; establishing the evaluation
model by the classification method of the maximum supervised
likelihood. Although this method requires computational resources
and appears to be more complex, it is the most widely used in
remote sensing for its robustness and for conforming strictly to the
original layout of the data. Once we obtained the result of the
classification, it was compared with the one proposed in research
from 2011. In this latter result, an algorithm was employed for the
selection of specific bands to obtain the best separation of lunar
materials, using the hyperspectral images from the Chandrayaan-1
mission. Thus, similarities were observed between those results and
the ones obtained in our work.
In order to improve the legibility of the results, we prepared a
cartographic document that contains the information previously
obtained in the classification. Furthermore, we decided to include
the altimetric information of the area by using a digital elevation
model of the lunar surface, which was calculated from the stereo
pairs captured by the LRO mission. Moon2000 is the reference
system in which the mapping is based on, which is defined by the
International Astronomical Union. This system corresponds basically
to an area of about 1740 radius kilometers, whose coordinates
(selenographic) are distributed similarly to Earth and are given in
sexagesimal system degrees. North and south are marked by the
axis of rotation of the Moon together with the lunar equator,
passing through the satellites closest point to Earth. This same
point also defines the origin of longitudes, or the prime meridian.
Finally, a tranverse mercator projection was applied, taking as the
corresponding central meridian the 49 W. The resulting document
has a scale of 1:350,000.
Conclusions
With the data and information collected, the method applied in the
classification of materials has been considered successful, because it
Right: Unfiltered results of the maximum likelihood classifier.
Table: MI-VIS and MI-NIRs features.
Bottom left: Result of the merger of the images from sensors MI-VIS and MI-NIR and the
subsequent mosaic for the south area of the Aristarchus Plateau.
Bottom right: The finalised cartographical document.
MI Sensor Spatial
resolution
f FOV Band Wavelength
MI-VIS 2D CCD 20m/px 65mm 11 1 0.415m
2 0.750m
3 0.900m
4 0.950m
5 1.000m
MI-NIR 2D InGaAs 62m/px 65mm 11.2 6 1.015m
7 1.050m
8 1.250m
9 1.550m
Photogrammetry
References
Yan B, Wang R, Gan F and Wang Z (2010) Minerals mapping of the lunar surface with Clementine UVVIS/NIR data based
on spectra unmixing method and Hapke model, Icarus (208) pp. 1119
Chevrel SD, Pinet PC, Daydou Y, Mouelic S, Langevin Y, Costard F and Erard S (2009), The Aristarchus Plateau on the
Moon: Mineralogical and structural study from integrated Clementine UVVisNIR spectral data, Icarus (199) pp. 924
Mustard JF, Pieters CM, Isaacson PJ, Head JW, Besse S, Clark RN, Klima RL, Petro NE, Staid MI, Sunshine JM, Runyon CJ
and Tompkins S (2011) Compositional diversity and geologic insights of the Aristarchus crater from Moon Mineralogy
Mapper data, Journal of Geophysical Research, 116
Ohtake M, Matsunaga T, Yokota Y, Yamamoto S, Ogawa Y, Morota T, Honda C, Haruyama J, Kitazato K, Takeda H, Iwasaki
A, Nakamura R, Hiroi T, Kodama S, Otake H (2010) Deriving the Absolute Reflectance of Lunar Surface Using SELENE
(Kaguya) Multiband Imager Data, Space Science Reviews (154) pp. 5777
Shibata Y, Asada N, Hirata N, Demura H, Yokota Y, Morota T, Honda C, Matsunaga T, Ohtake M and Haruyama J (2009)
Semiautomatic Recognition of Lunar Geologic Units Based on Texture and Spectral Features Using Image Data Observed
by Kaguya TC/MI, 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
enabled the location of the different geological units and the subsequent qualitative
assessment of results. Moreover, despite having no field data, the typical characteristics of the
lunar surface (types of materials, lack of vegetation and atmosphere, and so on) allow
mineralogical mapping to be performed independently of this field of work.
It should be emphasized that the result of this work provides mineralogical mapping of
the crater Aristarchus to the largest scale done to date. Research on lunar features,
especially the involvement of remote sensing, is becoming a priority for the different space
agencies. The majority of these agencies make publicly available most, if not all, of the data
their missions have gathered. This opens the possibility to study and research of the
characteristics of the Moon, in which the contribution of the topographical sciences could
have a significant presence.
Iaki Ordez Etxeberria, Project Manager, Aitor Bastarrika Izagirre,
University College of Engineering of Vitoria-Gasteiz, University of the Basque Country
inaki@m81.net
Dispute Boards
discuss all matters openly. The DB must
ensure everyone has their say; frankly, but
politely, and can do its best to find any
hidden agendas. It is preferable for the DB
to avoid telling someone outright that it
thinks they are wrong, but a DB can convey
its feelings not only by the way something
is said, but by the way it is said, and even
by facial expressions. Whilst these
discussions may become serious and even
heated, a DB is in a position to ensure the
mood remains reasonably good-humoured.
The DB should use the time in these
discussions to find the issues at the heart
Open discussion
The first step in setting a tone of dispute
avoidance is by open discussion with the
parties. This may start as discussion by
emails when the DB receives copies of
correspondence and monthly reports which
reflect differences of opinion. The DB
cannot tell people what to do, but it can
make observations and comments to steer
people away from confrontation and to
suggest they consider other ways of
approaching problems.
Face to face discussions during site
visits represent an excellent opportunity to
Reflections on dispute boards
T
HERE are many articles, seminars and lectures given about the principles
and procedures of dispute boards (DB). This particular one reflects on DBs
in action from recent experience by highlighting their unique aspects and
how they operate in practice. It is based on the use of standing DBs, appointed
at the start of a project, as opposed to the ad-hoc DBs appointed when a
dispute has arisen. The unique aspects of standing DBs, which can contribute to
cost savings, are:
Dispute avoidance.
Involvement with the project from start to finish.
The element of the practical operation of standing DBs worthy of reflecting on is:
Value for money.
Let us take those in turn.
Dispute avoidance
Unique to DBs
Adjudication, arbitration, mediation and
conciliation are all means of dispute
resolution. By the nature of things, a
dispute has already arisen. DBs are unique
in setting out to avoid disputes. This gives
them an opportunity not found elsewhere
to see a project through without the
existence of continuing differences which can
only be resolved by a third party, often at
great expense.
Although it is unfortunately not always
openly stated, the primary purpose of the DB
in regard to disputes is to try to encourage the
parties and the engineer to avoid them. The
standing DB is in a unique position. It can
actively dissuade the parties and the engineer
in practice, most likely the resident engineer
(RE) to try to resolve matters on site.
Sometimes, it helps to remind the parties how
much a dispute reference will cost, not only
financially, but in terms of the change of
atmosphere on the project.
If the parties and the RE feel that the DB
gives them confidence in its views and are
prepared to think about the DBs admonitions in
this respect, relatively insignificant differences
can be settled by sensible discussions.
Conversely, they will know that if they elect to
ignore the DBs advice, they will only have
themselves to blame if matters escalate.
Dispute Boards
of the matter and manage the situation. Having listened to each sides point of
view, the DB may be able to suggest a way forward. That may mean two people
going into a separate room for a short while to talk, thinking about the issues
overnight or instigating a strategy for dealing with contentious matters on site by
regular meetings. Sometimes even sleeping on a problem overnight can bring
about a change in perspective.
Informal opinions
Informal opinions can only be given by the DB when the parties jointly request it.
A request by one party is not enough. Nor can a DB give one on its own initiative.
That does not prevent a DB suggesting to disagreeing parties that an informal
opinion on a point of principle may help them to see how the DB is thinking and
how a decision would go in the event of a
dispute reference. That, in turn, will help them
avoid the expense and other consequences of a
dispute reference.
Informal opinions are another unique
feature of the DB system. They are not binding
on the parties or on the DB. The usual way of
instigating an informal opinion is for the
parties to make their joint request, either
orally or in writing, which normally means by
email. It is preferable for the DB to have some
notice of this request if the parties want the
opinion to be given during a site visit.
Whether submissions are made orally or by
documents only, the process should be short
a matter of days at the most, possibly less.
Each side can make its submissions in what
the DB, preferably with the parties agreement,
considers is the most appropriate way. The
opinion may be given orally if it is during a
site visit, or by way of a document attached to
an email if not.
The parties are not allowed to refer to
informal opinions to help their case in a
dispute reference and the DB is not held to its
views. All of this allows people to use the DB
process to their advantage at minimal cost,
using common sense. The use of informal
opinions allows some freedom of speech
without fear of later repercussions. It can also
avoid disputes.
Decisions
You may wonder how a DBs decision can
contribute to dispute avoidance, when it is
patently dispute resolution. A DB should be
alive to the scope of the parties
disagreements and should show them that it
is active and not passive. There is nothing
preventing a DB from suggesting that a
dispute can be restricted to narrow points of
principle, as opposed to a wider dispute about
time, money and other matters, all requiring
volumes of evidence and all the attendant
costs. The parties and the DB meet regularly
and should communicate in between those
meetings. This allows ample opportunity
for the parties and the DB to practice some
sensible dispute management, with the DB
providing some leadership.
One good decision on a narrow point
can make people think again and even try
to arrive at a settlement of what has
possibly been a broad and troublesome
disagreement. An important part of the
decision is the reasoning. It may be
especially important for the losing party to
know why the DB disagrees with it, even if
it does not feel very happy about it.
Involvement with the project
from start to finish
Early appointment
In all of the forms of dispute resolution, a
dispute has arisen. In the DB process, the
DB meets the parties and the engineer
before the project starts at least that is
the idea, and the ideal. Far too often,
parties leave it too late to appoint a
standing DB. It is very difficult for a DB
appointed months, and possibly even years,
into a project to catch up and be as
effective as it should be. The opportunity is
there to use the DB from the start. If the
parties want to derive the full benefit from
a DB, the advice is; use it from the start.
The DBs early involvement is the
opportunity to set its tone for relationships
Dispute Boards
straight away. This has to be based on
fairness and impartiality, and should be
based on courtesy and professionalism. The
appointment as a DB member is a personal
appointment. The parties are not just
buying the members expertise and
experience. They are buying the members
personal qualities as well. These include
courtesy, patience, firmness and the ability
to listen. How a DB member communicates
even before appointment is important. First
impressions go a long way.
Keeping up to date
A DB member is obliged to keep up to date
with the project and is paid a monthly
retainer to do so. This is an important
aspect of the DB system and it should be
accorded the appropriate time and
attention. The parties and the RE should
send their correspondence and other
documents to the DB at the regular
intervals requested by the DB. For its part,
the DB should read the documents, not
merely file them away to look at some
other time. It could be that the
correspondence contains something
requiring immediate comment by the DB.
Site visits
This is where a DB really comes into its
own. Having read all the documents it has
received it can now talk face to face with
the parties and the RE, and go and look at
significant parts of the site. Much is made
of how DBs must not be seen in the
company of one party. This is easier said
than done during a walk about the site, but
just requires some common sense. This
correspondent has never had any problem
and has found people very relaxed.
The time on site is valuable time. Much
has been invested in the DB visiting the site
and the parties representatives taking time
out to be with the DB. The advice to all DB
members and others attending these
meetings on site is to use the time to the
full. The DB should try to find out if there
are any simmering problems and the parties
and the RE should explain why they want
certain points raised. It can be a long time
before the DB is back on site.
Value for money
The parties expectations
In choosing a DB member as a person and
paying the DB a considerable amount of
money, the parties are entitled to expect
certain things. For a start, they will expect
the DB to live up to the warranties given in
DB agreements, such as the experience of the
type of project and interpretation of contract
documents. They will also expect the DB to
be smart, punctual and courteous and to give
and command respect. In this role, the DB
should provide some leadership and show
some initiative. The parties and the RE will
also expect a fair hearing at meetings and
for the DB to listen to them. They will expect
that the DB will produce its report on site
visits before leaving the country of the
project, or very quickly afterwards if travel
arrangements do not permit that.
The cost of the DB
Money usually comes into things
somewhere and the appointment of DB
members is often a case in point. DB
members have to be mindful that the
parties are paying for them and have to be
realistic about what is reasonable for the
paying parties. Quoting high fees can make
a person unpopular and can affect the way
parties view DBs in general. With some
experience and some discreet enquiries,
sensible and acceptable fee levels can be
alighted upon. On the other hand, parties
should bear in mind what they are paying
for. A potential DB member who is on the
FIDIC presidents list of adjudicators will
have been through years of experience in
construction and dispute resolution,
together with a prequalification to be
allowed onto a formal assessment. The FIDIC
assessment is rigorous and is not even open
to all applicants. The FIDIC list does not
contain many names, which says something.
Ultimately, the parties may find
themselves paying for a decision. This is an
onerous task and not one for which the DB
courts popularity. Whatever the decision, it
can make a difference to the parties, the
engineer and the project, and be subject to
scrutiny by an arbitration tribunal. The daily
rate paid to the DB should reflect the
nature of this task. The monthly retainer is
an element which can cause difficulty. It is
a two-way deal. The parties expect the DB
to do something for it, while the DB
expects to be paid a reasonable amount for
keeping up to date. When quoting fee
levels, DB members should ask themselves
exactly how much work is likely to be
involved and not simply look for the highest
rate obtainable.
Final reflections
When DBs were first introduced into the
FIDIC contracts in the mid-1990s, they did
so almost unnoticed. When I read the
loose-leaf insert which fell out of one of
the FIDIC books at the time, my first
reaction was; at last a common sense
way of dealing with disputes. The
appointment of one or three independent
and impartial people to make the journey
through the project from start to finish and
trying to avoid disputes seemed a good idea
then and it has proved to be so now.
John Papworth is an independent consultant
in international dispute resolution, a
practising DB chairman and member, and a
chartered arbitrator.
johnpapworth@ricsonline.org
www.johnpapworth.com
Mobile Mapping
M
OBILE data collection systems have developed rapidly over the last
ten years. Spatial accuracy has improved through advances in sensors,
GNSS and inertial navigation system (INS) technology. More modern
systems also introduce the extra dimension of 3D image capture to surveying.
Atkins has recently trialled the earthmine system, founded in 2006 in
Berkeley, California. It is a web-based, mobile 3D mapping system that can
capture whole metropolitan areas in a few weeks in high-resolution 3D
panoramic images. These images can be tagged with links to documentation or
information for quick and easy retrieval. They can also be used for digitising
assets and measuring dimensions and areas of objects.
The system offers 3D data for every pixel, and sub-metre global accuracy
with centimetre accurate relative measurements. The data can be directly
integrated with Esri ArcGIS and AutoCAD Map3D, as well as web services,
enabling users to take measurements, digitise new features and import other
3D datasets within a known GIS environment. It can also be customised using
fully featured and documented developer tools, and be put, for example, on an
iPad or other tablet for surveyors to take into the field.
Systems like earthmine fill the gap between expensive mobile LiDAR
mapping systems and standard mobile panoramic or video image capture,
providing a cost effective way to capture 3D imagery for large areas. The data
volume generated is much lower than LiDAR systems, and can be delivered via
the web, removing the need for users to manage the data themselves. The high
quality images are easy to navigate and interpret, making the reliable
identification and digitisation of features, such as roadside assets, a relatively
easy and quick task.
To gain maximum benefit from asset management systems, the information
held within them needs to be up-to-date and accurate. High resolution, 3D
panoramic imagery can improve the accuracy and detail of asset management
information and, due to its relatively low cost, it allows for update cycles to be
undertaken more frequently.
Taking asset management
to the next dimension
Richard Casselden, Senior Photogrammetrist, Atkins
They fill the gap between
expensive mobile LiDAR
mapping systems and
standard mobile panoramic
or video image capture,
providing a cost effective
way to capture 3D imagery
for large areas.
The camera uses 3D data-generation software designed by
NASA for the Mars exploration rover.
The raw images captured on trial gave an idea of the
initial, high quality 3D imagery.
Mobile Mapping
The technology
The earthmine system uses the MARS collection system (based on the camera
system currently used in the Mars explorer Curiosity) to collect data. It uses a
stereo panoramic camera array comprising four vertically offset stereo pairs of
cameras, capable of collecting a set of stereo imagery at regular distance
intervals that can be transformed into both 360 degree panoramic imagery and
a corresponding depth map. The system utilises a combined GPS and INS unit
from which the capture control software reads a real-time position and
altitude to determine distance travelled by the vehicle and trigger the capture
event at the set interval (typically 5m or 10m).
The capture control software, which runs on a laptop using a Linux based
operating system, provides the graphical user interface for operation of the
system and coordinates data flow between the camera array, the GPS/INS and
the storage media (a removable SATA hard drive).
Mobile data collection is being used to improve asset management.
In post-processing, stereo correlations are performed.
This process matches a pixel in one image to the
corresponding pixel in another image to derive a
disparity value corresponding to the difference in
position between the two matching pixels, giving a full
3D (xyz) coordinate for each pixel.
The trials
Earlier this year, Atkins completed trials of earthmine in
Bristol, London, Southampton and Oxford, along with
significant lengths of the M25 and M11. The raw
images gave an idea of the initial, high quality 3D
imagery captured from the individual cameras and
were processed into usable 3D imagery. We will also
be producing sample data products, including
examples of digitised assets and combining the
imagery with existing geospatial data sets to provide
examples of how the imagery can be utilised for
transport and local authority asset management, as
well as other applications.
Richard Casselden,
Senior Photogrammetrist, Atkins
Richard.Casselden@atkinsglobal.com
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Project Management
T
HE engineering and construction
contract (ECC) of the third edition of
the New Engineering Contract (NEC3) is
one of the most modern construction
contracts in use. Its style and philosophy are
very different to others such as the ICE or
FIDIC forms. It seems set to become the
most commonly used form of contract in the
UK and, indeed, to play a major role in
setting contractual relationships overseas. It
is already in regular use in 26 countries.
Understanding and accepting this markedly
different contractual approach is important
for several reasons, not least of which is
because the term project manager has
contractual significance and refers,
exclusively, to the employers appointee
and representative.
In the first of these three articles we
considered what was required of the project
manager by the ECC where the arrangement
preferred by the original drafters and the
current NEC3 panel was adopted. That is,
where the person appointed as project
manager manages the whole project
procurement process, including all the work
necessary to bring a construction project
from inception to completion and into
operation. In particular, we used the terms of
NEC3 to explain what the project manager is
required to do, or should be doing, during the
construction (post-contract) phase of the
project, why it is required to do it, and how
this might be affected by decisions taken
during the procurement phase. We also
decided that the project managers role in
the pre-contract phases needed to be
considered at some length and in its own
right. In the final section of our first article,
however, we did review what the guidance
notes say about the procurement phase and,
in our opinion, what they say is required of
the project manager is only a small part of
what is actually required if it is to act on
behalf of the employer in all respects from
the feasibility stages of a project.
We undertook to consider the
requirements placed on the project manager
during the procurement phase in more detail
in this second article but we also set down
the following as a brief, but not conclusive,
outline of the matters which we believe it
must be familiar with if it is to fulfil the role
successfully; law, health and safety, the environment, risk,
budgets, the preparation of tender documents, the
evaluation of tenders and contract award, and whole life
(maintenance) costs (in addition to those stated in the
guidance notes, i.e. design and alternative schemes,
contract strategy and estimates of cost and time).
In this article, we start by looking briefly at what is
meant by the various terms used in relation to
procurement, move on to consider current government
thinking and then look in some detail at the input,
including setting the contract strategy, we consider is
required from the project manager during the
procurement phase. The often ignored but very important
procurement tasks of contractor selection, preparing
tender documentation, consideration of tenders and
contract award, all of which form part of the
procurement phase, are considered in our next article.
The nature of procurement
At the end of the first article we noted that in its
construction strategy issued in May 2011, the
government has adopted the position that procurement
means the whole process from the identification of the
need for an asset (inception), through the steps needed
to realise it (including its construction) to bringing it into
use. Further, that procurement is not completed until the
asset is not only in use but the maintenance
arrangements are in place. We are happy to adopt this
definition of procurement. Unfortunately, the position is
somewhat complicated because the governments
procurement is usually subdivided by industry into two
distinct phases; procurement and construction or pre-
contract and post-contract.
In the first article, we defined the procurement phase
of a project as all the work necessary prior to the
commencement of construction (or pre-contract). This
definition of the term (comprising two words) is retained
and is consistent with the above. The term procurement
(a single word) is taken to mean the act of obtaining or
arranging to buy a particular item or service. Again, this
is consistent with the above.
Current government thinking
Most of the civil engineering work carried out in the UK
is either wholly or partly funded from the public purse.
This being the case, HM Treasury has an important, if not
a controlling interest, in how such work is procured. HM
Treasury planning and policy also has a significant
influence on private sector procurement.
What is construction
project management?
Part 2: The project manager during the procurement phase
Robin Jones FICE FCInstCES MCIHT and Ken Chapman CEng MICE
Robin Jones and Ken Chapman comment in the second of three articles on construction project
management in the context of the NEC3 engineering and construction contract.
Project Management
In the HM Treasury infrastructure cost review (most infrastructure is
civil engineering) the implementation plan states:
"The infrastructure cost review was published on 21 December
2010 and concluded that there is no single overriding factor
driving higher costs and that higher costs are mainly generated in
the early project formulation and pre-construction phases. It
provided evidence of contributing factors including:
Lack of clarity and direction... over key decisions at inception
and during design.
Projects are started before the design is sufficiently complete...
Lack of targeted investment by industry in key skills and
capability limiting the drive to improved productivity performance.
The management of large infrastructure projects and
programmes is being conducted within a quoted budget rather
than aiming at lowest cost for the required performance. (That is,
managing down to a pre-fixed price which may be inappropriate
for the performance required.)
The document also pointed out:
This is an implementation plan for the economic infrastructure
sector, in which some 70% of the investment is from the private
sector, including the regulated utilities. However, many of the
Hitherto, many employers have tried, by utilising
secondary option Z amendments to the core conditions,
to alter NEC3 to suit their existing internal policies
rather than to embrace the contract and alter their
existing policies to suit its use.
It has become painfully clear to many of us that
adapting NEC3 to suit existing, engrained policies does
not work; existing policies must be changed to facilitate
use of NEC3. Very much within this revision of policy or
culture should be the changing attitude to project
management underwritten by NEC3 and
accommodation, properly, of the pre-contract role of
the project manager. Project management and project
managers (if they know their stuff) should come into
their own during this phase of the work; the
opportunity is there for them to gain the necessary
expertise and show what they can do. Nevertheless,
such a change is not coming easily and it is clear from
the continuing public complaints that use of the ECC is
too difficult and that many employers are still finding it
very challenging 20 years or so after its introduction.
Input during the procurement phase
The promoter (who becomes the employer if a project
proceeds to construction) will take the initial steps during
the procurement phase of a project.
Stage 1
Promoter identifies the need for an asset/establishes
what authority will be needed for it (inception) and its
general form/establishes fund(s) and location(s) are
available/establishes a project to investigate the
realisation of the asset.
The appointment of an engineering project manager
from this point onwards is beneficial to the employer
because it will need engineering advice to enable it to
assess the relative merits and practicability of the
alternative solutions which will emerge. The project
manager will also provide (or have sufficient knowledge
to arrange for) the specialist input required at this stage
on matters (in no particular order of precedence) such as:
The law (as it applies to the project).
Permissions and approvals.
Health and safety.
The environment.
Construction and other risks.
Funding.
Whole life maintenance costs.
Where the project is very large or complex, or where
multiple funding agencies are likely to be involved or
where a PFI or PPP approach is being contemplated, a
project manager should be appointed to coordinate
negotiations with potential funders and in obtaining
franchises or concluding any agreements necessary at a
national level. By having a project manager in place at
this stage the effects of any terms required by the
funders, law or other interested parties on the scope,
nature, design and construction of the project can be
considered and accommodated much more easily.
Stage 2
Investigate the feasibility of constructing the project. The
engineering project manager (feasibility) organises and
leads the investigation process with the objective of
determining and assessing the merits of alternative
schemes and selecting the most suitable. This paves the
way for the preparation of an adequate and economic
The root of many of the difficulties encountered
post contract can be traced to the wrong
contract option being chosen.
issues that need to be addressed in the public sector, for example
in procurement, project governance and budget discipline, are also
issues for the wider construction sector."
The acceptance, we think, that the root of higher costs is located in
the pre-construction phases of project delivery marks a very
significant change in core thinking.
For many years, particularly in the public sector, the government
blamed such increases almost entirely on the inefficiency of
contractors during the construction phase or on market pressures that
dictated ultra-low levels of tender prices. In the latter case general
policies dictating acceptance of lowest bid price tended to negate the
need for detailed and appropriate examination of tenders prior to
acceptance. Because of this, those tasked with bid selection were not
trained to spot or judge commercial or engineering deficiencies in
tenders. As a consequence, the effects of shortcomings in tender
documentation and the promoters procurement policy were rarely
noticed, quantified or considered. Since the introduction of the NEC it
seems that government, at least, has revised its view and is beginning
to identify that problems in its own procurement policies and
processes, and those applying them, are an important factor in
causing higher than expected project outturn costs.
The challenge to project managers
Now that the government has spotted that "higher costs are mainly
generated in the early project formulation and pre-construction
phases" and is looking to change its public sector procurement
practices, the need for public employers to review their own
practices is high. Because use of NEC3 demands a change in
contractual culture this may necessitate a complete change in
approach in many authorities. Employers are likely to find it difficult
to adapt because their existing, often longstanding policies will not
allow such changes to be made or, indeed, to be accepted, easily.
Project Management
design, ensures that the project and the employer comply
with all legislation, and aims to foresee and provide for
any difficulties that may arise during construction.
Matters to be considered will include:
Different locations considered for the same purpose.
Different engineering solutions at each site to meet
the same requirements.
Envisaged project timescales for alternatives. Does
the scheme(s) meet any time requirements?
Estimates of cost prepared for each viable
alternative.
The project manager should lead the production of a
report on the pros and cons of the alternative ways of
realising the project. The report will give its conclusions
and recommendations.
Procurement strategy
The promoter (employer) must make the decision to
proceed. If it decides that the project will proceed, the
project manager assists in gaining any necessary
authorities. With authority in place, the project manager
leads and assists the promoter/employer with the
preparation of a procurement strategy for the project.
This is a strategy to set down, in general terms; (i) who
will decide the detail of what is built, i.e. design it, (ii)
the arrangements for its construction, and (iii) the
extent to which the employer is to be involved in both
design and construction. In most cases the procurement
strategy is about how the design of the project is done
(because the employer has very little involvement and
construction is carried out by contractors). Where,
however, employer involvement in the construction
phase is necessary it must be very closely managed. The
project manager advises and assists the employer in
relation to the following:
1. If the employer requires to have no further
involvement it can instigate a turnkey contract by
defining within its employers requirements (the works
information) what the project must achieve (for
example, a stated output). Contractors price for their
own designs and a single contract is awarded. The
contractor decides what is to be built and builds it
(not necessarily the scheme recommended at
feasibility stage). It is responsible for dealing with
others, and usually the employer has no real
involvement. All cost risk lies with the contractor it
is paid the same whatever happens but the project
has to meet the stated requirement(s).
2. If the employer wishes to influence the design
further, in conjunction with the project manager it
selects a preferred scheme from the alternatives in the
feasibility study (stage 2). The employer again
instigates a turnkey contract by defining within the
works information what the project must achieve (for
example, a stated output) but includes the constraints
of the preferred scheme within its contractual
requirements. Contractors price for their own designs
and a single contract is awarded. As for point 1 above,
the contractor decides what is built, is responsible for
dealing with others and usually the employer has no
real involvement. All cost risk lies with the contractor
it is paid the same whatever happens, but the
project must be within the stated constraints and has
to meet the stated requirement(s). Turnkey contracts
are suitable only for a particular type of project where
the contractor can be sufficiently in control of the
cost risks.
3. If the employer wishes to influence the design further and/or
wishes/needs to be involved in construction itself and/or
wishes/needs to deal with others, a turnkey contract is unlikely to
be suitable (because the contractor is not in control of all cost
risks). A different type of contract or contracts will be required to
realise the project. Under these circumstances the employer will
need a larger organisation and it will attract elements of cost risk
which it would not have with a turnkey contract.
4. Employer's designers will almost certainly be required. They may
be in-house or consultant designers if a consultant, a
professional services contract (PSC) will be need to be used. Their
role is to develop the employer's preferred design to meet the
employer's objectives to the point where tenders for the
construction contract(s) are to be invited. A competent project
manager will also be able to advise the employer on its
responsibilities under the Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007 both in appointing a coordinator and for
providing designers (and, indeed, tendering contractors at a later
stage) with all the information on the project relevant to
significant health and safety risks.
5. The employer may choose the extent to which it is involved in
actual construction. If, for example, the employer intends to
purchase materials (possibly to save a procurement delay) or the
Going out to tender too early is one of the
problems of our time.
project is located within a working production unit such as a
power station, oil refinery or even the rail network, the employer
will need to be able to direct the contractor so as to safeguard its
production levels or, perhaps, track usage. Some employers will be
bound by law to provide and maintain services to the public and
may suffer penalties if they fail so to do. In all such cases,
however, the employer is required to give full details of what it
undertakes to do or supply, and how it will do so in the works
information for each contract. If, in the event, there is any change
to what is stated in the works information, it will be a
compensation event and the employer may attract additional cost.
Employers should resist the temptation of transferring any risk
attached to such undertakings to the contractor; the risk is far
better retained by the party best positioned to deal with it, in
these cases, the employer.
6. In the same way, the employer may choose the extent to which
it is involved in dealing with others. Urban roadworks schemes, for
example, will require work to divert, accommodate or enhance
existing services. Under NEC3, statutory undertakers are not (and
should not be) the contractual responsibility of the contractor.
Similarly, private developers may have an interest in developing
several parts of a site concurrently using different contractors. In
both cases other contractors or statutory undertakers working
directly for the employer will or should be classed as others. The
employer is required to give full details of what others will do or
supply and how they will do it in the works information for each
contract. If, in the event there is any change to what is stated in
the works information, it will be a compensation event and the
employer may attract additional cost. In these cases the project
manager should also be prepared to give proper advice relating to
health and safety law and the interface between the
responsibilities of each, where more than one directly employed
contractor is working on the same site.
Project Management
7. If a single design and construct contract for the project is
envisaged the role of the employer's designers will be restricted. A
performance specification (including the constraints previously
identified for the employer's preferred scheme) and possibly details
of any particular standards for design and materials, will be
required for incorporation within the works information. Details of
any work or supplies by the employer and others must also be
stated in the works information. Many performance specifications
or design briefs lack detail or in some other manner fail to make
the employers requirements clear. If the specified design
requirement is for fitness for purpose, then it will be immensely
difficult to satisfy the requirement, either in terms of engineering
design or cost, if the required purpose, together with all
operational limitations, is not fully and properly defined in the
tender/contract documentation. Lack of clarity may lead to
changes in the works information which will qualify as
compensation events and the employer may attract additional
costs. Similarly, it is very important that employers check
contractors proposals thoroughly to ensure that they are fully
compliant with their requirements before any contract is executed.
Assumptions should not be made certainty at this stage will
prevent and limit surprises and disputes occurring later.
8. The site and the employer's ability to give access to it are also
matters which may require careful consideration at this stage
because they may affect the procurement strategy. Access
arrangements must be stated within the works information. If
there is any change to what is stated, it will be a compensation
event and the employer may attract additional cost.
The project strategy will emerge from all of the above
deliberations (and probably some others) and will be formalised by
the project manager.
Contract strategy
In developing its broad approach, the employer, with advice from the
project manager will have decided the framework for procuring the
project. Within that framework is the choice of the extent and type
of contractual relationship it is to have with its contractor(s). There is
a considerable number of standard forms of contract in use
appropriate to different procurement relationships. Some of those
relationships have been considered above but in the area of public
procurement in the UK, in particular, government policy is dictating
use of NEC3. Because NEC3 provides six risk based primary options
the task of selecting the right one for the particular project is very
important. Traditionally, the choice of contract was based solely on
the employers general procurement strategy and took little account
of the project itself. In many cases the strategy was based simply on
the employers budget or funding arrangements and its internal
policies. This approach is not possible with NEC3 and in the case of
the ECC, in particular, the choice must be made on the basis of the
project itself. This process is known as developing the contract
strategy and the wrong choice of contractual option at primary stage,
or options at secondary stage, will almost certainly lead to significant
problems further down the line at tendering and, even later, during
the construction phase.
The contract strategy, within the bounds of the procurement
strategy, also sets down which parts of the project will be tendered
for as separate contracts and the type of NEC contract which will be
used for each. We have considered only the use of the main options
of NEC3 (excluding option F, the management contract, which is a
special case). The use of the shorter contracts should also
be considered and this area will be revisited in our next
article as the choice of primary option will dictate the
extent and quality of the tender documentation to be
sent to bidding contractors. For the purposes of this
article, the main options are:
A Priced contract with activity schedule
B Priced contract with bill of quantities
C Target contract with activity schedule
D Target contract with bill of quantities
E Cost reimbursable contract
If a turnkey contract is chosen, the works are usually let
as a single contract and option A is the only realistic
main option. The contractor gives a lump sum price for
the design and construction of each element of the works
(an activity) within its activity schedule, but this is for
interim payment purposes only. It is totally responsible
for both parts of the activity. Lump sums for
commissioning and so on are also given.
Similarly, if a design and construct contract is chosen
(and the contractor is carrying out most, if not all, of the
design), the majority, if not all, of the works are usually
let as a single contract and options A and C are the only
realistic main options. Details of any work to be done by
the employer and others (possibly under separate
contracts) will be stated in the works information. Where
the more traditional arrangement is decided upon, the
employer may realistically consider splitting the project
into separate parts and options A to E may be used.
Each of the main options is based on a different
mechanism for paying the contractor and each
mechanism establishes a different basic allocation of risk
between the employer and the contractor. For example,
payment by measuring the amount of work done on
several items (option B) carries less risk for the contractor
than payment of a lump sum for an activity covering the
same items under option A (under option A it is required
to estimate (calculate) the amount of work to be done on
the items on the activity schedule when fixing its lump
sum for each one). Each of the main options has further
characteristics which make it suitable for use in
particular circumstances. A detailed analysis of the
characteristics of each option is beyond the scope of this
article, suffice it to say, the project manager should be
able to advise the employer on the best option for the
particular project under consideration. In general terms,
however, the employer must accept that the options
recognise and provide for differing degrees of risk
depending on the actual circumstances of the project.
They do not reflect inbuilt, engrained and long standing,
standard trading policies of the employer. This being the
case, it is crucial for the project manager to have a full
understanding of the purpose of each option, the
differences between them, and the quality and extent of
the information needed for the tendering process.
The root of many of the difficulties encountered post
contract can be traced to the wrong contract option
being chosen at contract strategy time and inappropriate,
The acceptance that the root of higher costs is located in the pre-construction phases of
project delivery marks a very significant change in core thinking.
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Project Management
incomplete and inaccurate information being provided for
bidding purposes (and subsequently for contract
purposes). When deciding on how to split up the project
and the contract option to use for each part, you should
ask if the employer has good reasons for itself selecting
specialist contractors or suppliers for parts of the works.
If so, it defines separate contracts. If not, it leaves it to
the main contractor to choose subcontractors (NEC3 does
not have a facility to nominate a specialist subcontractor
but the employer may provide a list of acceptable
specialists). Matters to consider are:
Who has the necessary design expertise for the
various parts?
How important is performance of the completed
works? The employer has better quality control with
direct contracts.
How important/difficult will cross-contract
coordination be if it uses separate contracts? If the
main contractor employs subcontractors, it is the main
contractor who has to coordinate?
Is there particular pressure to complete quickly?
Fewer contracts will assist if this is the case.
Is certainty of cost more important than lowest final
cost? In theory, at least, lump sum contracts give
greater certainty but the employer may pay for risks
which do not occur.
Where can risk be best managed and what total risk
is tolerable for contractors?
To what extent will the employer's design be
developed at time of tender? Will it define the works
sufficiently enough to support lump sum prices? If
not, can the majority of the work items be identified
for re-measurement? If not, will it be possible to
establish a target price?
When the extent of the work is defined (because the
employer's design is fully developed) and the employer
requires a priced contract (because the perceived risks are
relatively low) or it requires certainty of cost, the
employer may choose to use an activity schedule rather
than a traditional bill of quantities by adopting option A.
An activity schedule is prepared by each of the tenderers.
It is a list of anticipated activities which together make
up the whole of the works. The tenderer gives a lump
sum price for each activity and the total of these prices is
the tenderers offer for the works, including for all
matters which are at the tenderers risk. The employer
avoids the time and cost needed to prepare the
traditional bill of quantities but the tenderers will include
for taking off quantities and the risk in doing so. Under
the resultant contract, administration of payment should
be simplified because the contractor is paid only for
completed activities.
Under the conditions set out above, the employer may
choose to use a traditional bill of quantities which is
prepared either by it or for it, i.e. at its cost. This would
be an option B contract. (It is more likely to use a bill of
quantities where, because of the nature of some or all of
the works (or some other reason), quantities cannot be sufficiently
defined.) The tenderers price the items and quantities stated taking
account of the information in the tender documents and including for
all matters at the contractors risk. Under the resultant contract the
employer pays for work done on the basis of actual remeasurement of
those items with quantities. Standard methods of measurement may
be used but care must be taken and the standard methods amended
if there is any contractors design.
A small but very significant pointer to the basis of options A and B
is that the cost of preparing quotations for compensation events in
both cases is expressly excluded from the definition of defined cost
(clause 11.2.22). This is because the number of compensation events
to be expected with these options is low.
1
Employers should be alert
to the fact that contractors may be entitled to compensation for
augmenting their staffing levels and, indeed, disruption if the system
becomes overloaded through dealing with an unexpected level
(quantity or complexity) of compensation events. In addition to any
remedy that may exist under the contract, the contractor may even
have a remedy in common law for misrepresentation.
Where the extent of the work to be done is not completely
defined or where the extent is well defined but there are relatively
high anticipated risks, the employer may consider it advantageous to
use (and should use) a target cost contract (option C or D). Option C
uses an activity schedule (as option A) and option D uses a bill of
quantities (as option B). The reasons for choosing between them as
the basis for the target price are similar to those for choosing
between options A and B.
When the definition of the work to be done is inadequate, even as
the basis for a target price but an early start is required, a cost
reimbursable contract (option E) should be used. The contractor is
paid its costs (via a process called defined cost) plus a fee and there
is only a small risk that it will not recover all of his costs.
The contract strategy for the project will emerge from these
deliberations and should be produced early in the procurement
process. Such a strategy is dynamic and should be kept under
constant consideration. Ordinarily it will comprise the following
(prepared by the project manager):
A schedule of the parts to be let as separate contracts.
For each contract the envisaged main ECC option to be
used, and;
- a list of the stages of work to be included covering design,
construction, erection, manufacture, installation, testing and
commissioning as appropriate.
- a list of the access, associated work, material supply and so on
to be provided by the employer.
- a list of any other matters considered as having a major
impact.
The project manager should advise the employer here that:
This first strategy is very much a preliminary position, needed to
give some form and direction to the work of the employer's
designers and to enable a start on the production of works
information for the contracts. The strategy should be regularly
reviewed by the project manager as work on the design and works
information develops.
With all of the main options the position of the boundary
between employer design and contractor design can be set by the
Employers are likely to find it difficult to adapt because their existing, often longstanding
policies will not allow such changes to be made easily.
Project Management
employer within the works information for a particular
contract. If the works information contains only a
performance specification and states the contractor is
to do the design, the contract is effectively design and
construct. If the works information includes outline
drawings and states the contractor is to do the design,
the contractor must complete or detail the design. If
the works information includes detailed drawings and
specifications, there is little for the contractor to do,
even if the works information states it is to do the
design. It should be noted that when the works
information says the contractor has to do design work
and then it contains an employer's design, the
contractor design must always comply with the design
in the works information. (This topic is of major
importance but, regrettably, is beyond the bounds of
these articles.)
Conclusion
It is to be hoped that we have highlighted some of
the important issues within these elements of the
procurement process. In so doing we also hope that
we have established the importance of managing the process and,
indeed, having a first-hand knowledge of it as being fundamental
to the tendering, award and construction phases that follow.
Going out to tender too early is one of the problems of our time.
Employers must understand that the robustness of any bid is heavily
influenced by the type of contract proposed and the quality of the
tender documents (including the works information) upon which the
bid is to be based. In almost all cases, the quality of the tender
documents will depend on one or more of the completeness of the
design, the quality of the design brief (in cases of design and
construct projects), certainty relating to the nature and extent of the
works, and clarity and appropriateness of the risk balance. These
elements and others are considered in more detail in the next of this
series of articles.
Robin Jones FICE FCInstCES MCIHT and Ken Chapman CEng MICE
rjones@cices.org kc@kennethchapman.co.uk
www.surco.uk.com/training.php
1
See Managing Reality Book 4 - Managing Change 2nd edition, Mitchell and Trebes, ICE
Publishing ISBN 978-0-7277-5274-1
It has become painfully clear that adapting NEC3 to suit existing, engrained policies
does not work; existing policies must be changed to facilitate use of NEC3.
Climate Modelling
G
LOBALLY for the past five years, the world has been witnessing an unprecedented
climate change, ranging from drought to abnormal flooding. In 2012 in Nigeria,
floods stretching across several kilometres in width with unstoppable flows
submerged towns and villages from the northeast near the Cameroon border through the
central region down to the southeastern coastal states. Several states, including Niger, Kogi,
Kwara, Kebbi, Anambra, Lagos, Ogun, Edo and Delta, all suffered. Farmlands, properties and
lives were lost. Several transportation activities were affected, resulting from the collapse of
bridges, road closures, flight delays and cancellations. Water transportation became more
difficult and risky as dams, rivers, seas and lagoons overflowed.
The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of
the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause.
Understanding the spatial and temporary variations in climate within a zone or region, and
their relationship with other factors, is important in activities related to the management of
natural resources, such as environmental and land-use planning, watershed management and
territorial ordering.
The fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change affirms
that climate change is no longer in doubt but is now unequivocally apparent based on
evidence from scientific observations of increases in global average air and ocean
temperature. Nigeria is already being plagued with diverse ecological problems, which have
been directly linked to ongoing climate change. The increase in the worlds temperature is
attributed mostly to greenhouse gases, and modelling global climate change is usually based
on projection from world climate models, such as WorldClim. Temperature and precipitations
have always been obtained at a global coarse level. The most crucial things about the concept
of climate change is not only the time periods involved but also the degree of variability that
the change is subjected to, as well as the duration and impact of such variability on man and
the ecosystem.
Due to the complex and multidimensional nature of the variables involved in climate
modelling, the parameters considered in this work were limited to temperature and rainfall. In
order to predict the effects of climate change on transport infrastructure, past climate data
from WorldClim (1950-2000) were downscaled and compared with past national climate data
from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) (1950-2000). The differential was applied
to the future WorldClim model (2000-2050) and regression models were developed to
represent the predicted climatic variation parameters for parts of the country.
Results revealed that the future range of the changes in rainfall and maximum
temperature were between -192 to +198mm and -1.59 to +2.48C respectively. The northern
region will experience further decreases in rainfall, even during the wet season, resulting in
desertification, while the southern region will experience the reverse.
Nigeria
Nigeria lies approximately within 2.7315E, 6.2318N, and 13.7208E, 13.6477N, with a total
area of 923,768km. Land takes approximately 98.59% while the rest is water. Nigeria has a
total boundary of approximately 4,047km in length with the Republic of Benin in the west,
Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east and the Atlantic in the south.
Nigeria's climate is characterised by strong latitudinal zones, becoming progressively drier
as one moves north from the coast. Dry and wet seasons dominate the climate; the dry season
is also known as Harmattan.
Climate change
During the past few decades, it has become clear that possibly no one theory alone can
explain all scales of climate change. Yet there is an increasing need for detailed, high-
resolution regional information regarding future climate by scientists, decision and policy
makers, and by those assessing climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
Although climate change projections must necessarily be undertaken with global models, such
models will never have sufficient spatial detail for all applications. Constraints on available
computing resources will always limit model resolution; therefore, various techniques have
been developed for downscaling global climate projections (and shorter-term climate
predictions) and for producing fine-scale regional climate information.
Downscaling is a strategy for generating locally relevant data from global circulation
models (GCM). The overarching strategy is to connect global scale predictions and regional
dynamics to generate regionally specific
forecasts. Downscaling can be carried out in
several ways:
i) Nesting a regional climate model into
an existing GCM. This involves defining a
specific location and certain driving
factors from the GCM are applied to the
regional climate model. Using this
approach comparatively predicts local
climate from the combination of both
local specifics and global models. This
process requires significant computational
resources because it is dependent on the
use of complex models.
ii) The use of statistical regressions.
Methods under this approach range from
multiple regressions that link local
variables to particular drivers in GCMs, to
more complex methods using statistics
designed for neural networks. The general
strategy of these methods is to establish
the relationship between large scale
variables, such as the driving factors
derived from GCMs, to local level climate
conditions. Once these relationships have
been developed for existing conditions,
they can be used to predict what might
happen under the different conditions
indicated by GCMs.
iii) A statistically driven strategy but not
dynamic like the regional climate model.
This uses stochastic weather generators.
The weather generator develops a series
of statistical linkages among variables to
predict weather at that particular location
by using long term weather data for a
particular area. These empirically based
models can be used to downscale data by
using data such as wind speed or other
variables generated from GCMs to predict
the local result of driving variables.
Statistical downscaling is based on the view
that the regional climate is conditioned by
two factors; the large scale climatic state,
and the regional/local physiographic
features such as topography, land-sea
distribution and land use. From this
Modelling Nigeria
Spatiotemporal climatic variations and their
impact on transportation infrastructure
Joseph Olalekan Olusina, Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos
Top: Aerial view of Lokoja, Kogi, under the siege of flood.
Above: Future January maximum temperature world map
(2000-2050).
Climate Modelling
perspective, regional or local information is
derived by first determining a statistical
model which relates large-scale climate
variables (or predictors) to regional and
local variables (or predictands). Then the
large-scale output of a GCM simulation is
fed into this statistical model to estimate
the corresponding local and regional climate
characteristics. One of the primary
advantages of these techniques is that they
are computationally inexpensive, and can be
easily applied to output from different GCM
experiments. Another advantage is that they
can be used to provide site-specific
information, which can be critical for many
climate change impact studies.
Data acquisition
To consider Nigerias future climate, past and
future GCM climate data were acquired from
WorldClim and NIMET and downscaled.
Past climate monthly figures for Lagos
Future climate monthly
predictions for Lagos
Month
WorldClim
model
(GCM) value
NIMET
station value
Difference
WorldClim
(GCM) max.
temp
Future local
max. temp
January 32.15 32.16 -0.01 32.40 32.41
February 32.60 33.22 -0.62 31.80 32.42
March 32.67 33.03 -0.36 32.70 33.06
April 32.28 32.38 -0.10 32.50 32.60
May 31.29 31.24 0.05 31.60 31.55
June 29.76 29.46 0.30 30.20 29.90
July 28.41 28.06 0.35 29.00 28.65
August 28.05 28.09 -0.04 28.30 28.34
September 28.79 28.75 0.04 29.20 29.16
October 29.86 29.92 -0.06 30.50 30.56
November 31.66 31.57 0.09 32.00 31.91
December 31.91 32.00 -0.09 30.80 30.89
Month
Range of rainfall
change (mm)
Range of max
temperature change
(C)
January -1 to 32.5 0.7 to 2.2
February -1.9 to 7.8 -0.5 to 2.15
March -10 to 63.9 0.1 to 2.22
April 1.2 to 73.5 -1.59 to 1.74
May -24 to 60.4 -0.08 to 2.03
June -192 to 198 -0.84 to 1.32
July -117 to 144 -0.2 to 2.48
August -98 to 89 0.55 to 3.32
September -88 to 70.5 0.32 to 1.56
October -50 to 159 0.39 to 2.33
November -4.3 to 128.5 0.13 to 2.3
December 0 to 105.16 0.7 to 2.2
Left: The WorldClim and NIMET figures for the maximum temperature of
Lagos State, and derived future maximum temperature.
Right: Range of changes in rainfall and maximum temperature.
WorldClim
The data were in .clm and .cli formats and the
database was accessed through Diva-GIS. The datasets
obtained were:
Past climate (minimum, maximum and mean
temperature, precipitation) 1950-2000.
Future climate (minimum, maximum and mean
temperature, precipitation) 2000-2050.
Shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) global
elevation.
NIMET
The data obtained were from four meteorological
stations; Lagos, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Bauchi. The
datasets included:
Maximum and minimum temperature (1950-2000).
Rainfall (1950-2000).
The maximum and minimum temperature were converted
from Fahrenheit to Celsius, and the rainfall from inches
to millimetres.
Processing
The datasets from WorldClim were opened in Diva-GIS, to
extract the Bioclim world maps in grid file. This was
carried out for both the past and future climate data. A
gridfile consists of two separate files; .GRI and .GRD, both
integrated in Diva-GIS as one file. The .GRI file has the
actual data, and the .GRD file has metadata and a
number of parameters that are needed to read the .GRI
file properly. In creating the raster maps, the climate
database was specified, i.e. past and future. The climate
grid maps were created by selecting the desired
parameters such as minimum, mean and maximum
temperature and rainfall as output for the different
months in a year.
A total of 96 grid maps was created. The world grid
(raster) maps were converted to shape-file using ArcGIS.
The reference system was based on WGS 1984. The grids
of all the WorldClims as shape files were at 10 minute
(about 18.5km) intervals in order to obtain fine resolution
images of the different parts of the world. The Nigeria
boundary map was overlaid to query regions within its
boundaries. The Nigerian local government boundary map
was also overlaid to obtain monthly mean, minimum and
maximum temperature and monthly rainfall maps in
shape files and exported to Microsoft Excel.
Top: Elevation map of Nigeria.
Above: Julys past mean temperature map of Nigeria.
Top: Aprils past minimum temperature.
Middle: Aprils past maximum
temperature.
Above: Aprils past rainfall.
Climate Modelling
Working with meteorological data
The data obtained from NIMET were daily minimum
temperature, maximum temperature, and rainfall for
the four different metrological stations over a period
of 50 years (1950-2000). Monthly data were obtained
by averaging the daily temperature data and
summation rainfall data. For the various stations, the
local data from NIMET were compared with the past
climate data obtained from WorldClim and exported
into Microsoft Excel. Statistical downscaling consists
of a two-step process:
i) Development of statistical relationships between
past local climate variables (e.g. air temperature and
precipitation) and past large-scale predictors (GCM).
ii) Application of such statistical relationships to the
output future of GCM to simulate future local climate
characteristics. This is represented in equations 1a
and 1b:
W
p
M
p
= D (1a)
W
f
+ (D) = L
f
(1b)
W
p
= Past large-scale predictors (GCM) i.e. WorldClim
model (19502000)
M
p
= Past local climate variables i.e. NIMET (1950-2000)
D = Statistical relationships between W
p
and M
p
(19502000)
W
f
= Future large-scale predictors (GCM) i.e. Future
WorldClim model (2000-2050)
L
f
= Future local climate variables i.e. local metrological
data (20002050)
When the past NIMET data (1950-2000) obtained from
the meteorological stations were compared with that
from the WorldClim model (GCM), the latter was
confirmed to be very close; for minimum temperature
1.30C, maximum temperature 0.64C and rainfall
8mm. Therefore, the local climate (NIMET) data could be
said to have validated WorldClim data.
Using equations 1a and 1b, the differentials were
applied to the future temperature and rainfall from
WorldClim (GCM) to obtain the database for the future temperature and rainfall for different
parts of Nigeria. Polynomials were derived with their R value from the best-fit trendlines.
Local government climate variations were also derived.
Calculations
The elevation map of Nigeria from the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) showed
variations in altitude in different parts of the country. The coastal areas are characterised by
low altitude, followed by the northeast and northwest. Areas with higher altitudes, like Jos,
had lower mean temperature values compared to other regions.
For local governments, modelling the future climate base-map is based on spatial joining
of the different climate maps for each month resulting in the production of 12 base maps
(JanuaryDecember). For every local government area, base maps for each month were created
with; mean, minimum and maximum temperature, and rainfall. Incorporating these four areas,
led to a total of 48 maps being produced.
From the final future climate base-maps, the changes that will occur over the next 50
years in temperature and rainfall were calculated. These changes in rainfall and temperature
were obtained by determining the differences between the past and the future rainfall and
maximum temperature. To measure the extent to which these two variables, rainfall and
temperature, vary together, covariance analysis was carried out.
Analysis
Covariance analysis was used to determine whether a change in temperature will result in a
corresponding change in rainfall. Results implied a negative covariance, i.e. small changes in
temperature tend to be associated with large changes in rainfall for the next 50 years.
From top: Aprils future minimum
temperature, mean temperature, maximum
temperature and future rainfall.
Top: The projected distribution of rainfall.
Above: The projected maximum temperature.
From the rainfall change maps, it was seen
that the northern regions will experience a
further decrease in rainfall during the wet
season, while the southern regions will
experience an increase in rainfall during the
wet season. The maximum temperature
change maps indicated a general increase in
temperature in every part of the country.
During the wet season, especially between
the months of April and October, areas along
the coast will experience an average monthly
increase of 100mm in rainfall. These areas
include Eti-Osa and Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos,
Ogun waterside in Ogun, Ilaje Ese-Odo in
Ondo, Warri-South and Bonny in Delta, Ijaw
in Bayelsa, Ibeno in Akwa-Ibom and
Akpabuyo in Cross-River. The northern region
will experience an average monthly decrease
of 90mm in rainfall, between the months of
June and September. This region covers the
northwest, 95% of the northeast and 50% of
north-central. During the dry season the area
with maximum temperature of above 37C
covers the northwest, 80% of the northeast
and 30% of north-central.
Impact on transportation
infrastructure
Historical weather patterns are no longer a
reliable predictor of the future.
Transportation planners have not typically
accounted for climate change in their long-
The Nigerian road network and predicted rainfall
(for October 2000-2050).
Climate Modelling
the future. Droughts, floods and storms are
likely to increase in both frequency and
intensity. Nigeria will experience extreme
events including:
Socioeconomic life will be affected as
transportation will become more difficult.
Warmer and more frequent hot days
and nights over most land areas.
Heat wave-frequency increases over
most land areas, high tendency for
fire outbreak.
Heavy precipitation events-frequency
increases over most areas.
Areas affected by droughts increase.
Attaining the Millennium Development
Goals will also suffer. Climate change
impacts will be worse for the more
vulnerable members of society; the poor,
elderly women and children, and for those
that depend on agriculture for their
livelihoods.
Ongoing climate change and its associated
global warming are expected to cause
characteristic climate patterns in different
climatic regions and will have a negative
impact on transportation.
Like many developing nations, Nigeria
needs to wake up to the challenge of climate
change and must prepare adequately for its
negative impacts. All stakeholders
government agencies, the private sector, civil
societies, communities and individuals
must be involved. While research must go on,
government agencies must create awareness
through information dissemination which
must include early warning, financial and
logistic support and local communities must
co-operate with stakeholders.
Joseph Olalekan Olusina, Department of
Surveying and Geoinformatics, Faculty of
Engineering, University of Lagos, Nigeria
joolusina1@yahoo.com
term project development. The longevity of
transportation infrastructure, the long-term
nature of climate change and the potential
impacts identified by recent studies warrant
serious attention in planning new or
rehabilitated transportation systems.
The strategic examination of national,
regional, state and local networks is an
important step toward understanding the
risks posed by climate change. A range of
adaptation responses can be employed to
reduce risks through redesign or relocation of
infrastructure, increased redundancy of
critical services, and operational
improvements. Adapting to climate change is
an evolutionary process. Through adoption of
longer planning horizons, risk management
and adaptive responses, vulnerable
transportation infrastructure can be made
more resilient.
Flooding from increasingly intense
downpours will increase the risk of disruption
and delay in air, rail and road transportation,
and damage from mudslides. Planners have
generally relied on weather extremes of the
past as a guide but as a result of climate
change, future planning must be based on
50-100 year flood models/predictions. The
increase in heavy precipitation will inevitably
cause increases in weather-related accidents,
delays and traffic disruption in a network
already challenged by increasing congestion.
There will be increased flooding of
evacuation routes, and construction activities
will be disrupted. Changes in rain and
seasonal flooding will impact safety and
maintenance operations on the nations
roads and railways. With more precipitation
falling as rain, there will be an increased risk
of landslides, slope failures and floods from
the runoff, causing road closures as well as
the need for road repair and reconstruction.
Drainage systems will be overloaded more
frequently and severely, causing backups and
street flooding. There will be an increase in
road washouts, damage to railbed support
structures, and landslides and mudslides that
damage roads and other infrastructure. If soil
moisture levels become too high, the
structural integrity of roads, bridges and
tunnels, which in some cases are already
under age-related stress and in need of
repair, could be compromised. Standing water
will have adverse impacts on road base.
Pipelines are likely to be damaged because
intense precipitation can cause the ground to
sink underneath the pipeline.
Nigerian roads have suffered from all
these predicaments. Future long-term
transportation planning and project
development that are based on predicted
climate change for the next 50-100 years
must be adopted by transportation planners.
Impact on humanity
Higher temperatures and increasing rainfall
have a negative impact on human health
and will lead to higher morbidity rates.
Crops will be damaged leading to less food
production and increased importation of
food (at higher costs).
The northern region could witness
increased desertification and land fires, more
poverty and population migrations. Flooding
could cause an increase in sea-level and
inundation of wetlands and low-lying lands
along the Nigerian coast and there will be an
increase in the salinity of rivers and bays.
Conclusion
Climate change poses significant challenges
to the Nigerian economy, of which
multimodal transportation systems play a
major role. Though emissions from
transportation have a major impact on
climate, climate change will have a major
impact on transportation. From spatial-
temporal analysis, the climatic variability
currently being experienced is likely to
increase and intensify in an adverse way in
References
Awosika L, Ojo O and Ajayi T (1994), Implications of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise on the Niger Delta, Nigeria Phase 1, A report for the United Nations Environmental Programme
BBC News (23 October 2012) Flood affected roads in some part of Nigeria, African viewpoint, Nigeria's water woes www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20042801
Buba AD (2004), Climate change and water problems in Chad Republic, J Arid Environ, 3(2) 42-50
CNN (5 October 5) Nigeria floods kill dozens, wash hippos and crocodiles into homes, http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/05/world/africa/nigeria-floods/index.html
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fourth assessment report, 2007
Kalkstein Laurence S and Vailimont Kathleen M, 1987, Climate Effects on Human Health, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science and Advisory Committee Monograph No.
25389, 122-52, Washington, DC
Mark N, David Lister, Mike Hulme and Ian Makin (2000), A High-Resolution data set of Surface Climate over Global Land Areas, Climate Research 21:1-25
McQuire B, Macon I, Kilburn C (2002), Natural Hazards and Environmental Change, Arnold, London, 13-61
Nwafor JC (2006), Environmental impact assessment for sustainable development: The Nigerian perspective, Enugu, Environmental and development policy centre for Africa, 372-385
Odjugo, PAO (2010), Regional evidence of climate change in Nigeria, Journal of Geography and Regional Planning Vol3(6), pp142-150, June 2010 www.academicjournals.org/JGRP ISSN
2070-1845
PRESSTV (14 February 2012) Flooding displaces 2mn in Nigeria, www.presstv.ir/detail/143864.html
Tamuno TT (2009) Climate Change and Human Wellbeing, Impact Assessment and Human Wellbeing 29th Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment,
16-22 May 2009
United States Global Change Research Programme, Integrating federal research on global change and climate change, www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-
assessments/us-impacts/climate-change-impacts-by-sector/transportation
Vangard (7 October 2012). Aerial view of Lokoja, Kogi State under the siege of flood, www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/rage-of-nature-flood-ravages-communities-across-nigeria/
www.diva-gis.org/Data
www.worldclim.org/node/1
Zorita E and von Storch H, 1999, The analog method as a simple statistical downscaling technique: Comparison with more complicated methods. Journal of Climate 12, 2474-2489
Zuvira, M de (2011) Spatial Modeling of Climatic Parameter Fluctuation Mapping Temperature Variation in the Bermejo Basin from 1901 to 2000. GISdevelopment.net,
www.gisdevelopment.net/application/environment/.../mi03095pf.htm
www.climate-decisions.org/2_Downscaling%20Climate%20Data.htm 2012, How does downscaling work?
Chartered Institution of CIVIL ENGINEERING SURVEYORS
Technical Membership
www.cices.org
Demonstrate your competence and professionalism as a Technical Member of
the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors.
ICES is now recognised as the leading chartered professional body for civil
engineering surveyors.
ICES has relevant and meaningful competencies for geospatial engineering
and commercial management.
ICES supports you and your company within the civil engineering industry
in developing and demonstrating your professional competence.
ICES understands the civil engineering industry and is flexible in
its approach.
TRAINING MENTORING COMPETENCIES APPRAISAL FEEDBACK
Advertorial/Profiles
Denso anti-corrosion and sealing specialist products manufacturer,
Winn & Coales (Denso) Ltd is proud to announce that it has now
achieved the internationally recognised environmental standard ISO
14001:2004. Obtaining this standard for its factory and operations
base in West Norwood, London is an important step forward for the
company and shows its commitment to environmental responsibility.
This new environmental standard goes hand in hand with the quality
management standard ISO 9001:2008 it has held and maintained for
the last 25 years at the London premises and demonstrates the
companys aim in
constantly improving its
day to day operations and
customer satisfaction
through better
manufacturing operations
and safer products.
www.denso.net
KOREC has become the sole UK
distributor to the rail industry of
Imetrums Video Gauge, a non-contact
precision measurement video monitoring
system. Developed by Imetrum, Video
Gauge is established technology used by
customers such as Rolls Royce, Airbus and BAE Systems to measure
2D displacement and strain on materials, components and structures.
Video Gauge is ideal for applications where there is a need to
accurately measure dynamic deflection at a distance and under train
loading all with sub mm accuracy. The system comprises a PC with
the Video Gauge software installed together with one or more high-
resolution digital video cameras and appropriate lenses for the
application. It can be mounted on a tripod, or installed in a secure
camera housing for longer measurement durations if required.
Recorded video data can be stored for analysis later, or processed and
transmitted for real-time monitoring. www.korecgroup.com
The Leica GR25 GNSS reference server has now been enhanced with
a standard on-board WLAN module to extend its Ethernet and mobile
wireless internet connectivity options. This is accompanied by the
new RefWorx on-board firmware v3.00, adding unique internet
connection sharing allowing other computers or network devices
connected to Ethernet or WLAN to directly access the Internet
through the GR10 or GR25 servers new routing capability. The new
flexible site monitor positioning modes and many other improvements
are also included. These new capabilities together with other
advanced communication
interfaces, the integrated modular
devices management, multi-user
management and high end
security means that currently only
the GR25 provides a true GNSS
reference server functionality.
www.leica-geosystems.com
The Topcon DS series of
motorised total stations
features Xpointing auto
collimation technology. The
rugged, waterproof total
stations are also equipped with
TSshield advanced security and
maintenance technology and
Topcons exclusive LongLink
communications technology. Its new Xpointing feature makes it ideal
for construction and engineering companies without extensive
experience in using a total station. The new Xpointing technology
features an intelligent algorithm that automatically collimates to
prisms with precisely corrected angle readings, even in dark
conditions. With auto collimation, there is no need for the operator to
focus on the prism; the DS finds the centre of the prism
automatically. www.topcon-positioning.eu
G
EOTECHNICAL specialist Maccaferri, best known for its
wire-mesh gabions used in retaining wall construction, has
introduced a new, environmentally friendly protective
coating for its double-twist wire based products, that offers
improved technical performance and environmental compatibility
when compared to PVC and HDPE coated mesh products.
The new, specifically formulated PA6 coating is an organic
based, extruded polyamide material which is said to offer improved
adhesion characteristics, enhanced resistance to mechanical damage
and better cold temperature performance. Resistance to hydrocarbon
pollutants is also claimed together with long term strength and
elasticity. According to Maccaferri the organic polyamide PA6
coating is also far more environmentally friendly then traditional
wire coatings as it contains no phthalates, heavy metals or other
ozone depleting chemicals. Furthermore, unlike PVC, it doesnt
emit hydrogen chloride during burning.
Extensive accelerated testing has shown that, compared with
traditional PVC or HDPE coatings for wire products, the new
Maccaferri PA6 system is 50% harder and is 25% more malleable,
even after long-term exposure to UV. As well as this, results showed
that PA6 gave a three-fold improvement in coating-to-wire
adhesion, significantly more resistance to impact and abrasion
damage, and achieved a 30% improvement in design life.
Although offering better performance, PA6 is not seen as an
alternative to PVC coated wire products, but more an enhancement.
We see it being used when PVC or HDPE coated products do not
provide users with the required design life, environmental or
Maccaferri launches PA6
A new environmentally friendly polymer coating
system for wire products
technical
performance said
David Crowther,
Maccaferri technical
manager. Maccaferri
will continue to
manufacture PVC
coated products for
use in less demanding
applications he
added.
The new PA6
coating is available
on the entire range of
Maccaferris double-
twist wire based
products including
Gabions, Reno erosion protection mattresses, Terramesh and Green
Terramesh soil reinforcement systems as well as the companys
range of rock-fall protection meshes. Maccaferri PA6 coated
products are manufactured in accordance with EN 10245-5:2011
organic coatings on steel wire.
For further information, visit the website where you can download
technical documents on PA6, register for a CPD presentation or
request design software. info@maccaferri.co.uk
www.maccaferri.co.uk
Classifieds
Underground Mapping
Software, Mapping and Data
CES Classifieds
+44 (0)161 972 3110 sales@cices.org
Equipment
Mobile Mapping
Surveys
Monitoring
Classifieds
Large and small-scale topographic surveys
Installation of survey and engineering
control Site surveys Boundary
demarcation Mapping Volumetric
analysis and earthworks design CAD
services River channel and
flood plain surveys GPS
surveys GIS data capture
Monitoring Setting out
Provision of site engineering
survey staff Digital design
www.harryskinner.com
24 Church Meadow,
Surbiton Surrey KT6 5EW
T: 0208 398 8991
E: hskinner@globalnet.co.uk
Surveys
UAVs georeferenced aerial photography
photogrammetry and aerial 3D
visualisation digital ground modelling
machine control model data preparation/
calibration land/topographic surveys
measured building surveys engineering
surveys GPS/GNSS surveys site
setting out rapid bulk earthmoving/quarry
surveys and volumes cut and fill volume
calculations and analysis CAD services
MCKENZIE GEOSPATIAL SURVEYS LTD
www.mackasurveys.co.uk
info@mackasurveys.co.uk
01932 268365 07979 636223
Abbey House, Brooklands Business Park,
Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0TT, UK
Open technology and standards-based
solutions for sharing spatial data
www.cadcorp.com
Place your advert here
for 380 for the year
Contact Alan Lees
+44 (0)161 972 3110
sales@cices.org
Where to Buy
Subscriptions
Suppliers
Ashtech European Headquarters, ZAC de la Fleuriaye
BP 60433 44474 Carquefou Cedex France
+33 2 28 09 38 00 www.ashtech.com/en
Ordnance Survey, Adanac Drive, Southampton SO16 0ASU
+44 (0)8456 05 05 05 www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
SOKKIA BV, European Head Office, Essebaan 11, 2908 LJ,
PO Box 145, 2900 AC, Capelle a/d IJssel, The Netherlands
+31 10 751 9300 +31 10 751 9300
info@sokkia.eu www.sokkia.net
Spectra Precision, 10355 Westmoor Drive, Suite #100,
Westminster, CO 80021 USA
+1 720 587 4700 www.spectraprecision.com
South Survey 21 Deanfield Court, Clitheroe, Lancashire
BB7 1QS +44 (0)1200 429870 tony@southsurvey.co.uk
www.southsurvey.co.uk
NavCom Technology, 20780 Madrona Avenue Torrance,
CA 90503 USA +1 (310) 381-2000
www.navcomtech.com
Topcon (GB), Head Office Topcon House, Bone Lane,
Kennet Side, Newbury RG14 5PX
+44 (0)1635 551120 info@topcon.co.uk
www.topcon.co.uk
Phoenix Surveying Equipment Head Office, Unit 4,
Armstrong Court, Armstrong Way, Yate, Bristol BS37 5NG
+44 (0)1454 312560 sales@phoenixse.com
www.phoenixse.com
Phoenix Surveying Equipment 1 Howard Street,
Constitution Hill, Birmingham B19 3HW
+44 (0) 1212 126 040 sales@phoenixse.com
www.phoenixse.com
Phoenix Surveying Equipment Unit 38 Azura Close,
Woolsbridge Industrial Estate, Three Legged Cross
Wimbourne, Dorset BH21 6SZ +44 (0) 1202 814030
sales@phoenixse.com www.phoenixse.com
Phoenix Surveying Equipment Unit 17, Swift Business
Centre, East Moors Industrial Estate, Keen Road, Cardiff
CF24 5JR +44 (0)2920 470776 sales@phoenixse.com
www.phoenixse.com
Phoenix Surveying Equipment 4 Leigham Business Units,
Silverton Road, Matford Park, Exeter EX2 8HY
+44 (0) 1392 824163 sales@phoenixse.com
www.phoenixse.com
Phoenix Surveying Equipment Unit 9, Metropolitan Park,
Greenford UB6 8UP +44 (0) 208 578 3377
Phoenix Surveying Equipment 665 Eccles New Road,
Salford M50 1AY +44 (0) 161 786 2975
Phoenix Surveying Equipment Unit 3, Youngs Industrial
Estate, Paices Hill, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4PW
+44 (0)1189 707280 sales@phoenixse.com
www.phoenixse.com
survey accessories
A1 Survey Sparks House, Western Industrial Estate, Lon-llyn,
Caerphilly CF83 1BQ +44 (0)845 500 5858
sales@a1survey.net www.a1survey.net
York Survey Supply Centre Prospect House, George Cayley
Drive, Clifton Moor, York YO30 4XE +44 (0)1904 692723
sales@YorkSurvey.co.uk www.YorkSurvey.co.uk
Handheld UK & Ireland Ltd
Unit 15, Althorpe Enterprise Hub, Althorpe Street,
Leamington Spa, Warks CV31 2GB +44 (0) 7414 965 056
d.cawsey@handhelduk.com www.handhelduk.com
Hilti (Gt Britain) Limited
1 Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester M17 1BY
+44 (0)800 886 100 (0)161 886 1000
Gb-measuring@hilti.com www.hilti.co.uk
Trimble, Trimble House, Meridian Office Park, Osborn Way,
Hook, Hampshire RG27 9HX +44 (0)1256 760150
www.trimble.com
Caerphilly CF83 1BQ +44 (0)845 500 5858
Korec Head Office, Blundellsands House, 34-44 Mersey View,
Waterloo, Merseyside L22 6QB +44 (0)845 603 1214
www.korecgroup.com
Survey Solutions Scotland The Pyramid Building,
14 Dryden Road, Bilston Glen, Loanhead, Edinburgh EH20 9LZ
+44 (0)131 4404688 info@survey-solutions-scotland.co.uk
www.survey-solutions-scotland.co.uk
Leica Geosystems, Davy Avenue, Knowlhill,
Milton Keynes MK5 8LB
+44 (0)1908 256500 www.leica-geosystems.co. uk
Scotland: Gary Kelly
gary.kelly@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7500 700 487
Northern England: Mike Workman
mike.workman@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7887 517 528
Central England: Martin Edwards & Shane ORegan
martin.edwards@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7771 517 411
shane.oregan@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7775 712 326
South East: Graham Sharp
graham.sharp@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7789 816 628
South West: Mark Francis
mark.francis@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7500 112 071
Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland: John Kerrigan
john.kerrigan@leica-geosystems.com +44 (0)7917 543 923
+353 (0) 85 1707 129
Caerphilly CF83 1BQ +44 (0)845 500 5858
M & P Survey Equipment Meridian House, Stanney Mill Rd,
Little Stanney, Chester CH2 4HX +44 (0)151 3571856
sales@mpsurvey.co.uk www.mpsurvey.co.uk
SCCS hq1 Building, Phoenix Park, Eaton Socon,
Cambridgeshire PE19 8EP +44 (0)1480 404888
SCCS Unit 4, Riverside One, Medway City Estate, Sir Thomas
Longley Road, Kent ME2 4DP +44 (0)1634 296809
Nikon-Trimble Co, 16-2, Minamikamata 2-chome, Ota-ku,
Tokyo 144-0035, Japan +1 3 5710 2592
www.nikon-trimble. com
Caerphilly CF83 1BQ +44 (0)845 500 5858
Korec Head Office, Blundellsands House, 34-44 Mersey View,
Waterloo, Merseyside L22 6QB +44 (0)845 603 1214
www.korecgroup.com
Subscribe today for only
43 (UK) 48 (Europe) 53 (Rest of the World)
CIVIL ENGINEERING
SURVEYOR
The Journal of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
+44 (0)161 972 3123 www.surco.uk.com/publications.php
Recruitment
As part of our continued expansion,
Bridgeway Consulting is seeking to recruit
for the following positions:
Engineering Surveyors
Survey Technicians (Assistant Surveyors)
Successful candidates will form part of a geomatics team undertaking a variety of
surveys including topographical, track alignment, structure gauging and other
railway specific, volumetric, 3D laser scanning, elevation and measured building
surveys, primarily on but not limited to rail infrastructure throughout the UK. The
role offers exposure to many interesting high profile projects in different survey
disciplines and excellent development opportunities for the right candidate.
The successful candidates must be able to demonstrate:
Forward thinking and problem solving capabilities
High attention to detail and pride in your own workload
Good communication skills
A flexible and committed attitude and willingness to work as part of a team
A willingness to travel and full UK driving license
The candidates for the Engineering Surveyor post in addition will have to
demonstrate:
Several years experience within the survey industry
Good knowledge and understanding of varied surveying techniques including
data processing
The following is not essential but would prove advantageous:
Experience in 3D Laser scanning
Familiarity with Trimble and Leica total stations and GPS receivers
Previous use and good knowledge of Auto CAD, LSS, Terramodel, Leica
Cyclone software packages
Rail specific survey experience with Personal Track Safety Certification
Experience of leading site teams and managing workloads
A recognised qualification in survey related disciplines
Membership of a survey related professional body
The positions are permanent and Nottingham based, however they include UK
wide travel on a regular basis. Please visit Bridgeway Consulting website for
more information on the variety of projects that we undertake.
To apply, please submit your CV with covering letter to:
jobs@bridgeway-consulting.co.uk, stating the job title and SVY2013011503
reference number in the subject of your email.
Quantity Surveyor
Circa 35k + company car
Midlands, with nationwide travel
We have a vacancy for a motivated, enthusiastic individual to join our National Road
Telecommunication Services (NRTS) team as a quantity surveyor. This role is based from Quinton,
however, there is also a requirement to travel to other UK offices.
Imtech Traffic & Infra UK and Ireland is a leading provider of solutions and services that solve
transpor t, lighting, infrastructure and telecommunication problems across the Urban and Inter Urban
environments. We are par t of Royal Imtech N.V., a global technical services provider, with turnover in
excess of 5bn and circa 29,000 employees, this provides additional skills, exper tise and diversity
to our propositions in the UK and Ireland. The main purpose of this role is to maximise the recovery
of financial and commercial interests of the company from the contracts and projects carried out
within the NRTS Unit. Key responsibilities for this job role include but are not limited to:
Acting as customer liaison, relative to the commercial aspects of projects assigned as well as
promoting ownership and accountability of commercial and financial performance through the
project team.
Ensuring maximum commercial and financial outputs are achieved on contracts/projects
assigned.
Responsibility for the agreement of client accounts and sub contract accounts relative to
specific contract/project assignments.
Effective risk management within the project from commercial and contractual perspective.
Suppor ting the management team by attendance at meetings as required.
Maintaining a thorough knowledge of GeneSYS/NRTS contracts and advise project/contract team
on contractual issues.
Preparation of all information necessary for monthly valuations, and associated repor ts
including but not limited to cost/value repor ts for assigned contracts, change control
entitlements, and subsequent submission and agreement.
The successful applicant will ideally have demonstrable quantity surveying experience within a
contracting environment, as well as managing multiple contracts. In addition we are looking for:
A degree qualification (or equivilant) or relevant demonstrable experience.
An excellent communicator in written and oral forms.
Excellent negotiation skills.
Strong PC literacy especially with Microsoft Office applications.
The ability to read, interpret and understand construction drawings and schematic diagrams.
A team player.
The ability to deliver in situations of pressure.
A full UK driving license.
The successful applicant will be required to travel to other locations, including the occasional
requirement to be away overnight, so willingness to work outside of normal office hours is essential.
Pl ease emai l your appl i cati on to the HR depar tment on r ecr ui tment@i mtech.uk.com
We are an equal oppor tunities employer.
Tower Surveys Ltd is part of Opus International Consultants and is a
chartered surveying company; it is amongst the top 20 multidiscipline
surveying companies in the UK, providing a local service nationwide.
Its core services offered are in land, engineering, building and utilities
surveying. It has 36 full-time people employed in 4 offices.
This firm of chartered surveyors/land specialists has two current
opportunities for a suitable person to join as either:
Utility Surveyor
Milton Keynes
This role will include:
Provision of utility surveys on site.
Preparation of survey drawings in office.
Some work may require assisting with other disciplines with the
business including topographic and CCTV drainage surveys as
and when required.
To build client relationships to keep work coming in.
To encourage new clients.
The ideal candidate for this role will have:
Minimum of 3-4 years professional experience as a utility
surveying professional.
Experience at a similar type of surveying company.
Ability to work effectively and competently with people at all
levels in the organisation; is a great team member.
Ability to work without supervision; effective time management
and strong organisational skills.
Contribute on an ongoing basis toward maintaining a safe
working environment both for yourself and for those working with
you or in your close vicinity.
Computer literate; proficient in Windows 2000; MS Word and
other Microsoft Office applications.
Ability to work to deadlines and have excellent written and
verbal communication skills.
Land/Measured Building Surveyor
Nottingham/Milton Keynes
This role will include:
Carrying out measured building surveys, topographic surveys
and setting out.
Ultimately, you will be handling projects from beginning to end.
Client care, quality, deadlines and profit will be your
responsibility.
Establish clear contracts and briefs.
Ensure that health and safety is a number one priority.
Continuously communicate with all project members.
The ideal candidate for this role will have:
At least 3-4 years experience in land/measured building
surveying.
Experience at a similar type of surveying company.
Those applicants with advanced level qualifications will enter at
a higher level.
A driving licence is preferable, although not essential.
Applicants must have a genuine interest in surveying work and
enjoy working outdoors in a variety of construction environments.
Over time, you will also benefit from our training and career
development programme that will be available to you including
opportunities to work overseas and excellent conditions of employment.
If you are interested in any of these positions, please apply at
www.opusinternational.co.uk/careers/ and click on the vacancies page.
For more information on Tower Surveys visit www.towersurveys.co.uk
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Civil Engineering Surveyor June 2013

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