2013 edition

The future of
DfMA is the future
of construction
 Welcome 1

The world is experiencing unprecedented transformation

driven by a number of dynamic forces that are causing
engineers to fundamentally rethink the way buildings
and infrastructure are funded, designed, constructed,
maintained and operated.
The challenges facing societies globally are different today.
A fast-expanding population is becoming more demanding
and the built environment is expected to push boundaries,
inspire and amaze, relax and reassure, and make our lives
easier and more rewarding. At the same time, governments,
funders, developers and owners are increasingly
constrained by strict environmental goals and continuing
economic pressures.
Engineering has a pivotal role to play in creatively meeting
this dual charge for efficiency and sustainability. As social,
environmental, political and economic needs are advancing,
so the construction industry must break away from
traditional processes and embrace technological change.
As engineers, our challenge is to tackle these issues by
evolving the parameters of construction in line with the world
around us. We must question ourselves: is the same old
method actually the best method? If we dont have the
answers to hand, we can find them through innovation,
collaboration, determination and well-thought-out research.
Progressive thinking is vital for solving the issues of the
modern world. The Engineering Excellence Journal is
Laing ORourkes response to sharing that thinking and
growing confidence in alternative ideas. It is dedicated
to the improvement and advancement of engineering
and construction by showcasing the best projects and
innovations in the industrys developing areas of expertise,
like Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) the
theme of this first edition.
I want the journals remit to be ambitious, and through peer
group contributions I believe, over time, it can act as a force
for change by anticipating real-world issues, exploiting new
tools, taking risks and being the first to surface something
compelling and different across an industry that is too often
resistant to the new.
I hope the journal provokes valuable and stimulating debate
across the industry and beyond. Enjoy the read.

Ray ORourke KBE

Chairman
Laing ORourke
2 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

DfMA
Introduction
Design for Manufacture and Assembly is
helping revolutionise construction, making
it faster, cleaner, cheaper and more reliable.

Author
Dr Gavin Davies

Design for Manufacture and Assembly DfMA is an
approach to design that focuses on ease of manufacture
and efficiency of assembly. It is a well-established approach
in sectors such as the automotive and consumer-products
industries that are driven by the need to produce large
numbers of consistently high-quality products very
efficiently. For example, many of the components of car
engines are standard across an entire range, with different
levels of performance controlled by computer software
bespoke to each model.
In the construction sector the repeatability of end products
may seem to be less than that of other sectors, at least at
first glance. In this context, the application of DfMA might
be seen as more challenging. The traditional approach
to construction is centred around the delivery of large
quantities of raw materials to the construction site, where
large numbers of workers bring them together, often in
inhospitable working conditions. Seen through this lens,
construction appears very different to the car industry.
At Laing ORourke we are challenging this accepted view
and have successfully developed an approach to Design for
Manufacture and Assembly. In simple terms our approach is
to design a defined set of high-quality construction products
such as concrete floor-slab elements, structural columns
or modular plantrooms. These are then manufactured
off-site in a factory environment and pre-tested or
commissioned before being transported to site. On-site
these components are assembled into the completed
building or infrastructure asset.
Through the repeated delivery of DfMA on projects to date,
we have formed a strong understanding of the tangible value
that this approach delivers to our clients and to our industry.
As more and more clients recognise these benefits in the
coming years we expect that a DfMA approach will lead to
a substantial evolution of the construction industry.
 Introduction 3

DfMA benefits
A major benefit of DfMA is a significantly reduced The first major benefit
construction programme on-site. For example, we have
a concrete floor solution that does not need temporary of DfMA is a significantly
propping in the way that other floor solutions do. This in
turn allows earlier access to floors for other activities, or reduced construction
for fit out of floors before the next slab goes on. For many
of our clients, the programme savings that DfMA enables programme.
is an important driver. Imagine the reduced disruption that
is associated with delivering a new school in less than one
academic year. Similarly a property developer may see
benefits from reducing the amount of time during which
capital is tied up before an asset can be leased or sold.
Another key benefit of the DfMA approach is quality.
By taking much of the construction activity off-site and
into a controlled factory environment such as at our Explore
Industrial Park in the English East Midlands we are able to
achieve consistently high standards. Our highly automated
approach enhances quality and efficiency at every stage
both in the products themselves, which are repeatedly
honed to support optimum performance, and in the We have developed a set of metrics, known as the
production process. This optimisation process can also pre-assembly calculator (PAC), that enables us to measure
improve the sustainability credentials of our products. For the extent to which DfMA is being applied on our projects
example, through the reconfiguration of the pipework and track our performance against our targets. We have
systems in our modular plantroom products we have established a mnemonic to describe our aspirations:
reduced the amount of raw material needed and made 70:60:30 towards 0. In other words, 70% of any given
them operate more efficiently. project is constructed using DfMA, leading to a 60%
reduction of on-site labour and 30% reduction in programme
Arguably the most important benefit of DfMA is safety.
all in comparison to a traditionally constructed alternative.
By removing construction activities from the site and
We are also examining our safety and sustainability
placing them in a controlled factory environment there
performance, where we are aiming for zero accidents
is a significant positive impact on safety.
and towards-zero carbon emissions.
Manufacturing and assembly at Laing ORourke
Laing ORourkes main UK manufacturing centre is
the 25,000m2 Explore Industrial Park facility in the
English East Midlands. Here, wherever possible, our

70:60:30 0
defined products are created using the latest automated
technologies and our high-speed production line. Our
structural component sets are well-established and
increasingly we are looking at new approaches for the
off-site delivery of mechanical and electrical or
integrated products.
Ensuring that the right products travel to site, in the right
order, at the right time, is clearly important. To help us
with this we use tagging technologies on our products
so we can track them throughout the process. Through
our in-house plant company Select, we ensure that
transportation of components to site is cost-efficient
and has the lowest carbon footprint possible.
Once on-site, products are often taken straight off the
trailer and installed immediately, reducing the need for
large lay-down areas. Many of the components are
large so Select provides specialist handling equipment
where necessary.
4 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

The use of an innovative pre-cast floor solution that requires

We see increasing no propping to the underside allows the installation of
pre-serviced smart wall partitions and horizontal services
interest in whole distribution modules prior to the installation of the next level
of structural slab above. This greatly reduces the amount
life performance of follow-on work for trades, and minimises the awkward
access and logistics requirements associated with shifting
of buildings and materials in an enclosed environment. By pre-testing the
completed bedrooms off-site, the commissioning process
infrastructure. becomes much quicker.
This radical approach results in significant programme
savings, cost savings and ensures a consistently high level
of quality achieved in a well-controlled factory environment.
Next developments for DfMA
The future of DfMA is the future of construction, and as
the industry surges ahead with DfMA innovations we will
continue to develop and advance our own solutions. We
are increasingly focused on more effective ways to design,
manufacture and install mechanical and electrical modules
for building services. For example, we are currently
designing products parametrically, in order that we can
DfMA as a catalyst for creativity and innovation scale products up and down in capacity without changing
We collaborate very closely with our design partners on their configuration or related manufacturing process.
projects. In particular we spend significant time ensuring
We are already thinking about integrated products, such
they understand the features and performance of our DfMA
as the building services and structural components being
products. Our consulting engineering partners tell us they
installed at The Leadenhall Building project in the City
prefer to use our defined DfMA products as this reduces
of London and the integrated single hospital bedroom
their need to carry out repetitive tasks and gives them
described here. The development of integrated products
greater scope to add value through design creativity.
is accelerating as they offer great potential for further
Recently we looked at a successful project, Tunbridge construction efficiency and customer value.
Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent, England which was
We also see progressive interest in whole-life performance
completed in 2011. We asked ourselves the question,
of buildings and infrastructure. This is leading to a new focus
what would we do differently if we were to build a hospital
on the maintenance, refurbishment and replacement of our
like this one now? In answer, we modelled an alternative
products, especially those with significant M&E content.
engineering and construction solution that incorporates
Beyond this, we are considering how DfMA can impact on
several important DfMA opportunities. One relates to the
the potential to disassemble, recycle and re-use built assets
single-bedroom ward blocks. At Pembury there are more
at the end of their lives.
than 500 single patient bedrooms. All of these are identical,
or are mirror images of each other. At the time the hospital
was built our approach to integrated DfMA was still under Dr Gavin Davies is Mechanical
development and therefore much of the construction Engineering Director for the EnEx.G.
was done on-site. In the new hospital model we take Before joining Laing ORourke he spent
17 years at Arup, where he was responsible
pre-assembly to a whole new level, by designing a complete
for the investigation and development of
integrated bathroom pod and dividing partition wall with energy-efficient building solutions.
building services preinstalled and pre-assembled with the
modular structural floor system.
To take advantage of the vertical stacking of the single
bedrooms over four floors, we have developed a way to
vertically distribute building services from the rooftop plant
through compact yet accessible mini risers located in the
corner of each modular bathroom/partition wall/structural
unit. This significantly reduces the depth of ceiling voids in
corridors, allowing greater floor-to-ceiling spans yet reduced
floor-to-floor heights. This reduces the overall height of the
building, delivering savings by potentially cutting the amount
of excavation needed to keep the building within the existing
planning height envelope. This reduction in floor-to-floor
height also enables the most efficient use of our
manufactured faade panels, so reducing cladding costs.
 Contents 5

Contents
13
Insight Case Studies

06
Innovations Why they are
key to the industrys survival
44
01 The Leadenhall Building
Changing Londons skyline,
the new Leadenhall building
will be the worlds tallest steel

08
mega-frame structure
Towards Zero How to
get to a target of double
zero: no carbon emissions

52
and no accidents 02 Dagenham Park Church 20
of England School
70% of the building constructed

13
off-site, and one of the most
In conversation
environmentally sustainable
Tony Roulstone and Dr Phillip
schools in the UK
Cartwright discuss the challenges
of nuclear new-build

60
03 Beckton and Crossness

17
Water Treatment Works
Design collaboration
Using an innovative DfMA 44
The importance of collaboration
solution at one of Europes
to our business and the
largest water treatment works
wider industry

20 68
04 Brisbane Airport and
DfMA for composite
Gold Coast University
floor structures Pioneering
Hospital Car Parks
a new approach
A pair of car parks in Queensland
demonstrate a new approach to the
design and delivery of such projects

26
Advanced manufacturing
Taking a visionary approach

74
to virtual construction and
Engineering Excellence
manufacturing
Group

34 75
Modular plantrooms 52
Futures Chris J McKinstray
Energy centres and plantrooms
are of growing importance

38
3D printing digitisation
of manufacturing
6 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Innovations
We are on the cusp of transformational change
in the way that buildings and infrastructure
are designed, procured and delivered. In this
Author market, innovation and product development
David Scott will be key to our survival.

The global economic crisis presents a
challenging environment for businesses to
thrive. In the context of a world climbing out of
recession, we believe that change is essential
for our continued success. At Laing ORourke,
we are exposed to many drivers for change
both from inside the business and outside.
External drivers may come from large, longer
timescale phenomena, such as shifting
demographics, urban growth and climate
change or from nearer term demands from our
clients and governments for productivity,
sustainability and performance improvements.
Within the Group, our continued curiosity to
challenge established practice and solutions
has created a strong culture of innovation.
In combination with this culture of innovation,
we recognise that technology has turned these
drivers into opportunities. It is now rare for
contractors bidding for work to be limited to
a generic design solution developed by a
consultant. Modern design and analysis tools
allow contractor teams to rapidly redesign and
tailor buildings and infrastructure to what they
want to build in order to differentiate their offer
from the competition. In other words, a client
will be offered different solutions from different
contractors, each using the products and
systems they have developed to deliver
efficiency and client value. In this scenario,
competition is driven by the ability of the
contractors to meet or exceed the clients goals
and performance requirements. Those who can
deliver innovative and integrated solutions most
cost effectively are the winners.
The pressure for innovative integrated building
and infrastructure solutions is being felt across
the industry. One of the principal ways we
deliver innovation is through Design for
Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA). Only
through innovation are we are able to pursue
our goals of 70% of the constructed asset
manufactured off-site, a 60% reduction of
labour on-sites and a 30% reduction in overall
programme, while working to eliminate
accidents and minimise carbon.
In each of our sectors, we seek to maximise
the value that we can bring by using
manufactured components to simplify
construction and bring speed, certainty
and efficiency to the delivery process.
For Laing ORourke, innovation is not simply
the development of new products but also the
transformation of the construction process,
both in what we build and how we build. We
seek to collaborate in new ways, with new
business models, new delivery mechanisms
and most importantly, new ways of working
with clients in order to deliver their ambitions
and make them more successful.
An increasing challenge for clients is how to
evaluate different options and how to compare
one set of integrated solutions with another.
Clients are able to compare costs but are often
less certain about how to evaluate the benefits
of building faster, safer or how to compare
products of different quality, sustainability or
energy performance. As more and more clients
embrace innovation they are looking to assess
alternatives on a holistic basis. For example,
the rail and water sectors have been particularly
interested in developing ways to consider
lifecycle, performance and risk when
assessing alternatives.
Over the last ten years and more, Laing
ORourke has developed many different types
of components and these provide a platform
for us to differentiate our solutions from the
competition. From a structural perspective our
products include twin wall, lattice slab, faade
panels, Bison planks, shell beams, pre-cast
floors and our new patent-pending E:6 floor
solution. We are proficient in the use of steel,
concrete, carbon fibre, lightweight, heavyweight
or fibre reinforced concrete to create these
products. From a systems perspective our
products include smart wall, bathroom
modules, accommodation modules, modular
risers, modular wiring, modular service
distribution, modular plantrooms and integrated
building management systems.
The innovation ethos is to continually look
for new perspectives and new combinations
of products or ways to transfer ideas or
technologies from one sector to another. For
instance the twin wall system was originally
designed as a way of quickly making internal
structural walls off-site.
Innovation is at the heart
of Laing ORourkes
ambition. It is a fundamental
part of our work-winning and
project delivery strategy.
It was then developed for basement retaining
walls on several projects, before we proposed
to use it for a water-retaining structure for a
large tank assembly at Beckton Water
Treatment Works, (see page 60). Our proposal
was to replace a thicker cantilever wall with
a twin wall assembly that was detailed to the
rigorous requirements specified for water
retaining structures. To convince our clients, we
constructed a trial tank, at our manufacturing
facility at Explore Industrial Park where we also
experimented with different ways of connecting
the wall segments and assembling the tanks.
The massive 360m x 80m x 8.5m tanks at
Beckton were therefore built from high-quality
factory-made concrete components, where
all reinforcement was machine cut and placed
to the correct length and position, with the
correct cover.

The tanks used less concrete and generated
less site waste than the original concept, and
therefore had a much lower carbon footprint.
Since the on-site assembly could be carried
out quickly by a small but highly skilled team,
there was a much lower risk of accidents.
Having developed the solution for Beckton,
we have taken the lessons learned and
proposed this solution for other projects. Our
process of continual product improvement
means that lessons learned on this project allow
us to simplify some details and connections in
order to ease erection in the future.
We should not underestimate how much
such solutions challenge the industry. As
clients experience the many benefits of a
DfMA solution like this, they become unlikely
to choose a conventional site-built scheme
in the future, with its higher risk of accidents
and potential for site flaws that may only
become visible years after completion. Site
flaws are inevitable when building by hand,
as labour in the construction industry is typically
neither highly skilled nor able to achieve the
highest quality standards, particularly when
activity takes place over a wide area in all
sorts of weather.
Using twin wall on 8.5m water tanks was
an innovation, but it was also a natural
development of the work done on projects in
the past. We are now looking at using twin walls
as beams and integrating them with prefinished
platform units for the rail sector. In both cases
this takes twin wall from a conventional product
to a more sophisticated high-value offering.
1 2
4 5
Our faade system is another example of a
sophisticated high value, highly engineered
product that cannot be replicated by building
on-site. We can create the high performing and
elegant faade panels by casting onto sculpted
metal forms in a large variety of natural or
coloured concretes. Through this approach,
we can create a range of faades that are only
limited by our imagination. The results can look
like stone, metal, tile or even brickwork and can
deliver a level of detail that looks like it has been
sculpted by artisans. However, while they are
aesthetically pleasing, the key to the success
of the faades is the panels energy
performance. The buildings that use it are
naturally better insulated and lead to structures
that are much more airtight than industry best
practice. The faades are typically connected
to a structural panel by carbon fibre ties that
extend through the insulation layer and are
delivered to site complete with windows. This
avoids thermal breaks or cold bridges and
ensures an exceptional envelope
thermal performance.
An increasingly common result of collaborative
project approaches is that construction and
engineering companies are looking to work
with the best consultants in the business,
particularly those who understand bespoke
and proprietary products and who can
help develop them further and apply them
effectively. Our desire is to combine this closer
working with an ever deeper understanding
of how our products are made and what they
can do. For these reasons research, trials and
Innovations 7
testing of products are fundamental to how
we can innovate with them.
While it is essential to be rigorous about
research and continual product development,
we also need to be careful how we deploy our
products. There can be a major cost difference
between a lattice slab that is designed to be
manufactured at a controlled facility and a
lattice slab that is not. Therefore one of the
vital roles of our in-house business, Explore
Manufacturing, is to develop comprehensive
design guides which detail properties of the
products and explain how to optimise product
design for manufacture. We use the design
guides to help consultants understand our
products and to enable them to quickly arrive
at optimal solutions. Detailed digital engineering
models for our products have also been
developed to ensure consistency.
We believe that innovation through DfMA is
already creating a new benchmark for value
in projects as clients seek suppliers in an
increasingly competitive economy.
David Scott is a globally renowned
expert in structural engineering,
with a specialism in tall buildings.
Before becoming Structural
Engineering Director for the EnEx.G,
David was a principal at Arup New
York, where he worked on the World
Trade Center master plan and the
Freedom Tower. He led the post
9/11 industry review of design
standards and procedures for
tall buildings.
3
1 Leadenhall super plank PC beam
solution 3D view
2 Modular riser
3 Lattice slab: secondary plank
4 Metrolink prefabricated bridge
5 Anchor plank and table
8 EEJ 2013 edition
Towards
zero
Challenging and changing accepted
industry standards, Adam Locke
considers the health, safety and
environmental benefits of DfMA.
Author
Adam Locke
It could be argued that the construction
industry is not sustainable in its present form.
Furthermore, the buildings and infrastructure
assets that are produced are not sustainable.
Traditional construction methods are carbon-
intensive and the built environment is the single
biggest source of global CO2 emissions.
Collectively, the construction industry
consumes around one-third of the worlds
natural resources, generating vast amounts
of waste and pollution in the process. As
governments rightly take tough measures
to tackle these issues and energy and
commodity prices rise on the back of
diminishing reserves those that cannot
evolve will find themselves unable to compete
in the emerging low-carbon economies.
For example the Greater London Authoritys
October 2011 report, Delivering Londons
Energy Future, has suggested that London
could potentially be looking at business
opportunities of up to 3.7 billion a year from
moves towards a low carbon future, but that
this will require a large upfront investment, and
an appropriate policy, regulatory and fiscal
DfMA
01 Carbon emissions
02 Health & safety
framework. Strategies to achieve the targets At Laing ORourke, we are working
will include energy efficiency, local low carbon continuously to reduce accidents and carbon
heat and power generation and the promotion emissions towards zero. We believe that DfMA
of low-energy transport. All of these are areas can enable significant strides to be made to
that the construction industry should be looking reach these goals.
to develop and promote.
Global scientific consensus, public opinion
The need for change is also clear in relation to and regulation worldwide all have, or are
health and safety. As Philip White, then chief beginning to have, requirements for reductions
inspector of construction for the Health and in CO2 emissions in all areas of economic
Safety Executive (HSE), remarks in the HSEs activity. The moral need to eliminate accidents
Construction Division Plan of Work 2012/13, from the workplace is, we believe, self evident.
Despite the economic downturn the Both issues are key factors for responsible
construction industry remains one of the largest clients and end users in the built environment.
in Great Britain, bringing employment to around
So how does Design for Manufacture and
two million people; but it remains extremely
Assembly support towards zero? We believe
hazardous. The characteristics of the industry
that it makes a very strong contribution to both
and the challenges it creates in tackling health
areas. This is not however through bolt-on
and safety are well documented. The industry
extras, but rather as inherent results of an
remains a significant cause for concern; in
enhanced and efficient design and delivery
2010/11, 50 construction workers lost their lives
process. Our approach has safety and
this was an increase on the previous year. As
sustainability engineered-in.
well as 50 fatalities, 2,298 major injuries were
reported and 1.7 million working days were lost
through work related ill health. These figures
remain unacceptable and we must continue to
reduce this burden of injury and ill health.

Carbon emissions
Carbon emissions continue to increase globally.
Key sectors contributing to these emissions
include energy supply, transport and industry
as well as residential and commercial buildings.
The construction sector plays a significant
influencing role in each of these.
Total carbon emissions from fossil-
fuels (million metric tons of CO2)
Data: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/glo.html
Emission contributions of key sectors
26% Energy supply
19% Industry
17% Forestry
14% Agriculture
13% Transport
8% Commercial and
residential buildings
3% Waste and
wastewater
Carbon emissions come from two key parts
of the asset cycle:
1. During the asset creation process including
the design, manufacture, distribution and
on-site operations. This embodied carbon
arises directly from construction activities, as
well as the carbon embodied in the
(manufactured) materials and products
used in the construction process.
2. Those arising from the constructed assets
use in operation.
47%
of emissions in the UK
can be influenced by the
construction industry
It is increasingly important to consider the
whole-life impact of constructed assets and
much work has been done on the relative
balance of embodied carbon and in-use
carbon. Consequently, the UK Government
is targeting reduction of both in-use and
embodied carbon emissions in buildings.
To deliver reductions, we believe that
consideration early in design is essential. While
the design process itself has minimal carbon
emissions, it is the stage at which many of the
key decisions about a project are made. In this
way it can actually have a significant positive
influence on whole-life impact.
According to a report by BIS (the UK
Governments department for Business,
Innovation and Skills) in 2010, the proportion
of carbon emissions that construction can
influence is significant, accounting for almost
47% of the total for the UK.
Energy prices (and associated running costs of
buildings) will continue to rise and government
legislation will increase the financial incentives
to occupy low energy buildings.
High standards of energy efficiency are
increasingly demanded by Building Regulations
and by many clients.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) now
must accompany the sale and letting of all
buildings. Depending on how the building is
operated, there is usually a direct link between
the EPC rating and energy bills, which has
a knock-on effect on sale and rental values.
While these regulations do not include the CO2
emissions associated with the construction
process itself, innovations in design and
materials use will be critical in meeting
mandated levels of operational efficiency.
Towards zero 9
Initially, it will be possible to meet regulatory
targets using existing construction
technologies. But as standards increase,
significant improvements and innovations
will be needed to achieve the required
performance levels and we expect much
more rigorous verification and reporting
processes to be implemented.
In response the industry needs to think
and importantly, act, differently to achieve
these targets.
Our own experience
The Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) has taken positive steps, and has
produced guidance on key principles for
designing energy-efficient and low-carbon
buildings as part of its Climate Change
Toolkit (Principles of Low Carbon Design
and Refurbishment).
This guidance identifies six key principles
for low carbon design:
1. Understand energy use in the building type
2. Use the form and fabric of the building to
minimise demand
3. Focus on insulation and airtightness
4. Use high efficiency building services with
low carbon fuels
5. Manage energy use within the building
6. Use renewable energy systems
10 EEJ 2013 edition
Two key elements arise from these principles
that we believe contribute directly to the
towards zero agenda for our industry:
Fabric first: making the most of the building
itself to conserve heat and energy.
Energy strategy delivered: an energy
strategy aligned with appropriate building
services for the whole building. Furthermore,
the building needs to be controlled and
operated in accordance with these principles.
This is an area where too often the in-use
energy can be quite different from estimates
made during design.
If traditional building services are put into new
buildings that have a different operational
philosophy, then it is unlikely that the desired
outcome will be achieved.
It is in both these areas that DfMA can make a
big difference through efficient use of thermal
energy and vastly enhanced air tightness.
Fabric first
Laing ORourke has developed its DfMA
structural solutions, including flat slab concrete
floor construction twinned with a structural
concrete sandwich panel faade and internal
columns. A great deal of effort has gone into
designing the connections of the faade to the
other structural elements and the ability to
make the joints effective (as well as quick to
install). Windows are installed and included
within the faade panels prior to delivery to site.
This approach has a number of benefits:
Greater air tightness of structures: for
example, we achieved low air infiltration rates
of 1.29m3/m2/hr (at 50Pa pressure difference)
at Irlam and Caddishead School in the UK,
rather than traditional/normally assumed
values of 3-5 m3/m2/hr.
DfMA
Exposed concrete and the use of concretes
thermal mass reduces the energy demand of
a building compared to alternative structures
when incorporated in the energy strategy for
the building so that the concrete gains,
releases and stores heat at the desired times.
For example, in summer night-time air flow
along the surface of exposed concrete cools
it down so that it is able to absorb heat the
next day and thereby contribute to a
reduction in peak cooling demand.
Concrete from Explore Industrial Park can be
particularly dense, and therefore has greater
thermal mass than traditional in-situ concrete.
Reducing in-use energy
The DfMA approach means that more detailed
design information is available earlier than in a
conventional design process. This means that
the energy performance of the building can
be modelled early, allowing reducing in-use
energy to become an integral part of the
design process.
Laing ORourke is working with clients to
ensure real (in-use) energy efficient building
operation through best practice commissioning
and after-care. Our Energy Bureau, allows
energy meter and sub-meter readings to be
captured remotely to identify and diagnose
unusual trends in energy consumption. Through
this approach we can proactively support users
of the buildings we have constructed to reduce
carbon and manage utility bills.
Through a DfMA approach to engineered
component assemblies, it is also possible
to achieve higher levels of reliability and
predictability in the operating and control
systems. This gives us greater confidence
that the systems will operate as they were
designed to, as well as ensuring that design
and operation are aligned.
Factors improving embodied
carbon performance
Because we are able to control material
selection as well as factory processes, we can
influence more of the embodied energy in our
products. Refinement in product design can
reduce material needs and increase the
recycled content of materials.
A high degree of automation of material and
manufacturing activities is also critical to
minimising waste and improving efficiency. We
are demonstrating the responsible sourcing of
material and components through the BES 6001
accreditation process.
To further interrogate the value of the DfMA
approach in site operations, we have established
a set of environmental indicators. Evidence
collected so far suggests that construction
waste and site CO2 emissions can be more than
halved through a DfMA approach compared with
traditional practices. More specifically, we have
been able to measure the following impacts:
Site CO2 emissions down by about 50%
typically 600kgCO2/100k, compared with
1200kgCO2/100k.
Site water consumption down by about
30% typically 6m3/100k compared to
8.5m3/100k.
Waste arisings down by more than 50%; best
projects achieve 4.7 tonnes/100m2 Gross
Internal Floor Area (GIFA) or lower, compared
to 10 tonnes/100m2 GIFA.
Reduced risks of local pollution incidents.
Reduced risks of disturbance to neighbours.
Decreased numbers and periods of time
during which there are vehicle movements
around site (and the associated noise,
congestion and air pollution, as well CO2
aspects identified above).
As our portfolio of products increases and
we continue to enhance our monitoring
approaches, we will take a structured and
informed approach to continually refining a
low-carbon-intensity approach both in use
and embodied.
Carbon and energy monitoring dashboard
our Energy Bureau

Health & safety
Construction ranks amongst the most
dangerous occupations. The European
Network of Construction Companies for
Research and Development states that
statistically, each construction worker entering
the industry at 20 years of age and working for
20 years currently has a 100% chance of being
injured by an accident at work. Fatal accident
rates are roughly three times higher than the
all-industry average. This statistic applies
across developing economies and established
market economies, despite the latter having a
strong occupational health and safety focus.
It seems that using current methods we may
have gone as far as is possible in reducing the
rate of accidents on construction sites.
Workplace safety advances in developed
economies have broadly delivered a significant
decrease in occupational accidents and
fatalities. The construction industry has
experienced similar results, and the European
Commission paper Causes and circumstances
of accidents at work in the EU states that there
has been a decrease of 33% in construction
accidents and 40% in construction fatalities in
the EU-15 from 1995 2005.
Construction accident and fatality rates in
countries with the strongest workplace safety
culture are significantly below those with a
lower historical emphasis on safety. Hong Kong
for example has construction fatality rates more
than five times that of the UK, due to the
prevalence of low-cost and low-skilled migrant
workers and a comparatively low safety focus.
Adoption of more stringent safety measures
should be able to close this gap in those
countries, but recent accident time series
Normalised fatal accidents (1998=100)
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
94 95 96 97 98 99
UK USA EU-15 JAPAN
Towards zero 11
33%
data suggests that further decreases
have significantly slowed for the global
safety leaders.
Although the serious accident rate has
continued to fall at around 5% per year, this decrease in construction accidents
represents only a small absolute decrease, in the EU-15 from 1995 2005
and the fatal accident rate has plateaued over
the last five years.
The UK is a leader in global construction
safety, with figures fluctuating in a band from Incidence rates per 100,000 employees
1.75 and 3.25 fatal accidents per 100,000
full time workers over the last seven years. Diffuse pleural
This still equates to 41 to 78 deaths every year thickening
in construction. Australia is experiencing
similar levels (2.3 to 3.8 fatalities per 100,000, Asbestos
or 18 to 38 deaths per year), but has also
achieved only small improvements over an
Mesothelioma
eight-year period. This inability to consistently
lower the fatal accident rate suggests that the
current strategies are insufficient. Dermatitis
Add to this the often overlooked element of
accident statistics occupational health in Asthma
the construction industry. As Rita Donaghy
reported in One Death is too Many,
Occupational health remains a serious Vibration white finger
problem in the construction industry.
Thousands of workers die every year from
Upper limb disorders
mesothelioma and other occupational cancers
and lung diseases. Twenty skilled workers
Spine
(electricians, plumbers, etc.) die every week /back disorders
from asbestos related disease and 12 more
construction workers die every week from
Stress
silica-related lung cancer. It is vital that renewed
efforts should be made to tackle this issue.
The dangers are known and the preventative Construction 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
work needs to be done. All industries
Although much of this is due to historical
exposure, it is essential that the industry
minimises current and future exposure of its
workers to reduce occupational health risk.
Normalised fatal accidents at work across all
sectors for the EU-15, UK, USA, and Japan. 1998
has been set at 100. This data includes accidents
in the course of work outside the premises of ones
business, even if caused by a third party, and cases
of acute poisoning. It excludes accidents on the way
to or from work, occurrences having only a medical
origin, and occupational diseases. Fatal road traffic
accidents and other transport accidents in the
course of work are also excluded.
Data source: Eurostat.
00 01 02 03 04 05 06
12 EEJ 2013 edition
DfMA has a
significant role to
play in addressing
both the immediate
on site risks and
the long-term
health aspects.
DfMA
Mission Zero Jones adds, The continuity factor is also very
Laing ORourke has used cultural and
behavioural safety approaches to drive its
important. We have had significantly greater
continuity in both management and trade staff
programme for delivering a marked
improvement in health and safety performance.
working across the DfMA jobs that I have led.
This means that people can understand and
We launched Mission Zero in Europe in 2010
learn what is expected of them and this carries
through from one project to the next.
and subsequently rolled it out across Australia
and Hong Kong through our first-ever global Another consideration is the changing nature
health-and-safety awareness day. Now of work. DfMA shifts effort forward into the
embedded enterprise-wide, there are two key design and planning of the job. This means
reduction targets attached to Mission Zero: that key activities can be thought-through in
a 0.1 DIFR (an accident resulting in the loss
advance. High-risk tasks can be planned as
identified in the HSE report. DfMA requires
of one or more shifts) by 2015; and
an integrated team approach, and it is more
a 0.1 AAFR (any accident at all, from serious likely that an integrated team can identify and
injuries to minor incidents) by 2020. address all the risks of a project. Also, a key
consideration with pre-assembly is that, in
DfMA has a significant role to play in addressing
general, larger components are being handled.
both the immediate on-site risks and the
Generally there are then fewer of these and so
long-term health aspects.
handling can be planned better, with the
The importance of design in reducing the risks connections and interfaces being simplified
on-site is key. As the 2003 study for the HSE, and thus less hazardous.
Causal factors in construction accidents
Simplifying our work process is also likely to
identified: In the permanent works designers
have long-term occupational health benefits,
could have reduced the risk in almost half of
although this is still in the early stages of
the accidents. One of the main decisions that
being understood.
permanent works designers could have taken
to reduce the risk was to reduce the amount of By reviewing our products and processes
work done on-site, mainly through increased systematically from one project to another,
use of some form of pre-assembly. we will continually strive to achieve our Mission
Zero ambition.
The Construction Design and Management
(CDM) regulations implemented in the UK (first
in 1994 and updated in 2007) recognises the Adam Locke is Partnership and
importance of clients and designers, as well as Innovation Leader for the EnEx.G,
contractors, in the management of health and where he is responsible for
supporting the groups business
safety risk.
development activities and
Guto Jones, a Laing ORourke project leader, managing its academic relationships.
explains that DfMA can help make sites safer He is currently leading a number
of collaborative research projects
in two key ways: through reducing interface
into the application of DfMA in
risk and by supporting a stable and more highly the nuclear energy and commuter
skilled workforce. rail sectors.
In terms of the impact on interfaces, Jones
says, it helps reduce the number of trade
interfaces in the building process. By pre-
assembling components off-site, the overall
number of components on-site is reduced,
as are the number of on-site interfaces.
Components can be pre-assembled off-site
in a more controlled environment, supporting
greater safety as well as quality.
As the number of interfaces is reduced, the
overall number of people needed decreases.
In addition, as more time is spent on key
interfaces, the simplicity of the interfaces
increases. This means that there are fewer
people needed to install each interface,
improving efficiency and reducing risk. There
is also a wider impact: the site is therefore
less congested, simplifying the management
of the site.
 In conversation 13

In conversation
In conversation
At a time of renewed investment
Tony Roulstone in nuclear energy in Britain, Laing
Dr Phillip Cartwright ORourkes Dr Phillip Cartwright met
Words
up with Tony Roulstone, one of the UKs
Matthew McCracken leading authorities on nuclear energy,
to discuss the best way to build a nuclear
Photographer
Tom Holmes
reactor, and the implications of DfMA
for the industry as a whole.
14 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Phillip Tony, can I start by asking you a bit about your background?
Perhaps you could give a brief summary of your experience in
engineering, and the nuclear industry in particular.
Tony I spent 20 years at Rolls-Royce, where I ran the nuclear side
of the business as well as holding senior posts in aerospace. At the
end of that period I led a business transformation programme for the
company, which covered engineering, manufacturing and procurement.
Essentially it was about making Rolls-Royce as good at manufacturing
and supplying as it was at designing engines. At the moment, among
other jobs I run a masters course in nuclear energy and co-ordinate
nuclear research at the University of Cambridge.
Phillip As you know, Laing ORourke has a pedigree in nuclear
build. Were also investing a lot in DfMA [Design for Manufacture and
Assembly], off-site manufacture and digital modelling. The Leadenhall
Building behind us is a good example of a major construction project
benefiting from this way of working. What kind of advantages do
you think this approach brings to the nuclear industry?
Tony Roulstone
Tony A good example is the submarine reactors Ive been involved
with. Submarines used to be built on the slipway, so they could be slid
into the sea. They would start by welding hoops together to form a tube.
Then theyd cut a hole where the hatch was going to be, bring through
all the pipes, boxes and cables, and fit the thing out from the inside. It
was a wonderful piece of intricate engineering, but it meant that each
submarine took six or seven years to build.
From the 1980s onwards, there was a radical change in how the UK built
submarines. We made all the equipment first the diesel generators,
the switchboards, the sonar and so on. Then wed weld it all up
afterwards. By moving to a manufacturing model, we were able to Its a big change from how we do things now in Europe. But were
change completely the sequence in which the submarine was built. facing an energy crisis and, unless we get the cost of these reactors
Design and manufacture could be done at the same time, and building down, were simply not going to build them. For nuclear energy, this
the submarine became more of an assembly operation. This not only is the future.
shortened the timescale and the cost, but also improved quality.
Phillip One of the lessons weve learned in the last 18 months came
I think there are lots of similarities between what was done on submarines from our experience of plantrooms. Around the time I joined Laing
then, and what were trying to do now on civil nuclear stations. Today, ORourke, every plantroom we built for every building was different.
building a nuclear station is an intensive on-site operation. But if we can But then we studied about 1,000 buildings, and we found that three
move a lot of that work to factories and work in a more modular way, wed sizes of plantroom will fit any type of building in the UK, including a
see major benefits, not just in terms of time and costs, but also in terms of nuclear power station.
establishing quality systems, improving learning and health and safety.
So suddenly we could standardise a plantroom. And by starting to
Of course we have to be realistic about what can be done, but this has do volume manufacture of these three sizes of plantroom, weve been
to be the direction of travel. Japan has already demonstrated that its able to push a lot of the work into the supply chain. That means we
possible to work in this way and get big improvements. In South Korea, can focus more on the things were really good at: the stuff that affects
this approach is now the standard. Theyve cut about 30% off the cost performance, or carbon emissions, or how the room is going to be
of their reactors in real terms over 10 years by building a reactor every used and controlled.
year, using the same team, and setting about it in this systematic and
Tony I used to run a water-treatment company earlier in my career.
progressive way.
They did the water treatment on Sizewell, on Drax, on most of the gas
energy plants, and on the first French nuclear plant imported into China.
The water-treatment engineers thought every plant had to be different.
Today, building a nuclear So every time the designers started on a new plant, they went back to
the drawing board. Even the brackets attached to the valves had to be
station is an intensive different. So the plants used to take forever to design, and they were very
expensive to build.
on-site operation. But if When we went from drawing boards to CAD, we decided to move to
a standardised approach. We standardised the vessels, the pumps
we can move a lot of that and the control systems. As a result, instead of taking 12 weeks to
design a plant, we got it down to three or four weeks. Instead of taking
work to factories and work 15 weeks to manufacture, it took half that. Commissioning was a lot
easier. The supply chain could work more efficiently, and because we
in a more modular way, were ordering large volumes of standard items they could offer us better
prices. In the end, we turned a business that used to produce half
wed see major benefits. a dozen bespoke plants a year and lost money, to one that produced
many standardised plants a year and made money.
Tony Roulstone
 In conversation 15

Phillip We recently developed a way of making entire hospital

bedrooms off-site, so they can be dropped into a hospital building in
sequence. The interesting thing is, when you explain to clients that
Theres a feeling that
they will be getting a standard bedroom, they often react with horror.
They think they want a bespoke bedroom. But then you explain the
everything has to be unique.
upsides. Not only can they have 550 bedrooms for the price of 350,
but the quality is much better. The pipeworks built in, so the rooms
We need to challenge that
are easier to clean. Theyre more energy efficient, because the seals are
tighter. The control system comes already fitted, and just plugs right in.
misconception.
Tony I always go back to the automotive industry. Most of us Tony Roulstone
wouldnt have cars today if we still built them like we did at the turn of
the 20th Century. Mass production has brought so many advantages.
And the same has to be true about buildings. But in the construction
industry, theres a feeling among clients and architects that everything
should be unique. We need to challenge that misconception. If
everythings always different, its always going to be expensive, its
always going to have quality problems, and its probably going to be
unaffordable. Only by standardising will we ever get the cost structures
right. And its about much more than cost. We need to show that
standardisation can lead to a much better product.
One thing about standardisation is that its important to take the rest
of the industry with you. Every company wants to have a competitive
advantage, to be the trailblazers. But the fact is, unless the architects
and clients are coming with you, you cant change attitudes in a broad
way. Thats what needs to happen if we want to innovate in this industry.
Thats why you have to convince them that standardisation is the future.
You have to blaze a trail in such a way that others can follow.
Of the new generation of nuclear reactors, the UKs reactors are the Tony We did a lot of co-location of design and build teams at
closest to being built. And so in some ways this country is the test Rolls-Royce. In the old days, the designers who designed the nuclear
bed for future reactors. If we can change attitudes I think theres cores and the manufacturers who built them were in separate physical
a real opportunity for UK companies who know how to build in a locations. So what we did was take the designers out of the studio and
modular way. put them in the factory. They could actually walk out from their office
straight onto the shop floor.
Phillip The new approach to manufacturing depends on co-designing
on designers and manufacturers working together and talking to Only by doing this did the designers start dealing with detailed
each other. How do you encourage this kind of collaborative working? challenges to do with fabrication, quality and machine-tool capability.
Bring people together and make sure these conversations happen. The designers could understand the manufacturing technology, and
the manufacturing people could understand the constraints of the
designers and feed back their suggestions. This communication
between the two groups was fundamental to getting lower cost, higher
quality and an improved product.
Phillip Its surprising to me that this sort of cross-fertilisation doesnt
go on more in the construction industry. What weve been learning is
that, if you get people together as a multi-disciplinary team early on
in the design, and do a lot more work up front, it pays dividends
further down the line. So at Laing ORourke, weve begun working
with our design houses collaboratively rather than contractually, using
cross-functional teams.
One of the other things weve done is invest more in training our
engineering teams to raise their design knowledge and awareness.
Were not training them to be designers, but they do need to be able
to challenge the design where necessary.

Dr Phillip Cartwright
16 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Tony At Rolls-Royce, there are two types of engineer. There are the
ones who are very specialised and know all about compressors and
vibration and so on. Then youve got the ones who have a broad
understanding of the individual disciplines involved, and who can
pull it all together. They have an overall concept of how a compressor
works, but they dont know the detail they would have to talk to the
specialist compressor guys about that. I think the most successful
multi-disciplinary teams depend on this mixture of specialist and I think theres a real
generalist skills.
Phillip You have a new teaching position at the University of Cambridge
opportunity for UK companies
now. Can you tell me a bit about that? And are there any areas of
research that youre particularly interested in at the moment?
who know how to build in a
Tony I run a full-time masters course in nuclear energy. Our position modular way.
is that there are people in the UK and around the world who are about
to build and operate the next generation of nuclear reactors. And these Tony Roulstone
people need to be educated properly. They need a broad understanding
of nuclear technology that encompasses physics, engineering,
electronics and construction. So weve set up an intensive programme
to equip people with that knowledge. Most of our graduates will then
go off and have careers in the industry, as operators, designers, advisers
or regulators, in the UK or elsewhere.
The unit cost hasnt come down. We need to completely break this
We call it educating the nuclear leaders of tomorrow. idea of cost structures. So we now have people looking at much smaller
reactors perhaps a tenth of the size of the ones were building now.
In terms of research, we have a team looking at nuclear waste, which
And were exploring the idea that these smaller reactors would be built
is an important point for public acceptability of the nuclear industry
almost entirely in the factory, in a production-type way.
and rightly so. Weve also got a team looking at innovative designs
for reactors. Finally, as big reactors will be around for the next 20 to 30 years, weve
got to get a grip on the cost of building those things. And all of the ideas
One of my main areas of interest is to do with the size of reactors. At
weve discussed sequencing, modularisation and improving the way
the moment we tend to build larger and larger reactors, because weve
design and manufacturing teams work together are going to play a
convinced ourselves that although these cost a bit more, they will
major role in this too.
produce a lot more power. But actually whats happened is that while
the reactors have become bigger they have become more complicated
and hence more expensive to build.

Tony Roulstone is a leading Dr Phillip Cartwright is Electrical

authority on nuclear energy. He spent
20 years at Rolls-Royce, where he
ran the nuclear business and directed
a major corporate transformation
programme. Tony now runs a masters
course in nuclear energy at the
University of Cambridge, and works
as an independent business consultant
for international companies in the
nuclear, energy, aerospace, and
technology sectors.
Engineering Director for the EnEx.G.
Previously, he was head of electrical
power and control systems with
Rolls-Royce, the world-leading provider
of integrated power systems in the
aerospace, energy and nuclear
sectors. Phillip is a visiting professor
in energy systems at the University
of Manchester.
 Design collaboration 17

Design
collaboration
Design collaboration from the
earliest stages of a project can
provide tangible benefits in terms
of costs, speed and sustainability.

Society is changing at an unprecedented

Author pace, with major demographic shifts,
Paul Hohnsbeen transforming global dynamics and growing
demands on resources, infrastructure and
the wider environment. At Laing ORourke, we
are embracing a new holistic approach to our
business activities that involves rethinking the
way we engage with owners and occupiers,
and how we design, engineer, construct and
operate the built environment.
One of the key aspects of our new approach
focuses on collaboration between the design
and delivery team.
We are now practising a new method of
collaborative design development founded
on digital engineering (DE), through the
development of multi-dimensional DE data
models, as well as vertical supply chain
integration and DfMA.
18 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Adopting early conceptual-stage design Design collaborators contribute positively

collaboration enables us to reduce time, effort to the DfMA process by developing digital
and risk for clients and designers. Furthermore, engineering designs that are optimised for
the quality, accuracy and completeness of the off-site manufacturing and assembly, essentially
information the design collaborators produce is moving site-based activities into a controlled
better coordinated, more complete, less error factory environment.
prone and formatted for efficient dissemination
The companys vertically integrated business
into the material and component supply chain.
already allows us to produce structural
Importantly, a committed investment in digital
components at our Explore Industrial
engineering at concept-design stage provides
Park (EIP) manufacturing facility in the English
spatial and financial modelling opportunities for
East Midlands. We also manufacture and
little additional effort, but which result in very
assemble mechanical, electrical and
substantial gains in risk reduction.
plumbing modules through our Crown
For us, digital engineering entails much more House Technologies business.
than 3D spatial modelling, as typified by BIM
I recently spoke with my colleague
(building information modelling). On top of this,
James Eaton, Laing ORourkes head of
we also include time/logistics programming,
pricing and digital engineering. He said,
capital costing, energy modelling, parametric
Drawing in 3D is nothing new but doing so in
data, asset tracking, and asset whole-life
4D and 5D, and with embedded data in objects,
performance modelling.
requires an unprecedented level of discipline
Key to succeeding in digital engineering is in design terms. Digital engineering and BIM
close, collaborative working with in-house drive transparency when it comes to who has
and external partners. Collaborators working done what and any lack of coordination is
together on DE data management protocols quickly exposed.
within the companys vertically integrated
We are asking established design partners
engineering enterprise can deliver the
such as Arup to use the DE objects already
changes that our industry needs to make.
created, components that we know work,
These collaborators contribute their skills
and this probably makes us more demanding
and knowledge by using established digital
than other construction companies. It produces
engineering protocols to improve the quality,
huge efficiencies, and theres something in it
integrity and transportability of 3D models,
for all of us.
which in turn facilitates rapid and increasingly
automated propagation of four-, five- and Design collaborators generate their greatest
six-dimensional data production. contribution to the DfMA process during the
conceptual phase of design development.
Our experience is that the multi-dimensional
It is at this stage that the development owner,
data models we are producing with our design
occupier, operator and constructor have the
partners are sufficiently complete and accurate
greatest opportunity as a team to define their
for implementing DfMA. Working like this vastly
collective objectives and the design solutions
enhances the potential and efficiency of off-site
which best achieve these objectives.
construction manufacturing and assembly.

Impact of DfMA on design and construction programme

Traditional construction

Feasibility Funding Design & Engineering Site Preparation Construction Fit-out & Finishing Testing & Commissioning

Design for Manufacture and Assembly

Feasibility Funding
Design & Engineering
Site Preparation TIME SAVED
Manufacture
Assembly
Fit-out & Finishing
Testing & Commissioning
Time

Design collaborators contribute
positively to the DfMA process
by developing digital engineering
designs that are optimised for off-site
manufacturing and assembly.
This early stage approach obviously benefits
from having an enthusiastic client who sees
the potential benefits. Equally, we have the
opportunity, through DfMA and digital
engineering, to help clients make informed
decisions by providing much greater and better
integrated functional, spatial and financial
performance information, at a time when risks
are comparatively low and changes can be
incorporated quickly.
Laing ORourke can quantify the success
of design collaboration for DfMA through
the construction capital value produced in a
factory environment. The scope of this value
includes the cost of all materials, components
and sub-assemblies, together with their
transportation, holding costs, fabrication,
assembly, testing, commissioning, protection
within the factory, and eventual transportation
to site. It also includes overheads such as
factory depreciation, running costs, taxes,
DE modelling and labour costs.
As an early adopter, the gross capital cost of
DfMA assemblies is comparable to traditional
construction methodologies. However, we
forecast that these DfMA assembly costs will
materially decrease as design collaboration for
DfMA and use of DE becomes more embedded
in both our, and our design collaborators
standard operating practices.
Laing ORourke applies the DfMA assembly
capital value metric as described above to the
overall capital value of a development as well as
the development asset total cost of ownership.
These values include time, labour, energy,
embedded carbon, maintenance and operating
costs, which is where the principal benefits of
DfMA are seen.
Our new approach to design collaboration
has further strengthened a productive and
enduring relationship with Arup. Recently,
the two companies collaborated on the design
of Dagenham Park Church of England School
(see case study p52). Dagenham Park was one
of the last secondary schools to be funded
under the Building Schools for the Future
programme. The school opened last year, to
Design collaboration 19
a positive reception from all interested parties,
including the head teacher, pupils and the
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
The success of this project, says Arup
associate Jo Larmour, has been a catalyst
for further collaboration especially in the use
of digital engineering, for projects including
Kings Health Partners Cancer Centre at
Guys and St Thomas Hospital and The
Leadenhall Building.
Whereas with a traditional project we
would have held design workshops weekly
or fortnightly, the difference at Dagenham Park
School was that Laing ORourke brought in its
manufacturing and site experts at the concept
stage. We were able then to learn something
of what works well on-site; we had early
conversations with the manufacturing team
and we modelled components in a specific
way, to suit their manufacturing capabilities.
This contract was the most collaborative
Ive ever been involved in with a contractor,
Larmour declares, and she has since assumed
the role of link person, ensuring Arup/Laing
ORourke collaborative design teams continue
to work together in a consistent way, sharing
knowledge, driving innovation and not
reinventing the wheel.
The principal participants in the design
collaboration process are architects, engineers
and our manufacturing engineers. In addition,
key stakeholders such as capital expenditure
and operational expenditure commercialists,
the supply chain, and transport and logistics
engineers can all benefit from a drive towards
holistic and effective collaboration. Perhaps
most fundamentally, there is also great potential
for developers, asset operators, asset owners,
and investors to gain too.
Laing ORourke is confident that developers
and asset owners are keen to realise the
benefits of the DfMA and the DE process:
Yes it gives far better coordinated design and
enables us to understand risk far earlier than
ever before, Eaton asserts, but clients see
the real benefit as being the asset model at
the end of the process. We believe that these
asset models will lead to significant client
benefits in the future and are already starting
to explore this exciting potential.
Paul Hohnsbeen is Business
Development Director for the
EnEx.G. He leads the EnEx.Gs
client-building activities. An
architect by background, he
brings to the role over 30 years
experience in the design,
construction and operation of
the built environment across
North America, Asia and Europe.
Most recently Paul was Chief
Operating Officer for Global Switch,
a leading international provider of
data centres.
20 EEJ 2013 edition
DfMA for
composite
floor structures
Author
Dr John Stehle
In early 2011, Laing ORourke won the contract
to build The Leadenhall Building, a 52-storey
office building at 122 Leadenhall Street, in the
City of London, architecturally designed by
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners for clients
British Land and Oxford Properties. It is an
iconic exposed structural steel building with
composite concrete floors. During the bid I
developed a series of pre-cast floor options
with the goal of removing the concrete
operation from site for several reasons,
including to improve speed, reduce material
congestion on-site, avoid damage from
concrete spillage on the sloping architectural
faade below and improve site safety.
The Leadenhall Building foundations and
retaining walls had been let and built under a
separate contract, so there was very little time
in our contract for design development before
the superstructure steel was programmed for
construction. Because of that there was no
time to re-engineer the building from first
principles or to change any of the main super
structure or foundations. So the challenge was
to create a floor system that was not heavier
than the existing 150mm reinforced concrete
slab that had the same fixing channels to
hang building services, that would act
compositely with the existing steel beams
and that could resist substantial in-situ
diaphragm forces as described later, but
that would be built off-site.
DfMA
A flooring system developed for a
challenging project has brought advantages
in terms of speed, waste and safety.
This was quite a challenge and we agreed
with the client that the new floor would start
from level five and that the floors below this
level would be cast conventionally. The
proximity of the two types of construction made
for a dramatic comparison. The system that we
came up with was completely new to the
industry. As with any new approach, we had
to develop a rigorous analysis and testing
programme to validate it to all stakeholders
and demonstrate that our ideas were robust
and practical.
The programme of testing started the day after
the contract award, with load testing conducted
at the Building Research Establishment (BRE)
and a technical review by Arup. Concurrently,
the DfMA opportunities for the project were
developed, with the system undergoing more
than 20 revisions before a final version was
agreed. We commissioned a separate team
at Arup to do the detailed design of the floor
planks. Our Explore Industrial Park was
responsible for the manufacturing and our
specialist Expanded business responsible
for assembly of the system. We conducted
a series of manufacturing and erection
trials in a very short timeframe prior to
erection on-site.
The unique connection system that we
developed had to be tested to prove its
performance adequacy against the
Employers Requirements and be approved
by the client-appointed engineer, WSP, to
ensure compliance.
Design
The Leadenhall Building has a unique tapering
geometry. The largest floorplate at level five
is approximately 2,000m2 net internal area.
From there, floor areas reduce linearly with
building height. To achieve the slope, steel
beams and concrete plank elements are
re-arranged at every level near the south face.
Where this re-arrangement occurs, the
structural grid can be considered to be 16m
by 10.5m between mega-columns, which
poses a challenge with regards to the strict
vibration criteria imposed by the client
(response factor, R<4).
Pre-cast planks 150mm thick typically span
up to 4.5m between steel beams, with which
they act compositely. This depth constraint
was imposed by the original in-situ composite
floor design, as was the weight, which was
matched by the use of lightweight concrete.
The provision of channels in the soffit also
ensured an equally utilitarian functionality to
enable the fixing of services and suspended
ceilings with ease.

The external megaframe structure, which
has nodes at every seventh level, provides
the overall building stability, while between
megalevels, K-bracing in the northeast and
northwest corners of the main building provides
stability to intermediate floors. The eccentric
location of the K-bracing results in significant
diaphragm forces both in permanent and
temporary load conditions that are accounted
for in the design of the pre-cast floor system.
DfMA for composite floor structures 21
The interaction of flexure, longitudinal shear
and diaphragm forces is dealt with by a Our innovative
patented connection detail. A dowel bar with
a female coupling device is pre-cast in the approach means
plank on one side of the joint, while a loose
dowel bar with a male thread is pre-loaded in up to 1,200m2 of
the corrugated void former in the plank on the
other side of the joint. Once both planks have pre-cast floor can
been installed, the loose bar is slid across and
screwed into final position. Once the coupling be erected in a
is checked and signed off, the void former and
joint are fully concreted with a high strength single day.
flowable grout.
1 Erection of The Leadenhall Building pre-cast
floor system
22 EEJ 2013 edition
Testing
BRE conducted a series of tests to assess
connection shear strength, pull-out strength
of a bar grouted in a plank, buildability, overall
system strength and dynamic performance.
Nine shear tests were conducted to provide
appropriate design parameters for a range of
loading and geometry conditions.
We erected a 16m by 10.5m typical bay
in BREs laboratory to assess buildability,
overall load testing and dynamic assessments.
We used a digital engineering model for
manufacturing and assembly purposes.
In terms of buildability, it soon became clear
that control of the temporary stability of the
steel beams would be a challenge. This
could be overcome by adequate sizing of
the top flange of the steel beam. However,
as the steel had already been ordered for the
project, we developed a simple temporary
propping solution.
With regard to overall strength, the floor was
loaded to ultimate design load conditions
as shown opposite (Figure 5). Even under such
excessive loading, the floor responded almost
elastically, with the majority of deformation fully
recovered, and no significant residual
cracks were observed.
4
DfMA
BRE carried out a range of dynamic tests, 2
including footfall, pacing and rotary shaking
to establish the performance characteristics
of the floor system with respect to design for
the project.
Manufacture
Explore Manufacturing produced the pre-cast
plank elements at our state-of-the-art Explore
Industrial Park in the English East Midlands. As
the factory had never made anything similar,
nor even used lightweight concrete before, a
regular dialogue and evolution of the design
system took place at high pace, which made
for a great learning experience for all involved.
An early evolution of the design involved a
structurally ribbed soffit, but this was replaced
by a coffered soffit in order to simplify formwork
and reinforcement cages. We continually
reviewed and optimised the reinforcement
cages to maximise the use of automated bent
meshes and minimise labour content. The
factory also made samples to ensure it could
achieve an appropriate quality of surface finish
and to demonstrate its ability to cast dowel
bars in correct positions, so that the elements
could be connected confidently on-site.
 DfMA for composite floor structures 23

5
The new pre-cast floor
system was developed,
tested and implemented
in less than 12 months.

2 Connection shear strength test
3 Connection details
4 Digital engineering model of north core module
5 Beam deflection under ultimate design load
6 Reinforcement cage
Assembly
Expanded, Laing ORourkes specialist
engineering business, assembled the pre-cast
planks on site. Each plank, weighing about
two tonnes, was installed in position by a very
small team of operatives who then only had to
screw the dowel bars together and grout the
connections. The dry construction enables very
quick access to erection activity overhead.
The factory had pre-installed edge protection
sockets, lifting points and faade fixings,
minimising the amount of site work and work
at height. Planks for the north core structure,
along with horizontal services modules and
edge protection, were pre-loaded on to steel
frames prior to erection (see figure 8 overleaf).
In short, the plank system allowed a very fast
rate of construction, although the complex
steelwork for the megaframe slowed down
the overall assembly of the structure.
24 EEJ 2013 edition
Benefits and future development
The difference between the conventional
construction techniques used up to level five,
and the pre-assembled technique above it
is dramatic. The lightweight concrete plank
system has had many advantages. It has been
very fast to erect, and there is no on-site
concreting, removing multiple trades and waste
from site. There are fewer people on site, they
are working more safely and the quality control
of manufactured products is improved. Overall
there is less waste and less mess, simplicity of
placing infills, early access to construction
above and faster follow-on trades (eg. faade
fixings pre-installed).
The client and the site team quickly became big
supporters of the new system because of its
speed and simplicity and the ease with which
infill panels could be closed off. However, some
opportunities to refine the system remain:
the manufacturing process needs to be
refined and simplified;
fixing brackets for services could be much
simpler and more cost effective;
temporary works can be reduced substantially
if integrated into the basic design.
8
DfMA
The floor solution that was developed for The 7
Leadenhall Building was essentially retrofitted
into a design that was developed for in-situ
concrete on a metal deck. As such, the effort
to match the original design placed many
constraints on the solution developed. While
the floor solution that Laing ORourke
developed met all these constraints, a more
elegant engineering product could have been
achieved if the pre-cast floor had been part of
the designers original thinking.
Having developed this product, there is now
an opportunity for Laing ORourke to work with
designers to further refine this floor solution on
future projects. We have submitted the concept
and ideas for patent protection. Work is already
under way to tackle the challenges and develop
the design in more detail, and apply our thinking
to new projects.
 DfMA for composite floor structures 25

7 Overview of north core construction

8 North core table being lifted into place
9 Overall view of construction including pre-cast floors

Dr John Stehle is Structural

Engineering Leader for the EnEx.G.
He is responsible for developing
innovative solutions that give Laing
ORourke the competitive
advantage at tender stage and
support the delivery of some of
its most strategically important
projects. Prior to his work on The
Leadenhall Building, Dr Stehle was
structural advisor at Cannon
Place an exceptionally complex
development built over a live railway
station in the City of London.
26 EEJ 2013 edition
Advanced
manufacturing
Explore Industrial Park provides a glimpse
into the future of construction and shows it
will be clean, safe and effective
Author
Russell Kellett
Explore Industrial Park (EIP) covers over
120,000m2 on the site of a former quarry
and mine, near Worksop in Englands
East Midlands. EIP is at the heart of Laing
ORourkes DfMA ambitions: it is here that
a large proportion of our DfMA products
are manufactured, ready to be transported
to sites around the UK.
Laing ORourke started from scratch because
it wanted to do things differently, and taking
over an existing plant would not have allowed
it to do so. When EIP was conceived, we
wanted to have the most modern and advanced
plant in the world, said Alan Clucas, business
development director for EIP. While developing
our plans, we made sure that we incorporated
the latest technologies available.
The custom-built EIP facility houses Laing
ORourkes pre-cast concrete production
capability, where almost all of the concrete
elements used on its projects are
manufactured.
1 Explore Industrial Park reinforcement
fabrication and assembly hall
DfMA
1
The company has already undertaken a
future-proofing exercise to see how it could
increase output if needed, and has calculated
that it could expand to around 50% beyond the
current peak capacity if demand requires it. In
addition, there are plots available for future
development. For instance, said Clucas, if
production of our modular partition systems
turns out to be particularly successful, a
dedicated factory for walling projects might be
built. This will give us the ability to provide an
even greater level of service to our clients.
The plant is divided between the production
of standard components and of specials. There
is a huge difference between the two. The
high-speed carousel, on which the standard
elements wall and floor units are produced
occupies about one quarter of the factory floor.
It can handle around eight pallets an hour, and
everything that can be automated, is. An ink-jet
plotter does all the setting out, and robots
place the forms into which the concrete will be
poured, position the reinforcement, and pour
the concrete. Just 13 people work in this
section and they can produce around 1,600m2
of wall units in a day.
Advanced manufacturing 27
28 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

2 Aerial view of Explore Industrial Park 7 Casting machine bespoke carousel

3 External view of Explore Industrial 8 View of architectural concrete
Park office block finishing area
4 Tilting table transferring product 9 Handling of cladding panel in
from bespoke carousel to architectural architectural finishing area
finishing area
10 Pouring self-compacting concrete
5 Pouring of white architectural at bespoke carousel casting area
concrete on bespoke carousel
6 View from reinforcement mesh
machine towards automated mesh
handling crane
 Advanced manufacturing 29

5 6 7

8 9

Another quarter of the plant is the bespoke In contrast, it takes about a year to become 10
carousel, (which can produce around three fully skilled on the bespoke lines. We have guys
pallets of work an hour) and another quarter, working there with 20 years experience,
the static production area, used for making Clucas says.
one-off products and also for finishing
The wide variety of work requires a huge range
architectural concrete products. The final
of concrete mixes as well, mostly achieved by
quarter is a reinforcing area, where again the
using different admixtures and additives. The
reinforcement cages for the standard products
plant has four cement silos: one with white
are made automatically. Explore Manufacturing
cement, two with grey cement and one with
buys in coil that it straightens, cuts and bends
GGBF (ground granulated blast furnace slag,
or welds into meshes. We have some highly
a cement-replacement material).
sophisticated machinery, Clucas said.
Reinforcement for the bespoke work is The other vital factor for the effective running
assembled by hand. of the plant is the curing of products. The
curing chamber is part of the system, Clucas
In contrast to the small workforce in the
says. We cure the products for eight hours.
automated area, around 250 people work on
That is the difference between a factory and a
the bespoke carousel and in the static area.
site we can engineer the products to be ready
There is also a difference in the amount of
for de-moulding within a shift. That is thanks
experience needed to do this work. Under the
both to the additives used and the elevated
buddy system where a new worker buddies
temperatures in the curing chambers. At the
up with an experienced one, a new employee
end of that eight hours, the elements are
can be working at full capacity on the
de-moulded and taken into the yard where
automated line in around four to five weeks.
they cure for a further seven days. The yard
30 EEJ 2013 edition
11
is the same size as the factory, so there are
25,000m2 of production under the roof, and
the same area under gantries as storage.
The bespoke products are very important and
will never be replaced, but there are obvious
economies to be made if a product can transfer
from bespoke to automated production. For
example, the bespoke flooring units for The
Leadenhall Building were, as their name
suggests, bespoke. As well as the effort that
went in to their engineering design, there was
a lot of work done at EIP.
The EIP team had to create a lightweight
concrete mixture to meet the requirements of
the building. The team undertook a concrete
development programme to develop the
correct density of concrete before
manufacturing and testing a small section
of the floor for client approval.
It required a lot of experience and resource to
create our lightweight concrete mixture, which
was a first for our team, said Clucas. It took
approximately a month to perfect the mix.
Once detailed design data was received from
the clients engineering team, floor layouts
were created virtually, identifying each of the
individual units required. This process also
produced data for the production scheduling
system, which allows the on-the-ground team
to know what units to manufacture and when.
DfMA
Detailed information was then sent from the 12
CAD system to the factory floor to initiate the
manufacturing process.
This is the process that Explore uses on all
its work. It has a team of about 30 people who
work in an office above the factory, In this way
they can have a close relationship with the
workers in the factory. Its very interactive,
Clucas says. Whatever they draw is what
we make.
In the case of the units for The Leadenhall
Building, Clucas is in the process of trying
to turn them from a bespoke product into a
standard one, that could be rolled out and
used more widely. It was the first evolution
of a new product, he said. It was effectively
hand manufactured and therefore more
expensive than future iterations will be. What
has evolved from this is further product
development. We have simplified the design
and are in discussions with the equipment
manufacturers so we can have an automated
configuration on the production line.
This is part of a general development towards
making the automated line more flexible.
Already, with its standard products it is able to
vary dimensions to suit the designs of individual
buildings, but Clucas hopes that it can develop
further. There will always be bespoke, he says.
It is about doing it cost effectively. He cites

13
the example of major car manufacturers. They
produce cars at a range of prices and with
different specifications, yet many of the
elements within those cars are variations on
the same standard product. Some will actually
be the same, and others will be adapted in
terms of dimensions or materials. It is this kind
of bespoke standardisation which Clucas is
aiming for.
The factory was set up to be the most
advanced of its type, and it is an integrated part
of Laing ORourkes DfMA approach, rather
than simply a supplier to it. It has helped to
prove the viability of certain approaches which
many doubted. For example, said Clucas, it has
played a vital role in the development of the
companys schools solution. Two and a half
years ago everybody was totally negative about
the idea of fitting windows in a factory. It was
believed that too many would be broken.
Advanced manufacturing 31
But the team in the faades division was 11 Pre-cast concrete stairflight
convinced it could work. The window in finishing area
manufacturer delivered the windows to Explore, 12 Yard gantry crane handling
they were fitted there and the completed wall pre-cast concrete edge beam for
elements delivered to the site. This allowed us Manchester Metro
to remove a high-risk activity from the site, 13 Lattice girder cutting and
Clucas said, and do it safely in the factory. welding machine
Because of EIPs central role a conscious
decision was taken that it would not supply
other organisations. The reason that some
elements are bought in (and when they are,
they are made to Laing ORourkes demanding
specifications) is that expansion requires a
certain volume of work. It is not, for example,
worth employing an extra shift for just a little
additional work. The core concrete work is still
done by a single shift, although the planning
permission allows 24-hour working.
32 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Visitors to the factory are struck by how calm, 15

quiet and ordered it is. But that calm, ordered
activity will, most probably, extend around the
clock in the future.
The next big challenge will, he said, be to
implement mechanical, electrical and plumbing
components into our construction projects as
we speed up how quickly we are able to deliver
products. As an innovative engineering-led
business that aspires to challenge traditional
methods of construction and transform them
into modern processes, we will continue to lead
these projects and create solutions that offer
our clients value for money, surety of delivery
and a quality product.

Russell Kellett is Leader of Laing

ORourkes Explore Manufacturing
business. He plays a pivotal role in
the realisation of the business
DfMA agenda. With over 30 years
experience in project delivery, Russell
has worked across the spectrum of
building and infrastructure sectors.
Before returning to the UK in 2011,
he led the Groups operations in
Dubai, where he was responsible for
high-profile developments including
Ski Dubai, Old Town Commercial
Island and Atlantis the Palm.

14 View from casting station on the high

speed carousel
15 External view of Explore Industrial Park
offices, factory and batching plant

14
Advanced manufacturing 33
34 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Modular
plantrooms
Advanced mathematics and cutting-
edge technology are revolutionising
the design, production and operation
of plantrooms.

Author
Dr Phillip Cartwright

Energy centres and plantrooms are of growing
importance as they are the engine of every
building. The majority of buildings require at
least one or two energy centres, and large
projects may require several.
Increasingly, our buildings are being designed
to achieve lower energy consumption and
carbon emissions targets, along with targets for
renewable energy and electricity generation on
site. This is in response to the increasing focus
on sustainability, as buildings consume a great
deal of energy during their lifetime and emit
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This
focus is set to accelerate and become a
key consideration in how our buildings are
designed, manufactured, installed, monitored
and operated. Large buildings such as
commercial offices, hospitals and schools
use large amounts of energy and thus require
careful design, construction and operation
if they are to minimise their environmental
impact and maintain the internal environmental
conditions required.

In addition, clients expect a high quality
environment from their building with intelligent
monitoring and control of the energy generation
systems in an efficient, environmentally
responsible way. Continuous and automatic
diagnostic checking of the environmental systems
can pro-actively manage the energy consumption
and carbon emissions of the building, maximising
potential revenue and minimising utility costs.
In the past, the construction industrys approach
to mechanical and electrical (M&E) building
services and, in particular, to plantrooms and
energy centres, has been one of bespoke design
for each individual project. The industry approach
was also both to build and then manually test the
plantroom on site.
Other industries have a different approach to
energy generation, M&E engineering and control
systems. Aerospace, shipping and the automotive
industries have quite a pedigree in DfMA for plant,
M&E and control systems. Taking lessons from
these industries provides insight for the
construction industry into a new approach to
developing, designing, manufacturing,
assembling, integrating, operating, monitoring
and servicing, energy generation, heating,
cooling and ventilation systems. Our new
modular approach is to manufacture, test
and pre-commission off-site. This is providing
mechanical and electrical systems which are now:
off the programme critical path;
faster to design, manufacture, install
and commission;
targeted at being 15% cheaper;
more efficient and with higher availability
and reliability.
Companies like GE and Rolls-Royce deliver a
family of engines for different ranges of aircraft
which are based on one design, component
and manufacturing set. In a similar way most
car manufacturers have many different types
of cars in their range but their engine block is
built from standard configurable components
through DfMA. It is not unusual for several car
manufacturers to share standard engine
blocks. We are now taking a similar approach
to DfMA for:
plantrooms;
energy centres;
horizontal distribution and vertical risers;
building management systems.
Three sizes fit all
With the help of our design partners we
recently studied more than a thousand
plantrooms that we had built and/or they had
designed. We studied the size and ranges of
each plantroom and their application. We
looked at which of the rooms were providing
electricity, hot air, cold air, hot water and cold
water. We considered flow rates, energy
consumption, plant, pipe materials and many
other attributes. Our ambition was to optimise
the system in a similar way to that of aerospace
and automotive manufacturers. Our first
approach used a system know in mathematics
as linear programming.
Linear programming is a mathematical
method for determining the way to achieve
the best outcome (such as maximum profit
or lowest cost) in a given mathematical model
for a list of requirements that can be
represented as linear relationships.
These relationships define a feasible region
which is a convex polyhedron that can be
defined as the intersection of finitely many half
spaces, each defined by a linear inequality.
Plantrooms
Standardised to suit three sizes of buildings
1 Up to 5,000m2 2 Between 5,000m2 and 10,000m2
Modular plantrooms 35
The trick then is to use a linear programming
algorithm to find a point in the polyhedron where
this function has the smallest (or largest) value
and hence to determine the preferred solution.
This may seem like a piece of obscure
mathematics, but it has highly practical
applications. The problem of solving a system
of linear inequalities dates back at least as far
as the French mathematician Fourier, after
whom the method of Fourier-Motzkin
elimination is named. Leonid Kantorovich
developed the earliest linear programming in
1939 and used it to help plan expenditures
and resources during World War II in order
to reduce costs to the army and maximise
losses to the enemy. Because of its value in
war, the method was kept secret until 1947.
Then George B. Dantzig published the simplex
method and John von Neumann developed
the theory of duality as a linear optimisation
solution, applying it in the fields of game theory
and industrial planning.
At Laing ORourke, as a result of our work in
linear planning we were able to simplify greatly
our plantrooms whilst still making them suitable
for 100% of our projects.
As a result, we developed a design of just three
plantrooms. We use our configuration tool to
determine the most suitable option, dependent
on the size of a building:
Option 1: up to 5,000m2;
Option 2: between 5,000m2 and 10,000m2;
Option 3: up to 25,000m2.
For buildings bigger than 25,000m2 the
configuration would use a combination
of options.
3 Up to 25,000m2
36 EEJ 2013 edition
1
Having a standard set of configurable options
now allows us to implement the next stage
which is the design process, in which the
designer can configure the systems in a similar
way to which you can buy a BMW online.
BMWs configurator is a model worth following.
The standard set of configurable options has
also allowed us to focus on the next stage
of our journey which is the manufacturing
process. We have been working closely with
Comau a company with over 40 years of
advanced manufacturing process specialising
in automation and robotics. As a starting point,
we now have a fully parametric plantroom
model. Within the plantroom model we have
created fully parametric Revit 3D fittings that
are not currently available within our industry
and are also producing a series of component
sets based on tube manipulation including spun
flanges, pulled tees and formed bends.
Although this work is still in the early stages
of development, the eventual aim is to
incorporate full parametric design into the
plantroom models. This would automatically
reconfigure the pipework, fittings and
components within the plantroom, should
DfMA
a pipe be resized based on an amended flow
rate. This change would generate a revised
plantroom model and automatically produce
layout drawings, full bills of materials and
manufacturing instructions.
In the aerospace and automotive industries,
this is termed the process design simultaneous
engineering (SE) stage. By using the same
process we have shown it is possible to reduce
the number of parts as well as their complexity
and maximise standardisation. This has
enabled us to show the benefits of automated
and robotic process equipment designed for
the automotive industry. This technology
delivers highly productive and repetitive parts
and assemblies to a high level of quality,
covering pipework sub-assemblies and steel
frame assembly.
To further push the boundaries of this approach,
we have also looked at using alternative
materials to reduce manufacturing cost. The
proposed use of stainless steel (316L thin wall)
pipework will enable us to maximise the use
sensors not only allows enhanced building user
of stainless steel pipe and tube processing
technology. This includes laser cutting, tube
manipulation, flange forming and tee forming
machines, all used to produce the pipework
sub-assemblies. There is a substantial saving
in purchasing parts, cutting and welding time,
as well as a reduction in the number of joints
and leak paths. It is now possible to reduce the
manufacturing and assembly process to build
a complete plantroom from 10 weeks to only
a few days. In addition, the introduction of
wireless electrical switches and sensors
means that the plantrooms have less wiring.
The reduction in wiring, and in joints and
connections has also increased the availability
and reliability of the plantroom.
The smart building has the
ability to optimise its own
system performance.
2
These new plantroom designs not only consider
the ease of manufacture and installation, but
also the maintenance of the working system.
Intelligent sensors are embedded within the
plantroom for diagnostic purposes, so that the
status of the plant can be monitored in real
time. In place of a conventional plant
replacement strategy, the system informs
users about performance. Only plant that is
failing is replaced, drastically reducing costly
maintenance budgets and avoiding
unnecessary replacements. Clients have a
user-friendly system based on Microsoft or
iOS technologies. For example, a client can
compare real-time energy information by
plantroom to track consumption. Alternatively,
a building manager can receive a text alert on
their tablet or smart phone about any plant
failure, rather than having to be at one location
all the time. Sensors also track aspects of
the external environment such as outside air
temperature and humidity.
A smart building with extensive provision of
control, but importantly has the intelligence and
ability to automatically optimise its own system
performance according to the environment
and usage. This smart system allows total
monitoring and automatic building control to
optimise the performance of the building.
The plantrooms and energy centres are the real
engine core of every building. By using a smart
system to run individual buildings, a client can
also link several of their buildings and see real
time data on all of them, allowing them to make
comparisons. The masses of useful data
produced are analysed and stored using
cloud technologies. Gone are the potentially
thousands of square feet needed in-house to
 Modular plantrooms 37

store data, to be replaced by a flexible, Remote asset management

scalable online cloud solution that can be
expanded and contracted with the changing
needs of data storage.
As part of our ongoing research at Manchester,
Oxford and Cambridge Universities we are
looking at technical improvements in
commissioning energy centres, plantrooms
Integration & Fault detection Carbon footprint
and M&E systems. For example, consider the automation & diagnostics analysis
way you install a new television in your home.
You take it out of the box, plug it in and it asks
you if you want to set it up manually or want
to run an automatic set up. Does anyone ever Measurement Continuous Energy analysis
install it manually? With the advances we & verification commissioning
are making in our building management
systems, we are developing a system that
provides automated commissioning for faster,
more accurate site installation and handover for
plantrooms and energy centres. As technology
advances it will also be possible to consider
Subject matter Remote user
how to implement technology that harvests expert
energy from the environment. Switches could
be powered by kinetic movement for example.
We believe the future will bring applications We have a clear vision for the future with an Dr Phillip Cartwright is Electrical
that react to the surrounding environment. advanced M&E manufacturing centre which we Engineering Director for the EnEx.G.
Depending on the external environment and will roll out as we develop this approach across Previously, he was head of electrical
power and control systems with
other factors (such as time of year) a building new products such as energy centres, general
Rolls-Royce, the world-leading
could modify itself and its systems for optimal M&E services and building, management provider of integrated power
power consumption and energy export systems in addition to plantrooms. This will sit systems in the aerospace, energy
capability, and to maximise occupant comfort. next to our manufacturing facility at our Explore and nuclear sectors. Phillip is a
We are excited about the potential for reactive Industrial Park so we can capture the benefits visiting professor in energy systems
faades that change orientation depending not only of advanced manufacture of mechanical at the University of Manchester.
on the seasons and solar intensity, ventilation and electrical products but also of the integration
systems that only operate when certain of more of these systems into our standard
conditions are met, and intelligent heating building products.
and cooling systems (different from simply
the ventilation system) that change depending
if heating or cooling is required.

3 4

1 The parametric model has the inherent ability

to automatically reconfigure the system when
variables are changed and is linked directly to
the manufacturing facility
2 In the automated manufacturing facility
the number of welds are significantly reduced
increasing performance and availability
3 The standard advanced plantroom module
4 Our tools allow us to virtually Design for
Manufacture and Assembly, commission and model
facilities management before starting the process
of actual factory build, test and site installation
38 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

3D printing
digitisation of manufacturing
3D printing is an emerging technology
that is ideally suited to construction in
general and DfMA in particular.

Construction 3D Printing
Authors Shortly after 3D printing was invented in the
Dr Andrew T. Harris late 1980s, researchers realised that they could
Dr James Gardiner scale up the technology to build construction-
sized components such as faade panels, and
even whole buildings. Construction 3D printing,
also known as additive manufacturing for
The Economist has claimed that 3D printing
construction is an emerging technique based
will catalyse a third industrial revolution. Each
on methods similar to 3D printing: namely
new iteration of 3D printing technology results
fabricating objects sequentially in two-
in cheaper systems, that build very complex
dimensional layers while using very different
parts which are difficult to fabricate any other
materials, including concrete. The task of
way. Although 3D printing was invented in
scaling up these technologies has been slow,
1989 it has taken time to mature, just as mobile
and there are still challenges to overcome.
phones took years to evolve into an incredibly
useful multi-functional device. As the choice However the pay-off from the current broad
of materials and their properties improves, R&D effort will be game-changing.
many new applications for 3D printing will
become practical.
3D printing makes the mass customisation
of goods comparatively simple, because the
machine makes no distinction between printing
10 parts of the same design or 10 parts
differently. Printing time and materials consumed
are important, but the geometry is free. While
this is great for producing customised toy
the third industrial
figurines, we think it could also have a major
impact in the construction industry.
revolution.

1 Sketch of how pre-cast concrete elements
could be transformed through customisation
and construction 3D printing
2 Sketch of concrete column node. Images
by James Gardiner
Just as nature uses very few materials to build
highly complex structures that can perform
in different ways in different places, so
construction 3D printing can use one or two
inexpensive materials (such as concrete and
foam) to create high-performance building
elements by placing material exactly where
it is needed and in combinations that are
impractical to achieve using conventional
construction techniques.
Functionality, such as acoustic performance or
air handling, can be added to building elements
without having to add materials or other
components. This can significantly simplify the
construction and assembly process. With
geometry being virtually free, build time and
material usage become the critical factors
such that we can customise a buildings form,
structure and texture to take shapes that would
otherwise be difficult to fabricate, optimising
its performance and creating aesthetically
appealing designs.
3D printing 39
2
Such capabilities are difficult to achieve with and machinery can be used efficiently, with
conventional means or other digital fabrication support services such as post-curing and
technologies, such as CNC milling and laser/ finishing processes at hand.
plasma cutting of sheet materials, and while
Importantly, we do not need to throw out
cutting these standardised materials has
the old in order to benefit from the new;
become much easier with digital fabrication
construction 3D printing can be an added
techniques, the structures built with them
capability that complements existing
remain similar to conventional construction,
operations. It can allow us to add complex
with fixing of these modified materials
surface textures or features to pre-cast panels
becoming more complex and usually more
or be used for fabricating those difficult panels
time consuming.
or column nodes that would otherwise be done
Since construction 3D printing relies on a custom line by hand or by specialist
predominantly on granular or semi-liquid contractors (Figures 1 & 2).
materials to build up structures and the fixing
method never changes, complex geometries
are just as easy to fabricate as simple ones.
Construction 3D printing has the potential to
transform the construction industry, especially
in the areas of DfMA and pre-cast concrete
manufacturing. It is ideally suited to factory
environments where the climate is controlled
40 EEJ 2013 edition
Who is doing it?
There has been a lot of recent media
excitement with a number of proponents stating
that they will soon print houses, such as DUS
Public Architecture with its bio-plastic house;
Softkill, with its house made of nylon; and
Janjaap Ruijssenaars, using the D-Shape
process to create a house with 30m spans
with little visible structure to support it (Figure
3). These proposals can at best be considered
speculative, as they overlook fundamental
requirements of construction, such as selection
of structurally sound, weatherproof and fire
resistant materials.
There are also a number of companies and
research institutions that are approaching
the development of construction 3D printing
techniques more commercially. The main
players in this field include D-Shape, Freeform
Construction, Contour Crafting and
Concrete Printing.
The D-Shape technique selectively prints
an inorganic liquid (magnesium chloride) onto
a bed of sand mixed with magnesium oxides.
The liquid creates a chemical reaction with the
oxides in the sand mix and the printed sand
transforms into a sandstone-like material or
magnesia cement (Dini, 2009). During this
transformation process from granular sand
to sandstone, which takes approximately one
hour, subsequent layers of sand are deposited
over the last layer and the next layer is
printed. There is no requirement for a rapid
DfMA
transformation of the material to reach a 4
solid state, as the materials undergoing
transformation are supported within the build
platform by the unprinted sand surrounding it.
Subsequent layers can proceed rapidly, while
the material is curing below. This fabrication
method provides support for overhanging
geometry, as sand is selectively transformed
to stone within a bed of untouched sand,
allowing freeform 3D geometries to be
fabricated (Figure 4).
The fountain made by D-Shape (Figure 5)
demonstrates the capabilities of this technique
for creating virtually unrestricted 3D objects; 5
it is limited at present only by the strength
of the materials and a printing resolution of
approximately 5dpi (dots per inch), with
minimum detail restricted to approximately
20mm in size.
Problems with material strength, delamination
between layers and weathering durability
(common to magnesia cements), have seriously
hampered D-Shapes success and prevented
it from finding a foothold in the construction
industry. The Radiolaria sculpture opposite
(Figure 6) is a significant scaling up of the
demonstrated capabilities of construction 3D
3 Ruijssenaars Landscape House. (Image courtesy
printing techniques to date. The sculpture was
of Universe Architecture)
intended for installation on a roundabout in
Tuscany, Italy but the team has been unable 4 The D-Shape machine printing James Gardiners
prototype column (Photo by James Gardiner.
to satisfy local engineering codes and receive D-Shape was set up by Enrico Dini)
approval for installation.
5 Fountain fabricated by D-Shape, designed by
Co-de-it and Disguincio
 3D printing 41

Freeform Construction was created in 6

2008 and is headed by Dr Rupert Soar, with
Mineraljet as their construction 3D printing
technique. The company has disclosed little
about this technique though we do know that
the process centres on a method for delivering
a highly viscous low-water-content gypsum
through a jetting system, depositing material
with a precision robotic arm onto a build
platform. There are significant technical issues
relating to delivery of the material through this
system and the concept has yet to be proven
viable. High-density alpha gypsum is claimed
to have excellent properties for construction,
including a tensile strength equivalent to that
of high-strength concrete, low moisture
permeability and good workability.
The Contour Crafting technique, developed
by Dr Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of
Southern California, was unveiled in 1996 and
is the oldest technique under development. The
team has demonstrated a number of straight
and curved wall sections (CRAFT, 2010) and
scaled-down adobe-type structures (Figure 7).
It has proposed single and multi-storey
dwellings and shelters for construction on the
moon (Khoshnevis et al, 2005).
layers, it does not appear to have solved the The Concrete Printing fourth technique has
The Contour Crafting concrete extrusion issue of slump when creating overhangs been under development at the Additive
technique makes elements from two materials. (required to build 3D curved geometry). Manufacturing Research Group at
Three heads extrude a modified concrete paste, Loughborough University in the UK since 2006
The absence of true 3D freeform elements at
with two outer heads (Figure 8) extruding the within the Wolfen School of Mechanical and
construction scale suggests that the Contour
wall profile and an internal pivot arm extruding Manufacturing Engineering. Dr Rupert Soar
Crafting technique is currently limited to
the internal structure. (now with Freeform Construction) originally
creation of simple geometric forms. Although
led the project with Dr Richard Buswell.
The concrete paste that the Contour Crafting this may appear to be a significant limitation
machine uses contains bentonite which of the technique, one must remember that the
dramatically decreased water seepage, and vast majority of buildings today are rectilinear
increased the paste plasticity (Hwang, 2005). or are largely 2.5D extruded forms. Hence there
Although the use of bentonite solved issues could be a large market for such a technique
with the extrusion of concrete in successive if the team can demonstrate its viability.

7 8

6 Full scale Radiolaria under construction

(image courtesy of Enrico Dini)
7 Contour Crafting Scaled down adobe
structure test (Image courtesy of Dr Khoshnevis, USC)
8 Contour Crafting concrete printing nozzle
(image courtesy of Dr Khoshnevis, USC)
42 EEJ 2013 edition
9
The Concrete Printing machine (Figure 9) works
on the basis of selective extrusion of a paste
material through a nozzle mounted on a gantry,
in a similar way to that of Contour Crafting.
The major difference is in nozzle design and
the use of material to support overhanging
structures during the build cycle. The Concrete
Printing nozzle has the capacity to vary its
resolution to allow the extrusion of both bulk
materials and fine detail within the same
process (Buswell et al, 2007a) and is deposited
in layers between 6-9mm thick.
The materials used to date by the Concrete
Printing team have included cement-based
mortars, gypsum materials and commercially
available concretes. The fibre-reinforced
concrete currently used contains additives to
increase viscosity once printed, and improve
material flow while printing. With a build volume
of 2m x 2.5m x 5m the Concrete Printing
machine is designed for the fabrication of
panels and large building components with
added value, functionality and capabilities over
traditional construction techniques.
The team has recently made two major
changes. It has added a printing head that can
deposit soluble support material, allowing the
creation of overhangs and true 3D freeform
geometry. This gives the Concrete Printing
technique the ability to fabricate complex
geometries on a par with those common to
smaller-scale 3D printing. The second change
is the switch from a gantry system for moving
the printing head over the build platform to a
large-scale industrial robotic arm. The benefit
is that the robotic arm can operate significantly
faster. The robot also has six axes of movement
compared to three for the gantry. This allows
the system to build layers on any axis, and can
significantly reduce the risk of delamination,
which is a common issue with 3D printing at
both small and large scales.
DfMA
Why is this relevant?
One can further understand the potential
benefits of construction 3D printing by
exploring three examples: artificial reefs,
space colonisation and DfMA.
Coral reefs have declined by 50% globally
over the last 27 years. Unless concerted efforts
are made on multiple fronts, the extent of corals
will continue to shrink. One way to restore
habitat is to build artificial reefs. When these
are built traditionally they tend to be simple,
easy-to-form structures, that are very repetitive
and do not encourage diversity. The first
construction 3D printed artificial reef was
deployed in Bahrain in November 2012
(Figure 11).
Conditions for development are often subject
to strict environmental requirements, with the
success of any bid depending on how well
the environment will be managed. As the
environment continues to move up corporate
and government agendas, having the ability to
offer solutions that are sustainable may make
the difference between winning a job and
coming second.
Space exploration
A number of research projects have looked
at building on the moon with construction
3D printing. They include a project for the
European Space Agency designed by Foster +
Partners based on the D-Shape technology,
another funded by NASA for lunar settlement
using the Contour Crafting technique and a
third scheme called SinterHab, also involving
NASA, which has recently appeared in the
media. The first two projects are based around
modifying existing construction 3D printing
techniques, whereas the third focuses on only
using materials and resources that are present
on the moon.
9 Concrete Printing Machine. (Image courtesy
of Dr Richard Buswell)
10 Wall section fabricated by the Concrete
Printing team
11 3D model of artificial reef module designed
by James Gardiner in collaboration with Sustainable
Oceans international
10
11
SinterHab uses two resources that are
plentiful at one of the moons poles sunlight
and moon dust. Sunlight is transformed into
microwave energy that is then used directly
to sinter the dust into a product similar to
rammed earth. The interesting lesson here is
that as man is increasingly challenged to use
abundant local resources, ingenuity can find
cheap sustainable solutions in indigenous
materials, smart techniques and processes.
Benefits for DfMA
Construction 3D printing techniques are
particularly well suited to DfMA for many
reasons: the complete reliance on digital
definition for the creation of the data required
for fabrication; the need (at least for now) to
locate construction 3D printing machines in
an atmospherically controlled environment
(a factory for example); and the requirement
to break down large objects for fabrication
due to machine constraints. Therefore many
of the requirements of construction 3D printing
essentially pre-suppose the use of off-site
fabrication practices.
DfMA can also benefit significantly from the
use of construction 3D printing techniques,
since the approach reduces the need to join
many materials and elements together to form
 3D printing 43

12 Exploded view of a lattice reinforced panel

12
for the Exhibition Assembly, complete with vertical
rebates and stepped horizontal joints. Image by
James Gardiner
13 Exploded view of the Exhibition Assembly
prototype design for the Villa Roccia designed
by James Gardiner. Image by James Gardiner
14 Wax Construction 3D Printing formwork printer
fabricating a panel with complex surface geometry.
Image by James Gardiner
15 3D printed wax moulds used for complex
column casting. Image by James Gardiner

13

assemblages (Figure 13). The project illustrated 14 15

in these images shows how a three-
dimensionally complex house can be broken
down into panels (Figure 12) for fabrication
using construction 3D printing. Many of the
details are based on standard pre-cast concrete
details, such as stepped waterproofing profiles
for horizontal joints, and baffles and gaskets for
vertical joints. The difference here is that nothing
is planar and every joint follows the rake of the
geometry. Such complex geometries built using
conventional means would require many layers
of materials and onerous fixing operations.
Intricate buildings like this do exist but they have
historically been very expensive to build; such digitally so that they are only placed where they Dr Andrew T. Harris is Chemical
as the Guggenheim Bilbao by Frank Gehry and are needed. This will lead to savings in weight, and Process Engineering Director
the London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid resources used and embodied energy. for the EnEx.G. Based in Australia,
he has moved between industry
Architects.
Leveraging the best technologies in this way and academia throughout his
In the example shown only four materials are will make DfMA unbeatable compared to career, and was formerly an
required to build a watertight eco-friendly structure: traditional construction. associate professor of chemical
and biomolecular engineering at
the 3D printed material, such as high strength
Just as 3D printing is set to transform the world the University of Sydney.
fibre-reinforced concrete; steel stirrup plates and
of manufacturing, so construction 3D printing Dr James Gardiner is Design
threaded dowels; a polymer for the gaskets and
has a promising future within the construction Innovation Leader for the
baffles used for sealing the joints; and a basalt
industry. The Engineering Excellence Group at Engineering Excellence Group
foam for insulation. This example demonstrates
Laing ORourke is leading the way in the field of (EnEx.G). An award-winning
a drastic reduction in the materials and labour architect whose work has been
construction 3D printing, through a number of
required in the fabrication of the panels. widely published internationally,
projects. The first of these is the FreeFAB
Dr Gardiner specialises in 3D
Not only are these materials suitable for Wax Formwork Printer project, invented
printing technologies, inventing
creating a structure, they can also be designed in-house, which is designed to add value to new techniques and developing
to perform in other ways. The concrete can existing production lines at Explore Industrial applications for its use within the
be deposited to create conduits ready for Park (Figures 14 and 15). construction industry. Before
wiring, the walls textured to increase acoustic joining the EnEx.G he ran his own
performance, and materials can be optimised architecture practice.
44 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA
 The Leadenhall Building 45

Client
British Land and
Oxford Properties

Location
122 Leadenhall Street,
City of London,
United Kingdom

Sector
Office

The Leadenhall Building Completion

2014

Architect
Rogers Stirk Harbour
+ Partners

Engineer
Arup

Site Area
3,500m2

Gross Floor Area

98,000m2

Height
224m

Storeys
52

Main contributor
There are several unusual aspects to The Leadenhall Andy Butler,
Building, currently under construction in the City of London. commercial and
At 224m high it is, believes Graham Stirk of its architect high-end residential
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the tallest building
sector leader
anywhere to have its primary frame expressed on the
outside. Its distinctive wedge shape, has led to it being
dubbed the cheesegrater. And it will create generous
public space in a crowded part of the city, with a
five-storey-high open area occupying the majority of
its footprint at ground level.
In addition to these most unique features, there are other
distinctive attributes to this development. It has had an
unusual stop-start history, having been mothballed with
most of the substructure works complete in 2008 and
then recommenced at top speed when market conditions
improved. It has been used to pioneer a number of new
approaches in construction, including a prefabricated
floor system and the application of an active alignment
system to ensure precise steelwork fixing, as well as a trial
of an RFID (radio frequency identification) system linked to
BIM (building information modelling).
46 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA
An astonishing 85%
of the building will be
manufactured off-site
2 3
An astonishing 85% of the building will be
manufactured off-site. This is the first time we
had used DfMA in earnest, said Andy Butler,
who was heavily involved at the early stages
of the project for Laing ORourke. Our whole
vocabulary in the bid was different. We didnt
talk about the word construction, it was all
about assembly. I have been in this industry
for over 35 years and this is the most complex
project I have ever worked on, said Butler.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners architecture
is stunningly simple but that simplicity
delivers an inherent complexity.
There were good reasons, however, for making
this project a DfMA exemplar. The building
occupies the entire footprint of the site, so
material storage was always at a premium.
And manufacturing off-site, in addition to its
other advantages, ensured materials could
be delivered at the optimum time for installation
into the works.
This approach also chimed with the ethos
of the architecture. We have always felt that
the elemental approach was not just about
prefabrication but about humanising an
industrial approach, said Graham Stirk.
Its amazing what industry brings and what
Laing ORourke brings.
To understand the challenges that all involved
in the project faced, it is necessary to grasp
the main features of the design and the details
of the projects history.
Design
The main driver for this building, which replaced
a tired predecessor, was a key processional
route to St Pauls Cathedral. A conventional
tower would have spoiled an unobstructed view
of the cathedral from Fleet Street, peeking out
behind the peristyle. This was the rationale for
the cheesegrater form angling the building
kept it clear of the vital view. It did however
mean that the building as it sloped down
needed to occupy the whole of the entire
ground plate hence the decision to create
public space below it rather than in front of it.
 The Leadenhall Building 47

4 5

7
6

This is a generous gesture. By eliminating 8

all but the offset core on the first five floors,
the architect has created a volume that
is equivalent to a net lettable area of
approximately 9,300m2 of office space.
This vast open space is possible because
instead of having a central core, the building
has a core on the north side, housing the main
circulation and risers. Toilets are also contained
there, in the empty lift lobbies. At 47 lettable
floors there are three banks of lifts, serving low,
middle and top floors, and the design makes
use of the two empty lobbies that exist at every
level. By moving the toilet blocks off the main
floors, says Stirk, the gross efficiency of the
office floors rises from 53% to 71%, an
immensely good ratio for a high-rise building.

1, 2, 5 and 7 Digital modelling and 3D visualisation

was integral to the development of Laing ORourkes
innovative delivery strategy
3 and 4 An exceptionally tight footprint within a
densely populated location made DfMA the most
suitable solution
6 The structures distinctive asymmetrical design
is a response to planning requirements to maintain
views of St Pauls Cathedral
8 The changing shape of Londons skyline: The
Leadenhall Building will take its place among other
landmarks as the tallest building in the square mile
48 EEJ 2013 edition
10
The floors are also made special by the fact
that almost all the structure is external, with just
six columns rising through the office floors.
Not only does this greatly enhance the office
space and its efficiency, but it makes it possible
to reduce the thickness of the fire protection on
the structural steel because it is separated from
the office floors where the risk is greatest. The
form of the steel therefore remains pure, both
as a structural and a sculptural element.
The views from the building are unparalleled,
and it benefits from ample sunlight, with heat
gain dealt with by the triple-glazed faade
with integral blinds. The faade is designed in
seven-storey lifts, reflecting the megastructure
that defines the building. And the plant is all in
the five-storey attic, an approach that is not
unusual but which in this case is particularly
space efficient because of the tapering
nature of the building.
Constructing the building was never going to
be easy, but the stop-start nature of the project
compounded the difficulties.
Construction process
With Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
appointed as the architect and Arup as the
engineer, client British Land selected a
construction management contractor and
DfMA
11
began demolition of the previous building The way to achieve the objective, Laing
and the piling and excavation of its successor. ORourke was convinced, was through DfMA,
through turning the site into a place of assembly
However, in September 2008, when it decided
rather than construction. But one of the major
to halt construction, this process was not yet
changes it made did not relate directly to this
complete. The core was still in place, and the
but to a means of ensuring the accuracy of the
final (fourth) basement had to be excavated.
steelwork megaframe.
But instead the site was made safe, a
considerable undertaking in itself, and left Active alignment
nobody knew for how long. The decision was made to pursue an active
approach to the alignment of the steelwork, as
When British Land decided to restart the
opposed to the more traditional passive preset
project, having tied up with developer, Oxford
methodology, which would be the industry
Properties and secured a major tenant for a
norm. As the steel frame is erected, and the
substantial proportion of the lower levels of the
vertical loads progressively increase, it settles
office area, it sought a construction partner to
under its own weight and the weight of the
give the joint venture renewed certainty. Laing
other building elements. On The Leadenhall
ORourke was eager to bid for the job.
Building, because of its unique wedge shape,
Between January and May 2011, Laing this settlement leads to an effective rotation of
ORourkes team, led by Butler together with the frame in a northerly direction.
Laing ORourke directors, Paul Lynchehaun
The passive approach to this is to design and
and Steve Cork, examined every aspect
erect the frame with presets so that it is slightly
of the job, and challenged a number of the
out of true, so when erection is concluded the
approaches that had previously been adopted.
building is in its final predicted alignment.
It set out to achieve three things: surety of
delivery, enduring quality and effective
partnership. The approach, which Butler
described as micro-diligence, employed up
9, 10 and 11 Concept to completion: drawing on
to 27 people in the process.
its digital engineering capability, Laing ORourke is
able to optimise design before construction begins

However, Laing ORourke was concerned that,
despite the sophistication of the calculations,
the result could be unpredictable leading to
a final slight misalignment. Instead it opted
for an approach called active alignment. It
sought the expertise of Bill Baker at American
engineer SOM (Skidmore Owings & Merrill), a
world leading engineer in high-rise buildings.
Baker and his team provided the technical
justification of the active alignment approach.
In essence, with active alignment which
Laing ORourke also describes as start
straight, end straight the frame is erected
vertically and as the frame naturally rotates to
the north, to compensate, the flank diagonals
are tensioned to align the frame accurately
within final predicted tolerances.
12
13
Craneage
Laing ORourke recognised that a key strategy
for the success of the project was to have
the appropriate craneage. The business
committed during the bid process to procure
and manufacture two of the worlds largest
luffing cranes. On tall buildings it is all about
the craneage, Butler said. Laing ORourke
took the decision to climb the cranes within
the building, being jacked up onto succeeding
megalevels of the structure as the frame was
erected. This is both inherently safer and leads
to a more rapid climbing process.
Having such large cranes meant that the weight
of the steel sections could be optimised to
minimise the number of on-site connections.
For example, table elements within the north
core were broken down into three, as opposed
to the originally proposed five, substantially
reducing crane lifts. This was particularly
The Leadenhall Building 49
important because bringing steel to the
site was a constant logistical challenge, due
to there being no set-down space, and
deliveries restricted to between one and five
in the morning.
The steel megaframe was both heavy and
geometrically complex. Due to the unique
nature of the exoskeletal frame, the common
benchmark of kilo per square metre was some
60-80% above what would be deemed
industry norm.
The K-bracing on the corners of the office
floors which provide lateral stability to the floor
plates were probably the most challenging.
Nobody understood how complex the
K-bracing would prove to be, said Butler.
Fabricating and erecting these elements was
extremely challenging, and all parties
underestimated the time it would take.
14
12, 13 and 14 With 85% of the building
manufactured off-site, Select Lifting Solutions is an
integral part in the delivery of this prestigious project
50 EEJ 2013 edition
Late start
This project was made particularly difficult
because of the restart, coupled with the clients
desire, once the project got going again, to finish
as fast as possible. We were already five weeks
behind our design schedule when we were
appointed. Butler said. And we had little or no
lead in before works on-site commenced in early
September 2011.
Nigel Annereau, the director in charge of the
structures on the project, said, You normally
have a nine-month breather while the
foundations are going in. Here, with this work
already complete, work on the superstructure
had to start almost straight away.
As a result, some innovations, such as the
pre-cast floors (see article on page 20), couldnt
be used at the lowest levels. We had to check
the floor dimensions and design the shear tabs
for every floor, he explained.
We could have done so much more had we
had the luxury of time, said Butler.
Nevertheless it had an enormous impact
on the project. One of the guiding principles
was to commission first, to think about
commissioning as early as possible.
15
DfMA
By making as many of the mechanical and Andy Butler led the bid for
electrical elements off-site, it was possible to The Leadenhall Building and went
test them individually and as sub-assemblies on to become its project director.
He now leads the commercial office
that were then lifted in complete. The attic,
and high-end residential sector for
which has to house an extraordinary quantity Laing ORourke.
of plant with very tight tolerances, has been
designed like a giant three-dimensional jigsaw.
Despite the tightness, all elements have been
designed for planned replacements.
Laing ORourke also trialled on the lower levels
an RFID system on the steelwork, linked to the
BIM model, a means of identifying and tracing
components that could prove invaluable on
future projects.
Perhaps the most impressive element of all is
that the relationships between the team have
been preserved and enhanced on this very 15 Highly-skilled teams transform the traditional
difficult project, despite or perhaps because construction process into one of assembly
of the demands on all involved. It was brilliant
16 and 17 The incredibly compact footprint
because everybody just mucked in, said becomes clearly apparent at ground level. To counter
Annereau. We just got on with it. It was this a generous public space is created at the base
so refreshing. of the building
16
 The Leadenhall Building 51

17
52 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA
 Dagenham Park Church 53
of England School

Client
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham (LBBD) and
Dagenham Park Church of
England School

Location
London,
United Kingdom

Sector
Education, School
Dagenham Park Church of
Completion
England School March 2012

Architect
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Engineer
Arup

Site Area
46,200m2

Gross Floor Area

10,500m2

Main contributor
Steve Hearn,
project leader

It may be many years before we can determine whether

the gamble London took in hosting the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games has paid off. While the event itself
was a success and a celebration of sporting prowess that
enthused and inspired millions, the full scale of its impact
on the future of the UKs capital remains unclear.
What urban planners, economists and commentators
can agree on is that a key aspect of the long-term success
of the Games will be to see the investments made in east
London transformed into lasting benefits for some of the
citys most socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
It is not only the Olympic and Paralympic Park that
will demonstrate the significant contribution the built
environment can make to the turnaround of this area.
Projects like London Gateway Port are testament to
the confidence that investors are showing in the capacity
of the capitals easterly areas to reinvent themselves.
54 EEJ 2013 edition
Massive multi-billion pound projects are not,
however, the only things making a difference
to this regeneration. Smaller projects also have
the potential to dramatically change the life of
a community.
There can be no better example of such
a project than a school built to enhance
both the learning experience and the social
inclusion of students, staff and visitors. We
are told that investment in schools and
education will translate, in the long run, to
a better society. This was certainly the idea
behind the Building Schools for the Future
(BSF) programme.
Hundreds of school projects that were
commissioned through this programme were
subsequently cancelled when the Cameron
coalition government made the decision to end
BSF in 2010. Laing ORourkes Dagenham Park
Church of England School was one of the last
to be completed under the scheme. Had the
programme not been cancelled, the firm would
have had a total of nine projects in Barking
& Dagenham.
The successful delivery of the school raised
significant questions over the validity of the
reasons given for ending BSF, which had been
heavily criticised by Secretary of State for
Education Michael Gove for its overspends,
tragic delays, botched construction projects
and needless bureaucracy.
DfMA
In a challenge to this assertion, Laing ORourke 1, 2 and 3 70% of the building was
successfully demonstrated a different way of constructed off-site, resulting in an
incredibly fast build programme and
building and thinking about schools, one that
one of the most environmentally friendly
allows for high-quality assets to be erected schools in the UK
quickly and on a tight budget. The school cost
22.6 million and was built in just 15 months,
eight months faster than it would have taken
under a traditional approach. The project
proved a pilot for some of its approaches.
Designed for off-site fabrication
The school was designed with off-site
fabrication in mind. It has an integrated faade
and structural system. Laing ORourke
manufactured the storey-high, load-bearing
panels making up the faade at its Explore
Industrial Park facility in Englands East
Midlands. At maximum capacity, the factory
could produce all the components needed to
complete the construction of the school within
two to three weeks. The 7.5m panels arrived
on-site with three windows already fitted,
enabling faster assembly and ensured the
structure was watertight a mere three months
after the ground slab had been laid.
Another advantage of manufacturing off-site
is a reduction in the potential for accidents
Dagenham Park Church of England School
was completed without a single lost-time
accident. Additionally, this approach limited
disruption for students, whose old classrooms
were still in use while the new building was
being constructed.
 Dagenham Park Church 55
of England School

1 3

2
56 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

5
Manufactured components (70% of the building
was constructed off-site) were delivered as
soon as groundwork at the site was completed.
The faade and structure were erected only
six months after operations at the site began.
To those who believe that standardisation in
architecture can only lead to sterile buildings
with no character, the design that project
architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM)
created for the school suggests otherwise.
At the core of its plan, the new three-storey
building has a mountain-like form that includes
rehearsal spaces and a performance hall that
seats 350 people. The school specialises in the
performing arts, something that the architects
and contractors clearly took into account in the
design phase. The new structure will contribute
to making the school a centre of excellence for
the performing arts in the area.
Customisation of the building went even further
with three shades of orange used on aluminium
fins incorporated in the panels on the two
long faades they are used as a shield from
low-angle sunlight, but they also bring colour
to the structure and contribute towards the
development of the schools identity.
 Dagenham Park Church 57
of England School

6 7

To ensure the building would meet the clients
needs and brief, both Laing ORourke and
AHMM worked extensively with the London
Borough of Barking and Dagenham as
well as the schools leadership team. To
enhance its brands recognition, the school
took an active role in selecting feature furniture
as well as in the design of the internal artwork
and graphics. The use of local contracting
organisations in this collaborative approach to
the project further strengthened the partnership
with stakeholders in the nearby area.
Simon Weaver, head teacher, said, Throughout
the design process, the team listened carefully
to what we said and worked tirelessly to help
us get this project off the ground and, through
engagement sessions, identified the key
drivers and aspirations of the teachers,
students and communities to deliver a building 8
that is not only fit for purpose but was also
built within budget.

But its not only the collaboration with

4, 6 and 8 The project team
worked closely with teachers, pupils
and the client throughout the design
development to understand their
needs. The result is a functional
and efficient structure instilled with
a distinctive sense of character
5, 7 and 9 A range of smart
technologies was incorporated, including
a high-performing building envelope
featuring solar control, mixed-mode
ventilation with heat recovery and a
rain-harvesting system
stakeholders that made the project a
pioneering effort. It also highlighted the
value of an increased level of communication
and collaboration between manufacturers
and designers, which is the main principle
behind DfMA.
James Eaton, head of pricing and digital
engineering at Laing ORourke, said, This
approach improves end-user confidence in
our delivery commitments. BIM and DfMA
allow us to give clients an accurate schedule
of installation right down to the day. The
delivery plan and what actually happens are
much more closely aligned.
Standard architecture
Dagenham Park Church of England School
could be the model against which other
school projects can be benchmarked to
prove definitively that spending less on
construction doesnt necessarily mean
building a substandard structure and providing
a less-than-ideal learning environment.
58 EEJ 2013 edition
One simply has to step inside the school to
see that standardisation and good architecture
can be compatible. Visitors find themselves in
the schools main social area a spacious,
full-height atrium filled with natural light where
the reception, library and cafeteria are located.
Look up and you see galleries on the first and
second floors, from which classrooms (which
sit along the buildings perimeter) are accessed.
Alan Clucas, head of business development
at Explore Industrial Park, said, Look at any
space, whether its a retail outlet or a high-rise
office, and youll see that the grids are repetitive
and can be standardised. This allows our
architectural partners to focus on the parts
where they want to add value and improve
the aesthetics.
DfMA and public sector projects
Another advantage of the DfMA approach to
public sector projects in particular lies in risk
mitigation take your average construction site
where traditional methods are in use, and then
consider the amount of reworking that would
be needed should anything go wrong. This is
exactly the type of waste that the Laing
ORourkes DfMA solution aims to remove.
Connecting the design and manufacturing
functions early on greatly reduces the likelihood
of something going wrong. The potential
problems that are highlighted in the process
can be corrected before it is too late and when
it is not so expensive to do so.
The design phase for the Dagenham Park
Church of England School project took
12 months throughout this period, the
12
DfMA
input of manufacturing specialists was sought 10
and Building Information Modeling (BIM) was
used to encourage collaboration with engineers
and identify the best way to improve and
streamline the manufacturing process.
Producing the buildings components in
controlled manufacturing conditions maximised
the quality while minimising waste. The concept
of waste elimination demonstrates the
significance of lean manufacturing principles in
DfMA. Streamlining the design process was
achieved by bringing together all the parties
involved in delivery, from manufacturing shop
floor specialists to engineers, architects and
11
clients. In other words, identifying what the
customer wanted early on, providing for a
cross-functional approach to project delivery
and seeing the whole value stream. Laing
ORourke has taken into account the entire
lifecycle of the building in its use of DfMA.
In line with the business strict targets, the team
put waste reduction at the heart of the project
throughout the design and construction phases
the goal was to minimise the impact on the
site as well as cutting material waste. This is
not just lean its also green, another important
credential clients are looking for these days,
alongside cost efficiency.
The London Borough of Barking and
Dagenham included a number of ambitious
sustainability targets in its brief, including an
emissions level of just 2kg CO2/sqm/year and
a BREEAM excellent rating for the site and
school building. James Eaton said, How a
project will be delivered is not always the first
10, 11 and 12 The schools unique identity reflects
its performing arts specialism and is the result of close
collaboration with staff and pupils to personalise the
interior design

consideration of a potential client. With
current economic uncertainties, budget and
programme are a much greater concern.
Standardisation contributes greatly to the
delivery of a construction process within
budget, but its not a new idea in Britain in
the 1800s hundreds of Victorian Board Schools
were built using a standardised approach.
Councils also need construction to be
completed as quickly as possible, as they
require schools to open in time for a new
academic year if they are to meet
education targets.
DfMA is revolutionising construction. This is
something that is increasingly being taken into
consideration by policymakers as the UK faces
the challenge of building 2,000 new primary
Dagenham Park Church 59
of England School
schools over the coming years to meet Steve Hearn became a project
the needs of its growing population. At the leader at the age of 30, and has
same time, the fact that the 2 billion Priority since overseen the delivery of
a number of highly successful
School Building programme has replaced the
developments including the
55 billion Building Schools for the Future design and construction of
programme puts cost savings in the spotlight. Dagenham Park Church of
England School. He is currently
Dagenham Park Church of England School not
project leader for Crossness
only represents an exemplary implementation of Water Treatment Works, London,
DfMA one that allowed for a speedy, safe and United Kingdom.
within-budget construction process but also
a new model that the construction industry
can embrace to respond to the unique
challenges the current economic landscape
presents it with.
60 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA
 Beckton and Crossness 61
Water Treatment Works

Client
Thames Water

Location
Beckton Water Treatment
Works, Beckton, London,
United Kingdom
Crossness Water Treatment
Works, Abbey Wood, London,
United Kingdom

Sector
Beckton and Crossness Water
Water Treatment Works
Completion
2014

Engineer
Hyder

On a clear day, a visitor to the viewing gallery of Londons

Shard might just make out the twin features of the
Beckton and Crossness Water Treatment Works sitting
on opposite banks of the River Thames just east of the
Thames Barrier. The current construction work on these
twin facilities represents part of the most significant upgrade
to Londons Victorian sewers since their creation in 1864.
Millions of people rely on them to treat the wastewater
from their homes. The plants also play a key role in the
ongoing protection and improvement of the River Thames Main contributors
and surrounding environment. Historically they have
Steve Hearn,
struggled to keep up with the demands of a city three times
the size that they were designed to serve. project leader
Crossness Water
The existing Victorian sewage system is the legacy of
engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgettes vision to radically improve
Treatment Works
sanitation and quality of life in London. It was designed to
carry sewage and rain water together, and to overflow into Mike Macleod,
the River Thames when the facilities reached capacity. The project leader
increased size of London today means that this overflow is Beckton Water
now happening more than once a week on average at sewer
overflow points along the river, including within central
Treatment Works
parts of London. Mixed with rainwater, this overflow now
comprises more than 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage
a year.
Thames Water has initiated the London Tideway
Improvements programme to address this problem and
build a new legacy for the capital. It consists of three major
engineering schemes which include upgrading Londons
five major sewage works, creating the Lee Tunnel and the
Thames Tunnel designed to prevent pollution entering
the Thames from 35 sewer overflow points along the river.
62 EEJ 2013 edition
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PLANT 04a
FM
FM
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PLANT 04b
FM
Building a new legacy
Beckton, on the north bank, is the largest
water treatment works in the UK, covering
an area of almost 1 million m2, equivalent to
136 football pitches. The current project will
expand its treatment capacity by 60% and
accommodate a 10% increase in population
by 2021. It will be able to fully treat increased
sewage flows due to heavy rainfall, preventing
the site from having to discharge partially-
treated sewage to the River Thames. The work
includes upgrading the existing plants and
constructing a new activated sludge plant
(ASP), incorporating six aeration tanks and
16 final settlement tanks (FST).
The expansion will also provide capacity for
the treatment of wastewater diverted from
sites currently experiencing significant overflow
that will arrive through the new 6.5km long
Lee Tunnel sewer as well as sewage from the
Thames Tunnel. This is a 32km sewer proposed
to be built to Beckton from West London, and
is currently in the public consultation phase of
application for permission to develop.
DfMA
ACTIVATED
SLUDGE PLANT 03
ACTIVATED
SLUDGE PLANT 04
ACTIVATED
SLUDGE PLANT 02
FM
RAW SLUDGE
TREATMENT
SURPLUS
ACTIVATED
SLUDGE
TREATMENT
FM
The expansion at Crossness, on the south bank
of the Thames, will see its treatment capacity
increase by 44%, which will accommodate a
6% increase in population by 2021. It includes
an overhaul of Crossness inlet works pumping
system, eight new primary sedimentation tanks
and, as at Beckton, new ASP aeration tanks
and FSTs.
Together these upgrades form the lynchpin
of Thames Waters 5 billion investment to
reduce the volume of sewage that currently
flows into the River Thames.
Partners for innovation
In 2009 Thames Water appointed Tamesis,
a 75:25 joint venture between Laing ORourke
and Dutch technical-services company Imtech
to upgrade the facilities and build new capacity
at both sites. The team won the project partly
thanks to an investment Tamesis made in
advance of the award to demonstrate that
DfMA could provide unique advantages in
terms of efficiency, safety and quality of work.
1 Overall site layout for Beckton showing process
routing for the new activated sludge plant

2 3
To prove that a DfMA approach could
deliver this project, Tamesis built a trial tank
and loaded it with water. The unique DfMA
twin wall construction which the Tamesis
team proposed using was developed by Laing
ORourkes Engineering Excellence Group by
a team led by Dr John Stehle. Laing ORourke
had used the system before on water-retaining
structures, but there were no examples of its
use in tank applications anywhere in the
world, or of its use at such a large scale for
water retention.
The client was very excited by the Tamesis
proposals for the use of DfMA and, following
the positive results of the demonstration,
challenged Tamesis to apply this approach
to other aspects of the project.
Using Laing ORourkes Explore Manufacturing
capability, Tamesis developed DfMA solutions
for the FSTs at both sewage plants, as well as
pioneering the use of DfMA for the ASP aeration
tanks at Beckton. Tamesis currently expects
that these innovations will enable it to deliver
the project ahead of schedule.
Nick Fawcett Thames Waters head of
programme delivery, told New Civil Engineer
magazine, One of the things were really
excited about at this site is that we have
been able to explore and showcase
construction innovation.
Beckton and Crossness 63
Water Treatment Works
Tamesis have also made major commitments 4
to DfMA at Crossness, using it for the factory-
produced elevated inlet works sections, and for
the walls of the FST, and the primary treatment
and aeration basins. This approach has
reduced the number of workers required on
site, while maintaining quality and increasing
site safety and construction reliability. This has
contributed to achieving a zero AFR (accident
frequency rate) to date on the project.
Fawcett said, By working closely with Tamesis,
weve adopted new ways of working, which
has meant weve saved time on the programme
and kept costs down. More importantly, weve 5
improved safety on-site.
2 New activated sludge plant at Beckton
consisting of 16 new final settlement tanks
and six new aeration lanes
3 Utilising the principals of DfMA, Abetong
panels are pre-assembled off-site and arrive
at site ready for installation by specialist teams
4 A site engineer ensures the panels are
installed to the required tolerances
5 Installation of the pre-assembled Abetong
panels is quicker than conventional in-situ
techniques, maintains consistent quality and
contributes to a safer site
64 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Proving the approach
In approaching the bid, the Tamesis partners
experience of DfMA informed a strong belief
that a DfMA approach using twin wall
construction could be beneficial to the Beckton
and Crossness projects. However, the stringent
performance criteria demanded by CESWI
the Civil Engineering Specification for the Water
Industry required crack widths to be limited
to 0.2mm and for the rate of leakage to be
less than a 10mm drop in water level in a
seven-day period. While the crack requirement
can be addressed through appropriate analysis
and detailing, leakage rates are more difficult
to predict theoretically. The team therefore
decided to conduct a full-scale leakage and
buildability test to assess the suitability of its
proposed approach.
A trial tank was constructed to assess leakage
performance and buildability of a variety of
joint details. The prototype was approximately
9m long by 3m wide by 8m tall. The panels
on one long face were constructed in a
vertical orientation, and on the other side
in a horizontal orientation.
The team discovered at an early stage that
a critical feature of the design was the ability
of vertical starter bars and horizontal splice
bars to transfer their loads to reinforcement
embedded in the pre-cast shells of the twin
wall element. Not only does an offset lap
occur that requires transverse reinforcement,
but the strength of the shear interface between
the pre-cast and in-situ elements also needed
to be assessed.
Such an assessment can usually be made
according to Eurocode specifications, but
because of some of the novel detailing and
uncertainty over the actual roughness of the
interface, additional small-scale testing was
conducted at Cardiff University and University
College London as part of an engineering
doctorate programme. The tests proved that
the Eurocode methodology was reliable for the
proposed approach, and the resulting design
included adequate provision of lattice girders
or stud reinforcement to serve both of these
functions. Through bolts were also deployed in
the trial, but post-grouting-over was considered
too onerous for site usage and an alternative
detail was developed.

6 DfMA principles in action. FST
construction at Crossness showing
pre-cast panels being assembled by a
specialist team, requiring fewer people
than the conventional approach
7 Aeration tank construction at
Beckton utilises a wide range of DfMA
components including twin wall,
pre-stressed baffle walls and pre-cast
concrete tie beams
The trial tank was completely filled with water
and leakage rates monitored. Some damp
patches and cracks were observed, but these
were within the acceptable criteria. Interestingly,
although half the tank was provided with water
bars at the base junction and the other half
was not, the extent of damp patches did not
correlate with the number of water bars. The
use of water bars did not seem to provide
any noticeable benefit. (They were however
incorporated in the design later.)
The drop in water level loss (corrected
for rainfall and evaporation) was less than
the 10mm criterion required over a seven-day
period after the tank had been filled for a month.
Design
The six DfMA aeration tanks at Beckton are
arranged in two sets of three that are each
40m wide by 80m long, with 8m-tall pre-cast
concrete twin walls. The aeration tank process
requires an approximately uniform linear
velocity flow, so a rectangular shape is required,
with internal baffle walls provided to effectively
lengthen the path of travel within each tank.
Beckton and Crossness 65
Water Treatment Works
Each bank of tanks has a total width of
approximately 120m. The total volume of
sewage to be contained is approximately
144,000m3 or 144 megalitres.
The original in-situ concrete tank design
in the project specification would have
required a 700mm wall at its base, tapering
to 525mm thick at its top. The need for such
a thick wall is due to the applied bending
moment, which for a cantilever varies
according to a cube of the water depth.
The alternative DfMA twin wall solution was
developed using the maximum overall wall
thickness of 400mm available from Explore
Manufacturing at the time. Clearly such a thin
wall would not work in cantilevering action, so
buttresses and tie beams were introduced into
the design not unlike those that support the
lateral thrust of arched cathedral roofs. With
this approach the wall effectively acts as a
propped cantilever and the peak bending
moment is reduced by more than 50%. This
efficient approach, which is better suited to
pre-cast construction than in-situ, allowed the
total volume of concrete in the structure to be
reduced by approximately 10%.
66 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Manufacture 8
Explore Manufacturing made the pre-cast
concrete twin wall panels, tie beams, walkway
units and baffle wall columns at its state-of-the-
art Explore Industrial Park in the English East
Midlands. The pre-cast Hollowcore planks that
formed the baffle walls were manufactured at
BISONs facility in Swadlincote, also in the
English East Midlands.
This was the first time that Explore had
manufactured twin wall panels with embedded
studs. During trial manufacture it found that
installation of both studs and lattice girders
within a single panel was difficult and costly.
Also, turning panels caused problems of
temporary stability as the shear stud
connectors did not provide significant racking
resistance in the temporary state. It was
therefore decided that horizontal panelisation
of the walls was the optimal approach where
studs were required. In this way the bottom
horizontal panel could consist solely of 100%
studs, and the upper panels of lattice girders.
Orienting the panels horizontally allowed them
to be stored, delivered, handled and installed in
the one orientation without the need for turning.
With regards to the roughness of the inside face
of the pre-cast panels, during trials it was found
that the roughening methodology deployed was
unreliable, particularly since the lattice girders/
studs were closely spaced and hence raking in
between was almost impossible. It was decided
to regard the interface between pre-cast and
in-situ as smooth in a design sense.
Assembly
The pre-cast planks were assembled on
site. Typically two twin wall panels weighing
approximately 12 tonnes each were delivered
per load. Push-pull props were used to align
and stabilise the elements in the temporary
condition. Careful set-out of the starter bars
was crucial to avoid any clashes with lattice
girders and studs in the panels. In this respect,
studs proved to be a better solution in areas
of high reinforcement congestion.
panels together. Mike Macleod, Tamesis He added, Pre-cast elements cost less, are
A significant amount of shuttering was still project director, Beckton, says that the speed quicker to install and require fewer people on
required for the joints, and the installation of installation far exceeded what could have site to install them. With concrete in particular,
of splice bars proved difficult at times, been achieved with an in-situ pour. DfMA is also more reliable in terms of quality
particularly at corner details where it was in a factory environment, concrete can cure
We can put all the walls up on a tank in one
almost impossible. However, lessons learned properly and harden, without some of the flaws
week, using only eight people, he said. The
from this mean that better details are currently you might get from in-situ pours in variable
majority of Becktons FSTs were erected
under development. weather conditions.
during winter, in weather conditions such
The concreting of the void between the as snow and rain that would have drastically Benefits
pre-cast biscuits forming the twin wall involved slowed or even stopped progress on in-situ The twin wall tank system has many
the use of a flowable concrete to ensure proper concrete pours. advantages. First, it is fast to erect. It reduces
compaction, and was staged so as to limit the overall time on the project, as well as risks of
Advantages for the ASP aeration tanks include
hydrostatic pressures to those permitted by injury because of reduced site activity.
health and safety benefits, with steel walkways
the pull-out strength of the lattice girder/stud Importantly, improved quality control gives the
for the tops of the tanks fitted at ground level
embedments that tie the biscuits together. client confidence in the long-term value of the
before the panels are erected. Had we used
approach. From a sustainability perspective
To ensure the FST tanks remain watertight once an in-situ pour, Macleod explained, we would
there is less waste and significantly less mess.
full, each panel joint was grouted and the walls have had people working at a height of around
post-tensioned with a system of steel cables eight metres to make the walkways.
other products on the market merely slot the

However, some challenges remain. A significant
amount of temporary works was still required.
Additionally, the scale of this work means that
many lessons have been learned along the
way and it is clear that some details require
further simplification.
Work is already under way to tackle these
challenges and improvements are now being
implemented on other water sector projects.
Legacy
The scale of the achievement that this
approach has provided to this project should
not be underestimated. Macleod said, This
is the first time this kind of DfMA solution for
aeration tanks has been applied, certainly in
Europe, if not the world.
Tamesis Crossness project director
Steve Hearn also emphasises the benefits
of collaboration between the Beckton and
Crossness project teams. Crossness started
six months ahead of Beckton, he said. A lot
of knowledge about the FSTs, for instance,
was transferred.
8 The pre-cast Abetong panels were manufactured
off-site at EIP, ensuring tight tolerances could be
achieved during assembly
9 A Final Settlement Tank goes through a water test
Beckton and Crossness 67
Water Treatment Works
Mark Wadsworth, operations director at Steve Hearn became
in-house Laing ORourke business, Expanded, a project leader at the age of
agrees. At Beckton, he said, we constructed 30, and has since overseen
the delivery of a number of highly
the second ASP aeration tank much quicker
successful developments
and more efficiently than the first, as we including the design and
developed the design and construction details. construction of Dagenham Park
These changes also enhanced productivity and Church of England School.
significantly reduced health and safety risks. He is currently project leader for
Crossness Water Treatment Works.
We believe the two projects have challenged
the thinking of our client, said Hearn. The Mike Macleod is project leader
innovative solutions we have delivered have for Beckton Water Treatment Works,
changed not just Thames Waters projects at and specialises in the delivery of
concrete sub and superstructures.
Crossness and Beckton, but also the projects
Previous experience includes
they will deliver in the future. This is a really
Heathrow T2A and Pan Peninsula,
exciting time to be in the water sector as we
the tallest residential development
strive to deliver safer and more efficient projects in Europe at the time of construction.
DfMA solutions are a key enabler of that.
68 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA
 Brisbane Airport and Gold Coast 69
University Hospital Car Parks

Project name
a. Brisbane Airport Car Park
b. Gold Coast University
Hospital Car Park

Location
a. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
b. Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Sector
Transport

Brisbane Airport and Gold Coast Completion

a. April 2012
University Hospital Car Parks b. Dec 2012

Architect
a. Hassell
b. Conrad Gargett

Engineer
a. Arup
b. Robert Bird

Floor Area
a. 157,500m2
b. 70,000m2

Capacity
a. 5,250 cars
b. 2,300 cars

Storeys
a. 9
b. 7

Main contributors
John McLindon,
project leader
Brisbane Airport
A pair of car parks in Queensland demonstrate a new
approach to the design and delivery of such projects.
multi-level car park
Laing ORourke first delivered a massive multi-level car park
at Brisbane Airport, and then took the lessons it had learned Robert Fleming,
and refined them further on the car park at Gold Coast project leader
University Hospital. Gold Coast University
The new multi-level car park (MLCP) at Brisbane Airport Hospital, multi-level
is big. Very big. At 157,500m2 and with a capacity for car park
5,250 cars over nine levels, it is one of the largest free-
standing structures in the southern hemisphere. Adding
to the scale and complexity of the project was the
integration into the faade of arguably Australias biggest
piece of public art and the incorporation of technologically
advanced operating systems.
70 EEJ 2013 edition
1 2
The A$129 million project for the Brisbane
Airport Corporation, which completed last year,
required daily liaison and co-ordination between
those involved. With more than 33,000 people
travelling through the construction site every
day to get to the busy domestic terminal, it
was essential both to ensure the safety of
passengers and to allow the airport to continue
to operate efficiently while adhering to the
construction schedule.
Construction of the structure, services, fit-out
and faade works took place on several floors
at once for maximum speed. This approach
allowed a progressive handover of the car park
to the client while work continued on the
remaining structure overhead and on the
perimeter roads.
Engineering excellence
Laing ORourke had a leading design role
on the project. It worked in collaboration
with the architect and structural and civil
engineers, taking overall responsibility for the
design of the structure, with significant input
from the Engineering Excellence Group.
The engineering direction of the Brisbane
MLCP was central to our win strategy for the
project. We focused on reducing concrete
volume and rebar tonnage and introduced
pre-cast elements, said Lindsay McGibbon,
area manager north. The design strategies
linked to the novel use of various construction
methodologies undoubtedly secured us the
project against some very stiff competition.
The structure was entirely redesigned post-
tender, enabling reduction of dead weight by
approximately 10% compared with the original
design. A new piling solution allowed the team
to reduce the pile numbers from five to three
DfMA
at typical pile caps. Static load testing verified 1 Brisbane Airport MLCP occupies 157,500m2,
this alternative design. providing 5,250 car spaces over nine levels and is
one of the largest free-standing structures in the
The tender design specified tie beams to southern hemisphere
restrain all pile caps because the bearing 2 Vertical foot travel is served by 12 lifts and
pressure was less than the 250kPa (AS1170.4) 10 travelators
requirement, said Doug Russell, project 3 & 4 Bright, clear wayfinding and car park
manager building north. However, we management systems enhance efficiency and help
challenged this requirement and our approach users easily orientate themselves in this complex
to omit the tie beams was verified by nine-storey structure
independent experts. The realised savings
have been significant.
Systems integration
The integration of car parking technology and
management systems was a major issue,
especially when tying new systems into existing
infrastructure. Comprising a number of discrete
systems, which build on the basic vehicular
entry/exit control system, the solution has
been designed to significantly enhance the
operational efficiency and reporting of the car
park. These systems have the flexibility to be
integrated or act individually, depending on the
degree of sophistication and control required.
The vehicular entry/exit control, which
comprises boom gates, entry and exit stations,
pay stations and central processor/workstations
is the basic building block. From there the key
consideration is the number and location of
the operators.
Most systems offer the ability to transfer
operations to a remote site, allowing the car
park to be controlled off-site. Whilst this is
useful for periods of relative inactivity, it can be
a common source of frustration for customers.
But it is an issue which can be mitigated by
integrating airport security office and operator
system interfaces.

Where remote control is anticipated, the
experience is assisted by CCTV images which
can also be shared with the remote site,
Russell says. Consideration also needs to be
given to the ability to negotiate communications
fire walls, network speed and compatibility of
software at the remote location.
The car park management system at Brisbane
can be extended to control and manage other
transportation systems at the airport, including
ground transport operations coaches, taxis,
limousines, public drop-off and pick-up, hire
call drop-off and more.
The choice of intercom system was another key
consideration as it needed to interface with the
airport telephone system and two-way radio
system, the latter typically being used by
ground staff enforcing parking/drop-off and
ground transport operations, which includes
management and interfaces around public
transport, taxis, buses and customers traffic.
Technology enhancements
To streamline operations and facilitate
automation of the process a number of
technology enhancements were implemented.
An automatic number plate recognition system
(ANPR) allows transactions to be matched to
the vehicle. This enables operators to search
and identify vehicles via the number plate and
accurately reconcile lost tickets. It allows
automatic operation of the boom gates for
authorised traffic, matching plates against a
database, making it possible to identify all
vehicles of interest, as well as staff cars.
Access control card readers for staff interface
with the management system. This can also
be used in conjunction with the ANPR system
to verify the cars. To prevent inappropriate
operations, there is an anti-passback control.
Smoothing the process for customers is of
paramount importance. Bay availability
indication, complete with interactive signage
with directions to vacant bays, saves time and
inconvenience. This system can also provide
a check on occupancy, validating the count
provided on the entry/exit system, and can
track the utilisation of preferred bays. This
information can then help rationalise tariffs
and enforce timed parking. In addition, video
analytics can allow misplaced cars in the large
building to be found, potentially generating an
Brisbane Airport and Gold Coast 71
University Hospital Car Parks
additional revenue stream and enhancing the
customer experience.
The advanced CCTV system monitors
pedestrian/vehicular points of conflict,
intersections and sensitive areas, such as
moving walkways, escalators and lifts. Video
analytics, again, can be used to provide
automatic enforcement of bays and monitor
direction of vehicle movement. An alert, via
SMS message, lets enforcement operators
know if a car is parked or driven incorrectly.
Keeping this all together, the backbone
communications system required to facilitate
integration and support of the technology, is
critical. The design of the cable network
incorporating redundant and divergent paths
allows uninterrupted operations following
component failure.
Kinetic art
Visually, the most striking element is
undoubtedly the kinetic art faade system
designed by acclaimed artist Ned Kahn, which,
as referenced in the design intent report, was
to suggest a fragment of wind-swept grassland
that has been tilted in a vertical plane.
72 EEJ 2013 edition
To achieve this effect some 177,643 individual
panels, each designed to freely swing in the
breeze, make up the 5,000m2 faade mounted
on nearly 400 frames. Add to this 21 kilometres
of rail extrusions for hanging the panels and
14 custom aluminium extrusions for the faade
framing and you have an intensely complex
design and installation process, requiring
significant collaboration with the artist during
construction.
From both a design and construction
perspective, facilitating ventilation requirements
and accommodating the stringent tolerances
for hanging the faade from the car park
perimeter crash rail and balustrade system
was crucial.
The installation equipment was designed to
enable the faade to be installed from the
inside of the car park structure. This allowed the
Laing ORourke team to work on the adjacent
road and landscape while the faade was going
up, saving time.
The completed project is a striking addition
to Queenslands public infrastructure and
an integral part of Airport 2020 Brisbane
Airports strategic growth plan, said McGibbon.
The end product, provides us with the
foundation for a very successful business
model going forwards with one of the most
complex and highly integrated controls,
ticketing, payment and CCTV systems of
any car park we have installed.
Transferring knowledge
But McGibbon admits that the team saw
room for improvement going into the next
project. The final analysis of the project, for
a range of reasons, provided us with food for
consideration, he said. Our proposition for
the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH)
car park was to examine the design and
6 7
DfMA
engineering issues holistically in a more 5
multi-disciplinary way. We focused on
formwork strike rate, designed deflections
and considered resilient design relative to
tolerances. This meant designing the structure
to have more flexibility around back propping,
to strike props early and free up lower level
space for the installation of the faade by
significantly reducing the complexity of the
design. This allowed for a regular, resilient and
reliable delivery programme with security of
interface to the follow-on trades.
Although the design of the Brisbane Airport construction required management of multiple
car park frame was innovative, McGibbon interface issues and multiple key stakeholders,
believes that the consequences for the including Queensland Health, Lend Lease,
follow-on trades could have been improved. DTMR and Goldlink (the Gold Coast Light Rail
PPP Consortium), whilst respecting the different
The kinetic faade ultimately imposed load
safety and environmental regimes. Despite
on the structure through accurately placed
significant time pressures due to adverse
steel cantilevers (all core drilled in-situ), he
weather, a complex design approvals process
said. The tolerance associated with this
and other delays, Laing ORourke delivered a
placement and deflection exacerbated
well-designed quality product on time without
the design complexity. This was further
additional cost to the client.
complicated by the faade bridging a flexible
deck to stiff cores interface, he said. The overall project, including design,
construction and commissioning, was managed
The designer briefing for GCUH therefore
efficiently and effectively by Laing ORourke,
considered the benefits and the lessons learned
said Don Glynn, GCUHs project director.
from Brisbane Airport. The team had a greater
influence on the design and considered the The design consultation process with Gold
construction solutions and potential issues Coast City Council was particularly well
further in advance. managed and this greatly assisted the
stakeholder engagement process that
On GCUH we designed the faade element
Queensland Health implemented and
to a uniform structural mode. We also designed
endorsed for the project.
the system to be erected from within the
building and to accommodate the tolerances He continued, The Laing ORourke on-site
of the frame, said McGibbon. project leader, Robert Fleming, managed
the interface requirements with the GCUH
The car park project consists of 2,300 spaces,
managing contractor and engaged fully with
and includes retail and support areas for the
the Queensland Health team throughout
adjacent A$1.76 billion Gold Coast University
the process.
Hospital (GCUH). Access and egress for
5 Natural ventilation of the open-deck car park was
achieved by allowing air to flow through the building
envelope, whilst providing a striking addition to the
built environment
6 A dramatic artwork by artist Ned Kahn depicting
wind-swept grassland, consisting of 177,643 individual
aluminium panels and covering 5,000m2, provides an
attractive backdrop for the airport
7 Faade panels comprise 1,100 powder coated
aluminium panels and a mix of louvres, pressed
panels, slats and expended mesh elements
 Brisbane Airport and Gold Coast 73
University Hospital Car Parks

NOTE: ENSURE NO GAPS AROUND C L D E O

SCREEN PANELS / AND INSIDE
PANELS TO EXCEED 125mm.

8 9
ENSURE GAP BETWEEN SLAB & CONCRETE COLUMN BEYOND
SCREEN DOES NOT EXCEED
125mm. LINE UP WITH OTHER 50 2600N OM. 50
SCREEN TYPES WHERE POSSIBLE

LEVEL 4 LEVEL 3 LOWER GROUND LEVEL 3

33780 30930 19530 30930
LEVEL 3

50

50
POWDERCOATED ALUMINIUM COWL 30930

FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A BAND BEAMS TAPERED

FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A AT ENDS BEYOND
BAND BEAM TAPERED
AT ENDS BEYOND
WEBFORGE PANELS
(VERTICAL BLADES) FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A
FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A WEBFORGE PANELS
(VERTICAL BLADES)

SCR2a
FIXED TO TOP OF CONC.

1640
BLOCK T.B.A
POWDERCOATED
ALUMINIUM LOUVERS ON
STRUCTURAL STEEL FRAME FULLY FILLED CONC.
BLOCK BUNDING
2750

POWDERCOATED

2800
290mm FROM SLAB ALUMINIUM LOUVRES
EDGE WHERE AT
A CARBAY U.N.O. ON STRUCTURAL
STEEL FRAME
290
565 GROUND LEVEL.
VARIES ALONG
ELEVATION.
AISLE
WATERPROOFING

1000
FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A
CB-1 MEMBRANE SHOWN CB-1
DASHED FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A
50
PARKING BAY PARKING BAY
25
LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2 BASEMENT LEVEL 2
30930 28080 16680 28080
ENSURE GAP BETWEEN SLAB & LEVEL 2

50
SCREEN DOES NOT EXCEED
125mm. LINE UP WITH OTHER
SCREEN TYPES WHERE POSSIBLE
28080

CONCRETE SLAB
CONCRETE SLAB
CONCRETE SLAB
FIXING TO SLAB T.B.A 1
6010050

WIREMESH ON
STRUCTURAL
STEEL FRAME

1 TYPICAL SCREEN SECTION DETAIL - SCR1 2 TYPICAL SCREEN SECTION DETAIL - SCR2 3 SCREEN TYPE SCR2a 4 TYPICAL SCREEN SEC
1 : 20 1 : 20 1 : 20 1 : 20
Early contractor involvement in the design
50 2600 NOM. 50
enabled us to successfully manage up to 10
2

process ensured that the faade could be 4,000m2 per week, despite a severely 6010050

fabricated and installed safely and efficiently. constrained site, with only one key workface
REFER TO BUILDING 4
ELEVATIONS FOR
LEVEL 3 LEVEL 3 LOWER GROUND DIFFERENT PATTERNS/ 60100
VARIATIONS OF SCR3
30930 30930 19530 SCREENS AND THEIR

Working with a specialist faade contractor providing considerable interface and logistical

190
LOCATIONS

and faade engineer, the Laing ORourke team issues. This was quite an achievement.
50

60
ALUMINIUM

helped design a modular faade panel with VERTICAL

BLADES
ALUMINIUM
GRILLES WITH

He noted that construction and movement

ALUMINIUM HORIZONTAL
VERTICAL BLADES BLADES.

simplified fixings to provide a cost effective

LOCATIONS ON
PANEL VARY.

tolerances had a significant impact on the

REFER TO
BUILDING

SCR2a
1640
and safe system, which significantly improved
ELEVATIONS
FOR

design solution and were a major factor in the

LOCATIONS.

the installation process.

faade; especially a custom/art feature faade
POWDERCOATED
ALUMINIUM LOUVRES
ON STRUCTURAL

The crash rail system was a proprietary system, like the one at Brisbane Airport.
STEEL FRAME
2800

not a project-specific engineered system, 50 VARIES 50

Engagement with the car park operator and
CRASH BARRIER
BEHIND CONCRETE

saving both cost and time in installation and BLOCK

RETAINING

the rest of the supply chain can increase value

WALL

allowing more efficient coordination of fixings 8 By embedding buildability expertise in the design
1000

engineering opportunities, Russell believes process, the panels and fixings were engineered
with the structure and post tensioning
Input
LEVEL 2 from the operator may seem obviousBASEMENT to provide a fast and cost effective installation
requirements.
LEVEL 2 LEVEL 4
28080
but
28080
their early involvement throughout the 16680 methodology to be incorporated in the design33780
of panel
50

The design and construction outcomes design lifecycle provides invaluable information shapes and sizes, and in the detailing of fixings
3
6010050

went beyond client expectations. 6010050 in terms of understanding how the car park
50 60 50
9 A detailed understanding of building tolerances 50 1800
NOTE: SCR2a IS ON
In terms of approach, I found the senior ultimately needs to operate effectively, he said.
A 1000mm HIGH
CONCRETE BLOCK
VARIES
allowed the faade to be designed to accommodate
management and on-site team to be practical, WIREMESH ON
STRUCTURAL
BUNDING WALL
the cyclic loading of slabs and the movement imposed
6 We would definitely
VIEWadvocate the operator
STEEL FRAME
by post tensioned slabs 8 SCR3 ELEVATION VIEW
5 SCR1 ELEVATION
knowledgeable andVIEW
outcome-focused in SCR2 ELEVATION 7 SCR2a ELEVATION VIEW 1 : 20
1 : 20
supplying, installing and commissioning the
1 : 20 1 : 20

10 The clever dissection of the faade into differing

achieving a state of the art project, said Scott
car park systems, for example. elements visually reduces the scale of the large,
Anderson, development manager for SurePark
70,000m2 structure
Pty Ltd. Over and above the normal design Other key lessons learned include the
and construction requirements, Laing ORourke importance of maximising off-site fabrication,
also assisted SurePark in successfully which provided major benefits in reduced site John McLindon has worked for
Laing ORourke for 18 years in
transferring the ownership of the asset, resources, time/programme benefits and
both the UK and Australia. During
a task which required a significant amount quality. The use of pre-cast stairs, for example, this time he has achieved an
of time and due diligence. helped eliminate the risk of tread tolerance outstanding track record in project
associated with in-situ construction. leadership. Previous projects
Design and construction synergy
include the construction of a
Project manager Doug Russell believes that The GCUH car park was delivered with a nuclear storage facility at Sellafield
synergy between the design and construction fantastic safety record, by the due date, to a in Cumbria and Brisbane Airport
is critical so that methodologies, systems great standard and with increased profitability Multi-Level Car Park.
and techniques are effectively integrated into aided by learning from Brisbane airport.
the design. Reliability through design to my mind is Robert Fleming is an
engineering excellence, says McGibbon. accomplished project leader, with
Early involvement in design by the over 25 years industry experience.
construction delivery team is critical to achieve He has a particular interest in the
successful outcomes, he said. Designing benefits of integrated design and
for constructability maximises efficiency and delivery, and has been involved
production. At MLCP Brisbane airport, we in the development of a number
achieved 2,700m2/week for the structural frame of new off-site construction
methodologies.
delivery. At GCUH car park west, this approach
74 EEJ 2013 edition DfMA

Engineering
Excellence
Group
The challenges that face our industry will require a
collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach if we are to
resolve them and the EnEx.Gs mandate is to be a catalyst
for this.
Bringing together some of industrys and academias
most respected authorities, its principal role is to drive
our innovation agenda, creating competitive advantage
through the delivery of superior engineering strategies.
This unique in-house consultancy integrates seamlessly with
clients, partners and project teams, examining challenges
from new angles and seeking out transferable solutions from
other sectors. It also participates in collaborative research
and development projects through the Laing ORourke
centres sited at our partnering universities.
To drive ongoing development, key staff rotate through
the EnEx.G. This provides young engineers with specialist
insight, while giving experienced project personnel the
opportunity to convert their site-acquired knowledge into
future innovation.
Led by experts from key engineering disciplines including
heavy civils, structural, mechanical, electrical, electronic,
chemical process and manufacturing, the EnEx.G has four
primary roles: external advisory, internal consultancy,
research and development, and education.
External advisory
As trusted engineering advisers, the EnEx.G offers existing
and prospective clients innovative solutions to specific
challenges. This is a collaborative and complementary
service. It generates goodwill and loyalty from customers,
It also participates in research and development
programmes through our partnerships with leading
academic institutions. This is complemented by our more
conventional commercially focused in-house research and
development capability.
Laing ORourke also engages with universities in other
countries where we operate. The role of the EnEx.G is
to interact with these institutions and support research
projects, ensuring they are adding value to our activities,
while enabling the development of sophisticated and
enlightened industry professionals.
Education
The EnEx.G participates in Laing ORourkes existing
education networks and leads the development of new
relationships. Acting as thought leaders, it supports the
creation of stimulating education and training programmes
to inspire and equip the next generation to be more radical
in advancing our innovation agenda. This approach builds on
the platforms that Laing ORourke has established with our
partner universities. The EnEx.G is also involved with internal
talent development programmes, such as Young Guns and
Guns, building skills that will develop tomorrows leaders.
Inter
ry na
iso lc
on
dv rtners
Eng
ine
er
pa f engineering adv i ng
a

Chie
su

i se
s
al

our supply chain, delivery partners, governments and r

ern

lta
ie

co
log

others, including charities and not-for-profit organisations.

ns

ncy
no
Ext

u lt

It also allows us to seek out some of the most pressing

l
ica
h

ant
St
hem
Tec

matters facing our industry and bring together teams of

ruc

s
s/ c

collaborators to solve them.

tu
ral
Proces

Internal consultancy
The EnEx.G is an intellectual resource for Laing ORourkes
design and delivery businesses. Its expertise covers
Unive rsity p

benchmark design, manufacturing and construction

rovi ion
ders

processes and troubleshooting operational issues. It

ent
s p truct
ut co als

provides thought leadership to help win major new projects

Civ

ri
ate

ion ns

m
ils
a rt

through alternative approaches. It also responds to technical

M

ne

lop

issues that arise on existing projects, bringing the best

o l ba l

rs h

Ed

engineering knowledge to bear in solving them. In all cases, s

lo

G s
ve

l
ip

Ele
ctrica ica
uc

the emphasis is on innovation. l and mechan

tio
de

d
a

Innovation: research and development n Rese

arch institutions an
h
arc
Internally, the EnEx.G manages Laing ORourkes research
agenda, spearheading our ambition to innovate across our
target sectors and markets. This includes expanding our
Rese
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) capabilities.

Futures
In this feature we talk to
the engineering leaders
of tomorrow about what
inspires them.
Chris McKinstray received a law degree before
studying mechanical engineering, and began
his engineering career at Arup. His diverse
background has provided him with a unique
perspective on projects, combining commercial
savvy with technical expertise and a keen eye
for the bigger picture.
His award-winning work has included the
Olympic Velodrome, the V&A museum in
Dundee and the European Supergrid. His
unique perspective is proving to be a winning
combination, leading to his acceptance onto
the Laing ORourke sponsored Master of
Studies in Construction Engineering at the
University of Cambridge.
His research at Cambridge focuses on energy
futures, the decarbonisation of the power
sector and increased interconnection through
the European Supergrid.
EEJ What, to you, is the best aspect of the
University of Cambridge masters programme?
Chris The opportunity to meet, engage with
and question thought leaders from the full
gamut of sectors within the industry. The course
allows you to challenge widely held beliefs and
see first hand how those at the highest levels
are dealing with some of the greatest challenges
we face. It is an unparalleled opportunity to
condense years of multi-sector knowledge into
a two year masters degree.
EEJ What do you think is the most exciting
trend in modern engineering?
Chris Integration and interconnection across
all sectors. The benefits being more profitable
projects that minimise resource waste, increase
efficiency and reduce green house gas
emissions. One of the most exciting trends is
the opportunity for engineers to once again
75
An interview with
Chris J McKinstray
University of Cambridge,
Construction Engineering
Masters Programme
take a leading role in solving some of societys EEJ What is your dream role/project?
greatest challenges, which can only help
Chris A strategic role aligning key
enhance the prestige of our profession.
stakeholders, hopefully focused on large-scale
There will also be strong opportunities to realise infrastructure and utilities projects, particularly
the full benefits of DfMA and 3D printing, in the energy sector. There is a huge amount
particularly with regard to large-scale of work to be done to address the delicate
infrastructure projects, which play a vital role balance between affordability, security of
in stimulating economies. This is something supply, fuel poverty and the long-term move
we desperately need in the current climate. towards more energy-efficient pathways.
I would love to play a part in this and work
EEJ You are cross-disciplinary (law
toward developing strategies that effect
and engineering). Does this give you an
positive and beneficial change in society,
edge on collaborative projects like the
no matter how small.
European Supergrid?
EEJ You mentioned being paired with a great
Chris I believe that engineering shouldnt
mentor at Cambridge. Who is this, and how
be limited to or considered as a purely technical
have they helped guide you in this stage of your
career. Law is a subject that impacts on all
career development?
aspects of life and having that background has
helped me to take a more holistic approach to Chris At the start of the course I was paired
work, rather than just focusing on the technical with Dr. Azad Camyab, who has helped to steer
aspects of engineering. It certainly helped in my thoughts and feed my interest in the energy
my risk appraisal of the European Supergrid, sector. It has been a great partnership. We have
which looked at the political, regulatory, presented conference papers internationally
social and economic viewpoints of this and were recently highly commended in Vienna
awe-inspiring project. at the Power-Gen Europe conference. We share
similar views of the industry and appreciate the
EEJ Who inspires you?
particular technical, political, commercial and
Chris Other than my parents, I admire financial risks/nuances that exist.
Fujio Cho, the former chairman of Toyota, for
his leadership style. When Toyota became
the third largest car manufacturer in the world,
rather than take praise for the success of the
company and sit back content, he decided they
couldnt stop there. Cho wanted to put Toyota
at the forefront during his time, and he certainly
did that. There is so much to learn from his
approach. We live in a society driven by
We have to work on the
innovation and can no longer afford to have a basis that change is the
reactive approach. In our industry, we have to
work on the basis that change is the norm, as
norm, as opposed to
opposed to the exception. the exception.
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