An official ‘kettle switching on’ ceremony has been held by Independent Connections Provider Matrix Networks, to mark the completion of its utility infrastructure works at the SEGRO Logistics Park in East Midlands Gateway, at M1 Junction 24. Attending the event were key project personnel from Matrix Networks, Independent Distribution Network
Today, HS2 set out plans to deliver a ‘green corridor’ consisting of new wildlife habitats, native woodlands and community spaces to help integrate the new line into its surrounding landscape and environment. The scale of planned works will be largest ever undertaken by an infrastructure project in the UK, with
Thames Water’s directors were found to not have enough oversight and control of the company’s leakage performance, with the company losing approximately 25% of all water that it treats and puts into its system. For its mistakes, Thames Water agreed to pay £65 million back to customers on top of
GRAHAM’s rail teams worked around the clock over the Bank Holiday weekend to deliver crucial upgrades to South East London’s rail network. The essential bridge replacements and supplementary works took place under abnormal track possessions at Bellenden Road Underbridge (Southwark) and Westdown Road Underbridge (Lewisham). Both projects involved the replacement
A former environmental consultancy from Preston has rebranded as 52M Consulting and relaunched to provide a range of stakeholder engagement services in support of ‘controversial’ yet critical infrastructure developments. Managing director, Lee Petts, said: “There were over 11,000 Town and Country planning appeals decided in England during 2016 and 2017.
R&M explains the new generation of Power over Ethernet (PoE) / Avoiding cable temperature increases / PoE calculator aids network planning / Tips for product selection and installation Wetzikon, London, September 8, 2015. R&M, the globally active Swiss developer and provider of cabling systems for high-end, powerful network infrastructures, is
An official ‘kettle switching on’ ceremony has been held by Independent Connections Provider Matrix Networks, to mark the completion of its utility infrastructure works at the SEGRO Logistics Park in East Midlands Gateway, at M1 Junction 24. Attending the event were key project personnel from Matrix Networks, Independent Distribution Network Operator UK Power Distribution, as well as development directors from Roxhill and SEGRO. The official task of boiling the kettle to prove the electricity connection was fully up and running was carried out by Roxhill Senior Development Director, kate Bedson. The multi-utility project, designed and installed by the Warrington-based business to provide power, heat and water for the 700-acre development, was delivered on budget and ahead of schedule. Over the past 12 months, Matrix Networks has worked to excavate a 12.5 km route to the nearest Western Power Distribution connection point – the furthest distance the Company has ever had to negotiate. It has also designed, installed and commissioned a new 33/11kV primary substation to supply 28MVA; designed, installed and commissioned the on-site 11kV infrastructure with secondary substation to supply on-street lighting; and provided a medium pressure gas main and a water main. “SEGRO Logistics Park – East Midlands Gateway is a significant project both regionally and nationally. From our initial conversations around contract and design, through to installation and ‘power on’, I’m proud of the professionalism, commitment and passion the Matrix Networks team has shown. Throughout the project, we’ve worked to respect the wishes of our client and have delivered our brief ahead of schedule, without risk to them and on budget. We aim to exceed our customers’ expectations through uncompromised service and delivery, and I hope through bringing this development to life, we’ve achieved that,” said Matrix Network Managing Director, Rob Sparkes. Matrix Networks was appointed for this development by Roxhill due to their long-standing relationship and its past success on multi-utility contracts. “Today’s site visit marked a significant milestone for the site. Our thanks go to all at Matrix Networks who have worked so incredibly hard over the past 12 months and beyond, to provide the connections we need. This was a complex, detailed brief to deliver which wouldn’t have been achieved so proficiently without the commitment of their expert team,” said Senior Development Director, Kate Bedson.
Today, HS2 set out plans to deliver a ‘green corridor’ consisting of new wildlife habitats, native woodlands and community spaces to help integrate the new line into its surrounding landscape and environment. The scale of planned works will be largest ever undertaken by an infrastructure project in the UK, with a network of environmental projects stretching from London to the North of England. Along the Phase One route, which covers 216km from London to the West Midlands, the green corridor will encompass: 7 million new trees and shrubs, including over 40 native species, specific to each location. The new native woodlands will cover over 9 square kilometres of land. Over 33 square kilometres of new and existing wildlife habitat – equating to an area the size of 4,600 football pitches. That’s an increase of around 30% compared to what’s there now. Tailor-made homes for wildlife, ranging from bat houses to 226 new ponds for great crested newts and other amphibians. Earthworks and landscaping which will re-use around 90% of the material excavated during construction. The potential to support community projects and develop amenity spaces such as access routes, public parks, open spaces and nature reserves. Work on the pioneering initiative is expected to set new standards for how Britain and the rest of Europe builds the next generation of major infrastructure projects. As the corridor is being delivered, HS2 is encouraging local people and organisations to get involved in everything from landscape design to tree planting. This includes supporting local environmental projects through its various community funds. In a related announcement today, the Government confirmed a £2 million extension to the HS2 Woodland Fund, so it can cover Phase 2a of the railway, from the West Midlands to Crewe. The fund is designed to help landowners near to the route directly create new native, broadleaf woodlands and restore existing ancient woodland sites. This is in addition to the extensive green corridor plans and community funds that are already in place along the wider route. Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd said: “Alongside improving connectivity, boosting the economy and unlocking new jobs and opportunities, I’m determined to ensure that HS2 also works for the environment and local communities. “This starts by doing everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint and minimise the expected impact of our construction work. Longer-term, we’ll be leaving behind a network of new wildlife habitats, woodlands, and community spaces, helping to create a lasting legacy along the route. “We’ve already got to work by supporting a range of community projects and creating a series of new habitats, including planting over 230,000 trees so far. We’ll be calling on local people and organisations to get involved as the green corridor starts to take shape” Nusrat Ghani, HS2 Minister, said: “Our unique and beautiful countryside is one of our nation’s greatest assets. As we deliver the new high speed railway our country needs, for economic growth and better journeys for passengers, it is imperative we set a new standard for preserving, protecting and enhancing our diverse woodlands and wildlife. “HS2’s green corridor is one of the most significant tree-planting and habitat creation projects ever undertaken in this country. To support that vision, the government is providing an additional £2 million for the Woodland Fund, to support native species and help more people enjoy more new green spaces than before.” The appearance of the green corridor will be tailored to the surrounding environment, with native tree species used to ensure that the new woodlands reflect the unique landscape and ecology of the different regions the line passes through. As the corridor is gradually delivered, HS2 is encouraging local people and organisations to get involved. This includes supporting local environmental projects, through its various funds including the £45m Community & Environment Fund and Business & Local Economy Fund. Full details are covered in HS2’s official ‘More Than a Railway’ booklet and animation – both published on its website today.
Thames Water’s directors were found to not have enough oversight and control of the company’s leakage performance, with the company losing approximately 25% of all water that it treats and puts into its system. For its mistakes, Thames Water agreed to pay £65 million back to customers on top of £55 million in automatic penalties leakage. Moreover, the company has committed to getting its leakage performance back in line with what it has previously promised it will deliver for its customers in 2019-2020. It will publish its performance each month in tackling leaks, appoint an independent monitor to certify the information in its monthly leakage reports and make addition reductions of 15% by 2025. “High leakage creates unnecessary strain on the environment, excess costs for customers and increased risk of water shortages. A well-run water company will have a good understanding of the condition of its pipes and will be able to reduce leakage over time. Ofwat has set all water companies a target of bringing down leakage by at least another 15% up to 2025 and expects further reductions beyond this date. Thames has assured us that they now have a grip on the leakage situation, but this should serve as a catalyst for the company to improve how it delivers on its wider commitments to customers,” said Ofwat chief executive, Rachel Fletcher. Thames Water will be now investing record amounts in personnel and infrastructure to find and fix leakage, including using the latest technology. However, the company pointed out that big water companies are in no better of a situation, with United Utilities having leakage rates of 25%, Severn Trent of 23% and Yorkshire Water of 23% as well. “Reducing leakage is really important to us and to our customers. We met our leakage targets for a decade but our recent performance has not been good enough. We let our customers down and for that we’re sorry. We have taken more control of how we manage the network and are investing significantly more in people and resources to tackle leakage, get back on track and then go beyond. Thanks to these changes already in place, our current leakage repair performance is our best ever at around 1,000 a week,” said Steve Robertson, Thames Water chief executive.
GRAHAM’s rail teams worked around the clock over the Bank Holiday weekend to deliver crucial upgrades to South East London’s rail network. The essential bridge replacements and supplementary works took place under abnormal track possessions at Bellenden Road Underbridge (Southwark) and Westdown Road Underbridge (Lewisham). Both projects involved the replacement and reinstatement of two underbridges within a restricted 72-hour rail possession. The railway closures began at 01:20 on Saturday 26th May and finished at 04:00 on Tuesday 29th May. The bridges carry National Rail, London Overground and Thameslink commuter services, as well as providing a busy thoroughfare for railway freight services. The works were part of Network Rail’s overall £78m investment in key asset maintenance and upgrades to more than 600 infrastructure schemes throughout the country. Successful completion Commenting on the successful completion of the bridge projects, Leo Martin, GRAHAM’s Managing Director – Civil Engineering, stated: “Both schemes underline the technical expertise of our staff and supply chain, and their ability to deliver complex rail projects safely and to the highest standards within possession constraints. “When working in these challenging rail conditions, safe and timely project delivery is only possible through close collaboration between ourselves, Network Rail, our supply chain partners and stakeholders. This was a real team effort and everyone pulled together to ensure the successful completion of these projects.” Works As part of the Bellenden Road Underbridge upgrade, the GRAHAM team replaced the existing 12m single span deck with two new Network Rail standard U decks, which were 66t each. The Westdown Road Underbridge project also centred on the replacement of the existing 12.5m bridge with two new Network Rail standard U decks, which were 74t each. It included the replacement of new station platforms. Both projects featured propping to restrain the existing abutments from potential overturning, the removal of tracks and ballast, the demolition of the existing bridge and the installation of the new superstructure decks. New pre-cast concrete cill slabs were placed at each location. Additionally, the reinstatement and re-tamping of the tracks were completed before reopening to rail traffic. Complexity The works involved setting up heavy lift cranes, including a 350t crawler crane and a 500t mobile crane, on the roadways below each bridge location in advance of the railway closures. The complexity of the works was made even more challenging by the severe weather conditions over the bank holiday weekend, with heavy thunder and lightning hampering crane lifts at critical times, and the team having to resolve a number of unforeseen issues as the project progressed. At its peak, over 100 people were on site to deliver each respective project. Meticulous planning GRAHAM’s rail experts have been meticulously preparing for the works over recent months in conjunction with a specialist supply chain, stakeholders, TOCs / FOCs and Network Rail. GRAHAM’s Rail Director, Jonny Kerr, believes this advanced planning and teamwork was the key to the success of both projects. “These complex bridge replacements were completed by our teams through their meticulous planning and technical expertise. The team worked closely with our various supply chain partners, stakeholders and Network Rail and their partners to ensure that there was minimal disruption to the rail network,” said Jonny. “There was a tremendous amount of planning done in advance, which allowed us to progress each project smoothly even with the challenges presented. Additional factors, such as operational High Voltage and S&T cable routes, required support and protection during the works.“ “It’s a tremendous achievement and I’m very grateful to everyone who rose to the challenge. “We would like to thank the public for their patience during the closures.” Rail expertise GRAHAM has completed a broad portfolio of award-winning work within the rail sector. Examples of GRAHAM’s expertise in delivering complex construction within an operational railway include the “Live Launch” of a 55m span, 515t bridge structure over ten railways lines in South London, slope stabilisation works in South Wales and the construction of a new railway station in the Midlands.
A former environmental consultancy from Preston has rebranded as 52M Consulting and relaunched to provide a range of stakeholder engagement services in support of ‘controversial’ yet critical infrastructure developments. Managing director, Lee Petts, said: “There were over 11,000 Town and Country planning appeals decided in England during 2016 and 2017. That’s a lot of development being rejected at a local level, and amounts to a huge amount of additional expense for the companies bringing forward those plans, not to mention the public purse. “Developers can avoid some of the risks of local authority refusal by better engaging with potentially affected stakeholders and improving community relations. This is particularly important in the case of contentious infrastructure. “We’re taking the skills and lessons learnt in our sustainability and corporate responsibility practice, and repurposing them to help get more critical infrastructure built for everybody’s benefit.” The company is no stranger to controversial developments. Since 2012, it’s worked closely with the fracking company Cuadrilla, and has previously worked with companies seeking to build recycling facilities and landfill extensions. 52M Consulting says it will focus on five key sectors in which developments are often labelled as controversial. These include large-scale renewables, new road and rail, onshore oil and gas, housing and waste. In a recent online poll of over 1,200 respondents, it found that waste sites and oil and gas extraction sites jointly proved to be the least popular forms of development nationally, followed by new housing, road and rail, and, lastly, wind and solar farms. John Kersey, Non-Executive Chairman and a former Fairness Commissioner for Lancashire County Council, added: “People living in communities that are being asked to host new infrastructure want to feel as if they have a genuine say. It’s only fair. But, sometimes, even if it’s not something they want on their doorstep, it will still have to proceed because there’s a pressing need. “If we’re to meet our climate change commitments, for instance, we need to build-out more large-scale renewables developments. If we want to boost energy security by weaning ourselves off imported gas, we need to develop our shale gas resources. And if we want to avoid landfill for our waste, we need greater recycling and waste-to-energy capacity. We have to put this infrastructure somewhere. In part, our job is to help build acceptance by helping otherwise reluctant communities to see things differently and by involving them more.”
R&M explains the new generation of Power over Ethernet (PoE) / Avoiding cable temperature increases / PoE calculator aids network planning / Tips for product selection and installation Wetzikon, London, September 8, 2015. R&M, the globally active Swiss developer and provider of cabling systems for high-end, powerful network infrastructures, is preparing planners and installers for the introduction of 4-pair Power over Ethernet (4PPoE). The new generation of power supply via local data networks (remote powering) should enable a supply of up to 100 watts, which is four to five times greater than the current rate. The corresponding standard IEEE 802.3bt is currently in progress. 4P PoE allows more powerful terminal equipment to be supplied with energy via network cables. Parallel power cabling is therefore no longer required. However, the twisted-pair copper cables heat up during the supply process, leading to an increase in attenuation. This must be taken into account from the very beginning of a cabling project, which in turn poses new challenges when installing data networks. In a recently published White Paper, R&M provides information on the physical backgrounds. The document contains practical information for network planners and installers on how to prevent the cables from suffering critical temperature increases, thereby avoiding the resulting loss of power in the structural cabling when using 4-pair Power over Ethernet. The document explains the standardized formulas for calculating the temperature increase in cable bundles: http://www.rdm.com/en/co/service/downloads/white-paper.aspx At the same time, R&M is introducing a specially developed PoE calculator, which takes into account all relevant factors, such as cable types and ambient air temperature. The maximum link length of the cabling and the appropriate cable categories can be determined by entering just a few values into the spreadsheet: http://www.rdm.com/en/co/service/planungshilfsmittel/power-over-ethernet-calculator.aspx Background: Developmental step forward with Power over Ethernet For Power over Ethernet (PoE), which was introduced 15 years ago, IEEE 802.3bt represents another step forward: Terminal equipment will be supplied with at least 55 watts, and potentially up to 100 watts, rather than 13 or 22 watts. In future, PoE will need to use all four twisted pairs in the network cabling for this transfer of energy, which is the reason for the name 4-pair Power over Ethernet (4PPoE). The structured cabling systems are therefore not only used to transport data at an Ethernet speed of 10 Gigabits, but numerous powerful IP terminal devices, such as cameras, monitors, wireless access points, and point-of-sale terminals, can also be supplied with energy via the local data network. The trend for an increased use of Power over Ethernet would also support the Internet of Things. Many small sensors and control systems could be run from remote locations in buildings without additional power cabling. A consequence of using 4PPoE is that every twisted pair in the network cabling has a current of between 650 and 1100 mA, depending on its power. This is a significant increase in load compared to pure data transfer. Due to physical losses, the cables and cable bundles heat up as a result of the energy transfer. According to R&M, a long-term temperature increase of 10ºC can halve the expected service life of the cable, due to the increased aging of the material. This temperature increase must also be limited for fire and occupational safety reasons. Higher temperatures increase the copper resistance and the attenuation of the signal transmission, which reduces the potential length of a link. The cable temperature increases resulting from the energy transfer can increase the attenuation of a cable to such an extent that data transmission becomes impossible. It is therefore important to factor in these temperature increases when planning a cabling project. R&M advises that thick cable bundles and heat build-up in cable channels be avoided. It is recommended that larger conductor cross sections and/or shielded cables be used for longer cabling links, as they do not suffer such significant temperature increases. Alternatively, the distances (link lengths) can be reduced. R&M also advises the use of modules and plugs with insulation displacement technology; this technology creates stable connections between the cables and connecting contacts that are similar to soldering joints. The widely distributed piercing technology penetrates only the insulation of the copper cables and creates a loose contact, which with live connections may in the worst case cause a fire. Another problem may arise when using Power over Ethernet if contacts are damaged by small arcs when disconnecting while live. When the contact breaks, a spark is created that at high transmission powers can destroy part of the contact. If this happens in the contact area of the connection, the transmission properties may be permanently impaired. R&M recommends the use of plug connectors and connection modules that are designed to ensure a sufficient distance between the breaking point and the nominal contact area. http://www.rdm.com/en/co/products/power-over-ethernet.aspx