In what is thought to be a UK first, highways and infrastructure group USL has created a dedicated early contractor involvement (ECI) team called USL Tekserv with an initial focus on tackling the huge bridges repair and upgrade backlog across the UK. Highways reports
USL Tekserv offers complete turn-key packages for all civil infrastructure, buildings, ports and utility sectors, but initially eyes the bridges sector as a market primed for its bespoke services.
As revealed by the latest RAC Foundation and ADEPT annual bridge survey, local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales identified 3,211 bridges – defined as structures over 1.5m in span – as being substandard. A further 220 were identified by National Highways, Transport Scotland and the Welsh Assembly.
Pic: USL - an inspection of bridge bearings on the Tickton Flyover
Emerging from USL’s wide-ranging expertise in bridge maintenance and monitoring, USL Tekserv aims to use the efficiencies of ECI, digital monitoring and multi-discipline working to help de-risk complex infrastructure backlogs and their ongoing revenue costs.
Services on offer include costing analysis, whole life costings, structural inspections and assessments, structural monitoring, concrete investigation and repair and specialist paint and coating investigation. The offer gives clients the chance to develop asset management plans under ECI with experts in delivery.
Previous examples of USL’s ECI success include a detailed inspection of the Muirmont Bridge, which led to a £300,000 investment by Transport Scotland to replace all of the South Abutment bridge bearings.
The USL team worked with BEAR to develop an ECI package ‘detailing a Bearing Schedule (utilizing a Midas Model of the structure to new SOV loadings), a reinforcement design of the abutment shelves, permanent works and a temporary works approval in principle which employed live jacking to minimize disruption,’ a spokesperson said.
The plan also allowed USL Ekspan to undertake emergency works to support the deteriorated south abutment bearings while the manufacturing of 28 new mechanical bearings began.
Working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, USL was contracted to inspect 460 bridge bearings on the A1035 Tickton Flyover. During the ECI phase, the team proposed a bespoke temporary works arrangement which utilised jacking locations on both land-based and pier-mounted bearing shelves; a unique approach which helped win the tender.
Another example of ECI efficiencies was found in the refurbishment of the sheave wheels and counterweight pit of the Newhaven Linkspan Hydraulic linkspan.
Describing the asset, USL said: ‘The linkspan comprises an approximately 45-metre long steel bridge with steel deck plates. There are two 20-tonne counterweights on cables designed to relieve some of the weight of the bridge with two separate hydraulic rams that control the level of the linkspan. In addition, three steel transition flaps on their hydraulic rams lower onto the berthed vessel with free-hanging finger flaps at the end.’
An inspection identified severely deteriorated bearings due to misaligned cables; because of this, the sheave pins, bearings and wheels all needed replacing with the works being carried out without causing disruptions, USL said.
The USL Ekspan team worked closely with Beckett Rankine to develop a detailed methodology and programme to allow the works to be broken down into specific time slots. In addition, the team utilised trial test lifts and commissioning to ensure all the major works could be carried out between ferry sailings. After completing the sheave wheels works, the team began replacing the two main operating rams. With obstacles such as seized connecting pins and limited working hours, a bespoke hour-by-hour plan was designed to divide the work into phases.
During the ECI stage, the USL Ekspan team had the opportunity to undertake trial disassembly and reassembly to ensure each phase could feasibly be completed in the allocated time slots.
Luke Kani-Zihni, USL’s ECI manager, tells Highways: ‘Our aim is to be at the forefront in changing the culture and approach of the highways and infrastructure industry when it comes to maintaining assets.
Picture: USL - the team working on an expansion joint
‘USL TekServ is uniquely positioned to be the first departmental/internal “division” to be specifically focused on ECI consultancy and support services. Whilst TekServ is providing a service much like the rest of our group, it is more of a technical solution provider than a physical product. USL TekServ wants to focus on being proactive and not reactive, we believe that ECI should be a standard practice for all projects, new and old, if you involve the right people in the early stages the level of unknowns should be drastically reduced. We believe that preventative maintenance is critical; simple solutions like monitoring and regular inspections should be utilised prior to fails occurring.’
ECI seems to be one of those ideas that everyone agrees is not used enough. Getting the contractor involved early in the design stage is one of the best ways to de-risk a project. It has been described as a way of ensuring the actual ‘buildability’ of a design is accessed to produce a more accurate cost of construction in conjunction with the initial concepts.
Cost control is something the sector is highly motivated to get to grips with at the moment. National Highways has helped lead the way on creating more consistency in the sector having called on infrastructure firms to drastically improve predictability and reliability. Cost and time overruns that would be considered unthinkable in other sectors are sometimes shrugged off in construction, National Highways sources suggest. Despite USL always offering ECI, the TekServ division was born because the group identified that clients contractors and engineers were still not approaching them early enough, meaning they could have achieved even greater benefits if they had. The bridge sector was a natural fit as repairing and maintaining bridges and structures are the foundations on which USL Group has been built. ‘We have identified an issue and want to come up with the solution,’ Mr Kani-Zihni says. The service comes with digital elements including MIDDAS models, 3D scanning and mapping, and BIM modelling. It is currently working with the National Highways innovation group to advance best practice, Mr Kani-Zihni reveals.
The use of an ECI division could also play into the current procurement market, which seems to be shifting towards a greater use of frameworks. Mr Kani-Zihni says: ‘The forward-thinking approach, such as the use of frameworks, and ECI go hand-in-hand and the use of ECI could be implemented before a framework is procured and let.
‘Payment and procurement would be done on a typical quotation and order basis in the first instance.
‘ECI as a general model aims to de-risk the scope. USL Tekserv can then use their knowledge and experience to influence the project’s design to increase buildability or value and will advise on construction phase risks and so on.
‘The major benefit of USL Tekserv is that all services are provided in-house, meaning we can plan appropriately, we can give accurate lead times and above all, we can provide cost surety to the client.’
