Environmentally Sensitive Habitant Calls for Innovative Thinking - Assignment Example

Team Van Oord: Environmentally sensitive habitant calls for innovative thinking History tells us that Darmont Creek1 in one of the most important bodies of water in Kent area. This Creek is considered one of the most vital travel routes which travel three miles long from the town center to the River Thames2. Due to its strategic location, this Creek provides access to the River Thames making it one of the important commercial routes in the country. However, as the tidal section of the River Darent, this Creek has been threatened with floods and river bank erosions. The problem of river bank stabilization has been considered as one of the major challenge for environmentalists and contractors. Note that in the past years, erosion has compromised the stability of the river meanders that resulted to “numerous slip failures in the river banks and of the flood defence embarkments.3” The unstable river banks now possess hazards to the residents of the area as well as to those boats and crafts navigating through the river. Undertaking the river bank stabilization project for Darford Creek is Team Van Oord4 under project Manager EC Harris. Team Van Oord shall work closely with ARUP5, the designer of the project. The task of the company is to “maintain the integrity of the flood defence embankments along two sections of the west bank”6 and at the same time provide for environmental measures and enhancements to product the sensitive habitat of the Creek area. As a form of habitant enhancement, Team Van Oord creates an engineered salt marsh habitat. The total budget for the project amounts to £ 3.6 million. The construction project is good for 60 weeks. The construction is under the supervision of the Environment Agency. To stabilize the flood embankments, the contractors need to install a combination of steel sheet piling and timber brushwood faggots. According to the design of the project, the brushwood faggots shall be placed in front of the piling and supported by brushwood stakes. The general idea of this design is that current of the river will bring about silt which could be captured and trapped in between the brushwood. The trapped silt will eventually accumulate to a certain degree and burry the brushwood faggots. Once the brushwood faggots are completely buried under the silt and sediments, it will become part of the flood embankment system and at the same time create a new salt marsh habitat. The project is deemed as a long term solution to the river bank erosion problem as well as aid in the restoration and protection of the endangered habitat. Although the design of the project is sound and workable, the implementation thereof may not really be as easy as it sounds. The present environmental conditions of Dartford Creek posed many challenges to the contractors and certain conditions clearly restrict the access of the workers to the area. For one thing, the contractors soon found out that plant access is restricted from the flood embankment and the salt marsh which made the work quite difficult. Furthermore, the access road to the piling operations made it very difficult to transport construction materials. Note that the lay-out of the area is too tight and there isn’t much room for all the equipments and materials for the construction. Since the area has special conditions which made it impossible to use traditional construction methods, the contractors were forced to seek for innovative and creative methods of building structures needed without causing too much disturbance in the area. The challenge now is how to work closely with the community and overcome the problem of restricted access without endangering the lives and limbs of the people in the community as well as that of the construction works engaged in the project. This means that in the implementing the project, the contractor will need to use special equipments such as the long reach excavator mounted on a specialized self elevating platform. As the workers will now have to work on elevated platforms over the water, different kinds of hazards and safety concerns should be addressed to ensure safety. One of the most noticeable aspects in the implementation of this project is the fact that the company adapted strict safety measures both for the workers and the public. To ensure that workers and visitors are well protected, the company identified key hazards and proceeds to find solutions to reduce these hazards. The hazards identified by the company are (1) working around heavy plant and equipment (2) working at height (3) lifting operation (4) working near water (5) close proximity of buildings and (6) working too close to the general public. It is the goal of Van Oord to promote safety first. As per their company policy, “work safety and quality are always a top priority”.7 Since the workers will be working around heavy plant and equipment, all operative are required to wear full PPE. Everyone, including visitors, who is within the construction area except when they are inside the offices and welfare facilities are required to wear hardhat, safety boot and fluorescent jacket site. When a worker or a visitor is near the pilling area, he or she is required to wear ear protection. In times when conditions and dust are severe, or when nature of the operation being performed is deemed hazardous to the eyes, all persons performing the task or are exposed to the hazard are required to wear eye protection. On the other hand, there are times when the workers need to work at a certain height. When a worker is working at height, it is a standard operating procedure to keep the guard rails up during the entire duration of the work and that all other protective devices should be in full operation to ensure the safety of the workers. During lifting operations, all workers are on strict directives to stay clear of cranes and its loads. It is also a standard operating procedure of the company to check all equipments before use to ensure that everything is working as they should be. Aside from working at height, the workers are also expected to work close to the water. To ensure safety of the workers and visitors alike, everyone who works in the water are directed to wear life jackets. Although the construction near the water is usually done during low tide, it is still mandatory that everyone who works close to the water wears life jacket. Furthermore, the company undertakes to promote the safety of the aquatic habitat. It is the policy of the company to maintain respect for the environment at all times, thus, when using compressors in the water, these compressors must be double bonded to prevent any risk of pollution to the water course. Unless agreed with the client, no vegetation or trees are to be damaged during the implementation of the project. Another issue that causes concern to the company during the construction process is the proximity of the buildings in the area. Since the community is living too close to the construction site, it is imperative that their cooperation be enlisted to make sure that everyone is safe in the area. To ensure that nobody wanders into the piling area unprotected, the company put up palisade fencing around the works. The public is asked to wait on either side of the piling area for someone to escort them through the works in the event where they need to cross the area to get to the other side. Furthermore, all measures must be taken to ensure that all public areas and access are free from obstructions and hazards at all time. All visitors are requested to report to the site office and sign the visitors’ book to make sure that everyone who is in the vicinity are accounted for. Visitors who wished to visit the works are also required to wear full PPE. If a visitor has special medical conditions and is on medication, he or she should report the matter to the TVO First Aider. People with asthma and diabetes are especially requested to report their condition to the TVO First Aider before they go inside the compound. Visitors need not worry about giving information about their medical condition as this information will be treated with utmost confidence and may only be used in cases of medical emergencies. Taking alcohol or drugs into the site is strictly prohibited. Anybody, both workers and visitors who are suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs shall be refused entry into the area. Anybody who may be found guilty of violations of this policy shall be dismissed from the site and refused entry. The strict rules inside the work area are being monitored closely to prevent any untoward incidents that may lead to destructions and the loss of lives. References: 1. Project overview power point presentation Dartford Creek Frontages 2. Van Oord profile retrieved March 14, 2007 http://www.vanoord.com/webfront/base.asp?pageid=4 3. ARUP profile retrieved March 14, 2007 http://www.arup.com/aboutus.cfm 4. Dartford History retrieved March 14, 2007 http://www.dartford.gov.uk/dartford/history.htm Read More