The Engineers Collective New Civil Engineer

In this episode of The Engineers Collective we speak to ICE president Anusha Shah about the importance of biodiversity net gain (BNG).
This year has seen BNG of 10% become mandatory for new developments. Shah has committed her year in office to pushing the agenda of nature-based solutions in civil engineering. The two themes are intertwined and she explains how they are essential for driving forward sustainability in the built environment and are essential in how construction must be shaped moving into the future.
Prior to the interview, NCE editor Gavin Pearson, news editor Rob Hakimian and report Tom Johnson discuss some of the biggest stories of the last month. There is a chat about the Francis Scott Key collapse and what we have learned from the engineers they’ve spoken to, Tom talks about his chat with Jacobs about San Francisco’s hugely ambitious $13bn plan to protect against inevitable sea level rise and finally the trio discuss the latest developments at Everton FC’s new stadium on Merseyside.

In this month’s episode of The Engineers Collective podcast from New Civil Engineer we mark one year since the publication of the 2023 update to the PAS 2080 standard for carbon management in infrastructure.
 
We’ve gathered representatives from Mott MacDonald, the Department for Transport and Anglian Water to gain insight a series of roundtables held by Mott MacDonald where industry stakeholders discussed and debated how PAS 2080 should be implemented in their businesses and projects.
 
DfT head of systems Tom McLenachan tells us about the systems thinking outcomes from the roundtables, Mott MacDonald water and infrastructure technical principal Heather Marshall discusses the procurement outcomes from the debate and Anglian Water @one Alliance carbon sustainability manager Alex Herridge provides insight on the decision making outcomes from the discussions.
 
Prior to the interview portion, NCE editor Gavin Pearson, news editor Rob Hakimian and reporter Tom Johnson discuss some of the month’s biggest stories, touching on the lack of infrastructure in the recent Budget and Anglian Water’s development of its £2.2bn Fenlands Reservoir. Lastly, Tom tells us about his recent visit to the Woodsmith polyhalite mine in Yorkshire.
 
The Engineers Collective is available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, A-cast, Stitcher, PodBean and via newcivilengineer.com/podcast

In this month’s episode of The Engineers Collective podcast from New Civil Engineer we speak to Julia Stevens, the chief executive of the Constructionarium, about how the facility is preparing budding construction workers and engineers for life on a work site.
Stevens tells us about the Constructionarium, a 7.5ha site at Bircharm Newton in Norfolk, which features a range of work areas including scaled down rivers, lakes, stabilised flatlands, mountainous terrain. We hear about the rigorous week-long courses which encompass everything from pre-construction documentation to client engagement to the actual construction task itself. In this way, participants experience the true breadth of what it is like to work for a contractor.
Prior to the interview portion, NCE editor Gavin Pearson, news editor Rob Hakimian and senior reporter Tom Pashby discuss some of the month’s biggest stories, touching on the draft Rail Reform Bill, the potential impacts of space weather on infrastructure and the need for resilience in the wake of the news that global temperatures breached the 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels barrier for a year straight.

This month’s episode of The Engineers Collective from New Civil Engineer focuses on the role that hydrogen could play in the global effort to transition to a zero-carbon world.
International management consultancy Arthur D. Little recently put out a report entitled Hydrogen: The electroshock to the energy transition and in this episode NCE acting news editor Rob Hakimian is joined by three experts from the consultancy to discuss just how this might happen. They discuss where it’s already being used, the barriers to greater adoption, the UK’s recently published hydrogen strategy, National Highways’ commitment to using hydrogen plant on its landmark Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel and much more.
Read Arthur D Little’s full report here.
Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE editor Gavin Pearson and reporter Tom Johnson to discuss some of the stories from the civil engineering world that have caught their attention in the early portion of 2024. They discuss Thames Water’s controversial Teddington Direct River Abstraction, the government’s pledge to work with the tidal range sector and Balfour Beatty’s ill-fated attempts to carry out net zero construction at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The new episode of the Engineers Collective podcast is out now.
This month’s episode focuses on ‘transforming infrastructure performance’.
The UK’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) released two papers, in 2017 and 2021, called Transforming infrastructure performance in which it set out a vision for the future of infrastructure delivery. This process embeds the use of modern tools and greater project integration to make delivery less expensive and less unpredictable, while increasing safety, learning, efficiency and future readiness.
Since then, there have been regular Transforming Infrastructure Performance (TIP) live summits where stakeholders from government, consultants and engineering contractors convene to discuss the developments towards – and hurdles that stand in the way of – reaching the IPA’s vision for infrastructure delivery by 2030.
This year saw TIP events in both Singapore and London, organised by Bentley Systems and supported by Turner & Townsend in association with the IPA.
This year’s summits focused on the implementation of digital tools, artificial intelligence, creating more synergy between delivery bodies, utilisation of modern methods of construction, the need to upskill and maintain talent, decarbonisation and much more.
More about the lessons shared at TIP and videos of some of the sessions can be found at infrastructurepolicyadvancement.com.
On this month’s episode we have an international panel of experts who were involved in the TIP events in both Singapore and London, to discuss some of TIP 2023’s key themes even further.
Alongside NCE assistant news editor Rob Hakimian, the panel includes Bentley Systems senior international director of infrastructure advancement Mark Coates, Turner & Townsend director, infrastructure and design management lead Glenda Ho and Turner & Townsend director of portfolio management Liam Bray.
The panel starts by discussing what TIP is and why it is valuable, before moving onto some of the meaty topics.
Opinions are shared on how AI can be used to support supply chains a sustainability before the discussions turns to how firms can further their adoption of new technologies.
There are some interesting comparisons on the way infrastructure is delivered in both the UK and Singapore and how the two nations are approaching the challenge of net zero.
There is also a debate about whether it is the clients holding back the implementation of new technologies in construction or whether the blame lies elsewhere.
The panel then concludes by discussing what concrete steps need to be taken to ensure the industry is on course to meet the IPA’s expectations by 2030.

This episode focuses on the value of place making within construction and engineering projects.
Place making is the practice of ensuring that a project goes beyond functionality and delivers something that benefits the society in which it is being constructed. It is ensuring that there is space above and around it for public use, which will bolster a community with new resources.
Fitting in the requirements of a client while also providing wider benefit for the community can make place making feel like a difficult jigsaw, but it has wide-ranging knock-on effects that make it worthwhile. These include improved mental health, physical health, pride of place and economic uplift. These are long-term positives for a broad swatch of society.
We’ve seen plenty of placemaking within cities with the likes of the Battersea and Nine Elms developments around the Northern Line extension or the creation of MediaCity at the previously derelict Salford Quay docklands. However, these types of regenerative projects can also be smaller but just as transformational in smaller locations.
The guests joining NCE assistant news editor Rob Hakimian on this month’s episode have plenty of experience in place making initiatives.
Alex Scott-Whitby is the founder and director of Scott Whitby Studios, the architectural firm that walked away with the Place Making Initiative of the Year award at this year’s British Construction Industry Awards for its Jubilee Pool project in Penzance – a project that is discussed in the podcast.
Alongside Alex is Chris Short, iconic bridge director at Arcadis. Chris’ work also sees him sit on Arcadis’ infrastructure group, which focuses on urban development – something that he is passionate about.
In this conversation, Alex and Chris discuss the importance of place making and how it should be embedded into projects. They talk specifically about the ScottWhitby Studio’s Jubilee Pool and the benefits it has brought to the people of Penzance. They also discuss the makeup of the current urban landscape and how it can be redressed to better serve the public.
The discussion also takes a broader view to discuss the implementation of place making; who has the responsibility to make sure it happens and what is the best way for those working on a project to bring it into a design. Lastly, they look to the future to imagine what towns and cities might look and feel like in the future if place making is instilled in all future developments.