HHO share prestigious Construction World's Best Projects Award for Koeberg Interchange Upgrading with Group Five and Power Construction
Brian Dreyer (HHO Africa), Thomas Moolman (Group Five) and Poens Venter (Power Construction) receive the award on behalf of the teams who produced the winning submission
At the Construction World's 10 years of Best Projects awards held in Johannesburg on 16th November 2011, the Koeberg Interchange Upgrading Project was nominated as the Winner of the Civil Engineering Best Projects for 2011. Competition was keen and the competition showcased more than 45 projects in more than 5 categories. Koeberg Interchange came first in the 17 strong Category A for Civil Engineering Projects.
The completion of the project on time and in budget has been been a credit to the teamwork at design and at construction stage.
This critical transport interchange carrying over 200,000 vehicle per day had been operating below acceptable service levels for many years prior to the award of the Football World Cup to South Africa. The time pressure to achieve service level improvement for both the N1 and the M5 freeways prior to the event required quick action and innovative design and approval by Consultant and Employer.
Aerial view of the completed structure, delivered on time and in budget. Ramp A was completed on time for our Mother City to host the Football World Cup in July 2010 and the balance was completed ahead of schedule.
1. Construction innovation technology
Smart thinking by winning tenderer supported by “just in time” philosophy.
Imaginative tendering allowed the winning contractor to offer some smart alternatives. After the award of the contract to Group Five and Power Construction in joint venture, (Paarden Eiland Joint Venture) design information meetings gave the contractor the opportunity of tabling proposals to streamline production. Two of these innovations offered considerable advantages.
1.1 Precast Concrete Balustrade Development
The first was the clever pioneering of the use of precast balustrade elements which could be quickly attached and grouted into position, ensuring the completion of Ramp A in time for the World Cup event and ensuring excellent balustrade alignment and finish.
1.2 An alternative vertical piling offer which reduced traffic accommodation problems.
This drastically reduced the space required for piling rigs and allowed the contractor to measurably reduce the need for temporary road realignments, especially in the particularly tight areas bounded by roadways which had to maintain peak traffic flows through this extremely busy intersection.
Considerable research was undertaken by the contractor to ensure that the formwork performed safely, especially when the majority of the work occurred over busy underpassing roadways.
2. Corporate social investment
Challenging BBBEE targets for Labour and Enterprises were contractual obligations which needed careful research and a thorough understanding of the local market. During the design phase a realistic balance had to be sought between achievable labour targets and unemployment in the area. The contract document stipulated that local labour had to be sourced from areas which had the highest unemployment rate. Training was also an essential part of the balance. Women were incorporated as an essential element of the emerging subcontractors targets and made up moe than 10% of this contractual requirement.
Achievements were carefully monitored using a combination of graphical achievements on a month by month basis (as shown in the cumulative graph shown below) and were verified on the Provincial Government’s Road Project Management (RPM) system. The results were outstanding and targets were exceeded thus providing much needed relief to unemployed persons and providing the stimulus necessary to encourage young learners and in particular black women into the industry.
Summary of Achievements on Corporate Social Investment.
Targeted Enterprises – 24,3 % (Target 20%)
Local Labour – 11,71% - Target 10%
3. Design innovation
3.1 Innovative Design Forum fast tracked design and approval to meet deadlines
The lead Consulting Engineer, HHO Africa initiated a design approval forum with meetings at monthly intervals to gain acceptance and sequential approval of this particularly challenging design over a very short period of 5 months and in parallel coordinated environmental approval and produced tender documentation and drawings.
3.2 Preparing the Tenderers and gauging the capacity of the construction industry
On account of the large number of major infrastructure projects currently in progress nationwide, gauging the tendering market and ensuring that sufficient potential contractors were interested and available to tender competitively on this project was important. With departmental approval the consulting engineer issued pre-construction details of the proposed engineering works to contractors, encouraging an interchange of ideas and thus engendering keenness and involvement on the part of potential tenderers.
3.3 Ensuring Constructability
The design challenge of threading two new intersecting ramps each approximately 700m long at a third level above the existing interchange required innovative thinking. Elements such as piers and capping beams were designed to allow repetitive use of formwork.
The aesthetically pleasing precast u-beam structures were designed to maximise the off site production and thus minimise traffic disruption during construction.
Computer simulation techniques allowed the department to visualise and offer opinions on the aesthetic appeal of the structure which could be viewed on screen in "daylight" and "streetlit" conditions.
4. Environmental impact consideration
Because of a delayed project start, the widening of the Salt River Canal had to take place during the winter rainfall months. In order to mitigate any environmental issues, excavation and construction of the new canal wall was carried out in the dry in a trench, which was later opened and married to the existing canal in the dry season. Water samples taken, upstream and downstream of construction, were measured monthly, with no negative results recorded.
5. Health and safety
The contractor is justifiably proud of outstanding health and safety record on this project. Statistics support the claim for one of the best managed projects in an extremely challenging environment
• >1,300,000 Life Threatening Injury free man hours.(2nd time > 1,000, 000)
• LTIFR 0,06
• Total man hours worked 3,200,000
6. Quantifiable time, cost and quality
• Ramp A opened to traffic in time for Football World Cup event and Ramp B opened to traffic 4 months ahead of project completion date.
• Finished contract within Client’s budget, notwithstanding the additional costs
attributable to dealing with unknown services viz. Electrical, Telkom, Water, Sewer and Oil pipelines. 43 VO’s submitted – 42 approved –Value R88m
Quality targets all met.
7. Risk management
• Motor Vehicle and Rail Traffic --Trained Flag Persons, Rules prohibiting pedestrian crossing of N1 and live Railway Tracks
• Weather –Adequate and stringent protection of all areas susceptible to flooding
The last temporary support girder is lifted clear to fully reveal the 68m clear span across the 8 track rail reserve which was kept open and functioning throughout the construction. Enormous logistical challenges were overcome by the on site teams in achieving this
8. Motivating facts about the project
Construction Challenges
The construction team have overcome enormous challenges during this contract. Being a road and rail transport intersection, every conceivable service was encountered, many in positions different to those shown on the old drawings. Problems and adaptations were handled quickly and efficiently without any major delays or claims.
The elegant and seemingly simple solution of two new ramps oversailing the historic maze of Koeberg Interchange belies the complexity of this award winning project. An example of incredible teamwork between Consultant, Contractor and Client.
