SA Water’s new Murray Bridge Wastewater Treatment plant has been awarded the highest IS design Rating for a water or wastewater project in Australia to date. The $52 million project received an ‘excellent design rating through the IS Rating Scheme. South Australia’s newest waste water treatment plant in Murray Bridge, south-east of Adelaide, became fully operational last week, able to process up to 4.5 million litres of sewage a day from more than 14,000 people.

Project Initiatives

Hea-1: The project received full marks (2.49/ 2.49points), achieving level 3.

This score was obtained through extensive consultation and project integration with the traditional Ngarrindjeri people.

Some initiatives include:

Naming of the project site: A suitable Ngarrindjeri name/word for the site will be provided through consultation with the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority. This will help contribute towards the survival of the Ngarrindjeri language.

John Holland was required to develop and implement over the life of the project strategies that maximise employment and training opportunities, particularly for the Ngarrindjeri community.

Ngarrindjeri Native Garden –The plant palette for this native garden consists of a variety of plant species that reflect Ngarrindjeri culture. An aim of the palette is so Ngarrindjeri plant knowledge can be shared and passed down to the younger generations. The shape of the garden beds reflect artistic notions of sand ripples, waves coming into shore and the wing of the pelican, an important Totem/Ngartji.

Wat-1: full points, level 3(8.96/8.96 points)

Based on the modelling conducted, the project to meet at least a 60% overall water usage reduction. The most significant saving is derived from changing the treatment process and using a compact MBBR process instead of the Storage lagoons. (Wat 1a Water Balance) . Further efficiencies are likely to be implemented during construction.

__

For further information contact SA Water’s media team on 08 7424 2477

Murray Bridge Wastewater Treatment Plant: Delivering Enduring Social Benefits to a Regional Community

SA Water and John Holland are building a new $52 million Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and associated transfer infrastructure in the Murray Bridge region, a predominately agricultural area of the State located approximately 75km from Adelaide. The new plant will replace an ageing treatment plant commissioned in the 70’s which has experienced ongoing issues with odour, significantly affecting the quality of life of at least 750 residents, and at risk of environmental breaches through potential uncontrolled discharges into the River Murray. The use of novel and enhanced treatment process and odour control facilities will help minimise odour from the new plant and improve the liveability and well-being of the surrounding community.

Besides achieving strategic goals of economic efficiency and environmental performance, the project team has excelled at partnering with the local community. From inception, the project team has worked collaboratively and placed an emphasis on the creation of long-lasting community values through its associated investment. The project team understands that the legacy the project leaves in communities is just as important as the physical delivery of the infrastructure.  This is particularly relevant when young people in the Murray Bridge Local Government Area (LGA) are significantly disadvantaged educationally, socially and economically when compared against key indicators.  (School & Beyond Inc Environmental Scan, Murray Mallee region, 2011).

This project has not only strengthened the participation of local community in planning for improved sanitation but also supported regional economic growth and community well-being yielding several benefits, namely:

• Provision of local employment and opportunities for local businesses. These local jobs drive economic growth and build stronger regional communities into the future; additionally, over 10% of workforce is from the local Ngarrindjeri aboriginal community.
• Investment in leading technology (Moving Bed BioFilm Reactor treatment process) for a reliable, sustainable and resilient wastewater infrastructure, which supports economic development and human well-being.

• Community connectedness through the delivery of school engagement programs and collaborative community educational and engagement programs including …
• Investment in recreational, arts and cultural activities including the establishment of an urban landscape design in direct consultation with key stakeholders which is based on and represents the unique Ngarrindjeri culture and riverine history of the region.

Learnings include:

1. Sound technical capacity and understanding of industry specific innovation and opportunities is crucial to assist clients achieve their sustainability targets and objectives in a rapidly evolving environment.

2. Strong team collaboration allows understanding of the risks and opportunities across all disciplines and all stages of the project, resulting in an improved design and construction methodology.

3. Open and frank communication on the project challenges, progress and achievements to  our key stakeholders and general community.

4. Development of a strong stakeholder and community engagement strategy. Early planning engagement and ongoing consultation with stakeholders and community ensured that both the value and risk of the project are shared, understood and well managed.

The Torrens Road to River Torrens Project (T2T) has achieved a ‘Leading’ As Built IS Rating. The project, an alliance between Aurecon, CPB Contractors, Mott MacDonald and Department of Planning, Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec (WGA), Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), is South Australia’s first project to achieve an As Built IS Rating.

T2T delivers a 4km non-stop section of roadway, providing significant travel time saving for commuters and freight transporters. The 3km section of lowered non-stop motorway provides three lanes in each direction, at up to 8 metres below the existing surface of South Road.

“The T2T Sustainability Policy from the get-go put the local environment, workforce, community and economy front and centre for the project.  Such a public declaration to these issues is exemplary for other projects and set the tone at the beginning and from the top down,” commented ISCA Head of Ratings and Technical Services, Jon Avery.

Sustainability achievements attributing to a ‘Leading’ rating, the highest achievement available, include:

Under the materials credits, a 49% reduction in tonnes of carbon were avoided when compared to business as usual base case.  This equates to more than 43,000 tonnes of carbon that didn’t go into the atmosphere.  This was achieved through the use of

• 20% RAP used in almost all asphalt
• Innovative design of the retaining wall using soil nails, reducing the amount of concrete and steel – World First innovation
• ​Reductions in bridge deck area due to symmetrical design

​Under the Waste credits, full points were awarded meaning that spoil, C&D waste and office waste was recycled to the highest industry benchmarks.

Also, rewarded under one of the ecology credits, some great initiatives included:

• Five basins for water treatment including swales encouraging natural regrowth
• Installation of possum boxes strengthening local biodiversity

ISCA would like to congratulate the team involved in the T2T project, inclluding Rebecca Giles, Cathy Chesson, Andrew Larwood, Harry Turner, John Mowat, Jennifer Slocombe and Candice Cromie.

Sydney Water’s Lower South Creek Achieves Excellent Design IS Rating

Sydney Water’s Lower South Creek Treatment Program has received the highest rating ever achieved for an Australian water infrastructure project from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA). 

The program involves a $450m upgrading of facilities at St Marys and Quakers Hill which will see the adoption of new technologies that will make water treatment more sustainable, cost efficient and effective.

The Lower South Creek Treatment Program is set to achieve a 42% reduction in whole of life greenhouse gas emissions which earned an Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Design “Excellent” rating of 69.7 points.

ISCA CEO Ainsley Simpson said, “this is the highest IS rating ever achieved for a water infrastructure project and includes numerous innovations and sustainable outcomes which other water utilities can follow and learn from. A tremendous achievement for Sydney Water.”

ISCA Case Manager, Kieren Heikkinen added “the outcomes were particularly impressive considering the IS rating was initially undertaken as a benchmarking exercise with little additional effort expended on sustainability, which reflects Sydney Water’s focus on sustainable outcomes. Learnings from the project and IS rating can and should be applied across Sydney Water.”

Energy and carbon forecast modelling for the project estimates that the Lower South Creek Treatment Program will achieve a reduction of 870,000 tonnes or a 42% reduction of Greenhouse Gas total emissions during construction and across its 50 years’ operation. This reduction includes embodied CO2 emissions from construction materials and treatment chemicals.

Onsite renewable energy use is a core objective of the Lower South Creek Treatment Strategy, with the consolidated solids processing at St Marys implemented to allow for anaerobic digestion and energy recovery through a co-generation plant. With on-site thermal energy recovery and electricity generation the project is able to self-supply 69% of its electricity demand.

The Lower South Creek Program is Sydney Water’s first project to trial the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s IS Rating tool and certification process. This process has provided independent third-party assurance of sustainability outcomes in delivery of the project.

Gill Fowler, Lead Environmental Scientist at Sydney Water said “embarking on the IS journey provided greater incentive and opportunity to challenge current process thinking and explore new ways of operating.

“This helped drive sustainability benefits and reduced energy demand and our carbon footprint.”

To achieve Sydney Water’s first IS Rating, the program deployed many innovative processes and technologies. These included the transfer of sludge for consolidated biosolids processing and installation of mechanical primary sedimentation screens, which were Australian firsts.

Other innovations included anaerobic digestion with Thermal Hydrolysis Pre-treatment (THP) at St Marys and the secondary treatment process was modified to a Nereda Aerobic Granulated Sludge bioreactor, after a successful pilot trial, at the Quakers Hill Plant.

These innovations all helped to deliver industry-leading sustainability benefits which resulted in a full 10/10 score for innovation from ISCA, with two of the innovation points awarded for exceeding the benchmarks for energy and carbon reduction, and renewable energy supply.

The Lower South Creek Delivery Partner (WSP and UGL) put forward the IS tool to benchmark the project’s sustainability performance without incurring additional capital costs This process has provided insights into how Sydney Water policies and procedures align with best practice in the IS Rating tool.

James Logie at WSP said “this is an amazing result for Sydney Water’s first IS Rating and highlights the impressive efforts from Sydney Water to plan and deliver innovative and more sustainable wastewater solutions.”

Anthony Korbel, Program Director said “ISCA certification of the Lower South Creek Treatment Program is a further step by the infrastructure industry and in particular Sydney Water in recognising the importance of sustainability in the delivery of large capital programs. It’s been both an interesting and rewarding process for the (WSP/UGL) team and I’m delighted to see such a fantastic result.”

The Lower South Creek Treatment Program used a novel approach to forecasting and benchmarking energy and carbon under the IS Rating tool. This involved comparison against robust energy benchmark data published by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) from 245 Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP) across Australia and New Zealand.

Gill Fowler added “Sydney Water has committed to obtaining a sustainability benchmark for all its major infrastructure projects.”

Sydney Light Rail Achieves an ‘Excellent’ Design IS Rating

The design of the Sydney Light Rail project has been rated as ‘Excellent’, with an overall score of 68.5 points. The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) congratulates Acciona and Alstom on this exemplar achievement.

The project also scored a maximum of 10 points in the Innovation Category, with four Australian firsts recorded.

The most outstanding aspects of the project in relation to sustainability and innovation include its HESOP regenerative braking system, which generates significant energy savings during the operation phase of the infrastructure.

This system allows more than 99% of the energy produced during braking to be recovered and reused for auxiliary equipment, lighting and ventilation. The implementation of this braking system also means a reduction in the number of substations and eliminates the need to incorporate braking resistance, which results in an overall saving of materials on the project.

Another innovation was recorded in relation to the High Cross Park substation, with an underground design and construction to minimise the potential impact on trees, as well as on cultural and heritage features in the area. It also has a geothermal air-conditioning system that will save 15 MWH of energy every year during operation, equivalent to saving 12.6 tonnes of carbon annually compared to a conventional system.

Greenhouse gas emissions have also been reduced by 10 per cent by implementing regenerative brakes, purchasing renewable energy and installing the geothermal air-conditioning system in Randwick.

To mitigate potential flooding in the CSELR (CBD and South East Light Rail) project area, a detailed assessment of hydrological impacts and mitigation measures were undertaken. Overall, the project will improve the flood impacts to properties, including 800 properties in the Randwick/Kensington area, as a result of raising the embankment at Kensington Ponds.

Acciona and Alstom are part of the ALTRAC consortium, commissioned to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the CBD and South East Light Rail, which includes a 12 km double track route, and the subsequent operation of 25 km of infrastructure, comprised of the new CBD and South East Light Rail and  12.7 km Inner West Light Rail.

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) is a member-based not-for-profit industry council, and certified social enterprise. As a peak industry body, our purpose is to accelerate sustainability in infrastructure through collaboration. We deliver our impact by measuring what matters through third-party assurance, building industry capability, advocating for better infrastructure outcomes and supporting a growing passionate community of practice. Read more information on the IS Rating Scheme.

City Rail Link: Leading in Sustainability

City Rail Link Ltd (CRLL) which came into being on 1 July 2017, has full governance, operational and financial responsibility for the City Rail Link Project (CRL), which is integral to meeting Auckland’s growth and subsequent transport demands. CRL is the largest transport infrastructure project in New Zealand and is jointly funded by the Government and Auckland Council who have stipulated that the project must “provide a sustainable transport solution that minimises environmental impacts”. The project is due for completion in late 2024.

About the Project

The CRL is a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42 metres below the city centre transforming the downtown Britomart Transport Centre into a two-way through-station that better connects the Auckland rail network. The CRL will extend the existing rail line underground through Britomart, to Albert, Vincent and Pitt Streets, and then cross beneath Karangahape Road and the Central Motorway Junction to Symonds Street before rising to join the Western Line at Mount Eden Station. It includes a significant redevelopment of the existing Mount Eden Station and new underground stations – one mid-town at Wellesley and Victoria Streets provisionally named Aotea and one at Karangahape Road. This will improve travel options and journey times and double the number of Aucklanders within 30 minutes travel of the CBD. From Mt Eden Station it will take only three minutes to get to the uptown Karangahape Station, six minutes to the mid-town Aotea Station and nine minutes to the downtown Britomart Station. CRL will double the peak capacity of the rail network which will ensure faster, more frequent travel as well as significantly reduced travel times. The choice of travelling by train will become much more accessible and appealing.

Why did CRL decide to partner with ISCA for #ConnectNZ?

Part of CRL’s sustainability vision is to not only achieve high sustainability standards on our own project, but to work with the wider industry to improve standards across the board. We believe that the ISCA framework helps achieve that goal, which is why we acted as a pilot project to bring the tool to New Zealand. Supporting the summit helps further that goal.

About CRL and the IS Rating Tool

CRL has adopted the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating framework as a basis to externally evaluate, improve and verify sustainability performance.

CRL has worked with Mana Whenua and ISCA to identify opportunities to respond to New Zealand’s cultural context and it is important to CRL that Mana Whenua values are embedded within the IS framework. Working closely with Mana Whenua and building understanding with the ISCA team has allowed for a custom-made CRL Technical Manual, titled Mahi Rauora Aratohu, to be created and this will be implemented on the next stage of the CRL project.

Partnering with Mana Whenua has helped push the project to do more. Mana Whenua’s stance on caring for water, for instance, encouraged our contractors to instigate water re-use on-site, which has resulted in much more effective and efficient water use.

What are you most looking forward to at the Summit? 

Spending time with like-minded people and discovering what kinds of amazing activities others have been involved in. It also provides CRL with an opportunity to share what’s happening behind the scenes. We are proud of the sustainability initiatives that we have implemented and hope that others can learn from us and we can learn from them. We are, of course, also looking forward to taking attendees on our site tour and participating in the Climate Panel!

Which sustainability achievements are you most proud of on your project?

There are a lot of individual achievements, from reducing our carbon footprint to finding alternatives to landfill for our waste, but I think the most important thing we’ve achieved is making sure that sustainable thinking is included at all levels and stages of the project. That means that everyone involved – designers, contractors, sub-contractors and individual workers are all pulling in the same direction and hopefully achieving better outcomes for the project, the industry, the wider community and the environment.

We were also very proud to achieve “Leading” IS design ratings for Contracts 1 and 2 and are working hard to build on that success for the rest of the project and the As-built ratings!

What is CRL’s approach to sustainability, environmentally and socially?

Our focus at the start of the project was predominately environmental sustainability, particularly focussing on carbon reduction and waste minimisation. As the project has evolved, and with particular encouragement from Mana Whenua, we have broadened out our focus to include social outcomes. We are aiming to create greater diversity in our supply chain by generating opportunities for Maori and Pasifika businesses as well as social enterprises and socially innovative businesses while building capacity and capability in the workforce through upskilling and reskilling.

What next for CRL?

It’s a very exciting time for the CRL. We are in the midst of construction for the early works at Britomart and in Albert St, and recently announced the Link Alliance* as our preferred alliance partner to build the remainder of the project. This means we can get on with the detailed design and construction of the rest of the project including the development of the two new stations (Aotea and Karangahape), redeveloping the existing Mt Eden Station, tunnel boring the remaining tunnels and installing the rail systems. For all of this work this work we will be using the custom-made IS CRL Technical Manual (Mahi Rauora Aratohu) and will be looking to build on the sustainability work implemented to date on the contracts already in construction.

*The Link Aliance is Vinci Construction Grands Projets S.A.S, Downer NZ Ltd, Soletanche Bachy International NZ Limited, WSP Opus (NZ) Limited, AECOM NZ Ltd and Tonkin + Taylor Ltd.

Article from the WestConnex website

Lessons Learnt: An insight to delivering an ISCA rating on a WestConnex Project

Delivering an ISCA rating is no easy task so here are some tips and tricks from the Sustainability teams on WestConnex M4 East and New M5.

Tips and Tricks to remember:

Planning is key – Create a timeline for your submission including notes with as much detail on everything from evidence, completion percentage, difficulty and anything you will need to secure your points. Update the credit summary forms (CSF’s) progress to date and keep notes on who will review your credits before submission. Stick to your timeframes!

Integrating social enterprises into procurement during Project start up – Use organisations like Social Traders and Supply Nation to match your packages of works with potential social enterprises and indigenous business.

Social Traders: https://www.socialtraders.com.au/
Supply Nation: https://supplynation.org.au/

Make sure you have an air tight base case from the beginning – Finalise your base case as soon as possible, you will need to refer to it multiple times during the submission process. Piggy back off the base case from similar projects in the same area, no point reinventing the wheel when it comes to business as usual assumptions.

Define “significant” issues on your Project from start up and make sure this is well documented for the Man-7 credit– Determining the decisions early on creates more traction for this credit and makes it easier in the long term plus it gives you the necessary evidence.

Make the most of your Case managers – Creating a relationship up front is paramount to helping with your submission. Ask as many questions as possible and bring them along for the ride. Breaking the submission into different sections and submitting them separately, for example, may be a possibility for a major Project.

Make the most of your feedback session with verifier– Record these sessions or take extensive notes so that you can refer to them at a later date. If possible, have the feedback sessions in person, it will give you a much better understanding of what they require of the Assessors to receive more points for the project. Be prepared for the sessions, ensure you know exactly what credits you want to talk about and what issues you are seeking clarification on.

Remember you’re not in this alone – Use your support networks within your own Project, your Parent Company and within your JV partners. Build a network outside your Project (and JV) as early on in your submission as possible. This will be the gift that keeps on giving.

What we did well on the Projects:

Communication and relationships are necessary especially on site – Encourage site staff to be creative with their sustainability initiatives. Build healthy relationships and make connections with as many people as possible. Make sure they all know who you are, what you need from them and why you need it. Empower all workers to speak up with any ideas they have and ensure the senior leadership team are on board. Culture always comes from the top so make sure your managers are always in the loop.

Set up regular design and construction opportunities workshops from the beginning – great way to get an early involvement with the design team. Get to know all the individual design teams e.g. structures, tunnels, M&E, and know exactly what scope they are responsible for. Always target the lowest hanging fruit – lighting. Schedule these workshops quarterly, at a minimum.

Complete Waste Audits with other JV’s or Projects – Join forces with other sustainability managers from other projects in your area who are also using the same contractors and waste service providers and share the work load. This is also an excellent opportunity to share knowledge between Projects and discuss waste management practices (or providers) that are working well, or that need improvement.

Swap Stakeholder Auditors with other JV’s or Projects – swap your Stakeholder/Community Manager (or Senior team member) with another Project to complete the Stakeholder reviews. This saves time, cost and adds genuine value to the whole process.

Spend as much time on site – as possible. This is extremely helpful in infiltrating all commercial, construction and engineering teams and knowing who to obtain all reporting data from. You cannot consolidate an ISCA submission from your desk in head office. Having a presence on all sites will be your golden ticket.

Likewise, build strong relationships with the HR, Community, Training, Commercial and Procurement teams. Each of these teams are responsible for compiling the evidence for their relevant themes so don’t double up on work. People are your strongest ally and can prevent hours of trolling for the necessary evidence when it’s time to write your CSFs.

Establish a transparent network with Contractors and Suppliers – attend progress and contract meetings. Reward performance when Contractors are doing well and manage them appropriately when they are not supplying the data they are required to (e.g. concrete SCM%). Involve your commercial managers when you are not getting what you need in the agreed timeframes for reporting. This will also help you achieve Level 3 in Procurement 4 CSF, (supplier reward program or similar and examples of rewards given).

Areas for improvement – things we could have done better:

Starting your submission early– an ISCA design submission is a lot of hard work and takes much longer than you expect. Be realistic about your time lines, transparent with your reporting timeframes and clear with your teams about what exactly you need from them, why and when.

Embedding sustainability policies in Procurement from Project start-up – These are essential to the project obtaining all the procurement points and are easily won if set up properly. Be sure to track the completion of these requirements as the Project progresses. Just because the requirements are embedded in the tender schedules, doesn’t ever mean they are being completed.

Create a centralised data collation spreadsheet – that is either shared or the same for each site and ensure there is a someone in charge of document control and change management. Track who is responsible for each credit and the progress against it. Use this spreadsheet as a guide for client completion % updates.

Emphasizing importance of EPDs to Contractors and Suppliers – and requesting documentation as part of the tender and procurement process. Ensure tenders are evaluated based on a minimum of 20% non-cost elements. Encourage commercial teams to place an emphasis on choosing contractors based upon this particularly for large material suppliers e.g. Concrete and Steel and capture this process for your procurement CSFs.

Establish relationships with Contractors and Suppliers early – embed all reporting requirements into their contract and ensure the data is received from them in accordance with the agreed timelines. If the data isn’t coming in, raise it to the CA and manage the Contractor accordingly e.g. stop payment.

Keep your credit summary forms simple – Address criteria and the ‘must’ statements only. Don’t waffle. Always remember that the Verifier has a limited amount of time to read through an extraordinary amount of information on a Project they know very little about. Don’t waste time trying to justify something that doesn’t exist. Keep it concise and point to the evidence specifically (page number and highlighted specific text). A CSF should never be an essay.

NorthLink WA Achieves Highest Ever IS Rating Score

NorthLink WA Southern Section has achieved the ultimate accolade, receiving the highest IS Rating scored by an infrastructure project across Australia and New Zealand.

With a score of 95.2 points out of a possible 110, this is the highest score attained to date under the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s (ISCA) Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Rating Scheme.

The independently verified ISCA rating scheme recognises projects that can measure a significant reduction in the energy, water and materials ‘footprint’ in construction and have been designed to use less during the life of the asset too.

The scheme also recognises projects for diverting waste from landfill (e.g. through reuse and recycling of materials), minimising clearing of native vegetation, adapting to predicted climate change risks, innovation, and good stakeholder engagement.

“From the outset, NorthLink WA has been committed to sustainable outcomes, a fact that is clearly demonstrated in the achievement of this award,” Senior Project Director NorthLink WA, Rob Arnott said.

“The ‘Leading’ rating (Design and As-Built) for NorthLink WA southern section is the result of input from multiple stakeholders as well as behaviours developed as part of the partnering process with John Holland, Main Roads and the Independent Certifier (APP).”

These include:

• leadership by Main Roads which set an aspiration to reach a ‘Leading’ rating
• foundations built by Main Roads and the NorthLink WA team towards the rating during project development
• strong delivery by John Holland who worked closely with their design and construction team, suppliers and key subcontractors.

Additionally, NorthLink WA central section has achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating with a score of 70.5.

“These achievements demonstrate that NorthLink WA is a world class initiative in sustainability design and construction,” Mr Arnott said.

Ainsley Simpson, the Chief Executive Officer of ISCA said: “Main Roads has always taken sustainability seriously, having been one of the earliest adopters of the IS Rating Scheme. Congratulations on your continued commitment and leadership, ensuring communities reap the rewards that come from starting with the end in mind.”

For more information about the project, visit their IS Rating Directory entry.

The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project

This article is taken from the 2018 ISCA Impacts Report.

Lendlease along with its Alliance partners – Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA), WSP, Aurecon, CPB Contractors and Metro Trains Melbourne – is delivering the Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removal project (CTD) along one of Melbourne’s busiest rail corridors.

The project involves rebuilding five stations and removing nine level crossings to create renewed village centres at Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Hughesdale, Clayton and Noble Park. Ultimately, the elevated rail design will convert the previous brown-field rail corridor into 22.5 hectares of new linear park green-fields beneath the structure leaving a positive legacy for the community.

This innovative world class design infrastructure project required a state-of the-art precast concrete yard to be established to produce the more than 2,200 pre-cast concrete segments to build parts of the new elevated rail line.  This purpose-built precast concrete yard was essential in meeting the precise architecturally finished viaduct design and also the high production rates for the concrete segments. Each precast segment weighed 26 tonne and at peak production, the precast yard facility produced up to 17 segments per day.

CTD recognised business as usual pre-cast concrete facilities typically had low energy efficiency, high-emissions output and little whole-of-life considerations, creating negative impacts on our environment. The challenge for CTD was to identify and embed sustainability applications and solutions into the precasting processes to ensure manufacture processes could match the elevated structural design which minimises urban, visual and environmental impact.

CTD demonstrated the incorporation of multiple whole of life sustainability initiatives into key phases of the precast yard including design, construction and materials processes of the facility and in the precast materials. This also extended to the materials makeup of the concrete, aggregates and steel within each precast element.

The initiatives allow CTD to realise real and material reduction to the impact on the environment, including reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, diverting waste from landfill by using recycled content in the construction and manufacturing processes.

Key sustainability initiatives include:

• Over 17,000 tonnes of recycled concrete was used in the construction of the precast facility foundation negating the need for excessive fill importation.
• Reducing the embodied energy of the precast segment by specifying a concrete mix that included a 21% cement replacement product through the use of fly-ash.
• Utilising the facility’s 13,000 m2 roof catchment area to capture rainwater within 3 x 20,000 litre tanks which has enabled the reuse of approximately 10,000,000 litres for water at the facility.
• With 24/7 precasting activities, LED lighting was installed throughout the facility to reduce the lighting energy demand by over 60%. In addition, daylight sensors were installed to ensure lights weren’t unnecessarily used when there was sufficient daylight outside. Skylights were also installed throughout the building to reduce lighting requirements on sunny days.
• The generators that ran the 50 tonne gantry hoists used 20% biodiesel – a renewable energy source. The generator technology adopted allowed for the optimisation of power output by reducing engine capacity when less load was required. Over the life of precasting activities, this allowed the saving of approximately 33,000L of diesel and contributed to the reduction of 90 t-CO2-e.
• Producing the precast segments locally reduced transport costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
• Through this facility, approximately 170 workers from a variety of trades including steel fixers, welders, concreters, crane operators and precast concrete labourers have had role-specific training.  Other programs beyond role specific training were also implemented in areas of health and safety, first aid, leadership, manual handling, working at heights and operation of gantry cranes.

Lendlease along with its Alliance partners are committed to delivering high quality assets safely and with a genuine commitment to advancing sustainability within the industry.