Constructing Excellence in Wales

Cardiff Olympic-standard Canoe Slalom Centre

Size of project: £12m
Type of project: Civil engineering
Demonstration themes: Whole life value, business case for health and safety, sustainability and waste management
Contract: NEC Option A (Lump Sum)
Team:

• Client: Cardiff County Council
• Main contractor: Dean and Dyball Civil Engineering
• Designers: Hyder Consulting, Hydrostadium, S&P Architects

The Demonstration

The 250m Olympic-standard canoe slalom course in Cardiff Bay has significantly enhanced the overall water sport offering within Wales for all ages and abilities. It fits into the council’s agenda to improve health and wellbeing for all through increased participation in sport. The facility is a key component of Cardiff International Sports Village, which is bringing real benefits to residents and visitors and making use of a former brownfield contaminated site. The project was delivered on time and budget, and turned out to be a successful testing ground for new ideas and initiatives that will feed into the overall strategy for the development of the sports village as well as the contractor’s core business.

The Delivery

This project represented a ‘toe in the water’ for collaborative working and the use of the NEC contract for Cardiff County Council. To enable genuine collaborative working, the project team shared office space, which provided opportunities for informal discussion, and used open information systems. Drawings were shared and circulated through use of the project tool Business Collaborator, for example.

In order to share learning and best practice with the wider construction industry and the public, the team set up a webcam publishing a live feed of progress using a dedicated website. Other information about the development was also provided. Feedback was monitored and responses generated where appropriate.

The business plan aimed to keep the whole life cost of the facility to a minimum, and this was achieved partly through rigorous assessment of operating costs. One of the most costly components was shown to be the pumping regime. The mechanical design team carried out a comprehensive review of pump efficiencies and maintenance costs versus upfront capital cost, enabling various options to be considered by the project team.

Health and safety was a top priority within the project’s ‘zero harm’ policy. The team worked hard to embed this in the culture of the project, largely through ensuring a much greater level of involvement by the entire workforce. This was tackled through a number of initiatives. For example, every month a member of the workforce was selected to participate in safety inspections with a senior member of the management team and attend the weekly site safety meeting.

Workers were involved in presentations by PPE and plant suppliers, giving them a say in the choice of equipment. For example, workers were able to select the right gloves for the job within the mandatory glove policy. A daily hazard/activities board was introduced to complement toolbox talks, making sure that everyone on site had a general awareness of what activities were taking place.

In addition to hard measures such as accident frequency rate, number of inspections and CSCS compliance, the health and safety performance indicators included a number of softer measures such as employee satisfaction and absenteeism to help managers understand the underlying causes behind the results and trends.

Sustainability and waste minimisation was also a key priority, and the project used methods such as site waste management plans to enhance the standard environmental systems. With 18,000m³ of muck to remove from the site, the project team worked with Cardiff council to arrange the reuse of nearly all this material, either through in-situ vitrification (ISV) or further afield. The Environment Agency was also proactively involved, and the team drew on expert advice from the Constructing Excellence in Wales Waste team, along with WRAP, whose Net Waste Tool was used to record the proportion of material recycled, reused or drawn from sustainable sources.

Other approaches to promoting sustainability included insulation of the building to enhance energy efficiency, efficient heating techniques, grey water recycling and heat recovery, and a review of alternative energy sources including solar, wind power, and ground sourced energy.