Early works infrastructure project

CPB Contractors is managing the early works in an infrastructure project that involves moving all utilities. It’s a major undertaking that involves relocating electricity, gas, water, telecommunications and sewers across a broad area.

The Environmental and Sustainability teams at CPB are keen to minimise the impact of this mammoth project. All work is done in accordance with the Environmental Protection Requirements (EPR) and CPB is focussed on keeping their client and stakeholders informed throughout.

Managing and standardising activity across multiple subcontractors

As the managing contractor, CPB is dealing with 7 to 10 subcontractors at any one time. With a shortage of feet on the ground, the Environmental team needed to find a way to manage across all the contractors and ensure that everyone was meeting the EPR.

Brian Pinkman, Sustainability Manager, explained, “The Enviro team can’t be onsite 24/7, so we needed a solution that would automate monitoring and give us the tools to manage things, and to understand what’s happening across all site activity.”

The team realised they could use new technology to make this easier, and automate many of the processes that were traditionally being done manually. So they implemented SiteHive real-time environmental management across the site for all the subcontractors.

The teams use several SiteHive Hexanode devices to monitor noise and dust continuously, and also other vibration monitors for specific situations. The data from all the devices is available to everyone in real time through SiteHive’s cloud-based software. And, because information is shown in graphical form, it makes it easy for the subcontractors to see what’s happening as a result of their site activity.

This visual aspect of SiteHive allows the Environmental team to work more effectively with the subcontractors. Brian says ....

SiteHive is easy to use for the subcontractors, and they enter the details required to explain any gaps or discrepancies. The environmental team uses SiteHive to manage what’s happening across all the data, and the whole of the site. Brian says, “With SiteHive we’re able to monitor the subcontractors and be the first line of defence for them. If we see any issues we flag them immediately, so they can address them quickly.”

By working together and using technology, the team is able to stop issues from happening and minimise the environmental impact of the works. The team now mandates SiteHive for all their subcontractors, which has allowed them to standardise their processes. People have access to everything from the SiteHive dashboard, which Brian says has helped their Project Manager immensely too:

SiteHive makes it easy to keep stakeholders informed

Working on a major infrastructure project, it’s important that the CPB team has information to keep stakeholders informed. The team receives a lot of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, as well as questions from the EPA, their client and the community.

Having access to all the data allows them to be responsive to stakeholders. Because they are monitoring continuously, the team has a complete, 24/7 record that they can use to respond to requests. Brian says, “SiteHive is great for working with regulators and keeping people informed. We have the proof that we are complying all the time - it shows we are responsible.”

“We can access the information immediately. SiteHive saves us a lot of time and energy when responding to requests: when our client asks for information to respond to a community complaint, for example, we can get it to them in minutes.”

Lower costs - with thousands of dollar savings

Using SiteHive has also allowed the team to minimise project costs. Before starting they completed a cost-benefit analysis, and the savings have stacked up in several areas. For example, on previous projects the CPB team would have had noise consultants on site doing regular monitoring at least every week. Now, they only need consultants occasionally, for example when required to respond to specific complaints.

Brian says, “We save $1000s from not using specialist consultants. It’s great to be able to manage it ourselves because not only does it minimise costs, it’s also immediate.”

There have also been major savings on capital costs. As an example Brian cited a subcontractor that was looking to buy a $10k noise monitor for a few months' work. “That makes no sense when you can use SiteHive.”

More time for the important things

Using innovative technology has allowed the CPB team to shift how they spend their time and focus. All the routine work and monitoring is now done automatically, which frees up the team for more important activities.

While focussing on other work, the team still keeps track of things by receiving alerts if there are any issues on site. SiteHive sends out SMS and email messages if any thresholds are reached, based on rules that the team sets themselves. Brian says, “Using SiteHive frees up time for us - both physically and mentally - so we can focus on other issues while knowing that noise and community impact are being looked after.”

SiteHive means the team can manage water proactively, alongside other environmental data

With increasingly-stringent oversight and penalties from the EPA, projects need to ensure they are managing any water quality issues and have the data to prove it. The CPB Contractor team recently started using SiteHive to manage water aspects on site, and this has enabled them to adopt a more proactive approach.

Brian Pinkman explains, “The EPA is getting tougher on water issues and we always want to make sure we are in line with the requirements. We were doing weekly water quality measurements on turbidity, pH, etc., but we were getting the reports a month behind - it was too late to manage any issues.”

“Firstly, it means we can see that the monitoring has actually been done, and also we can see the full situation online. We can highlight any exceedances or issues immediately.”

Using SiteHive Water also allows the team to develop a baseline of water quality which they can monitor against. Brian explains, “There’s a lot of natural change in the water system, so having all the data in SiteHive means we have a baseline over time. It’s really helpful as we can see what’s likely to be natural, and what’s not.”