Gold

Book
The stories behind the most
innovative, impactful and inspirational
civil engineering practices
Contents
6 Overview

8
How the NCE100 Companies
of the Year were chosen

8 Staff feedback
analysis
Staff feedback was key to
0% 100% NCE100 award winner choices

57% 11 NCE100
Very Satisfied Top10
The 10 best NCE100
companies in 2018

20 Trending 20
The top 20 up and coming
civil engineering firms

22 Trending 20

93%
winner
FJD Consulting stood out
among the up and comers
Satisfied
25 NCE100
winners
The 15 greatest stories of 2017

56 NCE100
22 16 listing
The NCE100
Companies of the Year

58 NCE100
Judges
The 45 judges who
assessed the NCE100 firms

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 3
 EUROPE’S LEADING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY
ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENT & DESIGN CONSULTANCY

WE BELIEVE IN THE
POSITIVE POWER OF
HUMAN CURIOSITY
& THE POSSIBILITIES
IN TECHNOLOGY,
INNOVATION & DESIGN
As Europe’s leading consultancy for future communities
and cities, Sweco is delighted to be ranked by the NCE
as the 6th civil engineering company in the UK and proud
to be the recipient of its Low Carbon Leader Award.

info@sweco.co.uk | 0113 262 0000 | www.sweco.co.uk

Foreword
“
The NCE100 is
the most rigorous
and robustly-judged
business recognition scheme
in civil engineering
Welcome to the NCE100 Gold Book. Inside we are
recognising some fantastic civil engineering businesses. The
companies inside are the most innovative, impactful and
inspirational companies operating in the infrastructure sector
today.
We know this because the NCE100 is the most rigorous
and robustly-judged business recognition scheme in civil
engineering.
To achieve recognition here, firms have had to present
their achievements to a panel of 45 judges representing the
industry’s leading clients, owner/operators stakeholder groups
and change bodies.
But not only that, they had to allow us to conduct a
comprehensive survey of their staff. We are grateful to the
almost 8,000 engineers who responded and provided us with
their invaluable insight.
These firms also had to answer some key questions designed
to eliminate any company that is not meeting the NCE100
criteria of driving our industry forward by doing the right
things, in the right way, to deliver outcomes that benefit
society.
Recognition comes in three ways.
We have 15 award categories: five recognise firms innovating
in project initiation, design, delivery and operation; five more
recognise firms who are making an impact with industry-
change initiatives; and five more recognise firms who serve as
inspiration to us all by delivering outcomes for society.
We also give special recognition to the role of the smaller
firms in our industry; the firms often incubating the best
ideas but who do not always have the marketing clout to get
their voices heard. We recognise these firms through our
Trending20 – our pick of the small firms with the best stories
to tell.
But we begin with the top 10 – the firms who, according
to the NCE100 judges, their staff and their data, really
are standing out – and our ultimate winner, the NCE100
Company of the Year.
I hope you find our Gold Book informative.
Mark Hansford
Editor, New Civil Engineer
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 5
 NCE100
Overview
Choosing
the cream
of the crop
THE NCE100 COMPANIES OF THE YEAR IS
THE MOST RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT GOING,
MARK HANSFORD EXPLAINS WHAT IT TAKES
TO MAKE THE GRADE IN 2018.
The NCE100 showcases truly
outstanding civil engineering practices,
consultants and contractors, big
and small. We were looking for the
companies who, in 2018, have got the
most inspiring stories to tell. Stories of
innovation, of changing our industry
for the better, and of making the world
a better place through their projects.
The winners of the NCE100
Companies of the Year 2018 were
revealed on 23 May at an awards
ceremony at the Troxy, London. The
winners celebrated with 650 guests
from the UK’s leading civil engineering
firms and their peers from across the
industry’s top companies.
We recognised the leading firms
in 15 specific areas of excellence
before revealing the top 10 NCE100
Companies of the Year.
Each category had a trio of judges
hand-picked for their specific expertise
in the skillset being judged.
Judges this year included Transport
for London commissioner Mike Brown,
6 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
Tideway chairman Sir Neville
Simms, Crossrail chief executive
KEY FACTS Simon Wright, Highways England
smart motorways programme director
24 Shaun Pidcock, Cabinet Office
construction director David Hancock,
Number of Innovate UK innovation lead Sarah
staff employed Eager, Heathrow Airport chief
by FJD people officer Paula Stannett and
Infrastructure & Projects Authority
Consulting senior advisor Keith Waller.
The stories they picked out as
£1.5M to outstanding are told in the awards
section of this Gold Book.
£1.7M Alongside the judging, data supplied
FJD’s annual to us by these companies about how
turnover they operate was used to help us
formulate our top 10.
This data was quite revealing and
shows the extent to which the civil
engineering industry is driving forward.
For example, when it comes to tech
excellence and innovation, would you
have guessed that the 100 companies
collectively brought 932 innovations
to market this year, securing 32
patents in the process?
Perhaps this is not surprising given
that 52 of the 100 have a budget
for research and development and
innovation.
And on the subject of managing
risk, so important in the post-Carillion
world, 72 of the 100 had a risk register
and a strategy for managing it.
When it comes to business culture,
it is good to see, for example, that 70
of the NCE100 firms have a formal
inclusion policy but a shame that
only 25 are signed up to Women Into
Science and Engineering’s 10 Steps to
Gender Equality – just one more than
last year.
More positively, 60 of the 100 have
formal initiatives in ensure that staff
are not overstressed or over-tired.
The key sense-check question
around collaboration was whether a
firm had BS11000 certification – and
just 22 do.
Similarly, on low carbon, the key
question was whether a firm reported

“
On staff
feedback
alone, smaller firms
would have filled
out 16 of the top
20 spots, with only
Costain, Mace and
Arcadis joining Arup
its carbon footprint – and just 29 do.
When it comes to talent
development, 67 of the 100 have an
approved ICE training agreement.
And finally, what about providing
inspiration by seeking to make the
world a better place? Well, it really
would be good if a few more than
22 said they supported the United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goals and had set targets to help
achieve them.
There was then one final piece of the
NCE100 assessment jigsaw and it is
the most important.
Worth half the marks when it comes
to building our top 10, it is the results
of a comprehensive staff survey. We
are massively grateful to the almost
8,000 who filled in our survey, the
findings of which come next.
The NCE100 Company of the Year
this year was Dutch-owned Arcadis.
As well as wowing our judges and
claiming the Smart Operator gong
and being highly commended for
diversity leadership and making the
shortlist for innovation in project
management and excellence in climate
resilience, it was only a few points
behind Arup in staff scores too.
It means in three years of NCE100
there have been three different
winners of the NCE100 Company of
the Year, with Arcadis joining Arup and
SPONSORS AND
SUPPORTERS
The NCE100 would not
be possible without our
sponsors and supporters.
Thanks to:
Platinum Sponsors
Royal HaskoningDHV
Wavin
Gold Sponsor
Invennt
Silver Sponsor
Black & Veatch
Supporters
Global Engineering Congress
Hewson Consulting
Engineers Stantec
WSP Group
Arcadis takes Opus as Gold Medal Winners.
to the stage Interestingly, but perhaps
after claiming unsurprisingly, smaller firms would
top spot claim nine of the top 10 spots if the
NCE100 assessment was based on
staff feedback alone. Top of the pile
this year – by some distance – would
have been MJ Rooney Construction,
followed by Floodline Consulting,
London Bridge Associates, Waterco,
Anthony D Bates Partnership and
Project Centre.
The highest-rated big firm was Arup,
coming in at number 7 in the staff
feedback rankings.
On staff feedback alone, smaller
firms would have filled out 16 of the
top 20 spots, with only Costain, Mace
and Arcadis joining Arup.
This staff input, sitting alongside the
views of the judges and the analysis of
the company data, makes the NCE100
the most comprehensive assessment
of civil engineering firms going. These
100 are the companies that have been
making the biggest stir in 2018.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 7
 NCE100
Analysis

View from Satisfaction D

the coal face

MY COMPANY IS GREAT AND
I HAVE NO DESIRE TO WORK
ANYWHERE ELSE

83% YES

17% NO
ONLY THE NCE100 ASKS A FIRM’S STAFF
WHAT THEIR BUSINESS IS REALLY LIKE TO
WORK FOR. HERE WE REVEAL WHAT MY FIRM REWARDS ME FOR
PARTICIPATING IN INDUSTRY
ALMOST 8,000 CIVIL ENGINEERS SAID ABOUT INNOVATION GROUPS
WORKING FOR THEIR COMPANIES IN 2018.

39% YES

Civil engineers remain a happily
employed bunch, with 83% of the
7,640 who responded to the NCE100
questionnaire agreeing with the
statement that their company is
“great” and that they have “no desire”
to work anywhere else. That is quite an
endorsement.
So what is it about the 100
companies in the NCE100 that makes
them such great places to work?
61% NO
hefty 87% of those responding were
professionally qualified or working
KEY FACTS towards qualification with the appro-
priate professional body.
71% But only 23% of them said they
actively participated in the work of
Percentage of their professional bodies by sitting on
NCE100 firm committees or panels. And there is no IN THE LAST YEAR MY WORK
great excuse for them not to – of the HAS CAUSED ME UNPLEASANT
staff satisfied 23%, 92% said their firm was happy LEVELS OF STRESS
with their sal- for them to do this in work time.
ary and other
Driving innovation
14% YES

Talent development benefits A hearty 84% said they were satisfied 86% NO
Complaints to New Civil Engineer with their firm’s investment in
about the salaries paid to civil engi- 83% innovation, research and development
neers have dropped off in recent years and 86% were happy with the way
and the NCE100 survey perhaps ex-
Percentage of their firm encourages them to
plains why. A big majority of respond- NCE100 firm innovate and push technical and
staff saying

“
ents, 80%, said they were happy with technological boundaries.
the structured career development that their MY FIRM REWARDS ME FOR
and training provided by their firm. company is WORKING WITH SCHOOLS
Similarly, 78% said they were satisfied
with the pace their career is developing
“great” 77% said they AND COLLEGES
at and 71% were happy with their salary
and other benefits.
were aware
24% YES

76% NO

Valuing technical excellence

of initiatives in their
Post-Grenfell there has been a
re-awakening of the way employers
firm to help them
value technical expertise. An over- understand the value
whelming 93% said they were happy
with the way their firm values this. A of reducing carbon
8 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 “
83% said they
on Dashboard were satisfied
with their firm’s lead-
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ership in exploring
THE WAY YOUR FIRM VALUES
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE?
where technology can
take the industry
0% 100%
57%
Very Satisfied But again, it seems those who take
an active role are in the minority:
just 24% of respondents said they
personally participated in industry
research or innovation groups.
Yet, again, their firms seem happy
to support such activities, as only 8%
93% of those who get involved in research
Satisfied and innovation forums have to do so in
their own time.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PACE Technology leadership
YOUR CAREER IS DEVELOPING? There is much focus right now on the
skillsets that will be required by civil
0% 100% engineering firms in the future. Here,
30% there is trust in the businesses, with
Very Satisfied 76% saying they felt their firm was
developing and recruiting people with
the right skills to drive their company
forward.
Going further, 83% said they were
satisfied with their firm’s leadership
in exploring where technology can
take the industry and 77% said their
78% firm’s digital strategy has had a positive
Satisfied impact on the way they work.
But slightly worryingly, just 45%
said they considered themselves to be
working at BIM Level 2 – the digital
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR skills level that the government has set
FIRMS APPROACH TO ACHIEVING THE for all its projects.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS?
Building future skills
0% 100%
13%
There is satisfaction with the way
NCE100 firms engage with schools
Very Satisfied and colleges: 72% are happy with this.
Yet most are happy to leave it others
to actually do it. Just 29% said they
personally work with schools and
colleges, and of them just 31% are
trained as science, technology and
maths (STEM) ambassadors or similar.
55% It is perhaps understandable to see why
– of those who work with schools, just
Satisfied 24% said their firm offered some kind
of reward for this work.
Going broader than schools, 76%
said they were happy with the way
their firm promotes the profession
to the wider media but only 24% said
they had been supported by their firms
in doing promotional or media work
themselves.
Working collaboratively
Collaboration is an industry
buzzword. But how many people
are really collaborating; working in
an environment with longer-term
interaction based on a shared mission
and goals, with shared decision-makers
and resources?
Looking internally, 61% said they
were working like that, with 18% going
further and saying they were working
in a fully integrated environment with
a fully integrated programme, co-
located teams with combined planning
and funding.
Looking externally and how people
work with others in other organisations
in the supply chain, just 51% said they
were working genuinely collaboratively
and just 15% said they were working in
an integrated team.
When working collaboratively, 35%
said they were aware of doing so within
a formal framework such as BS11000.
Reducing carbon
Awareness of the role of civil engineers
in mitigating climate change through
their work is a major concern right
now. This year New Civil Engineer has
reported how major infrastructure
funders are challenging the profession
about what it is doing to tackle the
issue.
It seems that employers are
responding. In the NCE100 survey,
83% said their firm is encouraging
them to consider the carbon
implications of their work and 77% said
they were aware of initiatives in their
firm to help them understand the value
of reducing carbon. Of them 58%
have actively participated in such an
initiative.
Overall 63% said they considered
their firm to be a leader in the drive to
reduce carbon use in infrastructure.
That’s a lot of leaders.
Developing sustainably
The ICE’s code of professional conduct
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 9
 NCE100
Analysis
“
81% of
NCE100
employees rated their
firm as good when it
comes to openness to
employing women and
treating them fairly
says that all members shall show “due
regard” for the environment and for
the sustainable management of natural
resources.
It is arguable whether this statement
is tough enough for modern times,
when so many people worldwide
live without access to clean water,
sanitation, affordable energy, efficient
transport systems or even safe shelter.
The United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals (UNSDGs) have
been set to improve the lives of those
without those basic human needs. The
ICE says civil engineers are in a unique
and privileged position to help the
world achieve them.
NCE100 company staff clearly
agree, with 90% of respondents saying
their companies will play an important
role in achieving the UNSDGs.
But just 55% are happy with their
company’s approach to date, and a
only tiny minority, 13% , would say
they are “very satisfied”.
Health and wellbeing
Much attention today is directed
towards mental health and wellbeing
and NCE100 firms seem to be taking
note.
Three quarters – 76% – of NCE100
company staff feel their firm is
concerned with their physical health
and mental wellbeing, with 81% feeling
that they have enough time to do their
jobs and 85% saying they are happy
with their work-life balances.
But 64% say they regularly work
more than 37.5 hours a week and 48%
say that in the last year their work has
caused them stress.
Stress, the experts say, is not
necessarily a bad thing. But unpleasant
10 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
NCE100 LEADING COMPANIES AS SEEN BY THEIR STAFF
Smaller companies flood the NCE100 top 10s for Tech Excellence, Business Culture
and World View when firms are judged solely by their staff. This makes the achievements
of Costain and Arup all the more remarkable. But notwithstanding that, these are clearly
firms that are making their staff feel secure, valued and engaged.
TECH EXCELLENCE BUSINESS CULTURE WORLD VIEW
01 MJ Rooney Construction 01 Floodline Consulting 01 MJ Rooney Construction
02 Anthony D Bates 02 MJ Rooney Construction 02 Floodline Consulting
03 Floodline Consulting 03 London Bridge Associates 03 Project Centre
04 London Bridge Associates 04 Project Centre 04 Stuart Michael
05 Waldeck Consulting 05 Costain 05 Arup
06 Wentworth House 06 Waterco Consultants 06 London Bridge
07 Design ID Consulting 07 Westlakes Engineering 07 Waterco Consultants
08 Whitby Wood 08 Anthony D Bates 08 Dr Sauer & Partners
09 Waterco Consultants 09 Davies Maguire 09 Whitby Wood
10 Costain 10 Alun Griffiths 10 Westlakes Engineering
levels of stress definitely are and 14% Diversity
of respondents say they have regularly When it comes to gender equality 91%
KEY FACTS suffered unpleasant levels of stress in of NCE100 employees rated their firm
the last year. Overall, 15% said they as good when it comes to openness to
13% have had to seek help for stress. But employing women and treating them
encouragingly of those, 86% said their fairly, with 76% going so far as to say it
Percentage of company supported them through it. was very good.
respondents This sentiment falls in other diversity
who were “very Safety and zero harm areas.
And what of physical health and When it comes to employing and
satisfied” wit safety? Remembering that the fairly treating ethnic minorities,
h their firm’s NCE100 comprises contractors as 86% said their firm was good. For
well as consultants it is good to see people of a mature age, 83% ;
approach to that only 6% of respondents say they for people of minority religions, 80%;
tackling the are sometimes encouraged to cut for those returning from a career
UNSDGs corners because of time constraints break, 74%; for LGBT people, 69%;
and that less than 1% say they do this for those with hearing, sight, mobility
regularly. or learning impairments, 63%; and
Less than 3% say they sometimes for those with mental health concerns,
feel they are put at unnecessary risk. just 57%.
Top 10
Making the NCE100 top 10 is a remarkable
achievement. These are firms ranked highest
by clients, peers and their own staff
 NCE100
Top 10
01 Arcadis
NCE100 COMPANY OF THE YEAR ARCADIS
VALUES ENGAGEMENT WITH END USERS AS
A WAY TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF IMPROVING
QUALITY OF LIFE AND MEETING CLIENTS’ NEEDS
The average London commuter is
used to the highs and lows of public
KEY FACTS
transport: from getting a seat on
trains that arrive every 30 seconds to
queuing for 15 minutes just to reach 200
the platform.
Number of
However smooth or difficult that
journey is, Arcadis has used it as a Arcadis
starting point to get transport users partners
to think about how their city works.
In a move virtually unknown for an
engineering consultancy, it launched
a consumer advertising campaign on
London Underground and in mainline
stations, asking travellers questions like
“Is London progressive enough for the
future of travel?”
It is all part of the conversation
the firm wants to have with clients
and end-users about how it can help
improve quality of life – a driver which
the consultancy says is fundamental to
what it does.
“Working for clients like Network
Rail and Highways England, we don’t
necessarily have that connection with
the end-user; there are several other
layers they go through,” says UK rail
director Chris Pike. “By stimulating
conversation, we start to create
connections with end-users. This is
12 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
Main: Arcadis worked with
Network Rail on the London
vital as we move forward in our digital
Bridge station redesign
transformation. We’re not just talking
Below: Manchester Airport
on a business to business basis, but
transformation programme is
business to consumer.”
another Arcadis project
It is this conversational approach
which helped the consultant win top
place at the NCE100 this year.
Engagement has been crucial to
the firm as it emerges from a period Winner
of transition and rebranding. Arcadis
NCE100 Company
can trace its roots back almost 300
years but, in the UK, it was only in of the Year
2015 – following the 2011 merger with —
EC Harris and the 2014 acquisition
of Hyder Consulting – that the Winner
companies came together under a Smart Operator
single Arcadis brand.
—
“In the UK, you had organisations
which operated totally differently High Commendation
– a partnership with EC Harris and Diversity Champion
shareholders at Hyder,” says Pike.
“There were two different business —
models, different types of people – Shor tlisted
management consultants, engineers
Innovation in Project
and designers. The challenge was
how to create a leadership team that Management,
fosters collaboration.” Excellence in Climate
Combining these businesses gave
Arcadis its four main capabilities: design Resilience
and engineering, programme and project
management, cost and commercial

“
We don’t stop.
We want to
develop and develop
quickly
services and business advisory.
“These elements are focused around
the full spectrum of how you deliver
projects and blend those capabilities
to provide a service that goes beyond
engineering,” says Pike.
Arcadis is currently working as
Systems Integration Delivery Partner
for Network Rail’s digital railway
programme, managing the roll-out of
digital signalling on the rail network.
“The project is about introducing a
system which is part infrastructure,
part transformation and part
digital. Bringing that to life
requires a very different skill set to
designing bridges or new sections of
railway,” explains Pike. “It is about
people transformation, systems
transformation and new process,
tailoring infrastructure to take a
system which exists, but needs to be
adapted to a highly variable operational
railway environment. Just applying
pure engineering doesn’t work. You
need to enable groups – designers,
contractors, infrastructure managers,
operators and end-users – to optimise
such a system.”
Innovation and thinking through
the full asset life achieved a second
NCE100 success: Arcadis won Smart
Operator for its work delivering
performance-based maintenance on
the Dutch railway system, of which
it maintains 25%. The approach uses
data analytics to pre-empt technical
failures, reducing them by up to 64%.
Arcadis is a Limited Liability
Partnership (LLP) which comprises
over 200 leaders who are essentially
shareholders with a stake in the
success of the company.
There are also employee forums
and working groups for areas including
equal opportunities, LGBT+, mental
health, as well as cultural groups
encompassing elements like religious
diversity. Feedback from a staff survey
was a key part of scoring for NCE100.
“That engagement helps people feel
they don’t just come here to work, but
are part of an organisation which values
them for their contribution,” says Pike.
At the NCE100 awards Arcadis
received a high commendation in the
Diversity Champion category, with its
faith-inclusive campaign and refugee
traineeships of particular note.
The firm’s recent projects include
redesigning London Bridge Station for
Network Rail, technical advisory to
Highways England on Lower Thames
Crossing, designing 80km of the High
Speed 2 Phase 1 route and programme
management for Manchester Airport’s
Transformation Programme.
Arcadis is currently looking to
help Birmingham prepare for the
Commonwealth Games in 2022 by
using data analytics, bots and building
and interactive dashboarding to quickly
and clearly build a picture of hotel
provision in the city. It will mean that
better decisions can be made about
how to meet demand.
Pike says that digital transformation
is key for the firm’s future, both in
the UK and globally. “Transformation
doesn’t happen overnight. You do the
stuff people expect you to do and
incrementally improve, but at the same
time you take your clients on a journey
of discovery. Digital transformation is
all about collaboration,” says Pike.
Pike says that Arcadis is, naturally,
delighted to have won the NCE100.
“We had a strategy to get in the
top three and someone said to me
afterwards ‘you’ve overperformed.
What are you going to do next year?’.”
So what is Arcadis going to do next
year? “We don’t stop,” says Pike. “We
want to develop and develop quickly.”
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 13
 NCE100
Top 10

02 Arup “
Together we
help our clients
solve their most
complex challenges

ARUP DRAWS ON GLOBAL PROJECT

EXPERIENCE TO DELIVER KEY INFRASTRUCTURE
IN THE UK, LIKE THE QUEENSFERRY CROSSING
IN SCOTLAND AND WATER SUPPLY RESLIENCE
PLANNING FOR WELSH WATER

The new Queensferry Crossing opened

under budget and on time, but when
Arup was appointed the scheme was
unaffordable and its timeline extremely
ambitious. With its client and JV
partner Jacobs, it challenged the
project brief, streamlined the bridge
design and halved the scheme budget
range from £3.2bn to £4.2bn down to
£1.7bn to £2.3bn to make the project
a reality.
On High Speed 2, Arup’s unique role
as environmental overview consultant
was to secure wide stakeholder
acceptance for this controversial
scheme. It combined visual and
acoustic data to simulate the passenger
experience and accurately model the
route context during construction and
operation. This smoothed progress
of the hybrid bills: Phase 1 passed on
schedule; it submitted Phase 2a on Arup helped in communities.
time; and Phase 2b is on track. to halve the Three mega-projects; three prime
Queensferry Shortlisted
Working in collaboration with examples of how 13,000-strong Arup
Welsh Water since 2015, Arup has Crossing’s Innovation in continues to inspire, innovate and have
developed a pioneering resilience budget and get Project Initiation, impact.
strategy that will deliver improved the project off Innovation in Design, Established in 1946, it remains
water supply protection and create a the drawing an independent firm of designers,
board Diversity Leadership,
resilient water grid system to safeguard Excellence in Water planners, engineers, consultants
the 1.2M people who are at risk and technical specialists, working
should an existing water treatment across every aspect of today’s built
works fail. Arup drew on its global environment.
experience of resilience planning to “Together we help our clients solve
identify customer-specific target areas their most complex challenges,” it says.
such as affordability, customers in The company earns 60% of its
vulnerable circumstances and working turnover outside the UK.

14 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 03 Jacobs
Jacobs is now a 74,000-strong
behemoth but is still able to
demonstrate great value for clients and
retain the loyalty of its staff.
This loyalty is driven by initiatives
such as its Sustainability+ programme
that empowers staff to drive savings
from a low carbon agenda.
Reducing the footprint of its own
initiatives and those of its clients saved
54.2M.t of CO2 for clients in 2016 – a
five-fold saving increase in two years.
Meanwhile health, safety and
wellbeing remain core to Jacobs’ DNA
– it is not just something we do, it
says, but who we are at work, home,
and in the community. Its BeyondZero
culture (recently celebrating its 10th
Anniversary) and award-winning
Mental Health Matters initiative
continue to drive progress and inspire.
The latter delivers an extensive
support network, including Positive
04 Mace
Mace started life in London in 1990 as
a construction manager targeting the
commercial property sector, but now it
is so much more.
It is now a 4,800-strong
international consultancy and
construction company, founded
and built on exceptional people, a
commitment to service excellence and
a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit.
Mace works internationally on
transport infrastructure programmes,
from aviation to highways and rail. It
aims to work as the delivery partner
for major infrastructure providers such
as Highways England and Transport
for London, helping to ensure some
of the most complex programmes in
the world are managed and delivered
effectively.
The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon
Improvement Scheme is a £1.5bn
upgrade project, involving a total
of 294km of new lanes, which will
Mental Health Champions (PMHCs),
enabling early intervention for staff
who may have symptoms.
Its team of PMHCs covers over 26
countries, includes 1,000-plus staff,
and continues to grow.
The company has grown rapidly
through acquisition, latterly CH2M
and Aquenta, and is globally
headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It
is now of the world’s largest and
most diverse providers of full-
spectrum technical, professional and
construction services for industrial,
Jacobs runs
commercial and government client
an award
Highly Commended winning metal organisations globally.
Excellence in Transport The CH2M acquisition has opened
health support
new markets for the firm, particularly in
— programme for
water and the environment. The prime
Shortlisted staff
example is in London where CH2M
Health and Wellbeing (now Jacobs) and the Environment
Champion, Low Carbon Agency formed Thames Estuary Asset
Leader, Smart Operator, Management 2100 (TEAM2100).
As lead delivery partner, it manages
Excellence in Water the inspection, refurbishment and
replacement of tidal flood defence
assets along the estuary, protecting
1.3M people and £275bn of property.
relieve congestion and help to connect
communities in the East of England.
Mace was appointed project
manager in 2012 to lead an integrated
team through the planning, design and
construction of the upgraded road. The
project won planning consent in 2016
and is due to open in 2020.
It was the first time Highways
England has used the collaborative
development partner approach and
the project has set a benchmark for
the speed and efficiency of developing
schemes of this scale.
Mace led Mace’s view was that a single
the A14 team, with shared goals and shared
Winner Cambridge to
objectives, would deliver the scheme
Construction Huntingdon cheaper, faster and more efficiently.
Improvement
Innovation Champion from planning
Through a process of challenge and
— review Mace reduced the time from
through options consultation to submission of
Shortlisted construction DCO by two years and the cost by
Low Carbon Leader, over £100M.
Mace is also leading the charge on
Excellence in Transport carbon, in November 2017 becoming
the first UK construction company
to sign up to RE100 and committing
to procuring all of its power from
renewables by 2022.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 15
 NCE100
Top 10

05 Ramboll “
We as an
industry have
got to do something
quite transformational
to help decision
makers invest wisely

A COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION AND

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY IS ENABLING RAMBOLL
TO OPEN UP NEW LINES OF COMMUNICATION
WITH CLIENTS AND GIVING THEM ADDED VALUE

Just one of Ramboll’s many digital

innovations is its gantry generation
system, an automated design and
modelling tool. It represents a step
change in gantry design. Design now
takes hours not weeks with costs falling
by 60% on a scheme by scheme basis
over the life of Highways England’s
current programme.
Ramboll has now taken these
principles, knowledge and lessons
to widen the application and adopt
it in the design of other structures,
including culverts and bridges.
“For clients it is about helping
them go further with design, faster
so they can make valuable decisions
earlier,” explains UK managing director
Mathew Riley. Riley’s UK operation is
now 1,300 strong and leading the way
across the 13,000-strong Ramboll
group when it comes to digital design.
“We are a pioneer in the industry
against those client needs,” he
asserts. “We have had 60 or 70 client
conversations that we wouldn’t have
had two years ago because of our
technical capability,” he adds.
It is a very clear strategy and a very
clear direction of travel. Previously,
this was developing in pockets. Now
our innovation process is organised
through a dedicated team, the
challenge now is how we operationalise
this innovation so two years from
now we could be talking a couple of
hundred or more, says Riley.
The core of it is Ramboll’s digital
toolkit, effectively a suite of apps,
tailorable to individual clients that
allow designs to be developed in near
real-time, allowing optioneering with
real numbers involved.
Riley: Helping Masterplans can be developed and
clients go structures manipulated in ways that
further with show clients how far projects can be
design, faster pushed to maximise returns through
increased floor plates or better, faster
delivery.
Once into the real detailed design,
components (such as gantries) can be
designed and sent digitally to an offsite
manufacturer in moments.
It is all part of that crucial
Winner
Excellence in Transport
— jointly bid to be Network Rail’s digital
Shortlisted
Design Innovation
Diversity Champion
consultancy challenge: how to add real
value to clients.
“We as an industry have got to do
something quite transformational to
help decision makers invest wisely
in infrastructure, and that’s about
affordability and productivity,” he
says.
“We know we can knock lumps
off the capital cost of infrastructure
through digital design and offsite
assembly. It’s just about creating the
evidence,” he asserts.
Ramboll is also broadening its
disciplinary capability by using its
digital design expertise as the lever,
with rail a good example.
Ramboll is, of course, Danish owned
and Denmark is a world leader in
ERTMS (digital signalling). So Ramboll
has teamed up with Dutch-owned
Arcadis (with the Dutch also pushing
ahead in digital rail) and they have
railway delivery partner. They won.
“So we have gone from nowhere
to the top table. And that is only the
start,” says Riley. It all adds up to a
growth plan that will likely take it to
2,000 in the UK in next few years.

16 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
06 Sweco UK
Sweco UK is an 800-strong
engineering, environment and design
consultancy which combines a multi-
disciplinary approach and international
expertise to deliver sustainable
solutions.
Sustainability is central to Sweco’s
culture. It has backed-up public
commitments to reduce infrastructure
carbon with decisive action.
From the preemptive
implementation of PAS2080 and EA
climate change regulations on major
projects, to innovative approaches to
encouraging behavioural change across
the supply chain, it is leading in this
crucial area.
It is the NCE100 Low Carbon
leader and there is no better of
its carbon reduction and broader
sustainable construction drive than its
work on Bloomberg’s new European
HQ. It achieved Breeam’s highest
07 Mott MacDonald
The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch,
New Zealand, hit water and wastewater
infrastructure every bit as hard as
buildings.
Mott MacDonald’s Moata
monitoring, modelling and analytics
tool had been fitted to systems to
monitor performance and inform
operation.
It enabled the consultant to pinpoint
damage and restore service rapidly.
Six years on, Moata is even smarter
and being used internationally for
identifying network problems and
visualising solutions on transport as
well as water infrastructure.
In a market waking up to the
potential of smart infrastructure, there
are few asset performance optimisation
tools available, and fewer still with long
track records.
Moata has been in use and in
development for a decade, with clients
now looking to invest in Singapore, the
ever design-stage rating for an office
development (98.5%).
Briefed by Michael Bloomberg
to “push the boundaries of
sustainable design”, its “what if”
approach ensured no idea was off the
table. Drawing on international best
practice and through a process of
optimisation, its innovations will deliver
water savings of 73% and energy
savings of 35% compared with an
typical office.
Winner
Low Carbon Leader
—
Highly Commended
Excellence in Design
Innovation
—
Shortlisted
Bloomberg HQ: Pushing the
boundaries of sustainable design Excellence in
Alternative Energy
United States and the UK.
Now 16,000-strong Mott
MacDonald is the UK’s largest
employee-owned engineering,
management and development
consultancy.
It describes itself as human in
outlook, independent of mind,
connected and confident. Opening
opportunities and delivering outcomes
that improve people’s lives is its
mantra.
Winner
Innovation in Project
Initiation
—
Shortlisted
Smart Operator, Diversity
Champion, Low Carbon
Leadership, Excellence in
The Moata monitoring tool Alternative Energy
tracks performance
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 17
 NCE100
Top 10 Firms
08 Costain
Costain says its purpose is to improve
people’s lives by deploying technology-
based engineering solutions to meet
urgent national needs across the UK’s
energy, water and transportation
infrastructures.
The emphasis on technology
is strategic. Costain has invested
significantly to ensure it has the
capability to integrate and deliver
smart infrastructure, and is delivering
significant customer savings using
technology. At the early stage of
any project, its data science and
technology experts bring together data
in a standard environment.
This allows disciplines from
estimating to planning to use a
common data set, reducing the time
needed and allowing best practice to
18 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
Costain has
a focus on
developing Shortlisted
and retaining Innovation in Project
high potential
female em Initiation, Talent
Champion
be shared and innovation developed.
These scientists remain involved during
project delivery, working closely with
project teams and customers to push
the boundaries of research to ensure a
pipeline of innovation.
Costain, now 4,000-strong, also has
a sharp focus on talent and is especially
focused on ensuring the development
and retention of high potential female
employees. It has developed over 50
“
Costain has
a sharp
focus on talent and
is especially focused
on ensuring the
development and
retention of high
potential female
employees
development action plans for high
potential female employees, which
outline training, mentoring and
managed job rotations.
Further, it has launched a support
network which will ensure women are
aware of options to make careers with
Costain more compatible with their
personal lives. Each Costain executive
board member is personally mentoring
an ELP or SLP member, which includes
at least three high-potential female
Costain employees.
In the last year, 40% of women on
the strategic leadership programme
have been promoted to more senior
positions, and one is currently being
supported by Costain to complete a
full time MBA at the London School of
Business.
09 WSP
WSP has grown rapidly through
acquisition since its reverse takeover of
Canadian firm Genivar, picking up Opus
and Mouchel in the last two years. It now
employs 36,000 worldwide.
But it remains predominantly a
technical consultancy. Its roots are in
commercial property and it has blended
those skills with transportation.
Today WSP is a leader in designing
valuable property assets above
challenging railway environments,
delivering enhanced public realm,
transport connectivity and sustainable
city densification. Its recent study,
“Out of Thin Air”, demonstrates
the potential for 250,000 homes
in London by building over rail lines,
satisfying housing needs for five years.
This approach would create safe,
vibrant communities with greater
public transport mobility. It offers
owners of railway land opportunities
10 Black & Veatch
It is estimated that 20% of the world’s
population served by community
systems drinks potable water through
systems designed, constructed or
supported by Black & Veatch.
The consultant says it leverages global
expertise to develop pioneering,
award-winning solutions.
It is designing the City of Toronto
Wet Weather Flow Tunnel Scheme;
an interception/storage/conveyance
system that will improve water quality
in Lake Ontario and delist Toronto as
an “Area of Concern” in the Great
Lakes area.
The scheme covers an area of
270km2 and will benefit 1.3M people
by reducing the volume and frequency
of combined sewage outfall discharges
and urban
run-off from 45 outfalls to no more
than one spill per year, thus achieving
considerable environmental, amenity
and bio-diversity benefits.
for revenue and infrastructure
investment. Local authorities can use
the opportunity to provide growth and
jobs, already linked to existing public
transport hubs.
WSP has ongoing experience
with overbuild. At Principal Place in
London, it is unlocking the potential
of a 50-storey residential tower and
60,000m2 of office space which would
have been impossible without building
over railway tracks at Liverpool Street
Station.
Shortlisted
Excellence in Design
Innovation, Diversity
Champion, Excellence
in Urban Living,
Excellence in Transport
WSP’s roots are in
commercial property
The scheme design comprises 27km
of 6.3m diameter tunnel and 14 large
diameter storage shafts.
The project is an example of Black
& Veatch’s ability to leverage global
technical excellence.
Led from the United States, the
UK-based design team includes
hydraulics and modelling specialists
who have developed and implemented
a number of innovations to optimise
the hydraulic design.
Highly Commended
Leader in Collaboration
—
Shortlisted
Smart Operator, Health
and Wellbeing Leader,
Excellence in Water
Black & Veatch is designing a
flood alleviation tunnel for Toronto
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 19
 NCE100
Trending 20

Rising
Stars
THE NCE100 TRENDING 20
RECOGNISES THE WORK
OF FIRMS WITH FEWER
THAN 200 STAFF.

FJD Consulting has been crowned
NCE100 Trending 20 Champion.
The Birmingham-based company
won the award after receiving top
marks from each member of the New
Civil Engineer editorial team.
FJD Consulting becomes the inau-
gural winner of the award, established
to recognise smaller firms with 200 or
fewer staff.
We are reminded all the time that
sulting was able to save £2M.
The first and most eye-catching
phase of the project was completed re- TRENDING 20
cently. It involves installing the bridge
to carry the heritage railway over the
l Anthony Bates
Midland Main Line.
All 20 companies will help shape l Awcock Ward Partnership
New Civil Engineer’s SME profiles and l Bryden Wood
other articles in 2018 and 2019. l Caley Water
l Civic Engineers

“
l Clarkebond (UK)
the most innovative, creative and inspi-
l Davies Maguire
rational firms are often the small ones
but, lacking the corporate firepower of
the big firms can struggle to get their
We are l Design ID Consulting
l Design2e
story told. reminded l Dr Sauer & Partners
The Trending20 recognises the small l Edenvale Young Associates
firms with the big stories to tell. all the time that the l FJD Consulting
Nominations for the award were
whittled down to 20 last month, from most innovative, l Floodline Consulting
l Hewson Consulting
an initial longlist of around 40 eligible
companies. creative and inspira- Engineers
FJD Consulting won the award for
its work to reunite two sections of the
tional firms are often l London Bridge Associates
l Plandescil
Great Central Railway in Loughbor-
ough to create a continuous 30km
the small ones but, l Taylor & Boyd
long heritage railway (see p30). lacking the firepower l Waterco Consultants
l Webb Yates Engineers
By introducing innovative “flat-
packed” bridges to maximise value, can struggle to get l Westlakes Engineering
as well as sourcing redundant bridges
from other railway projects, FJD Con- their story told
20 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 G
N
RI
EE
IN
G
EN
IN
N
O
TI
VA
O
N
IN

Wentworth House Partnership, part of Keltbray

Group, is an award-winning engineering design
consultancy, which specialises in the safe,
effective and imaginative design of temporary Wentworth House Partnership
St Andrew’s House, Portsmouth Road
and permanent works and geotechnics.
Esher, Surrey KT10 9TA
From facilitating construction of the Shard to preserving T 020 7643 1050
heritage at the Bodleian Library, Wentworth House F 020 7643 1001
Partnership has successfully delivered some of the most
E director@wentworth-house.co.uk
technically advanced and innovative design ideas for
leading construction projects across the UK. www.wentworth-house.co.uk
 Winner
Trending 20
Bubbling
under
BIRMINGHAM-BASED FJD CONSULTING HAS
JUST BEEN CROWNED NEW CIVIL ENGINEER’S
NCE100 TRENDING 20 CHAMPION.
The team leading Birmingham-based
rail engineering firm FJD Consulting
has set out an ambitious business
strategy.
It plans to expand into roads,
airports and geotechnical engineering,
and bring in virtual reality as a core
business offering. At the same time
it is gearing up for the mass of tender
opportunities generated by Network
Rail’s next investment period, CP6,
and High Speed 2 (HS2). And all that
is on top of just being crowned New
Civil Engineer’s Trending 20 champion,
the award to the top small firm in the
NCE100.
With this optimism and excitement,
it comes as a surprise when the
company’s executives reveal that they
have just had their toughest year yet.
The 24 strong firm estimates
rail cutbacks including transport
secretary Chris Grayling’s decision to
curtail the Great Western Main Line
electrification programme lost it up
to £1M in anticipated revenue. This
included around £600,000 worth
of work lined up for the scrapped
electrification of the Cardiff to
Swansea route, and electrification into
Bath. FJD had even opened an office
in Bristol off the back of a £100,000
deal to do temporary works design for
22 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
the new roof of Temple Meads Station.
This contract was pulled with virtually
KEY FACTS no warning.
“The contractor was just mobilising
24 on site, we had probably about
£100,000 of work to start and they
Number of got a phone call one morning saying it
staff employed has been pulled and it has gone,” says Birse Rail, which was subsequently
by FJD director Simon Moon. taken over by Balfour Beatty.
Moon, a design engineer who Although they went their separate
Consulting joined Atkins from university, runs ways professionally, they stayed in
FJD Consulting with his business touch. The two started FJD Consulting
£1.5M to partner Mark Jenner, a construction in 2012, and just a few months later
engineer, who runs sister construction Birse’s core design team joined them,
£1.7M management firm FJD Construction. bringing in a stream of contracts. This
FJD’s annual The two first met when working at was helped by Network Rail having,
“
turnover at the time, an enhanced spending
programme, meaning it had to spend a
certain amount in a certain timeframe.
We thought “We knew the quality of work we
could deliver. We had proven capability
as our own of delivering it in our historical past.
business we can We thought as our own business we can
deliver that work a lot cheaper than big
deliver that work a consultancies because the overheads
were cheaper,” says Jenner.
lot cheaper than big The firm, which has an annual
turnover between £1.5M and £1.7M,
consultancies because had experienced year-on-year growth
until now.
our overheads were “Last year we went backwards in
terms of turnover as a result [of the
cheaper cutbacks],” says Jenner. “We took a

view to retain all our team. It was an
uncertain time, but we knew long term
the business is sound, the market was
good and it was sustainable, and it
meant us doing a lot more in terms of
getting other work in.”
“There’s one individual in particular
we employ and I know the skills they
possess are very difficult to find in the
market,” adds Moon. “Had that one
person gone, a lot of our core capability
goes, when work comes in again.”
And thankfully the work is starting
to pick up again, with early HS2 deals
and CP6 tender opportunities starting
to come through.
Like many small and medium sized
enterprises (SMEs), FJD Consulting
is keen to work on HS2 and its
headquarters in Birmingham are ideally
placed in Birmingham, but Moon
believes that most contracts will not
trickle down until there are boots on
the ground. He adds that already the
big contractors “have taken a massive
grab of it.”
Simon Moon FJD Consulting is starting work with
(left) and an archaeologist at Curzon Street in
Mark Jenner Birmingham, whose work entails an
interface between the HS2 site and
the West Coast Main Line. FJD will do
some assessment works and temporary
works design. It has also been working
with the National College for High
Speed Rail (NCHSR) to develop
apprenticeships – the only SME to get
so involved.
FJD’s ethos has not changed over
the years: it aims to offer a good
product at a decent rate. With market
changes, including bigger consultancies
expanding and more becoming ambitious
about the work they go after, the duo is
optimistic about the future, particularly
for its Bristol office.
“We’ve got the new control period
starting in eight or nine months and
already seeing tender opportunities
around the regions. Bristol and the
South West has historically seen
underinvestment. The spend in that
area just to make simple upgrades is
“
We’ve got the
new control
period starting in eight
or nine months and
already seeing tender
opportunities around
the regions
perceived to be quite high,” says Moon.
The project that caught the
NCE100 judges’ eye, gaining it the
Trending 20 Champion status, was
on the Great Central Railway in
Loughborough, Leicestershire.
The Great Central Railway is a
charity and needed two sections of
the line to be reunited as a part of its
“Closing the Gap” Project. It involved
rejuvenating a 400m section of
redundant track and infrastructure to
provide a continuous 29km length of
heritage railway.
The donor-funded project was being
undertaken on a tight budget, which
called for innovation.
“We had quite a blank canvas and
were able to think less like mainline
engineers and more like practising
civil engineers and try and find some
pretty neat solutions, which weren’t
possession dependant, which is pretty
much the mindset whenever we do any
work,” says Moon.
By using BIM Level 2 the team
was able to create a digital picture of
the design, which the charity could
then use to bring in donations. Design
innovations included using “flat
packed” bridges to maximise value. The
team also sourced redundant bridges
from other railway projects, with
Network Rail’s Reading Remodelling
Project providing two steel bridges,
saving the project approximately £2M.
Other engineering challenges
included the development of
reinforced earth solutions to make
embankment slopes narrower so the
charity did not have to buy land or
divert utilities.
“We brought modern thinking to
solve the problem,” says Moon.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 23
 “IT’S THE VOICE OF
THE CIVIL ENGINEERING
INDUSTRY” MARK GRIFFITHS, GENERAL MANAGER
SELL AFIELD SITES LTD

New Civil Engineer

PUT YOURSELF IN FRONT OF 48,000 INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS
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Success
Stories
The most innovative, impactful and
inspirational civil engineering practices
recognised and rewarded
 Tech Excellence
Innovation in Project Initiation
Winner: Mott MacDonald
Motts work
kick starts
road project
MOTT MACDONALD PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN
GETTING THE 20 KM NORWICH NORTHERN
DISTRIBUTOR ROAD DUAL CARRIAGEWAY
SCHEME THROUGH THE HOOPS BEFORE WORK
COULD EVENTUALLY START ON SITE.
The mammoth Norwich Northern
Distributor Road (NDR) is much
needed to improve safety and journey
times in this part of East Anglia, but
attempts to get it built had repeatedly
failed the Department for Transport’s
cost-benefit test.
Mott MacDonald re-examined
the proposal in its entirety and in
its individual components using its
Transparent Economic Assessment
Model – or TEAM tool.
By doing so the consultant identified
social and economic benefits that
would add £1bn of value, helping the
scheme gain approval for phased
development.
With a prioritised programme
of works, the scheme got underway
in 2016.
The local council said the road
project would help accelerate local
growth and act as a catalyst to deliver
40,000 new jobs, 37,000 new homes
and a 50% increase in knowledge-
based business.
The Norwich NDR is one of many
infrastructure and regeneration
projects where the TEAM has
26 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
“
TEAM For funding agencies, it shows
where investment will do most good,
KEY FACT
exemplifies justifying release of capital and
enabling informed discussion. It can
40,000 our belief in looking also be used to identify problems and
Number solutions for local businesses
at problems from new and people.
of jobs the Mott MacDonald says: “TEAM
new road is angles and finding exemplifies our belief in looking at
expected to value that others fail problems from new angles and finding
value that others fail to spot.”
generate
to spot The NCE100 judges said: “In a
category with fantastic innovation
showcasing excellence in digital,
engineering and economic
helped make the case for funding approaches, the judges considered
after conventional appraisals failed. the winner’s innovation in assessing
It combines local socioeconomic impacts and outcomes across
data with insight into the knock-on schemes of all types has national
benefits of a project, such as access significance.”
to employment, health, recreation They hailed the tool’s identification
and education facilities; improved of the total benefits of a scheme as
environmental and amenity value; “welcome” and “long overdue”.
creation of affordable housing; and
land value uplift. l Judges were Crossrail BIM
The tool can help unlock specialist Tahir Ahmad, Enterprise
government funding, enabling councils M3 chairman Geoff French and
to progress projects of local strategic Infrastructure and Projects Authority
importance. senior advisor Keith Waller.

EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT INITIATION
H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Ca m p b el lRei t h
Developed a methodology to treat
geotechnical hazards at the site of the 2,500-
home Kilwood Vale scheme near Gatwick
airport. CampbellReith used a process of
surcharge and forensic inspection to assess gas
risk and avoid the need for some protection
measures.
FINALISTS
Ar u p
The consultant was part of the joint
venture that designed and managed the
construction of the Queensferry Crossing
across the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh for
Transport Scotland. Arup project
manager Mike Glover led the
development of the technical and
funding case for the Queensferry
Crossing, securing support by reducing the
budget from a minimum of £3.2bn to a
maximum of £2.3bn.
Co sta in
Delivered a range of services to mobilise
investment in strategically important
road schemes for Highways England including
the £192M A556 improvement project.
The firm has also worked with the British
Standards Institution on Smart Cities and
the Internet of Things.
De signID
Developed an innovative piled raft foundation
solution to deal with challenging ground
conditions on the site of a 16-storey residential
tower in Salford Quays. The raft slab used was
significantly shallower than the pre-tender
scheme, reducing the amount of breaking-out
of existing foundations required.
Gl anville Consu lta nts
Produced a site investigation scoping
document for a brownfield site in Oxfordshire.
Detailed assessment of below-ground services
included utility record searches and use of
“
Mott
MacDonald’s
innovation in
assessing impacts
and outcomes across
schemes of all
types has national
significance
advanced pipe and cable detection equipment
enabling the client to negotiations with the
vendor with an accurate assessment of the site.
Peter Brett Assoc ia tes
Played a pivotal role in initiating Junction 25
Nexus, a strategic employment scheme in
Taunton. Peter Brett presented at a profile
raising event, setting out plans for unlocking
and delivering the scheme and receiving press
coverage. West Somerset Council said the
consultant “brought experience, dedication
and enthusiasm to the entire process”.
Projec t Centre  ​
Identified opportunities for a scheme in
Crouch End that met all the requirements
for Transport for London’s healthy streets
criteria. The firm then wrote the funding
submission for the scheme, which set out to
improve cyclist and pedestrian conditions
and make it a greener, healthier and more
attractive public space.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 27
 Tech Excellence
Design Innovator
Winner: Edenvale Young Associates
Software aids
Sri Lanka flood
modelling
EDENVALE YOUNG ASSOCIATES HAS
DEVELOPED INNOVATIVE HYDRAULIC
MODELLING SOFTWARE FOR SRI LANKA
Bristol-based Edenvale Young aims
to provide a cutting edge service to
clients in a range of environmental
sectors including maritime, coastal and
fluvial engineering.
The consultant says it develops, tests
and uses next generation hydraulic
modelling software.
It claims to have pioneered the
development of direct rainfall
techniques and soil infiltration
procedures that represent a step
change in hydrological analysis.
Edenvale Young was commissioned
to lead the hydrological and hydraulic
modelling aspects of a World Bank
project for six river basins in Sri Lanka.
Work included providing the first
detailed flood mapping to inform the
national risk register; assessing the
impact of climate change; evaluating
economic damage caused by flooding;
and testing flood alleviation measures.
The consultant created a new
hydrological modelling approach using
direct rainfall data for catchments up
to 3,200km2.
The firm also developed new ways of
translating soil texture data gathered
by the Soil Science Society of Sri
Lanka into the parameters required for
28 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
the Green & Ampt infiltration model.
Edenvale Young created bespoke
KEY FACT software for assessing flood damage
within the country. Hydraulic
3,200km2 modelling was initially validated for Sri
Lankan catchments using measured
Size Sri Lanka rainfall and flow data for the Kelani
catchments Ganga basin upstream of Colombo.
used in the The use of catchment scale
modelling and new software
hydraulic TUFDamages had a significant positive
modelling impact and increased the reliability of
the business case for the optioneering.
work The techniques used for this project
were the culmination of a decade of
research and development undertaken
“
by Edenvale Young.
The judges said: “They have taken
off-the-shelf software, applied their
They have passion and inventive skills, then given
taken off- it out for industry use. With low cost
they can make a huge impact and
the-shelf software, can save lives in countries where it is
needed most.”
applied their passion ● Judges were consultant Lewis
and inventive skills, Blackwell, BIM Academy chair
John Lorimer, BDP chair of civil
then given it out for and structural engineering Michelle
McDowell and Network Rail civil
industry use design group programme manager

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN INNOVATION
H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Swec o U K
Sweco’s collaborative thinking and
scenario-modelling was used on Bloomberg’s
new European HQ in the City of London.
This achieved a record 98.5% Breeam
rating at design stage.
The consultant’s “what-if” approach
ensured no idea was off the table. Its
innovations will deliver water savings of 73%
and energy savings of 35% compared with
a typical office. A vacuum drainage system
combined with water harvesting will save
25M.l of water each year.
FINALISTS
AKTII
The consultant has developed software
and design techniques which helped it
add 11 storeys to the South Bank Tower
in London. Digital wind tunnels,
advanced analysis techniques, fabric and ground
investigations and latent capacity mapping tools
allowed the firm to forensically assess the
existing building.
Ar up
As environmental overview consultant
through all phases of High Speed 2,
Arup has developed immersive visualisation
tools to reassure people about the impacts of
the mega-project. It combined
visual and acoustic data to simulate the
passenger experience and accurately
model the route context during construction
and operation.
Dr Sa u er & Pa rtners
The consultant worked with London
Underground and Dragados on the
Bank Station Capacity Upgrade, during
which primary and secondary tunnel
linings were used in combination. This
significantly reduced excavation and concrete
volumes minimising dust, increasing breakout
times, reducing noise and vibration and meant
that fewer resources were used.
Ramb oll
Its gantry generation system is a constantly
evolving automated design and modelling tool
“
Almost a third
of Edenvale
Young’s income was
eligible for research
and development tax
credits, confirming its
innovative approach
that incorporates analysis software,
3D visualisation and 40 years of experience
to slash timescales and costs on smart
motorway projects. Design costs are
expected to fall by more than 50%, with the
firm saying it now spends “hours rather than
weeks” on a job.
WSP
At 220m high, the 62-storey Newfoundland
development at Canary Wharf will be one
of the UK’s tallest residential buildings and
straddles Jubilee Line tunnels. A diagrid
structure is being used to limit weight and size,
while a tuned slosh damper will absorb vibration
energy. WSP increased the stability of the
building, maximised the floorplate, and cut 15
weeks from the construction schedule.
W YG
WYG created a virtual reality model of the
500ha site for relocation of five post-primary
schools in Northern Ireland. This allowed the
client and other stakeholders to experience the
facilities before construction began.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 29
 Tech Excellence
Construction Innovator

Winner: Mace

Jumping
factory speeds
tower projects
MACE’S JUMP FACTORY IS AN INNOVATIVE
RESPONSE TO DEMANDS FOR INCREASED
PRODUCTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY-LED
SOLUTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Mace’s Jump Factory was devised in
response to the UK Government’s
challenging Construction 2025 targets
for 50% faster delivery, 50% lower
emissions and 33% lower costs.
Mace gave the system its UK debut
on a dual-tower residential project in
London. East Village Building No 8
involves creating structures which are
30 and 26 storeys high.
Using the system, Mace was able to
construct an entire floor – including
walls, columns, bathroom pods, utility
cupboards, risers and cladding – in
for the workers, it minimises noise and
dust for the surrounding environment,
KEY FACT we can’t be rained off and the factory
is rated up to a force 12 gale,” says
15 weeks Mace project engineer James Rushton.
“Once we’ve jumped, the process
Time it took starts again. We lay the rebar, pour
to build a 30 the slab, then we start putting in twin
storey tower walls, standing columns then we come
in with the bathroom pods and heating,
ventilation and air conditioning units.
40 hours Everything is modularised so it all
comes fully fitted.”
Time it took to Jamie Dredge, development

“
under 40 hours. build and fit
To ensure speedy fit-out, the firm out one floor
developed a production line with a set
sequence of 13 trades following one They had a
another. The Jump Factory used on
East Village contained four 15t cranes. real money-
It was an enclosed temporary structure
erected around the outside of the top where-their-mouth-is
of the building structure and jacked
up using hydraulics as each floor was
attitude, the factory
completed.
Mace says the jump factory has
is challenging the
a water and wind-proof working status quo and the
environment, minimising health and
safety risks and preventing the weather delivery of buildings
affecting the construction programme.
“You get repeated quality, it’s safer for the future
30 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION
FINALISTS
Davi e s Ma gu ire
Its buttress proposal helped
a contractor successfully
bid for a central London
commercial project that was
originally tendered as a cross-
site propped scheme. Its 20
separate buttresses supported
200m of piled retaining walls
and allowed excavation that did
not require additional propping.
Int e r se r ve Constru c tion
An innovative 8m wide paving
machine allowed completion
of a road resurfacing job
close to Stansted Airport in
three weekends rather than
five, reducing the impact on
travellers. A centre joint was
eliminated in 4km of road,
prolonging the road’s life
manager at East Village Building
No 8 client Qatari Diar says: “Mace
has developed a unique, innovative
approach to maximising offsite pre-
manufacture and assembly such that
it has been able to deliver 30 storeys
over 15 weeks on two towers at our
East Village project.
“This approach has significantly
reduced the number of deliveries and
the amount of waste generated, has
driven faster and safer production,
delivered exceptional quality and has
“
optimised the delivery process.
This has
made a
great difference to
productivity during
the delivery phase and
has made a significant
improvement to the
programme
Kier Va n Elle
A £1.4m resurfacing project A piling system designed from
on the M6 was completed in scratch based on screw pile
one night. Kier and Aggregate technology, and an attachment
Industries developed an inline developed to enable its efficient
paving technique called Hot installation, were used on a
on Hot that involved using two project to stabilise a sinking
pavers to provide compaction, railway line. The system brought
interlocking asphalt without the installation time down to
separation of layers. three minutes per pile.
Rob ert Bird Grou p Wentw orth Hou s e
A top-down construction Pa rtnership
sequence allowed early Design of a temporary
release of the tower core for a steelwork façade restraint
40-storey commercial tower system for a 50m by 13m
scheme. The core was built building frontage cut the
from plunge columns at upper construction programme by
basement level with the pile cap two weeks. Steel tonnage
cast later and core walls infilled required to retain the facade
as construction progressed. Six was reduced by a quarter after
months were shaved from the thorough research into wind
baseline programme. loading on façades.
This has made a great difference
to productivity during the delivery
phase and has made a significant
improvement to the programme.”
The NCE100 judges were impressed
with Mace’s ability to bring the supply
chain with it on what they described as
a “very complicated journey”.
“They had a real money-where-
their-mouth-is attitude,” added the
judges. “The factory is challenging the
status quo and the delivery of buildings
for the future.” They said that Jump
Factory was an “outstanding example”
of innovation to replace traditional
construction methods and significantly
improve productivity through “factory
thinking”. They were impressed
with Mace’s willingness to invest in
innovation and take a chance on a live
project. They hailed the company’s
invitation to the rest of the industry to
learn from its experiences.
l Judges were EDF Energy Hinkley
Point C innovation manager Maggie
Brown, Network Rail head of risk and
value management Kevin Shelton and
New Civil Engineer technical reporter
Katherine Smale.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 31
 Tech Excellence
Innovation in Project Management
Winner: Kier
Highway
maintenance
costs slashed
KIER HAS HELPED SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL
IMPROVE ITS HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE
EFFICIENCY SAVING IT £20M IN THE PROCESS
Kier is contracted to deliver repair and
improvement works on roads across
Surrey. Its partnership with the county
council, dubbed Project Horizon,
has been widely hailed as exemplary
collaborative working.
The framework, recently extended
to run until 2021, has reduced time-
to-site by an average of four weeks
per commission; slashed costs by 16%
through deeper integration of the supply
chain; and improved whole life values,
including giving a 10-year warranty for
material and pavement design.
Kier’s work in Surrey has supported
a number of apprentices. The firm has
completed 200 schemes without a
reportable safety incident.
Initial workshops were run before
the start of the programme of works,
to determine the type of collaborative
environment desired.
Individuals used a scoring system to
identify what they considered to be
critical elements of the relationship,
so there was a common understanding
of areas where teams were working
effectively together, and those where
development was needed.
Project Horizon was used as a case
study in the Highways Maintenance
32 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
Efficiency Programme’s 2014
Supply Chain Collaboration Toolkit and
KEY FACT as a trial project case study for
the Government Construction Strategy.
200 Savings beyond the targeted 15%
are shared between the council, Kier,
Number Aggregate Industries and Marshall
of Surrey Surfacing under the arrangement.
schemes Surrey County Council made
contract savings of up to a fifth,
completed enabling almost £20M to be reinvested
by Kier in its assets, effectively increasing its
road maintenance budget.
without The improvement plan resulted in
reportable works on the worst 500km of Surrey’s
safety roads and more than 1,200 schemes.  approaches to waste management.
Surrey County Council cabinet
incident
“
Surrey County
Council made
contract savings of
up to a fifth, enabling
almost £20M to be
reinvested in its assets
minister for efficiency Chloe Smith
said: “Project Horizon is the way the
industry should, in the future, be
working together.”
Kier has adopted a collaborative
approach with other local authority
clients and water companies.
The judges hailed the level of
innovation in the Project Horizon
arrangement, which they said was
demonstrated by the wide range
of approaches and “significant
improvement in outcomes”.
They praised technical innovation
in recycling and sustainable
“Reduced time, more efficient
delivery, cutting out the waste, no
man marking – these are all easy to
say but difficult to put into practice
in a consistent way,” said the judges.
“This team has demonstrated that
it is possible with its focus
on the fundamentals, and innovative
practices where appropriate, leading
to significant value improvements.”
● Judges were Crossrail programme
director Simon Wright and Major
Projects Association executive
director Denise Bower.
 “
Almost a third
of Edenvale
Young’s income was
eligible for research
and development
tax credits, saying
this confirmed its
innovative approach

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INNOVATOR

FINALISTS
Arc a d i s
As programme manager for the
£1bn, 45-project Manchester
Airport transformation scheme
the consultant used its own data
governance framework. Arcadis
procured data from stakeholders
and integrated it with project,
cost and asset management plans,
reducing waste and increasing
efficiency. The firm is scaling
up the platform it developed for
the airport scheme and creating
a strategic level product called
City Analytics to help city regions
manage their growth.
IDOM
Created a detailed design and
project management plan for Line
3 of the Riyadh Metro in Saudi
Arabia. This includes preliminary and
detailed design of 20 stations, two
depots, 25.8km of viaducts, 11km
of tunnels and more than 35km of
street and road rearrangements.
The plan featured a communication
and coordination protocol to ensure
information and decision-making was
properly shared among all teams.
L o n do n Br i dge
Asso ci at e s  and highlights competencies required
Added the Quality Plus element
to its web-based information
management system to provide
seamless online production and
quality data entry at the work
face. Bespoke inspection and
test plan check sheets include
logical screen layouts and digital
pin-code signatures for engineers,
inspectors and others to approve
information. Complete handover
records can be submitted
eliminating the need for multiple
engineers to check, file and
recreate records.
Op u s Interna tiona l
Consu lta nts  described the technology as “a
Uses its own project management
accreditation framework on a job
to inspect stations and canopies
on Network Rail’s London North
West Route. Opus says the system
recognises each project’s complexity
for effective management. It allows a
focus on assigning a project manager
with specialist project delivery skills,
behaviours and expertise, over skills
and experience in the technical
discipline.
R P S Grou p  in a live airside environment.
Launched a specific business
stream focusing on bringing the
benefits of virtual reality to its
clients. The firm has run
a pilot model for Northern Ireland
Water, applying virtual reality
to a BIM model for the client’s
Ballycastle plant
upgrade. The water client
step ahead of where some
of the others are within the
marketplace
at the moment”.
Web b Ya tes Eng i n eers
Provided a range of services to
the Gatwick Retail Churn scheme,
part of a series
of works to transform the
airport’s North Terminal.
Used collaboration and clear
communication to produce
efficient, coordinated work
Phasing and methodology of
construction were key drivers,
while the firm took time to gain
an understanding of the terminal
building.

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 33
 Tech Excellence
Smart Operator
Winner: Arcadis
Measured
maintenance
ARCADIS HAS DEVELOPED A NEW APPROACH
TO THE TRACK MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT
ON A SECTION OF THE RAILWAY NETWORK IN
THE NETHERLANDS
Arcadis is a 40% shareholder in a
special purpose maintenance company
created to proactively look after
almost a quarter of the intensely used
Dutch railway network.
ProRail, which manages the
network, wanted its supply chain to
help accelerate innovative approaches
to maintenance. Through its key
role in the AssetRail special purpose
company, Arcadis is partly responsible
for deploying a performance-based
approach to almost 1,500km of railway.
ProRail created a working model
which makes suppliers accountable for
maintenance. To do this Arcadis must
define what work is required and when
to ensure it achieves performance and
safety outcomes. Network condition
is measured by clearly defined
indicators and incentives to create an
environment of continuous innovation,
optimisation and ownership.
Arcadis has used sophisticated asset
and information management, data
analytics, predictive maintenance,
solution planning and performance
optimisation. It combines asset
knowledge and technical insight with
the generation, management and wise
use of data.
Connecting different sets of
data using quantitative modelling
provided insight into the underlying
relationships and dependencies of
34 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
the assets, including their use and
performance. This made it possible
KEY FACT to predict which assets would require
maintenance first.
15,000km It meant a transition from relying
on technical case experts to working
Amount of
in a data-driven environment during
Dutch rail the decision making process. As a result,
network annual maintenance costs on the section
of the Dutch network Arcadis is working
for which on have been slashed by more than a
AssetRail is third this decade, with technical failures
down almost two thirds.
responsible
AssetRail chief executive Jorn
Pruntel said: “For the concept of
performance-based maintenance we
are applying on the Dutch railway
network, the innovative approaches
in data analytics and predictive
maintenance Arcadis has brought us
have been key to our success.”
Judges said: “We felt that
Arcadis demonstrated a very clear
strategy moving from descriptive to
prescriptive maintenance, showing a
robust methodology for continuous
improvement and creating strong,
demonstrable benefits in cost
efficiency, reliability and safety.”
l Judges were London Underground
profession head for tunnels Keith
Bowers, IBM digital lead for industrial
products Chris Gage, and HS2 Ltd head
of management systems Jon Kerbey.
 SMART OPERATOR
H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
R P S Grou p
Working closely with client Scotia Gas
Networks and partner ULC Pipeline
Robotics (US), RPS devised project criteria
and designs for integrated robotic repairs
to gas supply networks. The project allows
robots to work inside live gas pipelines to
monitor supply efficiency and pipeline
condition as well as to repair mechanical
joints and seals. This Ofgem-approved
innovation is now ready to be installed in
networks across UK. It presents a significant
saving to clients and end-users through
delivery of a cost and time-effective repairs
solution with minimal disruption and damage
and a reduction in carbon emissions.
FINALISTS
Bla c k & Vea tc h
Developed a lean reliability centred
maintenance programme covering all of
Yorkshire Water’s assets. The Workstream
69 programme covers 285 sites. Central
to its effectiveness is a system known
as Failure Modes Effects and Criticality
Analysis. Accuracy of analysis is improved
using mobile technology to capture live
asset survey findings and upload them to a
database. Reactive maintenance is down by
almost a third, helping to reduce customer
bills and lower the impact of repair work on
more than 2M households.
Ja c ob s
To protect London and the Thames Estuary
from tidal flooding, CH2M – now owned
“
by Jacobs – formed Thames Estuary Asset
Management 2100 with the Environment
Agency. Jacobs uses tools such as
Arcadis customised web-based viewer The Estuary
Eye, which contains in excess of 100
demonstrated layers of map, to manage the inspection,
a very clear refurbishment and replacement of tidal
flood defence assets along the estuary. As
strategy moving such it uses innovation to protect more than
1M people and £275bn of property.
from descriptive Mott Ma cDona ld
to prescriptive Its Moata monitoring, modelling and
analytics tool enabled damage to water and
maintenance wastewater networks in Christchurch to
be quickly located and repaired when the
earthquake shattered the New Zealand
city in 2011. Today, Moata is even smarter
and is being used internationally for
identifying network problems and visualising
solutions for transport as well as water
infrastructure. The system collects and
analyses data to provide insight into a
complex system.
Op u s Interna tiona l Con s u l t ant s
Created a smart monitoring sensor to
observe structural movements to better
inform infrastructure maintenance
and replacement decisions. The sensor
sends real-time data to mobile phones. It
is credited with allowing bridges to stay
open after the earthquake in New Zealand
in 2016, and removing the need for costly
but unnecessary works on the country’s
Rakaia Bridge. The system has been hailed
by client bodies for is provision of bridge
performance evidence.
Roya l Ha skoningDHV
Dutch drinking water company Vitens has
implemented Royal Haskoning’s Aquasuite
smart water solution to ensure a reliable
supply of high quality drinking water to
5.5M people. Aquasuite OPIR
software optimises the production,
transport and distribution of drinking water
by applying big data analysis and machine
learning algorithms, fully integrating
and automating the total water
system. Vitens water production director
Doeke Schippers said: “A stable
control of our entire production and
distribution capacity is crucial for Vitens.
OPIR is an important tool for this, and we
expect to roll it out across our entire
service area.”
Wa ld ec k Consu lting
Waldeck delivered its Digital Reality
Capture solution for a major logistics client
to capture, tag and categorise existing
assets. Data is captured, synchronised and
processed using the consultancy’s own
software. Data can be screened to produce
high resolution imagery and files that can be
merged into building information modelling
applications. Defects and risks are made
visible using warning triangles.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 35
 Business Culture
Low Carbon Leader
Winner: Sweco
Driving a low
carbon agenda
in Scotland
SWECO’S PROACTIVE EFFORTS TO PROMOTE
THE LOW CARBON AGENDA IS HAVING A
POSITIVE EFFECT IN RENFREWSHIRE
Engineers have a crucial role to play in
combating climate change. As well as
helping people mitigate the effects of
global warming, the sector should be
actively driving a low carbon agenda.
This category set out to recognise the
firms who are empowering their staff
to make a difference in this area.
Leeds-headquartered consultant
Sweco UK says sustainability is central
to its culture. “We have backed-up
public commitments to reduce
infrastructure carbon with decisive
action,” says the firm.
It has driven a range of measures
to reduce carbon emissions as lead
consultant on infrastructure projects
that form part of Renfrewshire
Council’s £130M City Deal.
Sweco implemented Publicly
Available Specification 2080 in
Renfrewshire several months before
its formal introduction. This is the first
standard for managing carbon from
infrastructure.
Sweco helped draft the standard,
which was launched in 2016 by the
Construction Leadership Council’s
Green Construction Board to set out
the principles and components of a
carbon management system.
36 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
Sweco also applied the 2017
Environmental Impact Assessment
KEY FACT Regulations to the Renfrewshire
project ahead of time, ensuring
£130M its climate change adaptation and
resilience measures were considered.
Value of The firm incorporated carbon as a
Renfrewshire factor in the procurement process,
Council’s City clearly communicating to the supply
chain the importance and value of
Deal reduced emissions.
It established a carbon accounting
process during the specimen design
stage and shared this feedback with all
design teams. A carbon database was
also developed.
“
They have
taken off-
the-shelf software,
applied their passion
and inventive skills,
then given it out for
industry use
Using a detailed traffic model output
analysis, the consultant demonstrated
the potential for an immediate
reduction in tail pipe emissions.
Its Carbon Conversations initiative
improves carbon literacy and teaches
participants how to create carbon
reduction action plans of their own.
Renfrewshire Council project
manager Norman Yardley said:
“Sweco’s proposals and continual
focus on carbon aspects in all areas
have been instrumental in developing
projects with this important topic front
and centre”.
Judges hailed “clear evidence of
strong leadership throughout the
organisation”. They praised the way
Sweco engaged, collaborated with and
aligned various parties in the fight
to reduce carbon. The judges were
impressed by the level of detail of
carbon and cost calculations.
l Judges were Environment
Agency cost and carbon manager
Ian Corder, Royal Haskoning strategy
director Jaap Flikweert and Anglian
Water’s executive director Chris
Newsome and head of carbon and
energy David Riley.
 “
“
the
Sweco’s inc
proposals and for
continual focus on dev
carbon aspects in cre
all areas have been thi
instrumental inn

LOW CARBON LEADER

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D Jackson Civil Engineering nine months and reduced carbon emissions by

Th o r nt o n To m a se t t i
Thornton Tomasetti’s Embodied
Carbon Project involved more than
five years of measuring the embodied
carbon in its structural engineering
projects.
The New York headquartered company,
which has four offices in the UK,
undertook research to further understand
the issue. The firm has reduced
embodied carbon in its projects by
40% through its recent initiative.
FINALISTS
Des i gn 2 e
Reduced floor slab thickness, core wall
size and concrete use by around
a third each during the tender process
for Birmingham’s Left Bank apartment
blocks. Overall the carbon footprint was
slashed by 30% by a design approach
that used multiple software platforms,
two internal design teams and a series of
group and cross group reviews.
Led a successful trial of a new type of
concrete on part of the Woodbridge flood
risk management scheme in Suffolk, reducing
carbon emissions by 66% from the original
design. This cemfree concrete, which is 95%
ground granulated blast-furnace slag, was used
to infill a 265m section of floodwall.
Jacob s
Its established Sustainability Plus programme
identifies savings as early as the feasibility and
preliminary design phases of civils projects.
It serves as an innovation database, tracking
practices and ideas to create value for clients.
Carbon savings were up five-fold from 2014 to
54.2M.t in 2016.
Mac e
The firm’s utilities, sustainability and
construction teams collaborated to create
the Energy Hub, a forecasting and purchasing
strategy to help Mace procure 100% of its
energy from sustainable sources by 2022.
Energy Hub saved more than £1M in its first
80% on sites.
Taylor & Boyd
Last year set an ambitious target to become a
leader in Ireland in timber structures with their
lower carbon footprint. The firm recruited a
structural engineering graduate student to
co-ordinate knowledge gathering and the
promotion of its work in this area. It also
established a partnership with University of
Ireland Galway, a leading centre for timber
engineering research.
Wa lters
The firm’s Pennant Walters renewable energy
division delivers energy to South Wales
through wind and solar farms, saving nearly
100,000t of carbon emissions every year,
more than offsetting the 60,000t of carbon
emitted by Walters’ heavy plant fleet of more
than 600. The firm also ensures its vehicles
have modern and fuel efficient technologies,
and sends all its plant operators on efficiency
training to understand how to save fuel.

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 37
 Business Culture
Talent Champion
Winner: Breheny Engineering
Capability
boosted by
staff training
BREHENY OFFERS ITS STAFF EXTENSIVE
SUPPORT FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Suffolk-based Breheny Civil
Engineering aims to directly employ all
of its staff on all its projects.
This requires robust training and
development policies to ensure it
employs and retains professional,
competent people.
More than 10% of the firm’s staff
are professionally qualified.
Breheny runs an ICE-approved
training scheme that develops
engineering technicians along with
incorporated and chartered engineers.
It says the scheme is fully supported
and funded, allowing staff to use work
time to research and train. Three
professional reviewers from different
parts of the business manage and run
the programme.
The firm has 49 EngTech qualified
professionals who have progressed
through its training scheme. It says this
puts the firm in the top 10 companies
in the UK ranked on volume of staff
with this qualification.
With up to 100 projects in
construction at any one time, Breheny
requires a raft of capable, self-
sufficient engineers to give it flexibility
in who it deploys. It says its staff
gain improved confidence and career
prospects from its training system.
The decade-old training programme
has rapidly expanded recently with
38 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
in house resources and professional
reviewers. Additional courses such
KEY FACT as the Institute of Leadership &
Management Level 3 option further
49 develop skills and ensure succession
of staff.
Number of ICE membership development
EngTech officer Louisa Rix said: “In the last
four years, Breheny has supported
qualified staff over 50 staff through its professional
employed by qualifications, the vast majority
Breheny Civil becoming EngTech MICE.
“This commitment to developing
Engineering staff has come from all levels from
the directors and senior management
to site staff and their office-based
colleagues.”
“
The judges said the presenters had
an authentic, committed approach to
talent development in a challenging
part of the sector. “There was evidence They have
of true collaboration with universities
and local government to create a taken off-
training centre,” added the judges.
“They provided excellent feedback
the-shelf software,
from a range of sources.” applied their passion
l The judges were Environment and inventive skills,
Agency senior skills advisor Jonathan
Chapman, Employers Network then given it out
for Equality & Inclusion member
engagement manager Peter Hall, and for industry use
Heathrow Airport HR director Paula
Stannett.
 TALENT CHAMPION FINALISTS
Awcock Ward
Partnership
A quarter of its workforce
is apprentices, and every
apprentice it has taken on
has ended up with a
permanent role.
Graduates and technicians
are provided with coaching
and mentoring skills. A
monthly leadership training
programme focuses on topics
including dealing with
conflict and empowering
teams. Professional
development is also supported
when workers are at college, on
the firm’s own ICE-approved
training scheme and via other
routes.
BWB Group
A bespoke three-tiered
academy programme allows
BWB Group to mould
raw talent into “complete
professionals”.
Open to everyone, and
attended by more than 100
people, the bronze-silver-gold
programme is instrumental
in developing strong
leadership capabilities, broad
industry perspectives and
general business know-how.
It is also good for intra-
company networking. BWB
credits the academy with
transforming the business from
a regional player into a “fast-
growing multi-award winning
consultancy”.
CGL
All staff and managers are
contractually committed to
train and be trained. Training
uptake is 85% across the
company and is monitored
monthly by the executive
team. CGL Outreach looks to
foster talent whether paying
for two science teachers in a
Nepalese school, supporting
underprivileged children in
Surrey to study STEM subjects
at university or committing
to Women Intro Science and
Engineering (WISE) initiatives
to foster diversity and talent.
Costain
Costain is especially
focused on ensuring the
development and retention
of high potential female
employees, and has created
50 development action plans
to achieve this, outlining
training, mentoring and
managed job rotations.
It has launched a support
network to ensure women
are aware of opportunities
to make their careers more
compatible with their
personal lives. Four in 10
women on the strategic
leadership programme in the
last 12 months have been
promoted to more senior
positions, while one is being
supported to complete a
full-time masters in business
administration.
Curtins
ICE-accredited Curtins
Academy allows graduates
to grow technically,
professionally and
commercially through a
structured four-year
training programme. It
provides bespoke
professional and managerial
learning and knowledge
sharing opportunities.
Currently 92 graduates
are enrolled and will attend
15 core module training
sessions. The number of
chartered memberships
within the company has
increased by 26% since the
launch of the academy.
The firm has been awarded
Investors in People Gold
Standard.
Dougall Baillie
Associates
Staff regularly visit schools to
describe the role of the civil
engineer to young people. It
recently represented the ICE
at a careers fair for school
leavers. The firm is working
to meet all nine targets
in the Scottish Business
Pledge include investment in
youth and having a balanced
workforce as well as promoting
workforce engagement and
having a responsible payment
structure.
Westlakes
Engineering
All of its employees had
access to training last year.
Collectively they had more
than 2,800 hours of training.
Westlakes’ investment
in employee training and
development has increased
162% over 12 months. It
relaunched its graduate
development programme
which now includes bi-annual
graduate training days,
bringing together graduates
from institutions including
the ICE and the Institution of
Structural Engineers.
Principal engineer Nicola
Killip said: “Westlakes
are currently funding and
supporting me through an
18-month apprenticeship
to gain a level 5 diploma in
leadership and management.
This will be a significant step
towards my personal goal of
gaining chartered manager
status.”
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 39
 Business Culture
Diversity Champion
Winner: CGL
Inclusion
effort is the
key to balance
MONITORING, TRAINING AND OUTREACH HAVE
HELPED CGL ACHIEVE AN ‘ALMOST PERFECT
GENDER BALANCE’ IN ITS WORKFORCE
CGL has been working closely with
Royal Academy of Engineering’s
diversity and inclusion leadership group
(DILG).
CGL was used by the Academy
in 2015 as a case study for diversity
initiatives. The firm shared details
of its practices with the DILG and
made itself available for studies of its
culture and methods to help influence
employment practices across the
industry.
The case study says a range of
flexible initiatives were implemented
by the firm, with male and female
senior role models working flexibly
and a remote desktop system enabling
home working.
Development activities were
tailored to individuals’ needs
and aspirations. A system was
developed to enable employees’
use online courses to help them
work towards chartered manager
status. Training was monitored
to consider diversity trends and
employees were encouraged to be
ambassadors for science, technology,
engineering and maths (STEM)
subjects.
40 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
CLG has continued to support the
DILG and the firm’s engineers were
early participants in the Academy’s
inclusive cultures project in 2017.
This centred on a survey to increase
understanding of the culture of
engineering, the extent to which it was
inclusive and the measures it could
take to make it more so.
The company has signed up to the
industry-led Ten Steps initiative run by
gender balance campaign Women into
Science and Engineering (WISE).
A CGL-supported publication, “The
Female Face of Civil Engineering”,
was endorsed by WISE as well as the
Women’s Engineering Society and the
ICE.
It was published in print and online
as a focal point for the company’s
efforts to encourage young women
into the industry. As well as setting out
civils-based career options for school
students, the guide highlights case
studies of women who had progressed
in the sector.
ICE head of education and
inspiration John Laverty said in the
publication that the institution was
“delighted” to support it.
“For many young people, seeing is
believing,” he wrote.
“They respond well to practical
examples which show the diverse and
rewarding careers that are in reach
through studying STEM subjects at
school. This is especially important
for young women, who may assume
engineering is not a career for them,
due to outdated perceptions.”
Judges hailed CGL as “a small firm
punching way above its weight” on
gender diversity and showing “robust
external benchmarking”.
“While achieving an almost perfect
gender balance it has also ensured
male employees equally feel valued and
included,” they said.
The judges praised the company’s
“exceptional amount of outreach for
STEM subjects” including its “highly
innovative use of technology to engage
with young people”.
l Judges were Network Rail
diversity and inclusion manager
Kevin Bowsher, Women’s
Engineering Society president
Benita Mehra and New Civil Engineer
associate editor Emily Ashwell.

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Arc ad is
Arcadis worked hard to ensure it was
faith-inclusive, with a campaign including
posters celebrating days of importance to
different faiths; guidance to managers on the
requirements of the calendar for different
religions; and efforts to link faith with
excellent construction projects. The firm has
offered refugee traineeships and boosted its
employee survey ‘valuing diversity’ score from
3.03 in 2015 to 3.18 in 2017.
FINALISTS
Aru p
Set out to make a step change in graduate
recruitment as part of an underlying goal
to boost gender equality. Worked closely
with educators, recruiters and managers
to eliminate bias and encourage female
applicants. A new applicant tracking system
flags up decreases in the diversity of
applicants at any stage, to inform changes to
the recruitment process.
DIVERSITY CHAMPION
BDP
Identified that its gender pay gap was driven
by fewer women being employed at senior
levels and asked staff what action how to
address the imbalance. Several actions were
instigated as a result including unconscious
bias training and career mentors for female
staff. Gender pay gap is already down.
Mott Ma cDon a l d
Publishes goals on its website focusing on
recruitment, retention and progression of
staff by disability, gender, gender identity,
race and sexual orientation. Tracks employee
demographics, analyses recruitment trends
and captures feedback through employee
engagement surveys.
Proje c t Ce nt re
Mobilised an all-female team to deliver
design proposals to Tower Hamlets council for
Harley Grove in east London, working closely
with the pupils of Central Foundation Girls
School. Project Centre is a founder member
“
The judges
praised
the company’s
exceptional amount
of outreach for STEM
subjects
of the Chartered Institution of Highways
& Transportation’s Diversity and Inclusion
Charter and the firm sponsored Croydon
Pridefest in 2017, the theme of which
celebrated 50 years of LGBT equality.
Ra m b ol l
Changed its approach to focus on mind-
sets and behaviours rather than strategy
and actions; and to broaden its diversity
programme to encompass all minorities.
W SP
Created a five-point action plan to attain
a balance of talented people. Research,
open conversations with staff and a
confidential assistance programme helped
it to proactively identify issues and solve
them. A gender balance action group was
formed. Unconscious bias training has been
undertaken by 25% of the business and
targets have been set to increase this further.
The proportion of women within the firm’s
graduate and apprentice intake has increased.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 41
 Business Culture
Leader in Collaboration
Winner: Curtins
Undergrads
get practical
experience
CURTINS COLLABORATES WITH UNIVERSITIES TO
DEVELOP ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ SKILLS ON
UNIVERSITY ESTATES WORK PROGRAMMES
The Curtins Academy was launched
by consultant Curtins in 2014 and
provides a platform to train and
develop graduate engineers over a
four-year period. The firm collaborates
with universities developing
undergraduates and working with them
on campus improvement projects.
Curtins was appointed to the
University of Leeds’ four-year
£500M consultants framework. It
has introduced several initiatives to
provide students with advice and the
opportunity to see how their studies
relate to the industry.
These include an industrial
mentors scheme run with the ICE, an
Engineering You’re Hired initiative, a
Steer mentoring group and continuing
professional development events.
The consultant involved students
in structural design processes for new
facilities on their campus from design
to construction.
On the Innovation Centre for
the university, it supported student
Kiera Mudd in her final-year project
researching dynamic façades.
The firm dovetailed this research
with the project’s feasibility study,
42 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
fostering close collaborations between
academic departments, the estates
KEY FACT team and designers.
This ensured the new facility
£500M considered how the latest sustainable
technologies could add value. One
Value of student was encouraged to attend and
University engage in design team meetings while
of Leeds still at the university.
The student joined the Curtins
consultants Academy in 2016 and has continued
framework to work on the Innovation Centre
as the project progressed onto
site. Meanwhile Curtins has been
“
The judges
felt its model
of collaborating with
universities was a
brilliant example to be
replicated throughout
the industry”
approached by the university’s civil
engineering department to support a
wider research project.
University of Leeds senior
teaching fellow David Richardson said:
“Throughout its time on the university
framework, Curtins has been supporting
undergraduates within the department.
Senior members of its team have given up
their time to review student project work,
providing students with great exposure to
the private sector.”
The judges praised Curtins for its
“refreshing” approach, and for “truly
contributing to the next generation and
our industry”.
“This approach has provided Curtins
with a great opportunity to tap into
talented resource and the judges felt its
model of collaborating with universities
was a brilliant example to be replicated
throughout the industry.”
l Judges were Innovate UK innovation
lead for smart infrastructure Sarah
Eager; Heathrow Airport project
management director Joanne Ellman
Brown; and Association for Consultancy
& Engineering chief operating officer
Anil Iyer.

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Bl a c k & Vea t c h
The firm is ahead of programme and beating
efficiency, safety and customer targets on a
£450M programme of works it is delivering
with Amey for Scottish Water. Black & Veatch
says this performance has been enabled by
strong collaboration, itself promoted by
implementing joint goals and processes. Profit
and loss is split 50:50 within the joint venture;
a team charter was written to align behaviours.
FINALISTS
Ca p i t a Pro p er t y & Infr ast ruct ure
Formed a joint venture with Ineco to secure and
deliver consultancy work the two companies
felt they may not have won independently.
The partnership has worked collaboratively on
several London Underground projects and on
High Speed 2 and elsewhere.
Cl a r keb o n d ( U K)
Led the use of building information modelling
on the £19M Bridgwater Community Hospital
scheme in Somerset. This involved co-locating
LEADER IN COLLABORATION
the broader design team on site and working
with trust specialists and hospital staff. The
firm set up shared-learning workshops and
continuous improvement groups.
Hyd roc k
Launched best practice guide “Building
Performance Engineering” five years ago to
encourage collaboration between engineering
disciplines and within project teams. BPE
advises on energy performance; acoustics; air
quality; waste management; daylight; sunlight
and wind analysis; fire engineering; and IT
infrastructure. It was fundamental to helping
Linkcity submit its planning application for a
high-rise residential scheme in Bristol last year.
Tho ma s Consu lting
Took a partnership approach with client Queen
Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria,
on a project to create an ambitious multi-sport
facility. Thomas Consulting worked on a time-
charge basis with open book accounting. The
structural engineering fees were under 0.5% of
the total project cost.
“
Senior
members of its
team have given up
their time to review
student project work,
providing students
with great exposure to
the private sector
Wa terc o Consu lta nts
Deciding that a timesheet system
provided little value to its clients and
damaged collaboration, innovation and
morale, the consultant decided to change
its approach. Now project programme and
team outcomes are managed by setting
out a clear plan at the outset, providing
timely progress statements and understanding
the importance of third party input and the
impact on project delivery.
Web b Ya tes Engineers
Brought together architecture and
engineering in a transdisciplinary practice
called Interrobang. Webb Yates says this has
allowed it to go “beyond collaboration” and
favour transdisciplinary over multidisciplinary
processes. The first project run fully using
this new approach was Gatwick Retail Churn,
where it factored information exchange into
the programme and held regular clash check
workshops. On completion the team will hand
over an as-built building information modelling
model to the airport.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 43
 Business Culture
Leader in Health & Wellbeing
Winner: Jacobs
Wellbeing
culture gives
Jacobs an edge
JACOBS MAKES HEALTH AND WELLBEING
A CULTURAL ISSUE RATHER THAN SOMETHING
TO BE MEASURED IN TERMS OF TARGETS
Jacobs says health, safety and
wellbeing are a core part of its DNA:
“It’s not just something we do, but who
we are at work, home and community”.
The engineering giant, which
acquired competitor CH2M just
before Christmas, aims to have a
healthy, focused workforce with
improved cohesion and productivity to
enhance project performance.
Its BeyondZero programme aims
to prevent all accidents. Jacobs says
it makes safety a value rather than an
initiative, removing visible targets or
messages and replacing them with a
culture of care.
“Operations and safety are seamless;
no safety meetings, no committees,
no separate points on agendas for
safety, and line management is
truly accountable for safety,” says a
document about the programme.
The firm says it “is an organisation
that does not investigate the causes for
an accident; however, it investigates
the causes that caused the causes of
the accident”.
From this culture came Jacobs’
Mental Health Matters initiative.
This promotes positive mental
health and wellbeing across the
44 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
business, as well as in its “staff and
family”. It delivers an extensive support
KEY FACT network, including more than 1,000
positive mental health champions
1,000+ (PMHCs) across 26 countries,
enabling early intervention for staff
Number who may be suffering symptoms of
of positive poor mental health.
“We enjoy unprecedented staff
mental health engagement in this initiative, and
champions client/supply chain interest,” says
Jacobs has in Jacobs. “PMHC training was developed
internally and is based on international
26 countries best practice. We have supporting
initiatives in place encouraging physical
wellbeing, including sporting and
healthy eating promotions.”
The PMHCs promote positive
“
We enjoy
unprecedented
staff engagement in
this initiative, and
client/supply chain
interest
mental health and wellbeing; reduce
stigma associated with mental
illness; intervene where a person is
experiencing a mental health crisis; and
promote recovery.
Last October, Jacobs launched a
survey in conjunction with mental
health charity Mind to celebrate the
work undertaken to promote and
support positive mental health.
The NCE100 judges said Jacobs
“worked out a new initiative that will
create a safer and healthier work
place for tens of thousands of workers
around the world”. They praised
significantly increased awareness,
understanding and engagement with
mental health issues both within the
organisation and with suppliers.
“Overcoming initial reluctance,
the team has created an exemplar
programme,” they said. “Great
evidence of impact.”
l Judges were Tideway asset
management director Roger Bailey;
Civil Engineering Contractors
Association chief executive Alasdair
Reisner; and Highwire Height Safety
Engineers finance director and chief
engineer Elizabeth Rickard.

LEADER IN HEALTH AND WELLBEING
H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Alu n Grif f ith s (Contractors)
Alun Griffiths is signed up to the
government’s Disability Confident
Committed employer scheme, and is
represented on the ICE fairness, inclusion
and respect committee. Since 2017, it has
worked closely with Time to Change Wales
to help end the stigma around mental health
and encourage its staff to speak up about
problems. A scheme trialled on its sites has
resulted more than 100 people receiving
training in recognising mental illness
symptoms and in how to get help and support.
The scheme will be rolled out to all staff in
2018.
FINALISTS
Awc oc k Ward Partnershi p
Supports its staff through a partnership
ethos creating a culture of support and
encouragement. It holds monthly
one-on-one sessions, regular social events
and training sessions as well as weekends
at home and abroad. A star award is
voted by colleagues each month and
recognises staff working outside their
usual role. Staff are eligible for free gym
membership.
Bl ack & Ve a t c h
A behavioural safety programme has cut
accidents fourfold in 10 years. Black &
Veatch implemented one of the sector’s
first wellbeing programmes in 2011 and
has recorded year-on-year falls in sickness
and stress-related illness. Train journeys
are replacing driving for many high mileage
workers. Thames Water awarded Black
& Veatch 91% in its wellbeing maturity
assessment.
Br y de n Wood Te c h n ol og y
Forumlated a wellbeing team of staff to create
new ways of responding to feedback from
their colleagues. Initiatives include weekly
meditation sessions, focusing on identifying
stress and how to manage the effects. Staff
say they are less stressed and comment that
they are more aware of the impact of stress
on personal wellbeing. Retention, engagement
and attendance have all improved.
“
Jacobs
worked out a
new initiative that
will create a safer
and healthier work
place for tens of
thousands of workers
around the world
Hy d roc k
The Hydrock Advantage scheme is a
commitment to tangible support to encourage
wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle. Features
include an annual healthy living bonus to
help staff invest in healthy lifestyles; a 24/7
wellbeing support line and team days-out.
One client said the firm had “created a very
special culture”.
Int e r se r ve Con st r u c t i on
Developed a fatigue monitoring tool for
employees on Highways England projects.
Launched in 2017, it monitors and reviews
fatigue levels and takes action if necessary.
Wa t e rc o Con su l t a nt s
Made a conscious effort to actively improve
staff health and wellbeing. Initiatives included
lunch time workshops; access to free and
confidential counselling; mindfulness
presentations; exercise events and dragon
boat racing. The firm has recorded lower
absentee rates. It has also increased the
number of staff commuting to work by foot or
bike and saved 1,000 driving hours last year.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 45
 World View
Excellence in Transport

Winner: Ramboll

Sustainability
drives Ramboll
mega-project
RAMBOLL HAS COLLABORATED CLOSELY WITH
THE CLIENT AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS TO
SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER THE MERSEY GATEWAY

Ramboll says its mission is to create Ramboll said it oversaw “incredible

sustainable societies that allow people
and nature to flourish. “Ultimately
we judge project success by how well
communities are served,” it says.
As such it worked with train
passengers to design station forecourts
and involved metro stakeholders
in open continuous engagement
to ensure “clever” design was also
relevant to those using it.
Ramboll was a key technical
consultant on the £600M Mersey
Gateway scheme, working on the huge
project in the tiny borough of Halton
from inception to completion.
The cable-stayed bridge includes
three towers of between 80m and
stakeholder engagement”. The
KEY FACT project included opening derelict and
land-locked sites; clearing centuries
£600M of contamination; and developing a
sustainable transport strategy for all
Value of road users.
Mersey “We considered user benefits
beyond travel time savings,” says
Gateway the firm. “By combining skills
project encompassing strategic and local
transport planning, urban regeneration
and structural design, we re-shaped
dialogue to focus on how the project
would work for all.”
It has been calculated that the
bridge will help create more than
4,000 jobs and contribute in excess

“
125m in height, a design chosen to
minimise environmental impact.
The bridge carries six lanes of
traffic for 1km across the Mersey, They have taken
and is accompanied by 9km of road
improvements that ultimately connect off-the-shelf
the M56 with Liverpool, reducing
pressure on the congested Silver
software, applied their
Jubilee Bridge.
Halton Borough Council leader
passion and inventive
Rob Pohill said the scheme would not skills, then given it out
have happened without Ramboll’s
“continuing support”. for industry use
46 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 economic investment

of £60M to the economy each year. outstanding example of a long-term

Contaminated land was remediated
and pedestrian, cyclist and public
transport access improved.
The Mersey Gateway is already
acting as a catalyst for regeneration
and economic investment, according
to the Halton Borough Council. “The
drivers who collectively make 27M
trips every year have quicker, easier
and more reliable journeys in Halton,”
said Pohill.
One letter to the “Warrington
Guardian” said that using the crossing
daily has slashed the author’s commute
from almost three hours to under
one. “What a transformation to my
journey,” they wrote.
The judges said the bridge was “an
collaborative relationship that has
KEY FACT delivered a significant transport
project unlocking original and local
£60M development opportunities while
remaining sensitive to environmental
Contribution and community constraints”.
of Mersey They described the close long term
collaboration with the client borough
Gateway and other relationships as “impressive”
Bridge to and said this was “particularly vital”
local economy given the challenges of the scheme.
l Judges were Transport for London
commissioner Mike Brown, High
Speed 2 technical director Andrew
McNaughton and Highways England
smart motorways programme manager
Shaun Pidcock.

EXCELLENCE IN TRANSPORT

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D and associated utility diversions. to Huntingdon improvement

Jaco bs
Jacobs played a key role on the
recently opened Queensferry
Crossing near Edinburgh. As
part of a joint venture with
Arup, the firm supported
Transport Scotland for more
than a decade from earliest
option and Bill development
through feasibility and on to co-
location with Transport Scotland
as an integrated project
management team.
The project’s final outturn
cost of £1.35bn was substantially
less than originally estimated.
Many project savings were
redirected to the community,
while intelligent transport
systems reduced road
construction, cabling design
will allow strand replacement
without closures and wind-
shielding measures will mitigate
weather closures.
FINALISTS
BWB Grou p
BWB’s Traject ultra-thin pre-
cast track bed system uses a
shallow construction concept
to minimise excavation depth
The firm sees “huge potential”
for using it with parent CAF’s
catenary-free traction solution.
Cu rtins
Cranfield University appointed
Curtins to join its Multi-User
Environment for Autonomous
Vehicle Innovation design
team. A mile of shared surface
roadway and pedestrian access
was created through the
centre of the campus for use
by fully autonomous vehicles,
pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and
buses.
Ja c kson Civil Engineering
Jackson, Atkins and Navtech
successfully piloted a stationary
vehicle detection radar system
on all-lane-running sections of
the M25 for Connect Plus and
Highways England. This system
could dramatically improve
safety for road users, traffic
officers, incident support units
and emergency services.
Ma c e
Mace was project manager of
the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge
scheme, involving a total of
294 km of new lanes, which
will relieve congestion and
help to connect communities
in the East of England. It
involved delivering one of the
UK’s largest infrastructure
development consent order
applications in just 13 months.
Pa tric k Pa rson s
Patrick Parsons says the
Pont Briwet Transportation
Improvement in north-west
Wales, was “a prime example
of how we deliver transport
infrastructure that has a positive
outcome for society”.
WSP
Transforming London Bridge
station involved a complex
staging process identified by
WSP to minimise the impact
on 120,000 daily commuters.
Platforms and arches built in
the early 19th Century were
demolished before the station
was reconstructed. The work was
described by Network Rail as
“carrying out open heart surgery
while running a marathon”.

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 47
 Winner
Excellence in Urban Living
Winner: Civic Engineers
Public realm
upgrade boost
for town centre
PEDESTRIAN AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT-FRIENDLY
REDEVELOPMENT OF ALTRINCHAM TOWN CENTRE
HELPED INCREASE TRADE AND CUT CRIME
Civic Engineers says it ensures
interconnectivity between its
structures and related public realm.
“We transform streets so people, not
cars, are at their heart,” says the firm,
which has offices in London, Glasgow,
Leeds and Manchester.
Altrincham, Greater Manchester,
had one of the highest business
premises vacancy rates in the country.
Civic Engineers worked alongside
landscape architects Planit-ie and
Trafford Borough Council on a
programme of public realm works
designed to enhance the streets.
Phase one of the scheme linked
a regenerated market with a new
transport interchange. Natural stone
paving was used, trees were planted
and contemporary street furniture
was introduced including benches and
cycle racks.
Phase two involved improvements
to the town’s main traffic
thoroughfare, Stamford New
Road. Civic Engineers says changes
to the main route have changed
driver attitudes, reduced speed and
significantly improved links to a key
transport interchange.
48 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
A series of innovative road layouts
and shared spaces was designed to
KEY FACT change driver mentality and increase
access for cyclists and pedestrians.
90 Narrowing roads to reduce traffic
speed as well as removal of lights was
Number of aimed at improving the experience for
jobs resulting pedestrians and motorists.
In March 2017, vacancy rates
from the
had fallen to less than 10%, down
remodelling substantially from 30% at the start
of Altrincham of the decade. Crime and anti-social
behaviour also fell. Although some 270
town centre incidents were recorded in June to
October 2016, this was down from 319
in the same period the previous year.
“
Civic Engineers
presented an
excellent scheme
focused on the need
for a community to be
transformed
Crucially, footfall through the town
centre was increased as a result of the
improvement work.
Trafford Council leader Sean Anstee
said in 2016: “One of our key focuses
has been to reduce and reverse the
number of vacant business premises in
these areas. Not only are we achieving
this but we have bucked the trend
in the region. We’ve seen 24 new
businesses occupying previously empty
premises, creating nearly 90 jobs.”
The judges said: “Civic Engineers
presented an excellent scheme focused
on the need for a community to be
transformed. Its regeneration of
Altringham into a thriving place to
work, live and visit was centred on the
concept of putting people first.
“Focusing on people, with
an integrated social value and
infrastructure plan, Civic Engineers
has transformed the town for the
better of pedestrians, motorists and
those using public transport.”
l Judges were Arup director David
Caiden, ICE director Nathan Baker
and New Civil Engineer news editor
Rob Horgan.

H I G H LY C O M M E N D E D
Wi l l s Bro s En gi n e e ri n g
Wills Bros played a key role in delivery of the
Inverness West Link in the Scottish Highlands,
completed in December 2017. The scheme
involved the construction of a new 2.2 km
single carriageway relief road outside the town,
and the design and construction of a 170m
bridge across the River Ness.
Wills Bros was also contracted to develop
world class sports pitches and facilities on
behalf of the local rugby club, which lost land
through the development.
FINALISTS
Br yd en Wo o d Te chn o l o gy
Developed a chassis-based platform system
for a residential project in Russia. The set-up,
which included a structural skeleton and an
MEP network, was customisable to create
different buildings but retained a large
proportion of repeatable elements. Client
feedback was positive and the system – is being
developed for the UK housing market.
EXCELLENCE IN URBAN LIVING
CGL
Has been involved with the huge Barking
Riverside scheme, helping turn a brownfield
site into a community of 10,800 homes with
schools, roads, a railway station and a bus and
river transport interchange. CGL established a
viable remediation plan for the 180ha former
power station site. Upwards of 500,000m3 of
soil will be reused onsite.
Cl anc y Consu lting
Provided civil and structural engineering
design for the sensitive conversion of five
Victorian hospital buildings into 168 homes.
Retaining the historic buildings while ensuring
affordable homes were able to meet Code
for Sustainable Homes Level 4 standards was
a major challenge. Each home has access to
private outdoor space.
HR Wa llingford
Led the water workstream within a £16M
project to develop Milton Keynes as a smart
city. Located in one of the driest parts of the
“
Civic
Engineers
has transformed the
town for the better of
pedestrians, motorists
and those using public
transport
country, the city is keen to manage water
resources sustainably to support continued
growth. HR Wallingford was part of a team
developing a smart water management system
to improve water efficiency across the city.
Wa terma n
Provided engineering and environmental
consultancy services on the 187ha Graven Hill
scheme in Oxfordshire. The firm played a key
role in securing outline planning permission
for up to 1,900 self-build homes, and a village
centre. It is now working closely on detailed
designs for the site.
WSP
Proposed a “cost effective and pragmatic”
plan to build above rail lines in and around
London. WSP believes this space could provide
250,000 homes for the capital. At Principal
Place, the firm is working on a 50-storey
residential tower and 60,000m2 of office space
in a scheme that spans over six rail tracks at
Liverpool Street Station.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 49
 World View
Excellence in Water
Winner: GHD
For water, add
efficiency
GHD HAS BROUGHT EFFICIENCY PLANNING
AND INNOVATION TO A MAJOR UK WATER
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
GHD is leading the design of a
significant upgrade of a 100 year old
pipeline bringing clean water to a major
city in the UK. The firm designed three
new tunnel sections, along with their
connections to the existing conduit,
to ensure continuous supply across
national borders for generations ahead.
GHD developed a staged excavation
beneath the existing asset, removing
the need for internal propping and
allowing installation of a protective
concrete wrap without a shutdown.
By combining cast insitu and
benched precast concrete units, the
company removed the need for large
and costly prefabricated lightweight
steel sections.
It delivered significant savings by
combining the tunnel boring machine
drive pits and connection cofferdams
to remove two deep shafts.
The near-vertical reinforced soil wall
was the largest of its kind built in the
UK.
The team developed a way to divert
flows while the aqueduct was in service.
This involved removing the temporary
roof, placing precast concrete
diversion blocks and removing the stop
logs before placing the precast roof.
Tunnel boring machine launch
methodology was simplified by
combining the TBM drive pit and
the connection cofferdam in to one,
removing the need for a separate
12m diameter, 10m deep secant piled
50 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
shaft. This also reduced the working
area substantially, facilitating planning
KEY FACT permission, as well as minimising
the requirement for cut-and-fill
100 years old operations.
Only one 72-hour shutdown was
Age of water needed to form the connection.
pipeline being Flows were turned into the new
tunnel in early 2017, improving the
upgraded
resilience of the city’s drinking water
supply.
GHD is employee owned and
says its staff are empowered to
share knowledge, collaborate, and
create lasting community benefit in
partnership with its clients. 
The firm says that by going “on
the journey” with clients through the
entire life cycle of their water projects,
it aims to deliver solutions with a
lasting benefit for communities. 
Judges praised evidence of
widespread community engagement to
help with cultural attitudes to support
project objectives.
“They were passionate engineers
and developed the client brief in an
innovative way,” said the judges. “They
utilised professional registration for
development of people internally.
Good example of horizontal innovation
for incorporation into their brief.”
l Judges were Tideway chairman Sir
Neville Simms, Environment Agency
national commercial manager Brian
Francis and IRSE chief executive
designate Blane Judd.
“
GHD is
employee
owned and says its HIGHLY COMMENDED
IDOM
staff are empowered Worked on solutions to
minimise losses to the water
to share knowledge, infrastructure in Medellin,
Colombia, where some entire
collaborate, and neighbourhoods were at risk
of total loss of supplies. The
create lasting project will have a positive
impact on the lives of over
community benefit 11,700 families from peripheral
neighbourhoods that were
at risk of being excluded
completely from a fresh water
supply.
The firm set up community
working groups involving
neighbourhood leaders to
help communicate the need
to use water efficiently and
respect the new water supply
infrastructure that has been
installed.
Community leaders
expressed satisfaction and
highlighted the positive impact
of the scheme.
FINALISTS
Arup
Created a strategy to improve
water supply protection for
more than 1M people in Wales
and safeguard a similar number
against failure of an existing
treatment works.
The 30-year ambition aims
to reduce Welsh Water’s
carbon emissions by more than
80% and halve the amount of
time customers are without
water each year. Arup drew on
global experience of resilience
planning to identify customer-
specific target areas such
as affordability, vulnerable
circumstances and working in
communities.
Black & Veatch
The consultant is designing
the City of Toronto Wet
Weather Flow Tunnel Scheme,
EXCELLENCE IN WATER
an interception, storage and
conveyance system that will
improve water quality in Lake
Ontario.
The scheme covers an
area of 270 km2 and will
reduce the frequency
of sewer discharges and urban
run-offs. It included 27km of
6.3m diameter tunnel as well
as 14 large diameter storage
shafts.
UK hydraulics specialists
developed a system to
physically model air release at
shafts, using a partial vacuum
to achieve the same pressure
change ratio and air pocket
expansion in the model and
prototype.
FCC Construcción
Worked on the Castrovido dam
in Spain, a major construction
and engineering challenge. The
dam will generate a reservoir
with storage capacity of
44Mm3 and an area of 214ha,
equivalent to 212 football
pitches.
HR Wallingford
Led the development of new
projections of water availability
for the UK to enable the
government to assess the
relative severity of impacts
under a range of scenarios.
This was the first national
assessment of climate-related
risks by the UK Government,
and informed the second
UK Climate Change Risk
Assessment. The firm’s
projections extend to
the 2080s, significantly
further than the typical
horizon currently adopted
for UK water resource
planning, providing an insight
into the pressures likely to be
faced by the industry in the
longer-term.
Jacobs
CH2M (now Jacobs) is the
programme manager for the
£4bn, Tideway tunnel
project. It says its
procurement and commercial
expertise resulted in savings
of up to 20% of the cost of
phase 2 works. Jacobs was
praised by the client for its
strategy and its use of know-
how on the project
to transform the river and
leave a legacy for future
generations.
London Bridge Associates
Provided specialist and expert
engineers in construction and
logistics planning to support
its client’s work to develop
and implement the Tideway
Tunnel project. Helped ensure
the environmental impact
was accurately assessed and
construction impacts were
minimised. Tideway chief
executive Andy Mitchell said
London Bridge Associates did
an “excellent job of balancing
stakeholder needs with the
commercial aspects of the
regulated business”.
Stantec
Developed three programmes
to help the Seychelles
Water Authority improve
its efficiency, demand
management and resilience
in the face of the significant
threat apparent from climate
change and sea level rise.
The firm’s water demand
management programme
formulated strategies to
manage water demand that
were communicated through a
targeted awareness campaign
and promotion of bylaws to
increase use of water-saving
devices, rainwater harvesting
and household storage.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 51
 World View
Excellence in Climate Resilience
Winner: Royal HaskoningDHV
Getting under
the skin of
flood defences
ROYAL HASKONINGDHV’S COMMITMENT TO LIVE
AND BREATHE ITS PROJECTS IS EVIDENT IN ITS WORK
ON THE MORAY FLOOD ALLEVIATION SCHEME
The £180M Moray Flood Alleviation
Programme provided resilience to
3,000 homes and 600 businesses
in four communities in north-east
Scotland.
Royal HaskoningDHV was appointed
to provide a range of services as a
consultant on the 15 year project,
which was completed last year.
The firm has 6,000 staff working
on projects in 150 countries. It says
it embeds people into project teams
to help them “live and breathe” the
schemes. It also aims to apply “global
solutions to local situations”.
The Moray scheme was a response
to floods that affected thousands
of properties and caused millions of
pounds worth of damage during the
1990s and early 2000s. It covered five
flood alleviation schemes in four towns
with investment from Moray Council
and the Scottish Government.
The programme was based on
designs to make room for the river –
the construction of set-back defences;
demolition and rebuilding of bridges to
open up water courses; construction
of dams to create flood water storage
reservoirs; building a pumping station;
52 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
major works to trunk roads; and
relocation of businesses and homes.
KEY FACT Some of the new flood defences
were tested before they were
£180M completed, when the tail end of
Hurricane Bertha hit in August 2014.
Value of The consultant says more than half
Moray Flood of Moray Council’s investment was
effectively repaid within a decade of
Alleviation
the first elements being completed.
Programme The project also has major social
and environmental benefits, including
a cycle path and work to improve
amenities including parks, playing
fields, wetlands and water courses.
Moray Council project sponsor
Peter Haslam said: “I challenged the
“
Not only was
the challenge
met, it was delivered
ahead of programme
and under budget
team to deliver flood alleviation and
complement the environment. My
measure of success was the scheme
should be invisible and prevent
flooding. Not only was the challenge
met, it was delivered ahead of
programme and under budget.”
The judges praised the firm’s
“very clear ethos of future proof
considerations in projects across the
whole company, with particular focus
on climate resilience”.
They said there was “clear evidence
of cutting edge thinking and practice”
and hailed “excellence” in the Moray
Flood Alleviation programme.
“Adding value to local communities
was at the centre of their design and
delivery, with infectious passion and
enthusiasm during the presentation
that made clear they are living and
breathing what they are saying.”
l Judges were Environment
Agency coastal risk management
director Alison Baptiste, Heriot
Watt University professor of civil
engineering systems Paul Jowitt and
Mott MacDonald global sustainability
leader Davide Stronati.

EXCELLENCE IN CLIMATE RESILIENCE
FINALISTS
Arc a d i s
Part of the winning team in a US Government-
run competition following super storm Sandy,
which damaged more than 300,000 homes
in New York in 2012. The protection scheme
chosen, known as the Dryline, is a protective
system around Manhattan. In collaboration with
the City of New York and local communities,
Arcadis will design flood protection solutions
that merge into the urban fabric for 200,000
residents and 21,000 businesses. Design
features will incorporate architectural
floodwalls, bridging berms, embankments,
moveable floodgates and interior drainage
improvements.
Ci v i c En gi n eer s
Worked with landscape architects J&L Gibbons
to produce sustainable urban drainage systems
guidance for Transport for London. Responding
to the Mayor of London’s Climate Change
Strategy, this demonstrates how SuDS can be
seamlessly integrated into London’s streetscape
and public realm, helping reduce surface water
flood risk.
Fl o od line Consu lting
The consultant has developed plans for two
flood-resilient “can-float” properties on land
beside a flood prone river. The homes will rise
and fall with flood water. The Environment
Agency has approved the scheme and Floodline
says the houses can be insured and mortgaged
like conventional homes.
HR Wa llingford
HR Wallingford is helping the Malaysian
government’s Department of Irrigation and
Drainage develop an effective, integrated flood
forecasting and river monitoring system. The
consultant has developed two systems for west
coast rivers, and is working on three for the
east coast. Fully automated systems are driven
by a combination of live, telemetered gauged
data from the government’s own database, as
well as spatial rainfall radar information and
rainfall forecasts.
“
Very clear
ethos of future
proof considerations
in projects across the
whole company
JB A Consu lting
In January 2017, JBA and consortium
partners began a three-year project to assess
geophysical and atmospheric hazards, aiming
to adapt climate and hazard prediction models
to tropical conditions and improve forecasting,
emergency planning and response capacity in
Kuala Lumpur whose population is projected to
grow by 30% to almost 10M by 2030.
R P S Grou p
RPS’ Bongo River Trees Restoration project in
Ghana, completed last year, drew in engineers
and professional staff alongside charity
volunteers and village groups to undertake a
75ha land restoration project. The semi-barren
rural landscape was transformed, with almost
100,000 trees and shrubs planted along with a
range of other works.
Wa terc o Consu lta nts
Commissioned to develop its smart flood
management concept through to project
appraisal review at four sites in north Wales.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 53
 World View
Excellence in Alternative Energy
Winner: Robert Bird Group
Minimising
the footprint
ROBERT BIRD GROUP HAS DEVELOPED A
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR UNDERSEA TURBINE
BASES ON THE MAYGEN TIDAL POWER PROJECT
Robert Bird Group played a key role
in Phase 1A of the ambitious MeyGen
tidal power project to create the
world’s first grid-connected tidal
turbine scheme in Scottish waters.
RBG conceived and developed the
gravity base design for the under sea
turbines. They had to resist long-term
dynamic forces in extreme marine
conditions including highly turbulent
currents and storm surge conditions.
The site in the Pentland Firth between
the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea
was chosen for its strong tidal stream,
with its irregular seabed creating
eddies and vortices on various scales.
The firm says proving effective
foundation design is a key requirement
for the tidal power industry as it seeks
to fulfil its promise of aiding the move
to a more sustainable energy mix in the
future.
The MeyGen scheme is
environmentally responsible in a
number of ways. Being entirely below
the sea surface, visual impacts are
minimised. The gravity base concept
also means the structures can simply
be lifted off the seabed once their
operational life is over, allowing
embodied steel to be recycled while
the ocean is returned to its natural
state.
The steel support structure and
ballast blocks were fabricated close to
site to reduce transportation impact.
54 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
“
Care has
been taken to
ensure all materials
are recyclable and
the turbines leave
no lasting impact
on the environment
after 25 years
Design of ballast blocks and foundation
tripods was selected to ease transport
KEY FACT from the fabrication facilities to
the port, with only final assembly
25 years undertaken at quayside.
Judges described this as an
Period after “excellent entry” that provided a
which the strong case study in first principles
design, including an explanation of how
turbines
the project was pushing the boundaries
will have no of high turbulence current modelling
lasting impact and structural simulation.
They added that lessons from the
on the scheme were being shared with the
environment wider industry and even fed into a
new design code that will apply as an
industry standard.
“Carbon use has been a major
consideration on the project,” the
judges said.
“Care has been taken to ensure
all materials are recyclable and the
turbines leave no lasting impact on the
environment after 25 years.
“The clients were clearly happy with
Robert Bird Group’s work.
Overall, a fantastic project showing
clear innovation and leadership in
alternative energy.”
l Judges were UK Power Networks
director of programme and
procurement Nirmal Kotecha, Jacobs
head of innovation Adrian Harrison
and New Civil Engineer technical
reporter Fiona McIntyre.
 EXCELLENCE IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
FINALISTS
Bec kett Ra nkine
The firm partnered in a
research project to address
the cost of foundations
for offshore wind and
wave energy schemes
by advancing a concept
that could achieve a 20%
reduction renewable
energy costs. The Offshore
Platform for Energy
Conversion comprises a
large floating structure,
fabricated in reinforced
concrete modules, designed
to support multiple wind
and wave devices and also
aquaculture facilities.
The project is exploring
the deployment of such
systems in developing island
states and isolated coastal
communities that currently
face high electricity costs.
IDOM
Designed the hydro-wind
power plant on El Hierro in
the Canary Islands with the
aim of supplying all of the
island’s electrical energy
from renewable sources and
helping conserve an area
declared a World Biosphere
Reserve. Power is supplied
to the network from wind
turbines with surpluses used
to pump water to create a
reserve to drive the hydro-
turbines if wind is lacking.
It is estimated that this
system will save the annual
consumption of 40,000
oil barrels and cut out the
emission of 18,700 tonnes
of CO2.
JB A Consu lting
Developed ForeCoast
Marine to facilitate
installation, operation and
maintenance of offshore
wind farms, tidal arrays
and new-nuclear projects.
JBA is using the system
to support construction of
the 116-turbine Rampion
offshore wind farm off the
Sussex coast, where initial
foundation construction
was heavily delayed by bad
weather. ForeCoast Marine
predicted a 20 month
construction programme to
within three days. Costain
principal risk consultant
Andy Poole said the system
was “a game changer in the
way we plan and manage
weather”.
Mott Ma cDona ld
Developing the technical
specification and business
case for an innovative
600MW solar-pumped
storage project on the coast
of northern Chile’s Atacama
Desert. When the sun is
shining, half the power from
the 1650ha solar plant will
be used to pump water from
the sea to 650m above
sea level. When released,
this water will generate
hydropower to meet
daytime peaks and night-
time power demand. Mott
MacDonald says the hybrid
scheme will be competitive
on cost with conventional
alternatives.
Sw ec o U K
Provided a range of
consultancy services for
Galway Wind Farm, which
has the capacity to generate
enough green energy
for 90,000 homes. The
169MW generating project
is a combination of four
windfarms and Sweco had to
design five different types
of turbine foundation to
cope with difficult ground
conditions. The wind farm
has the capability to save
more than 400,000t
of carbon per year. On a
broader scale, Sweco has
contributed to 3.6GW of
installed renewable capacity
over the last eight years.
Wa lters
Its Mynydd Bwllfa wind
farm project involved the
installation of nine wind
turbines, each 125m high,
on an environmentally
sensitive site in Wales.
As landowner, developer
and design-and-build
contractor, Walters
conceived the project
and will operate and
maintain the facility for
the next 25 years. It
maintained consultation and
stakeholder engagement
throughout. Walters
provides more than
100MW of clean electricity
capacity at seven sites
across Wales, enough to
offset the carbon emissions
of its huge plant fleet.
W YG
The consultant was
commissioned by Vestas to
investigate the optimum
solution for transporting
66 turbines to Stronelairg
wind farm on the shore of
Loch Ness. The longest
component was the length
of four buses. WYG
assessed each stage of the
journey and worked with
developer SSE Renewables
to design the mitigation
works required. It reduced
the need for expensive land
deals and intrusive road
works and slashed costs and
timescales.
N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 55
 NCE100
The Gold List
THE NCE100 COMPANIES OF THE YEAR 2018 WERE
NCE100
SCRUTINISED BY A PANEL OF 45 JUDGES WHO ASSESSED
ENTRIES AND INTERVIEWED SENIOR EXECUTIVES ANALYSIS
OF STAFF SURVEYS COMPLETED THE ASSESSMENT

AKTII Costain i-Transport

Alun Griffiths Curtins Jackson Civil Engineering
Anthony D Bates Partnership Davies Maguire Jacobs
Arcadis Design ID Consulting JBA Consulting
Arch Henderson Design2e Jenkins and Potter
Ardent Consulting Engineers Dougall Baillie Associates JNP Group Consulting Engineers
Arup Dr Sauer & Partners John Sisk & Son
Awcock Ward Partnership Dunelm Geotechnical JPP Consulting
Barhale Eastwood & Partners Kier
BDP Edenvale Young Associates London Bridge Associates
Beckett Rankine Engenuiti Mace
Black & Veatch Engineeria Midland Metro Alliance
Breheny Civil Engineering FCC Construccion MJ Rooney Construction
Bryden Wood Technology FJD Consulting Mott MacDonald
BWB Group Floodline Consulting Opus International Consultants
C Spencer Foundation Piling Patrick Parsons
Caley Water GHD Pell Frischmann
CampbellReith Glanville Consultants Peter Brett Associates
Capita Property and Infrastructure Hartigan Pick Everard
Cass Hayward Hewson Consulting Engineers Pinnacle Consulting Engineers
CGL HR Wallingford PJA
Civic Engineers Hydrock Plandescil
Clancy Consulting IDOM Project Centre
Clarkebond Igloo Ramboll
Converge Interserve Construction Robert Bird Group

56 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
 HERE IS THE NCE100 TOP 10.

Top 10
A LIST OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL,
INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE CIVIL
ENGINEERING COMPANIES IN 2018

Royal HaskoningDHV
RPS Group 01 Arcadis
RSK Group
Sanderson Watts Associates
Sensat
02 Arup
Stantec
Stuart Michael Associates 03 Jacobs
Sweco UK
Taylor & Boyd
04 Mace
Thomas Consulting
Thornton Tomasetti
Van Elle 05 Ramboll
Waldeck Consulting
Walters
06 Sweco UK
Waterco Consultants
Waterman
Webb Yates Engineers 07 Mott MacDonald
Wentworth House Partnership
Westlakes Engineering
08 Costain
Whitby Wood
Wills Bros Civil Engineering
Wood 09 WSP
WSP
WYG
10 Black & Veatch
XEIAD

N C E 100 G O L D B O O K 20 18 57
 NCE100
Judges

Judging Panel
Tahir Ahmad Jonathan Chapman David Hancock Andrew McNaughton Elizabeth Rikard
BIM specialist, Crossrail Senior skills advisor, Construction director, Technical director, Finance director and chief
— Environment Agency Infrastructure and Projects HS2 Ltd engineer, Highwire Height
Simon Alford — Authority, Cabinet Office — Safety Engineers 
Director, AHMM Darren Colderwood Benita Mehra —
— Development director Adrian Harrison President, Women’s David Riley
Roger Bailey Heathrow Airport Head of innovation, Engineering Society (WES) Head of carbon and energy,
Asset management — utilities, Jacobs  — Anglian Water
director, Tideway Ian Corder — Paul Morris —
— Cost and carbon manager, Anil Iyer Head of innovation, Kevin Shelton
Nathan Baker Environment Agency Chief operating officer, Tideway Head of risk and value
Director, ICE — Association for Consultancy — management, Network Rail
— Adrian Coy & Engineering Chris Newsome Sir Neville Simms
Alison Baptiste Local authorities director, — executive director, chairman, Tideway
Director, flood and Aecom and former vice Paul Jowitt Anglian Water —
coastal risk management, president, ICE Professor of civil — Paula Stannett
Environment Agency — engineering systems, Heriot Douglas Oakervee Chief people officer
— Sarah Eager Watt University Chairman, Docel and ICE Heathrow Airport Ltd
Lewis Blackwell Innovation lead – smart — Special Representative for —
Executive director, Building infrastructure, Innovate UK Blane Judd China Davide Stronati
Centre — Chief executive, EngTech — Global sustainability leader,
— Joanne Ellman Brown Now Nelson Ogunshakin Mott MacDonald
Denise Bower PMO director, — Chief executive, —
Executive director, Major Heathrow Airport Jon Kerbey Association for Consultancy Jon Sturgess
Projects — Head of management & Engineering Programme manager
Association Jaap Flikweert systems, HS2 Ltd — (design) – building and civil
— Director, water governance — Shaun Pidcock design groups, Network
Keith Bowers and strategy, Royal Nirmal Kotecha Programme director, Rail
Profession head: tunnels HaskoningDHV Director of capital Highways England —
London Underground — programme and — Christine Townley,
— Brian Francis procurement, UK Power Lisa Pinney Freelance consultant –
Kevin Bowsher National commercial Networks Chief executive, Coal young people and skills
Diversity and inclusion manager, Environment — Authority; trustee, —
manager, Network Rail Agency David Leam Infrastructure Stonewall Keith Waller
— — director, London First — Senior advisor,
Maggie Brown Geoff French — Nicholas Pollard Infrastructure & Projects
Innovation manager, EDF Past-president, ICE John Lorimer Chief executive, Cory Authority
Energy – Hinkley Point C — Chair, BIM Academy Riverside Energy —
— Chris Gage — — Briony Wickenden
Mike Brown Digital lead - industrial Alexi Marmot David Porter Head of training, Civil
Commissioner, Transport products UKI global Vice-dean teaching and Director, NI Rivers Agency Engineering Contractors
for London business services, IBM learning, University — Association
— — College London Alasdair Reisner —
David Caiden Peter Hall — Chief executive, Civil Simon Wright
Director, Arup Member engagement Michelle McDowell Engineering Contractors Programme director,
manager, Employers Chair, civil and structural Association Crossrail
Network for Equality & engineering, BDP
Inclusion

58 N C E 10 0 G O L D B O O K 2 0 1 8
The NCE100 Gold Book

Written by:
Greg Pitcher

Editor:
Mark Hansford

Chief sub editor:

Andy Bolton

Design:
James McCarthy

Display sales:
Francis Barham
020 3953 2912
francis.barham@emap.com

Published by:
Emap for Metropolis International