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Markets
Nuclear
Power & renewables
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Location
Suffolk, UK
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Client
Sizewell C
Will Ridge
Graduate Civil Engineer, UK contact form
Cian McBride
Principal Engineer, UK contact form
On a megaproject like Sizewell C, lots of aspects of the construction site are dependent on one another and are constantly changing. Making sure the correct facilities and supplies are available for the workforce and construction programme, and predicting how those needs will change, can be a complex task.
At Sizewell C, AtkinsRéalis graduate engineers developed a system, known as Mass Balances, to present multiple data sets from all different aspects of the project in a flexible format to help with high-level decision making.
This data could cover anything from on-site activities such as, earthworks volumes, water demands, power supply, the workforce on site and heavy goods vehicle deliveries – all of which are inextricably linked.
It can be thought of as a ‘golden thread’ which follows each interlinked activity through the project lifecycle so supply and demand forecasts can be tracked. The innovative method was introduced to use digital technology to facilitate a data-driven approach to design and delivery to create greater project efficiencies.
How does it work?
The granular data feeds into subsequent calculations by adopting a common framework and methodology, which makes the downstream effects of a change more visible, enabling better insights.
These profiles are all accessible through a consolidated dashboard, which shows this data through time and geospatially on site via heatmaps. This user-friendly dashboard presents the calculation outputs through simple visuals and filters the data to provide clear insights.
For example, the workforce profile directly drives the drinking water demand, which during site establishment needs to be delivered to site in water tankers, which in turn impacts the transport profile.
The Mass Balances system guarantees all disciplines are using up-to-date and consistent inputs, by using unique activity IDs from the construction programme, and ensuring profiles are flexible to programme change. This is enabled by digital tools like PowerAutomate, Python scripts, and SQL databases, which support seamless data exchange among calculations.
The system can also identify where there are mismatches between the demands of the current proposed programme and the available capacity, therefore mitigating risks, or where there is available capacity, recommending activities in the programme that can be accelerated.
What benefits has this brought to the project?
Mass Balances helps clients to understand the sources of key demand and make informed decisions, faster. This innovative system has reduced the time to implement programme change, which previously took several days. Now it takes just minutes to exchange data between calculations; removing human error, ensuring consistent data across all seven disciplines, improving quality and saving time.Here are some examples of where the Mass Balances system has improved construction at Sizewell C already:
Earthworks: Mass Balances optimised the movement of excavated earth to relevant stockpiles on site, and then feeds that data directly into the transport model for highly customisable planning.
Utilities: Planning the utility strategy is crucial in a water scarce area. The system shows where the water demand is coming from in advance and helps Sizewell C plan accordingly, reducing overall impact and cost.
Staff welfare: The dashboard showed an overprovision of desks for office-based staff but a shortfall of lockers for site workers based on previous high-level work. Seeing this allowed the design teams to propose a solution to improve the experience of site workers during construction.
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An excellent tool that has evolved over the duration of the project. The solution is making the difference across a wide set of parameters and has the potential to evolve into a proactive design tool on future infrastructure projects.
Judges panel
Construction News Awards
Next steps
The Mass Balances system has unlocked a new and integrated capability for AtkinsRéalis, with potential to be used on other infrastructure projects and optimise construction programmes, beyond Sizewell C. Cian McBride, Principal Engineer, said: “We were delighted with the win for Mass Balances in the ‘Best use of Technology’ category at the Construction News Awards. It shows how the tool could optimise the construction programme and potentially bring elements of the project forward and reduce the risk of delays therefore saving time and cost.”
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