Travellers at Amsterdam Zuid station will be increasingly aware of the refurbishment work that is happening: temporary platforms, diversions, construction hoardings and some closures. This work is always preceded by careful planning, not only focusing on technology, but also environmental safety, accessibility and quality of life. The North Sea Canal Area Environmental Service acts on behalf of the City of Amsterdam in issuing permits and licences for much of the work and ensures that we meet all our obligations during construction. ‘I’m a structural engineer and adviser on structural safety. It’s my job to assess the structural documentation submitted to us by the contractor. I work closely with Pascal – he works in the field while I’m at the office’, says Alem. Pascal: ‘I’m the building inspector in charge of supervision. I check that construction is in line with the planning permission. We monitor environmental safety, structural safety and fire safety, but also ensure that the noise exemption rules and construction safety plans are being properly followed.’
The right balance
Pascal: ‘This is a complex construction challenge, in view of its location in a busy urban area, the limited space to work in and the fact that the traffic and transport needs to continue to pass through the area. Refurbishment work is happening while everything’s still running, which creates a certain tension. Working during the night would be the best way to prevent traffic disruption, but it would cause too much inconvenience for local residents. That’s why you need to strike the right balance. We take account of everyone’s interests and apply a critical and constructive approach to finding solutions, based on our independent role. We bring in knowledge and expertise and work with the parties involved to ensure an effective process, with a focus on structural safety and operational safety during the works and in the resulting final situation, while also taking account of local interests.’
Quieter and cleaner
Pascal: ‘Construction work needs to be as quiet as possible. We have a lot of contact with our acoustic specialists. We use noise prognoses, which enable us to accurately estimate how much noise something is permitted to make. The Nieuw-Zuid construction consortium and Zuidasdok monitor the works, which helps improve the prognoses. There is also an increasing need to use electric machines, which are quieter and produce fewer emissions. But there may only be two machines of the kind needed available in the Netherlands, which can make things difficult. The transition towards quieter and cleaner construction materials will take some time, but we do expect this to be taken into account in the work and any applications for noise exemption orders.’
Collaboration
Pascal: ‘It’s actually great to see that people take action when we flag up and highlight issues. Such as the need for care and precision when it comes to noise and vibrations that affect the local area. They also responded to our request to appoint a coordinating structural engineer to work in the field. In the past, there were occasions when the issues we raised led to no action. Now everything’s placed on a list and we also receive feedback on it. We’re also seeing that meetings devoted to the subject of working safely are proving successful in raising awareness of safety and resulting in demonstrably safe solutions.’
Focus
Pascal: ‘Safety is paramount, for travellers, road users, people working in Zuidas and passers-by and for the safety of the structures to enable the buildings to last more than a century.’ For this purpose, the detailed structural design needs to be calculated and checked by the Nieuw-Zuid construction consortium, Zuidasdok and the Environmental Service before execution. For the safety of travellers, road users and passers-by, it is important that there is no risk of falling objects during lifting and hoisting work, which is why certain areas need to be fenced off from the public. Alem: ‘It’s important to take an integrated look at everything. If things have gone wrong in the past, it was often because people focused only on their own area. Pascal observes what’s happening on the ground, highlighting anything relating to an activity that should be taken into account and discussing it with the consortium and Zuidasdok.’
Risk-focused supervision
Pascal: ‘In the area where the works are happening, there are large cranes that often lift heavy materials. To set up these cranes, a geotechnological assessment and a stability calculation are needed. You then need to take an integrated look at the positioning and any contact with retaining walls, for example. The crane also needs to be positioned in the calculated situation. Our supervision is risk-focused and involves random checks. Responsibility for day-to-day supervision is in the hands of the contractor and Zuidasdok. If we spot any situations that are not in line with the calculated situation, the work is brought to a halt. We then ensure that the parties involved take our comments on board and bring about improvements in the supervision of cranes and hoisting safety.’
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