Working Backwards: civil constRuction projects that become enviroNmental projects

Ever wonder why Civil dirt work projects become such a mess when environmental issues enter the equation? It has never ceased to amaze me how totally blown away and totally incapacitating civil contractors become when any kind of environmental issue happens on-Site. As we think through it, however, for them it is really like working backwards. Civil contractors are ill-prepared to work backwards, well, because this is backwards for them. They count on having environmental issues cleared up and out of their way, at this point, no matter the reason environmental issues come to light in the projects.

Civil work by nature is time and money. While equipment operators and project managers are skilled, they are skilled in tasks to move dirt, compact dirt, and move the project forward quickly. They are skilled at following construction designs, blueprints, and soil specifications. They are skilled at staying on timelines established by the contract. They are skilled at warranting their work but only with the issues that they can control on-Site.

Hence, when un-scoped plans or changes arise at a Site, it greatly affects the general contractor, with overall responsibility for the build, and the dirt contractor, with the responsibility to change, maintain or make a certain specification for soil load and physical properties. For instance, in the semi-conductor business, most of the building specifications are centered on no vibration. Vibration causes inconsistency in the semi-conductors, and vibration cannot only be controlled at the machine level, it conducts down from the concrete foundation to the footings or piers, and then ultimately to the soils on-Site. So, working backwards, if the soil is not consistently stabilized, the footings/piers are not capable of stopping vibration, which moves through the foundation and ultimately to the machining of the chips. This is maybe the extreme situation, but when ¼ of an acre of the soil is changed by an unforeseen environmental issue and imported fill is brought in for that small space, it wreaks havoc on the whole project. It highlights, why changes in the process are so impactful.

Anyone who has participated in environmental work or civil work has seen these issues pop up from time to time. The most obvious case is that the environmental consultant missed something. I was an environmental consultant for 17 years; this is their nightmare. When I say they missed something, I am implying that it was on a map, or in a database, and they missed seeing something obvious. It is not fun, but it happens to even the best consultants at some point. There are also oversights from the environmental consultant with issues that were not marked or obvious, but there are many other reasons and problems that can cause issues. These can range from oil and gas wells that were not terminated deep enough and got in the way of a foundation or pier, to anartesian water source that was not evident until after grading, and anywhere in between. I have also seen where small fens (wetlands) lead to a localized area of soils being too soft to support construction. These types of surprises are often missed in the geotechnical testing of a Site when too few samples are collected and none of the samples were procured in these positions. These small changes, send a cascade of issues through the civil contractor. Imported fill is needed, changing the specifications of the existing soil versus the imported soil, and this slows everything down.

These changes to soil types, imported fill, and irregularity of matching what was previously there, known, and planned for can cause all types of additional issues for civil contractors. First off, there is limited time, they have a contract, and external issues are eating at that available time. Second, there is the inconsistency in the new aggregate that is brought in, how will that affect amendments needed, and often also contractually obligated to perform. Third off, there is the warranty of their work, which with these changes, can really start to be a difficult addendum. The art of warranting a build, is based upon the soil you are starting with and what needs to be done to supply the build. Traditional design-bid-build projects are very different from design-build projects, which is what ends up happening when the soil plan and soil amendment changes are made on the fly. In general, a very different level of warranty of work happens between these two types of projects. Traditionally the standard of care is on the contractor to warranty the work in traditional design-bid-build projects as opposed to the owner taking on risk in a design-build project scenario.

Lastly, the civil contractors also struggle with environmental issues because of the changed requirements. If it is a true environmental issue, most civil contractors are not Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HazWOPER) trained, nor are they skilled in the management and handling of soil impacts. They do not have the resources, trained personnel, or personal protective equipment readily at their disposal.

This is a start to the discussion about what happens when you must work backwards on a civil construction project that turns into an environmental project during building. Join our industry veterans to discuss our upcoming webinar on Working Backwards: Civil Construction Projects that Become Environmental Projects. IKON Environmental Solutions invites you to join us for our upcoming roundtable discussion on civil contracting gone awry. Register here for the Webinar. For additional information, or for help with environmental remediation contracting, contact Andy Adams, Greg Blomquist, and John Savage.