Tech & Software
Location Intelligence Helping the UK’s Massive Team2100 Infrastructure Project Tap into a River’s Worth of Data-Driven Insights Water, Water, Everywhere… Nor a Drop Amiss
By Dan Culli
In this recent article in Civil + Structural Engineer Magazine , my colleague Mike Housby wrote about how managers of large capital projects are swimming in data that has the potential to help them make better, faster decisions. But there is a problem: there are several obstacles to making that data truly consumable and actionable. He quoted the famous line from Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner to describe the conundrum: “Water, water, everywhere. Nor any drop to drink.” So much data. Too few insights. It’s a problem that every project manager I know can relate to. Mike didn’t just diagnose the problem, though. He mapped out how organizations responsible for these large capital projects can tap into the potential of that data by using enterprise GIS and location intelligence. That technology and the best practices he discussed are a gamechanger for managing large construction projects in ways that keep them moving forward, simplify management of all the moving parts, and make it more likely for these massive projects to stay on time and on budget. One of the UK’s biggest infrastructure projects is a great example of that: The Thames Estuary 2100 flood risk management project, based in London.
Referred to most often as TEAM2100, the UK Environment Agency’s Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 Programme is the first step in a nearly century-long plan to manage tidal flood risk for the UK’s most important and famous river. TEAM2100 encompasses the tidal Thames estuary and associated flood plains from west London downstream to the North Sea, protecting over 1.4 million people and £321 billion pounds worth of property from tidal flooding. The asset system comprises more than 4000 flood defense assets, including 350 kilometers of walls and embankments, the iconic Thames Barrier and several other tidal barriers, 290 outfalls, 348 frontage gates, and just over 100 pumping stations, each with hundreds if not thousands of related data components. The volume of data related to the programme is enormous. But no one is quoting Coleridge’s “Nor a drop to drink” line when it comes to turning that ocean of data – or in this case, a massive river of data – into “drinkable” insights. Location intelligence has been a critical tool for management of the TEAM2100 programme. I have been directly involved in the TEAM2100 integrated delivery team for several years working with its lead partners, the Environment Agency (EA) and Jacobs, who are responsible for overall management of the Thames Estuary work. In that role, I have promoted location
14
csengineermag.com
JULY 2023
Made with FlippingBook Annual report