Spencer Group were appointed by Associated British Ports (ABP) to design and construct two border control post facilities at the ports of Hull and Immingham, required as a consequence of Brexit. A collaborative working partnership was formed between ABP and Spencer Group, ensuring rapid progress was made on the project to meet the challenging deadline imposed by the government.
The construction of a 5.3 acre facility at the Port of Immingham, with a total floor space of 40,957 sq ft (3,805 sq m) was completed within 10 months of contract award.
Client | ABP |
Duration | 13 months |
Location | Port of Immingham |
End Date | February 2022 |
The project comprised the Design and Construction (D&C) of a new Border Control Post facility at the Port of Immingham, Queens Road site. The key elements of this industrial civil engineering and building scheme include the D&C of a Main Border Control Building, with a smaller associated Border Control Officers building, inclusive of a modular administration building.
Following contract award, ABP requested that Spencer Group challenge the concept designs and offer alternative value engineered solutions that would reduce cost and potentially project programme.
Solutions proposed by Spencer Group included:
• Raising the building level by 1200mm to reduce exported materials
• The introduction of a symphonic drainage system, removing multiple down pipes and gullies
• Reducing the number of piles by more than 55%
• Swapping the conventional distribution boards, containment and cabling arrangement, for a busbar trunking system.
The value engineering and design solutions adopted on the project allowed the 5.3 acre facility to be designed and constructed in only 10 months. After lifting the building levels, Spencer Group utilised a steel grid system with precast planks distributed over key support steels, transferred through piles within the floor area. This design solution achieved a reduced pile requirement of 235 piles, removing 306.
Providing a flexible solution to the LV distribution, allowed for a quicker and easier installation compared to conventional arrangements and it also permits future expansion with minimal disruption to operations.
By working collaboratively with ABP and the supply chain, the value engineering and design solutions saved ABP £510,626.