Case Study
Writing engineering methodologies for London’s new super sewer
Overview
The Thames Tideway Tunnel was a 25km tunnel running mostly under the tidal section of the River Thames through central London for capture, storage and conveyance of almost all the combined raw sewage and rainwater discharges overflowing into the river from 34 combined sewer overflows. My client was a joint venture of two construction giants bidding for the 12.7km Central section from Kirtling Street east to Carnwath Road (5km) and west to Chambers Wharf (7.7km). The contract also included building eight tunnel shafts between 42m and 62m depth, six connecting tunnels, sewers, interceptors and valve rooms.
Solution
I worked with tunnelling and other experts to develop construction methodologies in response to complex bid questions. I challenged engineering approaches to drill into the reasons why my client’s solutions were the best for the scheme. I set up engineering workshops with subject specialists – e.g. risk managers, design leaders, tunnel engineers – to review options and understand what mattered most to the client, Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd trading as Tideway.
Challenges
Through detailed planning of responses before writing, I conveyed complex technical messages in ways that would make sense to non-technical readers as well as experienced engineers in the assessment team. One of the challenges was that Tideway’s bid assessors were not all from engineering backgrounds, so I had to make responses accessible to a diverse audience. I explained construction concepts without consuming too much of the allowed page count, finding the right balance of technical and non-technical writing.
Outcome
My client’s bid was successful.
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Contact details
207 Regent Street
London
W1B 3HH