The British Tunnelling Society (BTS 2024) Conference and Exhibition brought together clients, contractors, consultants and suppliers to talk about some of the pressing challenges facing our sector and the world – and to showcase some of the solutions to those challenges.
Held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on 8 and 9 October 2024, and organised by Tunnelling Journal, the two-day programme of conference sessions kicked off with three thought provoking keynote presentations. Keith Bowers, project director for tunnels and approaches on the Lower Thames Crossing, showed how significant carbon savings can be achieved with the right client intent – and incentives; Nick Sumption, delivery lead at industry innovation organisation i3P, spoke about the need to accelerate the uptake of innovative and best practice; and Professor Mike Mooney from the Colorado School of Mines showed how AI is already changing our industry, and what future change might look like.
The strong message to emerge from these and many of the presentations at the conference was that this is an industry which already has solutions to today’s problems. Speaking at the end of the conference, Daniel Garbutt, conference chair and innovation manager at the Nuclear Restoration Services, said: “We have already exceeded some of the climate tipping points…and that is going to change life on this planet fundamentally. The message I am taking away is that we need to accelerate adoption of new and innovative practices that will help to slow down climate change.”
The conference demonstrated that tools and materials for cutting carbon already exist. Presentations from Professor Panagiotis Spyridis of the University of Rostock and Ruler Consult and Jiang Su of AtkinsRealis showed the potential impact of more efficient lining designs; Bruno Paul-Dauphin of Vinci company Exegy explained that low carbon and even ultra-low carbon concrete is already a reality; Dr Benoit Jones of Inbye Engineering and Chris Peaston of Peaston Concrete Consultancy showed how guidance and standards can be deployed to cut carbon in concrete lining design.
Examples of innovation came from the UK and overseas. From HS2’s Chiltern Tunnel to BIM on the Stockholm Metro Blue Line extension; inSAR in Aukland to Battery Electric Vehicles in Norway; innovation as education in Switzerland to pragmatic offsite on Tideway. Inspirational project presentations also included the Central Kowloon Route – Central Tunnel in Hong Kong, the West Link metro project in Gothenburg and Woodsmith Mine in the North of the UK.
The right culture is vital for any organisation looking to accommodate change, a point underlined in this year’s David Wallis Paper, ‘A fine line between success and failure’. Delivered by BTS chair John Corcoran of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, this presentation was a masterclass in leadership, illustrating the importance of creating a project culture that encourages ideas and engagement.
There were some new topics on the agenda this year too. BTS past president Rod Young curated and chaired a session on small-bore tunnels – a well-attended session, perhaps highlighting the increasing importance of this sector, given plans in the water and energy sectors. And Garbutt ran a closing session on inclusivity which featured a presentation by WSP’s Sharon Strugnell on the hurdles and helping hands she has encountered on her path to leadership, followed by a frank panel discussion with Garbutt, Strugnell, Anna Lau of HS2 and Turner & Townsend, Tasnia Khanom of SCS Railways and Sarah Langley of Sika.
The conference also hosted a BTS evening event at the end of the first day, with presentations on three UK mega projects which have been recognised by the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) as part of their 50-year anniversary celebrations: the Channel Tunnel, Crossrail and Tideway.
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