Skanska’s international tunnelling experts meet at HS2 mega project
Within Skanska, we have an international network of tunnelling experts. Each year this group meets at one of our global tunnel projects to exchange experiences, share good ideas and look at possible collaborations across borders.
The network has existed for almost 20 years and over this time it has enabled the spread of technology between the various countries and facilitated direct collaborations in joint projects, with the exchange of both personnel and innovative ideas. Important relationships have been established and this has enabled the right people, with extensive experience, to carry out critical peer reviews and deep dives on major projects across the globe.
This year the international team, made up of colleagues from the US, Sweden, Norway and the UK came to London to visit our Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture delivering the London Tunnels section of HS2. They were given a tour of the mega project which included the impressive Victoria Road Crossover Box and the Northolt Tunnel East Drives.
The group gave great feedback on the visit, particularly around the immense scale of the project and the complexities of managing the logistics in a highly urbanised city like London. The challenges of dealing with stakeholders, third parties, and the public in such an environment were a focal point of discussion.
Swedish colleagues, currently engaged in high-speed rail and metro projects back home, were keen to observe the UK's approach. Colleagues from the USA, with extensive tunnelling experience, found the scale of the UK project particularly impressive.
“We were struck by the planned, calm and efficient production on site.” said Hans Hogård, Project Chief from Sweden, “It was clear that the works were well planned in advance. What stood out, of course, was the sheer size of the project and that it is located in the middle of a big city. The arrangement around the logistics hub and the working methods to ensure that such a large amount of transport can take place with full control of security checks, the right vehicles, etc was impressive.
Hans continued: “The visit was excellent, and we are returning to Sweden full of positive energy and new ideas that we want to introduce into our own projects.”
Trond Valeur, Skanska Norway’s Regional Director said: “We learned a lot from the HS2 visit. From how you organise a project of this size, all the logistic aspects that need setting up and solving, through to the different tunnel methods used to deliver the project. It was of great value to myself and our team of tunnelling experts from Skanska Norway. We could ask questions and have very interesting discussions with all our Skanska tunnelling colleagues.
He added: “It is also of great importance that we are all able to share our tunnelling knowledge and passion between our businesses; knowledge relating to projects, tenders, people and methods. It gives us all a very good feeling knowing that we have all this tunnelling competence in Skanska globally and that we can help each other solve the challenges we meet in our daily working lives.”
Gary Almeraris, Vice President of Operations in the US thanked the Skanska UK team: “For hosting one of our best tunnelling meetings. The tour of your HS2 project was very informative and gave us all a look at the new technologies and unique methods the team is using on this mega infrastructure project.