D3 Consulting has launched a comprehensive waste management advice service to the industry.
Identifying a gap in the market for regulatory waste advice encompassing the complete decommissioning process, D3 is offering this complimentary service to support the challenges and complex issues faced by businesses as the pace of decommissioning increases.
Martin Bjerregaard, director of D3 Consulting, explains: "Waste is becoming a key and complex issue for regulators, operators and supply chain companies planning for late life asset management and decommissioning. We've had increasing requests for advice and support around offshore decommissioning waste management and were keen to offer our expertise.”
Typically involved at the front end planning and engineering phase of decommissioning projects, D3 Consulting supports these operations with bespoke solutions for safe, regulatory compliant and cost effective operations. The waste management advice function has been developed as an additional complimentary service to the company's current offering and is hoped to improve collaborative working within the industry.
Martin continued: "The industry is aware that collaboration is key for successful, cost effective and efficient decommissioning operations and so by offering our expertise to the wider industry, I hope we can lead by example. Whilst some organisations can offer general decommissioning advice, this is a unique and comprehensive waste advice service for the complete decommissioning process – from pre-decom planning to recycling and disposal. We would be delighted to hear from anyone requiring waste management support for specific decommissioning challenges.”
Businesses with offshore decommissioning waste management queries can contact D3 at info@d3-consulting.com or call Martin on 07969 725 418.
D3 Consulting has launched an upgraded version of its unique Decommissioning Assurance through Waste kNowledge (DAWN) system at this year's Offshore Decommissioning Conference in St Andrews.
DAWN is the world's only information management system for preparing materials inventories and managing waste throughout the decommissioning process, and has been specifically developed for offshore decommissioning to allow regulatory compliance to be a timely and simple process.
Following significant positive industry feedback, the system has recently been upgraded to include comprehensive waste management protocols.
Martin Bjerregaard, director of D3 Consulting, explains: "As the pace of decommissioning accelerates, D3 is increasingly required for offshore decommissioning planning projects. As operators transition into the implementation phase of decommissioning works, we realised that the addition of a complete suite of waste management protocols would be beneficial for clients already utilising DAWN.
"These waste management protocols have been embedded into the system and provide supply chain contractors with guidance for managing waste and materials during decontamination, dismantling, appropriate PPE, waste storage prior to dispatch and options for recycling, reusing and disposal of waste.”
D3 is typically involved at the front end planning and engineering phase of decommissioning projects and supports these operations with bespoke solutions for safe, regulatory compliant and cost effective operations.
Martin continued: "We're excited to have created an industry standard for waste management in the offshore decommissioning market. D3 has already prepared materials inventories in DAWN for more than 40 platforms scheduled for decommissioning and we see great opportunities for the wider industry to adopt these waste management protocols for the safest, most effective and efficient decommissioning operations.”
At D3 Consulting, we support offshore operators and their supply chains with bespoke offshore decommissioning solutions to facilitate safe, timely, regulatory compliant and cost effective decommissioning works.
We first came across R2S in 2014, and since that time we've used various versions of R2S on over 40 platforms in the UKCS. It’s become an operational norm, providing us with competitive advantage and the ability to deliver our projects with an un-comparable level of accuracy.
Materials Inventories – Safe and Cost-Effective Offshore Decommissioning
Decommissioning is quickly becoming something to be confronted sooner than anticipated. Assets are ageing, costs are rising and the pace of abandonment and decommissioning operations is accelerating rapidly.
By Martin Bjerregaard
D3 Consulting has been awarded a six figure contract with a major operator, following the successful completion of a decommissioning project with another operator.
The eight month contract started in April 2016 and involves the preparation of materials inventories for 21 platforms in the Southern North Sea, with eight associated subsea installations and pipelines. The work scope includes the quantification of assets with subsequent characterisation and classification of the waste and materials.
The contract win succeeds a successful three month project for a major operator which was completed in June 2016. D3 Consulting developed a waste and materials inventory as part of the planning phase for a decommissioning project in the North Sea.
Martin Bjerregaard, director of D3 Consulting, said: “The team at D3 Consulting has more than 20 years of decommissioning experience, and I’m delighted that our expertise was recognised by two major operators in the industry. Our pragmatic and streamlined approach ensures that we can support these operations with bespoke solutions to facilitate safe, regulatory compliant and cost effective decommissioning works.”
The company will utilise its unique Decommissioning Assurance through Waste kNowledge (DAWN) system – the world’s only information management system for preparing materials inventories and managing waste throughout the decommissioning process. Martin continued: “As market leaders in offshore decommissioning materials inventories, we are typically engaged at the front end planning and engineering phase of decommissioning operations.
“DAWN has been specifically developed for offshore decommissioning and allows regulatory compliance in waste and materials management to be a timely and simple process. Outputs from the system ensure that the right waste information is provided at the right time to the right people, and ultimately provides waste assurance support for the complete decommissioning cycle.”
D3 Consulting launches a new Materials Inventory and Waste Characterisation system already in use for 19 North Sea platforms scheduled for decommissioning.
Having completed Materials Inventories for 19 platforms and subsea installations under decommissioning in the North Sea in the past 24 months, D3 Consulting has now developed a robust online information management system for the preparation and ongoing management of Materials Inventories which can be used by Operators and their supply chain. D3’s in-house team of surveyors use DAWN across a range of different decommissioning projects, making it a tried and tested system ready to be launched.
The system is called DAWN: Decommissioning Assurance through Waste kNowledge – the focus being that a better understanding of your asset from a waste and materials point of view, the smoother the decommissioning process. Also DAWN holds the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) which is now regulatory requirement for all offshore assets to have, regardless of whether going into decommissioning.
DAWN allows the user to develop Materials Inventories using drop down menus proposing EWC codes for waste items etc. The resulting Materials Inventories are then available in a format which feed straight into DECC Decommissioning Programmes, as well as prepopulated documentation such as TransFrontier Shipment notes, cost schedules for tendering purposes and waste handling protocols for hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. We have also included guidance on “when is a material a waste” in accordance with the applicable regulations and the option for the EWC codes to be translated into Norwegian Waste codes for cases where the asset ends up in Norway for disposal.
For more information on DAWN please visit www.dawn.d3-consulting.com
The demolition of certain buildings will need approval from the local planning authority and if this is the case then the relevant authority will usually require some form of ecological appraisal prior to granting consent. In the very least this will take the form of a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal which is considered the minimum required by most local authorities. However, additional protected species surveys may also be required following this initial assessment and it is important to consider that these surveys can often have timing constraints which could result in considerable delays to your programme.
If you are thinking about demolition of your site and are going down the route of applying for Prior Notification of Proposed Demolition then there are a few important things for you to consider:
Protected species- many buildings and habitats on sites (even brown-field sites) can offer potential habitat for protected species including (but not limited to) bats, breeding birds, reptiles, badgers and amphibians;
Working methodologies- if protected species are identified on site then you may need to adapt your usual working methodologies by for instance, timing the works to outside the season when protected species are most likely to be present, using soft demolition methods, or by having an ecologist on site to supervise certain aspects of the work; and,
Licences- depending on the protected species present you may need to undertake works under a special licence which covers you against otherwise illegal activities i.e. a European Protected Species Licence for bats could be put in place in order to allow for the demolition of a building with a bat roost.
Whatever route to demolition of a site you are taking it is important to consider that demolition sites often provide habitat for protected species and if these are not considered prior to works commencing, you could be in breach of National and European legislation. This could lead to considerable fines and even a custodial sentence.
For more help on this please contact either Jenni Reid at Tor Ecology on jenni@torecology.co.uk or Kathryn Sentance at D3 Consulting on Kathryn@d3-consulting.com.
3 Consulting has been appointed to the Design Team for Atmos Totnes in a trailblazing new community-led development project in Totnes, South Devon.
Atmos Totnes is the first community-led project in the UK that is developing a former industrial site using a Community Right to Build Order.
D3 is part of the Design Team and will advise on land contamination issues and demolition, as well as acting as CDM (Construction Design and Management) Advisor. The site is a former Dairy Crest site that includes a Grade II Listed building built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of the unfinished South Devon Atmospheric Railway.
Martin Bjerregaard said: “This is a pioneering initiative that is leading the way for communities to take greater control of the development taking place on their doorstep. It hands power back to local people and keeps any subsequent profits within the community rather than being siphoned off to private developers.”
The project is being managed by Totnes Community Development Society. The patrons are Jonathan Dimbleby, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Tim Smit and Kevin McCloud.
Kevin McCloud said: “For years and years, development has been top-down…. I’m much more interested in the Gandhian approach, the bottom-up democratic where people as communities work together to empower themselves to take control … there’s nothing more exciting than seeing people taking control for where they live.”
Community Right to Build was introduced in April 2012 as part of the Localism Act 2011, which is all about devolving more decision-making powers from central Government back into the hands of individuals, communities and councils.
We will keep you updated about the details this historic development as and when they occur. In the meantime if you have any questions please contact Martin.
Step-by-step overview for decommissioning planning and implementation to UK regulatory compliance standards.
How will the new NORM strategy affect you?
The Government has launched a new strategy for the management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Its aim is to improve the management of NORM and remove the barriers to developing new treatment and disposal centres. It also sets out to improve data collection.
The new strategy, which came into force July 2014 will have a significant impact on the decommissioning industry and D3 is advising oil and gas companies to get to grips with it as soon as possible. Here are some of the key principles.
1. Waste Management Plans
The 2007 Low Level Waste Policy already states that anyone managing NORM wastes needs a waste management plan. The new strategy reiterates this and states that the plan needs to have a level of detail proportionate to the scale of waste produced and the holdings for the companies involved.
2. Early Interaction between Waste Producers and Disposal Providers
Waste producers and disposal providers are encouraged to interact earlier in the process so they can understand the type of waste that is being produced and ensure it is sent to the most appropriate disposal facility. This means that wastes with a lower activity are not sent to a disposal facility designed and engineered for more active wastes, which could result in a potential breach of regulations not to mention the Health & Safety implications of exposing workers to radioactive materials.
3. Minimising NORM Waste
The strategy encourages producers to follow the waste hierarchy and minimise the amount of NORM waste by:
· Proper segregation of waste.
· Reducing active levels of waste through decontamination.
· Using Characterisation and averaging of waste so that it can be exempted from regulatory control if it falls below pre-determined activity levels.
4. A Possible End to Discharging at Sea
The OSPAR Commission is dedicated to protecting and conserving the North-East Atlantic and its resources. It has stated that it may revisit the practice of disposal of NORM wastes into the sea from the oil and gas sector. This would lead to significant additional volumes of solid NORM waste being brought ashore, which would have a substantial impact on disposal routes. Oil and gas producers need to be aware of this potential development and start making contingency plans.
Estimating the quantities of NORM in offshore decommissioning projects is notoriously difficult. Email D3 to discuss how to do this and how you can adopt the new NORM strategy into your decommissioning plans.
The Wood Review, published in February 24, set out a new strategy for maximising the economic recovery from the UK Continental Shelf and identified six key strategies for achieving this.
One of these strategies relates to decommissioning. It states that the industry needs to plan ahead and co-ordinate the decommissioning process effectively so it is completed in a way that is safe, environmentally sound and cost-effective.
But, how can oil and gas companies and the supply chain plan ahead when there is so much uncertainty concerning what resources will be required and when? At the Offshore Asset Retirement Conference in Aberdeen, from 17-18 November, Eric Faulds and D3 Consulting will present their current assessment of the likely UK North Sea resource requirements, both offshore and onshore.
Working together with Eric, who has an extensive database of decommissioning cost estimates along with 20 years’ experience in offshore decommissioning, D3 has created a new web-based Decommissioning Simulator (DecomSim). This tool will paint a picture of which resources will be required given certain assumptions regarding the Cessation of Production (CoP) dates.
The simulator recognises that not even operators have a great deal of certainty around their CoP dates beyond the immediate future, however, there are general views about when the decommissioning effort will peak and how long it will last. Users of DecomSim can vary the CoP profile for the UK North Sea sector and the tool will determine the resulting resource requirement for every UK North Sea fixed jacket platform and provide a projected timeline. It can show: annual requirements for Heavy Lift Vessels, man hours, topsides tonnes, jacket tonnes, module sizes, costs, onshore facilities and waste disposal.
Visitors to the Offshore Asset Retirement Conference will have an opportunity to test out the new Decommissioning Simulator. Martin Bjerregaard, Director of D3 says: “Up until now, planning the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas platforms has involved a lot of guesswork. This new tool, which represents all of Eric Faulds’ and D3’s considerable knowledge and expertise, takes some of the guesswork out of the equation and allows both operators and contractors to see what resources will be needed in the coming years to ensure the decommissioning process goes smoothly.”
To register for the conference, and receive a £200 visit http://www.decomworld.com/asset-retirement and quote discount code FAULDS200
For more information about the new D3 Decommissioning Web Tool, contact Martin (+44 (0) 7969 725 418) for more information.
To read The Wood Review in full click here: http://www.woodreview.co.uk
DAWN
Capture the right data at the right time
Moving from production into a decommissioning phase demands a shift in mindset for oil and gas companies. Rather than producing oil and gas, you are now, in effect, producing waste. However, you still need robust systems in place to safeguard your company’s reputation and comply with regulations.
Last week’s newsletter introduced DAWN (DECOMMISSIONING ASSURANCE THROUGH WASTE KNOWLEDGE), the world’s only online information management system for managing waste throughout the decommissioning process . This week, we look at some of the features that make it such an effective waste management system.
D3, which created DAWN, has more than 20 years’ decommissioning experience in the oil and gas, nuclear, and pharmaceutical industries, amongst others. As a result, it was able to design the system to capture exactly the right data at exactly the right time in the decommissioning process, based on detailed personal knowledge. DAWN has inbuilt waste management protocols which tell you exactly what information you need to capture and how to handle the waste in order to be regulatory compliant.
Martin Bjerregaard of D3 Consulting says: “Overcapturing data is inefficient and unnecessarily costly, while undercapturing data leaves you potentially exposed to risk. DAWN enables you to communicate exactly the right information to contractors at each stage of the decommissioning process, and enables you to track the progress of each item of waste throughout the whole supply chain. This is what we mean by assurance through waste knowledge.”
Next week, we will tell you more about how DAWN enables you to manage all of the contractors in your decommissioning supply chain and to know precisely where each piece of waste is in the process. Contact Martin (+44 (0) 7969 725 418) for more information.
DAWN
(DECOMMISSIONING ASSURANCE THROUGH WASTE KNOWLEDGE)
is the world’s only online information management system for managing waste throughout the decommissioning process.
Developed by D3 Consulting, initially for the highly-regulated nuclear industry, DAWN has already been used in planning the decommissioning of more than 15 North Sea oil and gas platforms. As the pace of decommissioning hots up, the system promises to save the oil and gas industry time and money, as well as improving accuracy, reducing risk and helping to facilitate compliance.
Unlike traditional approaches, which rely on paper-based reports that are outdated almost as soon as they are published, DAWN is a live waste tracking system which keeps pace with the status of waste throughout the decommissioning process. Martin Bjerregaard of D3 Consulting says: “In the same way that you need stringent systems in place when you are producing oil and gas, you need stringent waste management systems when you are decommissioning. DAWN is a proven system that provides essential materials inventory and waste characterisation information. Due to the complexity and magnitude of data associated with decommissioning offshore platforms, it is almost impossible to manage the process effectively without DAWN.”
D3 Consulting is the world’s foremost experts in waste and materials management for offshore decommissioning, with more than 20 years’ hands-on experience.
In next week’s issue we will introduce some of the features and functions of DAWN. Contact Martin (+44 (0) 7969 725 418) for more information.
Step-by-step overview for decommissioning planning and implementation to international regulatory compliance standards.
A highlight of key changes the Environment Agency has made to the classification of Hazardous Waste (revision WM3 V3) to help you reduce costs and not be in breach of the new regulations.
Tri-fold brochure introducing a small selection of our services and showing a few of our successfully completed projects.
A quick snapshot of the moment of success on a recent project where we were Engineering & Demolition Consultant. In should be noted that the explosives engineers on this project won an award for their work.
This newsletter discusses our involvement on the first phase of a major blown down at Red Road flats in Glasgow. Specifically, the organisation, preparation and execution of the exclusion zone evacuation to ensure the safety and well being of the residents.
As consulting engineers for demolition, decontamination and decommissioning, we are always looking for new ways to increase recycling rates for our clients. This newsletter features a method of recycling asbestos that could mean nearly 100% recycling rates on your demolition projects.
In this newsletter, we announce our certification by the British Assessment Bureau to ISO 9001 and ISO14001 standards. Additionally, Alun Olivier from D3 Consulting explains the opportunities for tax relief for brownfield sites.
Our first email newsletter outlining our aim to provide informative updates on new developments in the field of decommissioning, decontamination and demolition.
In this newsletter, our colleagues from Pegasus Planning Group explain recent changes to EIA and how it affects demolition projects. We also announce our new waste characterisation iPad app to feed directly into planning for nuclear and offshore decommissioning.
