The Danish Road Directorate

This must be quite a challenging project?

Well, yes and no. The project is relatively straightforward in the sense that it is an extension of an existing tunnel. This means that we are using many of the same systems. But obviously it is no mean feat to construct a 1.4 km long tunnel in an urban area. One of the challenges is that we had to temporarily move an existing yachting marina before we could start the construction work. Another challenge concerns the high groundwater level. It is a cut-and-cover tunnel which means that we need a dry construction pit. To ensure that the pit is indeed dry, we must lower the ground water level, which isn’t so easy for this location. So, the project involves a major drainage operation—the biggest of its kind of in Denmark.

Why and how are you using BriefBuilder on the project?

We are using BriefBuilder to capture and manage all project requirements—not just all the technical requirements, but also the process requirements concerning the collaboration between us and the contractor. The underlying aim is to create a solid fundament for the project, so to speak. It’s a Design & Build contract so it is critical that both parties know exactly what the requirements are.

For us, the key advantage of using BriefBuilder is that all requirements are accessible in one place and that every requirement automatically gets a unique ID. Putting all requirements in a model has brought a higher level of precision to how we work. We are also more specific in our communications—referring to requirement IDs rather than to chapters or pages as you would do when working with a traditional document. Moreover, we can more accurately assign requirements to different disciplines.

The aim is to create a solid fundament for the project. It’s a Design & Build contract so it is critical that both parties know exactly what the requirements are

How did the project team respond to the introduction of BriefBuilder?

BriefBuilder was completely new to us, but this hasn’t been an issue. Everybody is happy to work with it. In particular, the engineers seem happy as all information is structured in a highly systematic way. They prefer this over those long texts that you would normally find in legal documents.

From the contractor side, I hear positive reactions as well. One of things they appreciate is that they can be more precise when formulating RFIs (requests for information).

For us, the key advantage of using BriefBuilder is that all requirements are accessible in one place and that every requirement automatically gets a unique ID. It has brought a higher level of precision to how we work

What’s your favourite BriefBuilder feature?

It is perhaps not BriefBuilder’s most advanced function, but I am very happy with the search option. It helps me to quickly find what I am looking for.

Another favourite is the versioning feature. When requirements change, we create a new version of the model, after which we can easily track the implemented changes. This is critical for both us and the contractor.

Any recommendations for other construction clients?

Start early on with thinking about compliance checking! At the start of a project, there is often a one-sided focus on capturing all the relevant requirements—which is obviously crucial—but you should also already start thinking about how you are going to check whether those requirements are being met. What tools and methods can be used for this?

For example: our engineering consultant, Rambøll, has made a link between BriefBuilder and EHS compass, which is their tool for checking compliance with requirements concerning environmental, health, and safety matters. I would like to see more tools like that. There is no need to check every single requirement—there are way too many of them—but for critical requirements systematic quality control is essential.

There is no need to check every single requirement, but for critical requirements systematic quality control is essential

Many thanks to Mette for sharing her insights!

More information about the Nordhavn tunnel project can be found here.