Burns & McDonnell
2013 No. 3
Protecting
the Grid
Meeting New Cybersecurity Standards
also inside
Calm After the Storm
Smooth Move
PublicWay Saves the Day
TM
[BEYOND THE SCOPE]
Jeff Greig
Senior Vice President
Business & Technology Services
A Changing Landscape
Cybersecurity is a complex and critical challenge for utilities,
transmission and generation operators, and others with a stake
in the U.S. power industry. Addressing both cyberthreats and
regulatory compliance requires a broad approach that also factors
in physical and operational security procedures.
As the industry focuses on protecting the power grid, our security
teams are evaluating, interpreting and preparing for the next round
of regulatory change and the next threat developing on the horizon.
Read more about how our cybersecurity group works beginning
on page 9.
Because Burns & McDonnell helps design and build so many parts
of the U.S. power system, from generating plants to transmission
lines to substations, we know the ins and outs of protecting it.
We can help you navigate this murky and shifting landscape,
with an eye on greater security and improved reliability.
2013 No. 3
[CONTENTS]
BURNS & McD ONNELL
[ S TA R T U P ]
Technical Q&A:
Q
A:
Chemical Storage Safety
: What rules and regulations affect the storage, handling
and use of hazardous chemicals on-site?
Owners of plants that store and use
hazardous materials face a maze of regulatory
and legal requirements, and often turn to
professionals for help.
important to determine which code (and
which version of the code) is enforced by the
authority having jurisdiction.
Before designing a new plant or making
changes to an existing one, it is important
to understand which codes, standards and
regulations apply. Experienced designers
understand — or know how to determine
— both the intent of codes and any actions
required for compliance.
Experienced designers also understand that
codes don’t always agree. One example: The
NFPA 400 lists liquefied ammonia gas as
flammable, while the IFC specifically excludes
the gas from its own definition of flammable.
Other rules may apply, depending on
chemicals and processes used and what
political jurisdictions a project site resides in.
The International Fire Code (IFC) includes
requirements covering storage and use of
corrosives, toxics, flammable and combustible
materials, and other chemicals. State fire
codes or National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) standards also may apply. It is
Among items included in codes, which protect
workers, neighbors, and first responders, are
automatic sprinkler systems; maximum
allowable quantities of chemicals within a
storage area; detached storage; minimum
distances of hazards from other buildings,
public streets and adjacent properties; and
explosion controls.
Codes, standards and regulations evolve,
based on new knowledge and through
experience with on-site events. Such factors
could lead to changes in storage requirements
and application of existing requirements to
a wider range of facilities.
For more information, contact Angela Vawter,
816-349-6764.
Angela Vawter is a senior
chemical engineer at
Burns & McDonnell.
How It Works
Energy Logistics Service Stays on Top of the Natural Gas Market
In the highly volatile natural gas market,
prices are constantly in flux. Between 2000
and 2010, according to Reuters, natural gas
prices fluctuated by more than 5 percent once
every seven days, making natural gas the most
volatile commodity in the world. Even in the
era of the shale gas revolution, price instability
is the norm.
The spot price of gas, which was above
$4 per dekatherm in 2011, had fallen
55 percent by April 2012. It rose above the
$4 mark again in April 2013, meaning in just
one year the natural gas market rallied
125 percent. End users experienced price
relief over the summer, but prices again
marched upward later in the year.
Keeping on top of natural gas prices is only
one component of Burns & McDonnell’s
energy logistics service. “It’s all about
providing market insight and intelligence to
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2013 No. 3
the client. Industrial clients, in particular,
need to focus on running their processing
and manufacturing operations,” says Greg
Crow, a senior gas strategy consultant at
Burns & McDonnell. “Because our energy
consulting activities introduce us to a broad
range of gas industry players at the national
level, we see how a multitude of gas pipelines,
utilities and marketers conduct business.
Our dynamic view of the marketplace allows
us to introduce trending procurement and
delivery strategies to our clients.
“Clients hire Burns & McDonnell to procure
natural gas for them. As their agent, we buy
the gas for specific time frames and schedule
it on interstate pipelines using the client’s
pipeline transportation agreements,” Crow
says. “We then monitor gas consumption
over the course of the month and make
supply adjustments with the supplier and
the pipeline accordingly.”
As part of the service, Burns & McDonnell
forecasts the client’s natural gas costs
for future months. Shortly after a month
concludes, customers receive a natural gas
cost estimate, enabling them to close their
books sooner because they don’t have to wait
on gas pipeline and supply invoices to arrive.
“Energy logistics is a great complement to
many of the engineering consulting services
that Burns & McDonnell has offered for years.
It is a good fit for those clients whose facilities
we manage and those OnSite Energy clients
who use natural gas to generate power,” Crow
says. “We have the skillset to help clients
understand and evaluate the economics of
combined heat and power, with natural gas
costs as a key economic driver.”
For more information, contact Greg Crow, 816-823-7852.
[ S TA R T U P ]
In-House News
Problem Solved: Academic Partnerships Bring Results
Engineers are problem solvers.
Part of the job of the problem solver is
to get the right minds on the job. At
Burns & McDonnell, sometimes that means
reaching out to academic partners who
can bring specialized capabilities to a
project that’s advancing the practice of
environmental engineering.
Pilot Project Team
When Westar Energy began studying how to
remove heavy metals from the waste stream
at its Jeffrey Energy Center, a coal-fired power
plant near Topeka, Kan., Burns & McDonnell
paired its scientists and engineers with the
utility’s, assembling a team focused on using
the environment’s best attributes to do the
job naturally. As the project progressed,
the complexity of the desired pilot design
elements created an opportunity to involve
researchers at Kansas State University (KSU),
who through their own research had
scientific knowledge unavailable in the
consulting market.
The result — a constructed wetland — is just
the latest in the line of partnerships that have
brought university faculty and students onto
project teams at Burns & McDonnell.
Several unique landfill projects since 2003
have provided an opportunity for work with
University of Missouri and University of
Arkansas faculty on geotechnical challenges.
When Rick Coffman, now an assistant
professor at the University of Arkansas,
was a doctoral student at the University
of Missouri, he worked on several landfill
projects. He has gone on to do more in his
current role, involving his own students.
“Everyone gains from the experience. In
addition to the insight I have gained from
Burns & McDonnell personnel, I have also
been able to pass on this insight and to use
several of the projects as case histories in
class,” he says. “It is great to show graduate
students how the knowledge they possess can
affect the outcome of a project. It is also great
for students to see the collegiality among the
personnel at Burns & McDonnell and the type
of work that is available after they graduate.”
Professional Contacts
In fact, several University of Missouri students
who worked on these projects have gone on to
join Burns & McDonnell in the Geotechnical
Group after graduation.
“Working with universities is always an
opportunity to attract the top talent in
technical fields,” says Pete Burton, manager of
that group. “We’re able to provide them with
exposure and understanding of real-world
work, and we get to help our clients bring
innovative projects to fruition.”
For more information, contact Chris Snider,
816-822-3534.
“Collaborations like this enable us to help
our clients with cutting-edge technology on
certain types of projects — advancing the
practice of environmental engineering,” says
Chris Snider, department manager for
Burns & McDonnell. “An academic partner
can bring specialized knowledge, and through
project-specific research, help solve
a challenging problem in the real world.”
Beyond Labs
Such partnerships also get professors and
their students — typically enrolled in master’s
or doctoral programs — out of the laboratory
for a taste of what is to come after they earn
their degrees.
“This was a great opportunity for us to work
with industry and partner with a client to get
out into the field and do work on a real site
rather than just conduct research in a lab,” says
Stacy Hutchinson, a professor of biological and
agricultural engineering at KSU.
BURNS & McD ONNELL
4
[PROFILE]
Railroad Ties
Darwin Desen Is the Rail Jack of All Trades
For Darwin Desen, who leads the Rail Transit Group in the Dallas-Fort Worth Burns & McDonnell office,
hands-on is the only way to operate. He is a doer by nature, and he’s pairing that work ethic with his
extensive railway experience to develop functional, beneficial rail systems in Texas and across the country.
Early Start
Desen’s interest in engineering began while
growing up in Colorado and working on
cars with his dad. He gravitated toward civil
engineering, which held the potential for
more opportunities to see his projects from
start to finish.
“I like to take a project from beginning to end,”
Desen says. “Many companies have people
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2013 No. 3
who specialize in sales and then hand off the
project, but I like to work with the client to
build a relationship, develop the concept and
see it through.”
After graduating from the University of
Colorado Denver, Desen began working for
a Colorado-based engineering firm leading
field surveys, highway designs and other
transportation-related work. But during a trip
to visit friends in Texas, he was introduced to
an opportunity to join a firm in Dallas.
“My intent was to get into the highway side,
but they had people chasing railroad work
for Burlington Northern and asked if I was
interested,” Desen says.
The position required significant travel
between the Texas-based firm and the
[PROFILE]
project area in the Pacific Northwest. The
timing was right, and Desen spent the next
eight years working directly with Burlington
Northern, immersed in the railroad industry
and providing design and construction
management services.
been established with BNSF Railway and
Norfolk Southern railroad, and a third GEC
is in the works. Desen’s experience will
benefit a streetcar project in Kansas City,
Mo., and a commuter rail project in the same
metropolitan area.
Building Momentum
Most recently, Desen led Burns & McDonnell
to be part of the engineering team for a large
environmental and planning study for the
Lone Star Rail District’s Passenger Rail project
that will provide rail service between Austin
and San Antonio in Texas. Desen will serve
as project manager for the rail line that is
expected to relieve congestion and improve
safety between the two cities.
Over the next 15 years Desen continued to
build his experience, taking on large freight
and transit rail projects across the country,
from large freight intermodal and auto
distribution facilities to commuter rail and
light rail projects. He expanded his value
by becoming more involved in program
management, spending eight years as the
deputy project manager on the $1.4 billion
Green Line expansion program for Dallas
Area Rapid Transit (DART).
Now that experience has become a significant
asset for Burns & McDonnell clients.
“If you think about all the major industrial
work we do, they are all served by rail units,”
says Tony Kimmey, Burns & McDonnell
regional Transportation Group manager in
Dallas. “It’s a natural evolution for us to bring
somebody in who not only understands the
technical side but the design part of it, and
who also really understands the operational
side from a railroader’s perspective.”
And Desen is driven to stick with clients
through every aspect of a project because he
understands that in order to deliver the truly
best project, he has to understand the needs of
each client. Having someone who is involved
in all aspects of a project’s development
inspires a client’s confidence about the level of
service being provided.
“Very rarely do we find somebody who can
float between transit rail and cargo rail as
effortlessly as Darwin can,” says Leslie Duke,
regional office manager of the Dallas-Fort
Worth and Houston Burns & McDonnell
offices. “It’s always such a pleasure to be able
to bring Darwin’s skill set to the table because
he’s got such a diverse background.”
Looking Ahead
While other popular modes of transportation
for freight and commuter transit are feeling
the pinch of the economy, the rail industry is
experiencing a resurgence. Transportation
“Very rarely do we
find somebody
who can float
between transit
rail and cargo rail
as effortlessly as
Darwin can.”
by rail is cheaper, more efficient and less
environmentally impactful than cars, trucks
and planes, and Desen’s experience puts
Burns & McDonnell in a unique position to
help further the industry’s growth. Along with
that growth, the Burns & McDonnell Rail
Transit Group also is likely to expand over the
next several years.
“We’re seeing how rail is a critical component
to delivering projects, and I see a bright future
in that particular marketplace,” Duke says.
“The advice Darwin can provide our clients is
going to be very powerful,” Kimmey adds.
Contact Darwin Desen at 972-455-3116.
Darwin Desen was the project manager for the design and construction of the
Norfolk Southern Auto Mixing/Distribution Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“I prefer to work through things with each
client,” Desen says. “I take all their information
— their ideal scenarios for their projects and
future — and build a relationship with them,
understand their goals and try to become
their go-to guy.”
Strong Start
In just two years with Burns & McDonnell,
Desen has already connected with numerous
clients on rail projects. General engineering
consulting (GEC) contracts have already
BURNS & McD ONNELL
6
[ F E AT U R E ]
CALM AFTER THE
Superstorm Sandy Forces Accelerated
Schedule for Switching Station
Superstorm Sandy, the most destructive and
deadliest hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic
hurricane season and second-most expensive
in U.S. history, pummeled the East Coast in
late October 2012. Hundreds of thousands of
residents along the coast were forced from
their homes and left without power.
Public Service Electric & Gas’ (PSE&G)
Sewaren Switching Station, on the New Jersey
side of the Arthur Kill waterway, was hit
especially hard. A 14-foot tidal surge and
subsequent flooding caused significant
equipment damage and threatened
power reliability.
At the time, Burns & McDonnell was already
designing and procuring materials for an
expansion of the Sewaren Switching Station,
including two bays of a breaker-and-a-half
configuration; a new, half-mile-long,
three-circuit 230-kV XLPE underground
transmission line; three new 230-/26-/11-kV
transformers; and expansion of the 26-kV
yard. The primary goal of the expansion
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2013 No. 3
project was to improve reliability of the
existing 26-kV yard through new 230-kV feeds.
Reworking the Plan
meaning critical equipment would be
installed approximately 6 feet above its
existing grade elevation.
Phase I of the expansion project, energizing of
the first 230-/26-kV transformer, originally
was scheduled to be completed by December
2013. However, the storm damage created
critical issues within the station, and repairs
alone would not be sufficient for the higher
summer loading demands. To provide reliable
power, PSE&G needed to move up the Phase I
energize date to June 1, 2013.
“This required a large-scale redesign effort
while maintaining the already-expedited
June 1 energize date,” says Vern Mulkey,
Burns & McDonnell senior project manager.
“All foundations for major equipment had to
be redesigned, which was further complicated
by the poor soil conditions, requiring all
foundations to use concrete-filled pipe or
helical piles.”
“That decision was based not only on a need
for repairs to the existing facility, but also a
need to improve reliability during peak
summer loads,” says Andrew Wedekind,
Burns & McDonnell’s project manager for
the Sewaren 230-kV expansion project.
“The work itself was nothing unusual — design
Burns & McDonnell is accustomed to and has
done at a number of other sites,” Wedekind
adds. “It was the order and speed at which it
needed to be done that created challenges.”
In addition to accelerating the project
schedule, PSE&G wanted to be prepared for
similar storms in the future. The decision was
made to elevate all new equipment 1 foot
above the Sandy flood level elevation,
Need for Speed
During the critical construction months, it
was common to have 150 personnel on-site
working six or seven 12-hour days weekly,
with a night shift working the other 12 hours.
Duct bank construction looked similar to an
[ F E AT U R E ]
assembly line with crews staggered along the
route installing sheeting, excavating soil,
installing helical piles, pouring the reinforced
mud mat, setting conduits, placing manholes,
establishing the concrete encasement and
backfilling the trench.
Advancing the schedule meant more than
doing the work faster. It affected the design
process, scheduling, procurement processes,
work flow and a host of other elements.
Most notably, design work could not be
completed before construction began.
To streamline this, Burns & McDonnell
relocated Paul Pansing, lead design engineer,
to New Jersey as an on-site engineering liaison
to coordinate design requirements and
changes between the on-site construction
management team and Burns & McDonnell’s
design offices.
“Communication was critical to maintaining
the construction team’s access to the latest
drawings since the design was being
implemented as it was completed,”
Pansing says.
“(Burns & McDonnell) kept the lines of
communication open with the different
members of the PSE&G project team to
identify issues, prioritize work and come up
with out-of-the-box solutions to meet the
aggressive in-service date,” says Lauren
Thomas, senior project manager at PSE&G.
Site Scene
In addition to the schedule constraints,
the work site presented challenges that
required PSE&G and Burns & McDonnell
management teams to work as partners.
The half-mile-long underground transmission
line ran underneath an existing road flanked
by environmentally sensitive wetlands,
meaning work access posed unique problems.
“Something as simple as removing soil
became a major procedure because of the
congested site conditions,” Wedekind says.
“The construction required intricate staging to
remove more than 18,000 cubic yards of soil
for installation of the duct bank and other
Phase I foundations.”
Between rainfall and the groundwater table,
dewatering was another major concern.
The entire duct bank was excavated using a
sheet piling system using more than 3,000
individually driven, 2-foot-wide sheet piles.
The sheet piles reduced groundwater
infiltration from the sides of the duct bank
excavation, but infiltration still occurred
through the bottom of the trench. To mitigate
that and the occasional rainfall, a customdesigned pump system ran the length of
the trench.
“We provided construction and office support
to respond to issues in almost real time,”
Wedekind says. “PSE&G took their response
to the storm seriously with dedication to their
customers. We had constant communication
among all teams.”
Moving Forward
Despite the challenges Superstorm Sandy
presented, an enormous amount of dedication
and teamwork between PSE&G and
Burns & McDonnell enabled Phase I of the
Sewaren 230-kV expansion project to be
energized on May 29, 2013 — three days
ahead of schedule.
“The ability of the project team to not only
meet, but beat, the aggressive in-service date
after Sandy is a testament to the teamwork
and dedication of all project team members,”
Thomas says. “The Burns & McDonnell team
worked side by side with PSE&G throughout
the project, and their innovative problem
solving and dedication to quality was critical
to the project’s success.”
For more information, contact Andrew Wedekind,
816-349-6673.
That communication and partnership with
PSE&G became crucial when the design and
construction teams had to again make
adjustments after the Federal Emergency
Management Agency declared new flood
hazard elevations even higher than Sandy’s
level. The new requirements were embraced
and design was revised again to reflect critical
equipment being raised to 1 foot above the
new flood hazard elevation requirements, or
approximately 9 feet above the existing grade.
Above: Crews set
the bottom half of
the 230-kV duct into
the bank excavation.
The duct is used as
a splice vault for
the 230-kV solid
dielectric cable.
Left: Electricians install
conduits for the duct
bank housing the
230-kV solid dielectric
cable. The conduits are
on a concrete mud mat
supported by helical
piles for additional
structural support.
BURNS & McD ONNELL
8
[FROM THE COVER]
Protecting
the Grid
Evolving Cybersecurity Standards Present a Moving Target
to Utilities Seeking to Safeguard Critical Assets
9
2013 No. 3
[FROM THE COVER]
The fundamental problem facing the U.S.
power industry is simple: It does what it was
designed to do.
“And what it was designed to do,” notes Jerome
Farquharson, the Burns & McDonnell practice
manager for Compliance & Infrastructure
Protection, “was to generate and distribute
electric power.”
For most of the industry’s history, that was
enough. That’s because the nation’s power
infrastructure was designed in an age when
cyberspies who manipulate power grid
controls for nefarious purposes were fodder
for science fiction novels, not the front page
of The New York Times.
Since those days, the grid has evolved.
Its electrical and mechanical systems
have gradually been replaced with digital
technologies, Internet-connected devices
and smart computer networks that allow
remote access to critical systems. “With each
addition, the grid — along with the rest of the
nation’s critical infrastructure — grows more
vulnerable,” Farquharson says.
What’s more, when blackouts occur, the
impact ripples in all directions. It can disrupt
transportation and health care, close schools
and industry, and bring a country’s economy
to its knees.
Those who wish to cause harm or make a
point have taken notice. Then-Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reported
in 2012 that cybercrime had overtaken
terrorism as the top threat to the U.S.
Helping the Grid Fight Back
The power industry isn’t taking the
cyberthreats sitting down. Bolstering the
security of its control centers, substations
and other critical infrastructure has become
one of its highest priorities.
The question is how to do it. And who is
responsible for unifying the efforts of the
utilities and other independent groups that
make up the energy and power sector?
That enormous task — including the
development of Critical Infrastructure
Protection (CIP) standards and sharing
information on cyberevents with the industry
— falls largely on the shoulders of the North
American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC),
an independent agency formed by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),
which regulates the interstate transmission
of electricity.
“One of NERC’s biggest challenges has been to
create cybersecurity standards that keep pace
with the escalating threats the industry faces,”
Farquharson says. “The power industry’s
challenge is to establish cybersecurity
programs that comply with them.”
Farquharson manages a cybersecurity center
of excellence that, among other things, assists
utilities in assessing their vulnerabilities and
navigating the NERC CIP compliance process.
That is more challenging than it sounds.
Compliance with NERC CIP standards is
mandatory. But as Pedro Melendez, senior
staff engineer for ITC Holdings, the nation’s
“One of NERC’s
biggest challenges
has been to create
cybersecurity
standards that
keep pace with the
escalating threats
the industry faces.”
largest independent electrical transmission
company, points out, “They don’t come with a
prescription. There’s no set of rules you have
to follow.
“Each entity has the responsibility to look
at its businesses, practices and assets, and
implement a program that complies with the
intent of those standards, and then be able to
prove it.”
With electrical transmission systems in
multiple states, ITC Holdings is one of
many power companies that have turned to
Burns & McDonnell for help achieving CIP
compliance.
“We want to be the best-in-class provider,
and we now have a program that supports
that and builds for the next generation,”
Melendez said.
NERC Reliability Standards
In 2007, NERC issued 83 mandatory and enforceable reliability standards for the North American power industry. NERC has
been revising, updating and expanding them ever since. The standards are organized into 14 categories, including:
Facilities Design, Connections and Maintenance (FAC)
Voltage and Reactive (VAR)
Modeling, Data and Analysis (MOD)
Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP)
Protection and Control (PRC)
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)
Transmission Planning (TPL)
BURNS & McD ONNELL
10
[FROM THE COVER]
A utility that focuses too narrowly on
addressing evolving security standards
could find itself in trouble. “You can have a
security program that is compliant, but not
secure. It’s better to take a holistic approach,
focusing first on creating a strong security
program,” Farquharson says. “If you achieve
that, you will likely exceed the requirements
for compliance.”
Taking a ‘Defense in Depth’ Strategy
Control centers rank as high-impact facilities for cybersecurity protection.
Revolving Door: 5 Standards, 6 Years
There’s another reason organizations
like ITC Holdings look to firms like
Burns & McDonnell for CIP assistance:
The standards are constantly changing.
Since the first CIP standards went into effect
in 2008, NERC has issued four revisions, each
adding new requirements and broadening the
kind and number of critical assets affected.
Currently, the power industry is subject to CIP
Version 3, even as its members work toward
compliance with Version 4, which becomes
enforceable in April 2014. There is a strong
possibility, Farquharson says, that a fifth
version of the CIP standards will be approved
before the fourth takes effect, meaning Version
4 would not likely ever reach enforcement.
“Many of us hope that Version 5 will simply
supplant Version 4,” he says.
NERC’s latest CIP installment introduces a
number of sweeping changes, Farquharson
says: “The first four versions of the CIP
standard only covered cyberassets
Executive Order
Will the U.S. be ready for a cyberattack
on critical infrastructure? A presidential
order aims to find out. Read more at
www.burnsmcd.com/execorder
11
2013 No. 3
that connect to a network. Everything
else, including technologies with serial
connections, was exempt.”
By removing that exemption, the number of
critical assets that would require protection
under Version 5 would increase substantially.
“In a facility with 450 cyberassets, about 80
might be considered critical in CIP Versions
3 or 4,” Farquharson says. “In Version 5, that
number could easily double.”
This newest standard also requires utilities
to rate their facilities and cyberassets
according to their criticality. A control center
likely would be considered a high-impact
facility, while a large power generation plant
is medium-impact, and everything else is
considered low. While all assets would
receive some level of protection, greater
protections would be required for highpriority critical assets.
What does a strong security program look
like? For one thing, it must address a wide
range of cyber and physical threats.
Physical security and cybersecurity go hand
in hand, and programs must address people
both inside and outside of an organization.
“On one level, you have employees with
infected USB drives and thieves who are
looking to steal copper wire,” Farquharson
says. “On another, you have hacktivists from
around the world who would love to use
your wireless and private networks to
manipulate data and artificially establish
electricity prices.”
There is no perfect system for
keeping intruders out. That’s why the
Burns & McDonnell Compliance &
Infrastructure Protection practice typically
recommends a “Defense in Depth” strategy.
Based on the military principle that it’s
harder for an enemy to penetrate a complex,
multilayered defense system than a single
barrier, the firm’s CIP solutions include
multiple levels of protection.
“It’s our job to do everything in our
power to prevent anyone from using
the power industry’s enormous
resources against us.”
[FROM THE COVER]
A physical security system would include
physical security perimeters around critical
facilities, equipment and other critical assets.
It also would have access control systems
that allow only authorized people to enter
controlled spaces and access-monitoring
systems, with cameras, sensors and other
systems to record their presence. In addition,
access-limiting systems physically control
who can access protected resources.
The technologies used to execute
these strategies, too, are growing more
sophisticated. Intrusion-detection systems
that formerly notified users when an
intruder had entered the system now check
continuously for anomalies in activity. Should
one level be successfully breached, other tools
should work immediately to contain and
repair the damage, while preventing further
penetration into the system.
Attacks can be thwarted other ways, too: more
firewalls to protect the systems, more robust
networks, more sophisticated and data-driven
alert and monitoring systems, and more
advanced algorithms to encrypt data.
“The battle is far from over,” Farquharson says.
“Some believe that cyberwarfare is one of
our nation’s next big threats. It’s our job to do
everything in our power to prevent anyone
from using the power industry’s enormous
resources against us.”
For more information, contact Jerome Farquharson,
314-682-1628.
Beyond Cybersecurity
Ensuring a Reliable Power Supply Is a Full-Time Job for NERC
When 50 million people in eight states and a province of Canada suddenly lost power on the
afternoon of Aug. 14, 2003, it had nothing to do with cybercrime. Investigators eventually
traced the problem to, among other things, some overgrown foliage and a software bug in
a power plant control room’s alarm system.
That blackout, the largest in U.S. history, pointed out a glaring flaw in the nation’s electric
reliability standards: There were none.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has since changed all that.
“NERC’s mission is to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system in North America,” says
Scott Feuerborn, Burns & McDonnell manager of power system planning. Since 2007, NERC
has introduced dozens of mandatory and legally enforceable standards, covering everything
from transmission planning and facility design to communications, resource and demand
balancing. Taken together, they are designed to prevent failures like the one that occurred
a decade ago.
“To comply, utilities are now required to conduct a multitude of technical analyses to meet
these standards, correct any deficiencies, and provide NERC with documentation that proves
it,” says Feuerborn, whose group helps utilities perform these assessments and then design
and implement mitigation efforts.
Consider, for example, NERC’s standards for transmission planning, which require utilities
to analyze their ability to meet their systems’ future load requirements.
“Transmission systems evolve,” Feuerborn says. “As energy generation shifts from coal and
oil to natural gas and renewable energy sources, it’s driving changes in the way power flows
across the grid. New gas facilities are connecting to the grid in different places than the coal
plants. The studies required to meet this standard help utilities identify where new transmission
lines or substations are needed to improve system performance when new resources connect
to the grid.”
What’s Next: Sun Spots?
Additional NERC reliability standards are on the horizon. A new transmission planning standard
now under consideration, for example, addresses geomagnetic disturbance — the bursts of
solar energy commonly known as sun spots. “The sun is continually sending electromagnetic
waves out into space which come to Earth, and those disturbances have been shown to cause
More on NERC
Another NERC program requires utilities to
validate their transmission line ratings.
Read more at www.burnsmcd.com/nercratings
damage to the grid,” Feuerborn says.
“The reality is, NERC standards are always in flux, because the world is in flux. The important
thing is to stay on top of them. No utility wants to be responsible for bringing down the grid.”
BURNS & McD ONNELL
12
[ F E AT U R E P R O J E C T S ]
Project: Nuclear
Power Training Unit
Location: Charleston,
S.C.
Client: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast
Nuclear Training Site
Gets a Facilities
Boost
In the mid-1950s, the U.S. Navy’s first nuclear power training program
was established to instruct sailors how to operate submarines with
nuclear reactors on board. In the decades since, the Navy has made
significant advancements in the development of the training program,
and its student base has expanded.
That first formal educational setting was a pilot course for six officers
and 14 enlisted men. Today, the Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU)
in Charleston, S.C., trains and qualifies hundreds of enlisted sailors,
officers and civilians annually in nuclear power plant operation and
maintenance of surface ships and submarines.
Burns & McDonnell is working with Naval Facilities Engineering
Command (NAVFAC) Southeast to design a site that will accommodate
an influx of students from the NPTU Ballston Spa, N.Y., facility, and
ultimately house all training operations for about two-thirds of the
sailors completing the program.
The project includes design of two new 90,000-square-foot training
buildings, a new security facility, and a 300-foot extension of an existing
pier and repurposing an existing building. The pier extension will
support the inclusion of a third operating nuclear submarine for sailor
training when the NPTU Ballston Spa facilities become unavailable.
“The project has presented numerous challenges,” says Jerry Shirley,
Burns & McDonnell project manager. “Our biggest driver is the need
to continue training students while constructing the project.”
“This is a very intensive training program that is vital to the Navy’s
continued operations,” says Dan Kammerer, the NPTU recapitalization
and training integration manager for program manager Bechtel
Marine Propulsion Corp. “Avoiding conflicts with planned contractor
activities so training can continue without impact during construction
requires careful coordination throughout the project.”
The project site is also challenging. “We are working within tight space
constraints on land that is bounded by wetlands, making the project
design and phasing even more complex,” Shirley says.
Burns & McDonnell is also coordinating the efforts of others. Those
include SPAWAR — a space and aeronautical warfare group that
develops security systems — coordinating design of site, building and
pier security; the Navy Crane Center; and the designers and builders
of simulators to be built into one of the training facilities and the new
moored training ship. Construction is set to begin in summer 2014 and
will take about three years.
For more information, contact Jerry Shirley, 816-822-3460.
13
2013 No. 3
[ F E AT U R E P R O J E C T S ]
Project: Colmery-O’Neil
Veterans Administration Medical Center Renovations
Location: Topeka,
Kan.
Client: Veterans Administration
Building a Better Place
for VA Dementia
Patients
Renovations to the Colmery-O’Neil Veterans Administration Medical
Center (VAMC) will make accommodations more comfortable for its
residents living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and provide
greater convenience for employees.
An existing courtyard will be renovated to provide improved
recreational and visiting space, and a new Restorative Garden will be
added. Renovations to other buildings will provide more office space
for staff and convert two- and three-person rooms to single occupancy.
Burns & McDonnell was initially slated to design the 18,000-squarefoot, 12-bed addition to the center’s Community Living Center (CLC),
providing secure access for the residents. Additionally, a separate
6,000-square-foot building was to be designed to house engineering,
safety and housekeeping employees.
From the beginning, Burns & McDonnell involved representatives from
the VAMC user groups who would be directly affected. “We worked
with nurses and doctors from the CLC and other specialists to learn
about their concerns — what’s working, what they would like to see
changed,” Olson says. “With everyone’s input, we could design the
space to enable them to better assist residents.”
As design got underway, plans changed. Plans for the detached
building were scrapped, and the project evolved into 24,500 square
feet of new and renovated space encompassing the addition plus
the repurposing of three existing VAMC buildings to accommodate
support staff. The dementia/Alzheimer’s addition will house resident
rooms, a barber shop, a meditation room, a bistro, a media room,
family gathering space and an exam area. It also will improve the flow
of traffic within the facility.
“By connecting two ends of the existing CLC, we created a continuous
loop of circulation, allowing for shorter routes for medical staff,” says
Scott Olson, the lead Burns & McDonnell architect on the project.
The project has been designed to achieve Silver certification under the
U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design program. “Multiple sustainable measures were life-cycle
evaluated, including exhaust heat recovery, solar domestic water
heating and central ground-source HVAC,” says David Leever, the
project’s lead mechanical engineer. “This installation contributed to
24 percent energy savings at the facility.”
Construction on the $10 million project began in October 2012 and is
scheduled to be completed in April 2014.
For more information, contact Scott Olson, 816-822-3215.
BURNS & McD ONNELL
14
[ON SITE]
Smooth Move
When a Massive Tank Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There on Site
Smooth
Smooth
Smooth
SmoothMove
Move
Move
Move
Shipping Logistics Ease Pressures
for Delivery of Massive Surge Vessel
Remember NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour
trucking from LAX to its museum retirement
home at California Science Center? The
massive spacecraft — accustomed to hurtling
through space at 17,000 mph — spent two
days inching along its 12-mile route at no
better than 3 mph.
Now imagine coordinating a larger haul:
a metal vessel that’s 8 feet longer, more than
three times heavier, moving up to 10 times
faster and going more than 27 times farther.
All using roads that are smaller, weaker
and, in some cases, not there at all.
“We even went over some dirt, because
of road construction,” recalls Pat Zans,
15
2013 No. 3
a Burns & McDonnell expeditor who helped
coordinate the 325-mile terrestrial delivery
of the tank for natural gas liquids, or NGLs.
“There was only one route that we could take.
We were lucky it was dry.
“If it rains, you can’t bring up something like
this on a country road. It’ll sink.”
But with the construction schedule for the
new McClure Gas Processing Plant hanging in
the balance, logistics personnel weren’t about
to let a little thing like a 532,000-pound NGL
surge drum get in the way.
Background
Enable Midstream Partners hired
Burns & McDonnell in November 2012 to
provide engineer-procure-construct services
for a new gas-processing plant in McClure,
Okla., about 100 miles west of Oklahoma City.
When complete, the plant will be capable of
processing up to 200 million standard cubic
feet of natural gas per day.
The surge drum is a critical component for the
plant. The tank — its 4-inch-thick steel skin
stretching 12 feet across and 130 feet long —
provides a wide point in the plant’s processing
system, to equalize NGL flows while gases
separate for removal. NGLs then flow to
Texas via pipeline for further processing
and distribution, eventually to be used by
companies making chemicals, plastics and
other products.
[ON SITE]
But before separating any NGLs from the
raw natural gas released from nearby shale
formations, crews would need to get the vessel
in place at the plant site, a patch of former
farm property northwest of the Foss Reservoir
in Custer County, Okla.
line, for the trek down state highways, county
roads and gravel paths. Simple 90-degree
turns proved complicated, each requiring
as many as four heavy-duty trucks and an
average of 45 minutes.
Challenges
Even before Burns & McDonnell entered the
project, Enable Midstream Partners already
had contracted for fabrication and delivery
of the drum itself. Once on the job,
Burns & McDonnell engineers quickly
understood just how critical the drum’s
placement would be in getting the plant
completed on time.
Because of site constraints and space
limitations, crews wouldn’t be able to install
some pipe racks, stacks and other equipment
until after the drum’s arrival. And as delays
crept into the timeline — the drum’s original
delivery date of May 15 had to be pushed back
to accommodate production changes, road
construction and other factors — pressure
was rising. Someone would need to
coordinate schedules, contracts, equipment
rentals and everything else that would affect
other tasks down the road.
Solutions
Enter Zans. As an expeditor in procurement
for the Construction/Design-Build Group
at Burns & McDonnell, Zans sent emails,
worked the phones, made personal contacts,
integrated schedules and reviewed contracts,
eventually working weeks of arrangements
into days of confirmations and, ultimately,
a single complicated trip.
Permits? Approved.
Equipment? In place.
Surge drum? Loaded.
“This isn’t something you can just move
around with a forklift,” Zans says.
The surge drum, a full 266 tons of gravitational
force, rested atop two trailers and 30 axles for
its journey west from a fabrication yard in
southwestern Tulsa. The rolling rig stretched
longer than a football field, goal line to goal
“It was so smooth.
Usually, with
something like
this, you’d expect
some hiccup to
happen. It didn’t.
The whole
thing went
really smoothly.”
Enable Midstream Partners and
Burns & McDonnell worked together to
coordinate the delivery, with Enable obtaining
necessary permits and arranging for road
modifications near the plant. Just a mile from
the site, crews removed a tree, cut down a
hill and widened a road, setting aside the
displaced soil for beneficial reuse in a nearby
wildlife refuge.
hiccup to happen. It didn’t. The whole thing
went really smoothly.”
Adds Chris Ashley, project manager for Enable
Midstream Partners: “The move was a large
one for Enable, and Burns & McDonnell was
up to the task. Their past experiences and
team approach allowed them to assess what
was needed and put it in motion, delivering
the equipment in a timely and safe manner.”
Zans prides himself on keeping things moving.
A 20-year veteran of the trucking and logistics
industry, he’d already had the opportunity
to arrange deliveries for plenty of critical
materials, products and items of interest —
including the majestic lion outside the MGM
Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The surge drum was his biggest load yet.
“It worked out,” Zans says now, already onto
the next procurement job. “We got a lot of
‘attaboys,’ but one ‘aw, shoot’ could’ve stopped
them all. That’s why it’s nice. After all that
work, the appreciation is a good feeling.”
For more information, contact Scott Brinkmeyer,
816-822-3973.
“We needed to solicit the help of a farmer
and his John Deere tractor to make the
grade at the end,” says Scott Brinkmeyer,
Burns & McDonnell project manager for
the processing plant. “It all worked out.”
Outcome
The surge drum arrived at the site June 24.
While the original delivery date had been
pushed back a few weeks, Zans’ adjustments
helped the project maintain momentum.
Delivery still occurred within the window
necessary to keep the plant project
on track.
“It was so smooth,” Brinkmeyer says. “Usually,
with something like this, you’d expect some
Cranes handled the move’s final few feet.
BURNS & McD ONNELL
16
[NEED TO KNOW]
Onward:
Communications Strategies Build
Public Support for Projects on the Move
Making Connections
Lorenz focuses on communicating with
stakeholders — in their language, and in a
way that is understandable and compelling.
“You have to help stakeholders understand
what’s at stake — and then determine what
they really care about,” Lorenz says.
“Education is good, but collaboration is better
for building supportable decisions. It’s not loss
of control — it’s actually better positioning to
accomplish long-term goals.”
No matter what the stage or
what the project — a new road,
power plant, hospital or transmission
line — the objective is the same:
Move forward. Having a well-planned
communications strategy in place
from the onset can help keep a
project on the right track.
Defining problems and developing solutions
with input from all stakeholders when a
project is in the conceptual stage can lead to
better understanding of the project. It can also
build public support.
“It’s a mistake to think your technical analysis
must be complete before engaging
stakeholders. In fact, the opposite is true,”
says Julie Lorenz, senior strategic consultant
for Burns & McDonnell.
Lorenz, who came to Burns & McDonnell
from the Kansas Department of
Transportation (KDOT), has witnessed
projects moving forward when effective
communications strategies were established up
front. She spearheaded the communications
strategy that was instrumental in securing a
sales tax increase to fund an $8.2 billion,
10-year transportation program for KDOT.
17
2013 No. 3
When the Ohio Department of Transportation
(ODOT) wanted to update how it analyzes
economic factors and selects major
transportation projects, Burns & McDonnell
was called on to engage business and
community leaders to develop a process
that is sensible and supportable.
Chandler Duncan, project manager for
Economic Development Research Group,
which led the overall project, says outreach
efforts gave participants an understanding of
the key issues the new policy would address.
“Once we made our recommendations, we
were pleased when ODOT was able to readily
put them to use on an accelerated program
of projects that could be funded by Ohio
leveraging toll-way revenues,” he says.
“The groundwork of a robust stakeholder
engagement effort provided critical input
needed for the ultimate and timely success
of the effort.”
Opening Lines of Communication
Joab Ortiz, a Burns & McDonnell senior
public involvement specialist, and his team
of 30 community relations professionals
begin communicating with a new project’s
stakeholders in the early stages of planning
and are involved throughout construction.
“First, we work with the client and the public
to develop a consensus to determine what
the project should entail,” Ortiz says. “Then,
as the client’s representative, we do our due
diligence, making sure the public is informed
and has a voice in the process.”
By maintaining an open dialogue with
stakeholders, the community relations team
establishes relationships that enhance a
client’s reputation.
“By making connections early on, when a
project is done we can go back and tie up
loose ends with individuals and maintain
good relationships for the client,” Ortiz says.
“We do our best to turn over all of the
stones and reveal all of the issues affected
by the project.”
Ortiz’s team is using this strategy on the
Midwest Transmission Project, a 180-mile
overhead transmission line that touches
18 counties in Nebraska and Missouri.
Working alongside the Omaha Public Power
District and Kansas City Power & Light
(KCP&L), the project team addressed more
than 7,000 stakeholders during the routing
phase of the project. The team will continue
to communicate with stakeholders as the
project progresses.
“The comprehensive plan and approach
applied by Burns & McDonnell’s public
involvement team helped establish and
enhance the long-term relationships with
our stakeholders and customers in the
project area,” says Julie Shull, project
manager for KCP&L.
Broader Applications
These communications strategies work
on projects across the board, not just
transportation and utility endeavors.
“It’s really just a matter of using good,
solid communication principles that are
effective when trying to build support for
any initiative,” Lorenz says. “They help move
projects forward.”
For more information, contact Julie Lorenz, 816-822-3195,
or Joab Ortiz, 816-349-6766.
[OFFLINE]
PublicWay Saves the Day
TM
Web-Based Conflict Resolution Portal Makes Capital Improvement
Planning and Maintenance Work More Efficient
You see it all too often. A street gets repaved as
part of routine maintenance, and a few weeks
later it gets torn up again for a utility project.
It’s frustrating for residents, businesses and
public sector officials.
provides an ideal opportunity for the city to
coordinate between its departments and
private utilities to optimize and leverage
the capital program to the community’s
maximum benefit.
“We keep the data where it’s at and just pull it
in,” Hardin says. “You decide what you’re going
to share, and we provide the tool for you to
upload it. We want to provide a system that is
very seamless to the people doing the work.”
These unfortunate situations are a side effect
of having many departments and utilities
working in the same public right-of-way with
different planning, funding, maintenance and
construction schedules. Communication is a
problem because cities and utilities frequently
don’t share common software platforms that
help coordinate these improvements.
PublicWayTM went live in May 2013. It is the
latest evolution of the firm’s OneTouchPM
tool, which has been used on $12 billion worth
of projects for multiple clients.
That saves expense and flattens the learning
curve. “It’s very difficult to change the way
people manage data,” Coker says. “So we want
to add a capability to say, ‘You can manage it
the way you’ve always managed it, but now we
can see it in the manner that supports better
collaboration, planning and management.’ ”
“In order to look at data across platforms,
many cities have to generate multiple reports,
correlate them and then somehow display
that information when evaluating and
planning for long-term capital improvements,”
says Ron Coker, vice president in the
Burns & McDonnell Water Group. “These
activities are time-consuming and labor
intensive.”
Consent and Advise
In response to this need, Burns & McDonnell
has developed PublicWayTM, a web-based tool
that displays information from municipal
systems and places it into a customizable,
searchable Google Earth platform.
®
How It Works
PublicWayTM pulls information at regular
intervals from numerous sources, including
work order systems, citizen call-in or
action center systems, GIS systems, project
management and scheduling software, design
applications, planning systems and more.
It translates the data from many different
formats and displays it in near-real-time
geospatially, where it becomes more intuitive
to find correlations and conflicts.
Perhaps the most user-friendly aspect
of PublicWayTM is that it doesn’t require
municipal staff to change their computer
systems or the way they manage data.
Better-Informed Decisions
The tool is designed for a wide range of users
with diverse levels of technical knowledge.
PublicWayTM features maps, graphs, charts and
other analytic tools. The software also has the
power to search over a time range.
“Anytime you can say we’ve looked out five
years and coordinated our capital projects
between city departments and private utilities
to maximize the investment of public dollars
— it’s very powerful,” Coker says.
For more information, contact Wes Hardin, 816-822-4361.
PublicWayTM offers a web-based, geospatial dashboard that enables stakeholders to see
near-real-time data from multiple departments in a flexible format that is intuitive to operate.
“We really try to provide an interface that
requires minimal training and is based on the
Google mantra of making it simple, rather
than have us tell you how to do your job,” says
Wes Hardin, product manager in the
Burns & McDonnell Business & Technology
Services Group.
For the city of Kansas City, Mo.,
Burns & McDonnell is applying PublicWayTM
in the early stages of implementing the city’s
two-decade-long, $4.5 billion overflow control
program. The program, which includes an
extraordinary number of capital projects,
BURNS & McD ONNELL
18
Offices Worldwide