When Esso wanted to divest a large number of their UK and Republic of Ireland petrol stations and to remediate the sites for development they turned to ABB to help. Esso appointed ABB Consulting as managing contractor on the deinvestment programme. The project involved the management of site investigation, demolition and land remediation.
ABB provided expert project and programme management services to manage the overall portfolio of over 1000 sites. We managed and stewarded safely, cost, programme and information systems. This involved managing and supervising site safety, environmental standards and the interaction with local communities. We also carried out a technical review and provided engineering capability to conduct peer reviews to ensure a standardised bespoke approach over the remediation activities.
ABB utilised our ‘one stop shop’ site regeneration consultancy and work management service which was tailored to meet the specific needs of Esso. For this work we bought together our extensive know-how and experience of managing projects of this type and our expert skills in programme and portfolio management. We provided a bespoke solution for each petrol station, whether it was demolition, land remediation or continuous petroluem use.
The initial stage of the process was to produce a site regeneration strategy and action plan working closely with Esso’s project management team. Options for particular site re-use were identified together with site specific regulatory, local authority and third party requirements. The plan was then implemented with ABB managing the site investigation, demolition contractors and the environmental and remedial consultants.
ABB acted as CDM coordinator for the site works across Scotland, Wales, England and Eire. ABB handled the procurement and letting of contracts, following the procurement strategy agreed with Esso. The recommendations and reports of the environmental consultant were peer reviewed by ABB. On completion of the site works the environmental consultant issued a report, typically with a ‘reliance’ letter, for the prospective purchaser of the site.
By changing the proposed scopes of works and cost avoidance techniques, ABB regulary saved Esso our management fee, adding real value to the process. An excellent site safety record was achieved by a strong emphasis on site safety management and the promotion of a strong safety culture. This led to the project team being awarded 10 safety awards from RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). The RoSPA award scheme recognises commitment to accident and ill health prevention. It doesn’t just look at accident records, but also entrants’ overarching health and safety management systems, including important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement.