HS2 Pioneers VR for inclusive station design  

Working with a virtual reality and augmented reality specialist the team at WSP used design files and CAD drawings to create a realistic immersive environment that replicates the station design. Dozens of members of the public and designers were then invited to navigate through areas of this digital twin wearing special headsets and surrounded by 5,000 other, virtual, people. 

As people moved through the virtual station and its crowds, the project team was able to study exactly what station users were looking at and what distracted them. Additional technology enabled the team to measure people’s emotions through sensors built into the headsets and evaluate where users were experiencing stress and difficulty.

Comparing sensor data to the users’ location and information about what they were looking at is incredibly valuable for designers, who can adjust elements such as wayfinding to help people find their way more easily.

Thanks to this focus on innovation, the design team has been able to trial a new way of assessing passengers’ experiences of a station design that provides hard data and leaves no space for doubt.

Digital transformation for the UK strategic road network   

Bringing together disciplines and technologies to address safety, efficiency, emissions and embodied carbon, WSP and National Highways will harness data, technology and connectivity to improve the way the strategic road network is designed, built, operated and used. 

In collaboration with National Highways, we co-developed a vision for Digital Roads that covers the lifecycle of the strategic road network: design and construction, digital operations and digital for customers. These illustrate how National Highways will drive digital, data and technology opportunities throughout the organisation.

WSP is working with National Highways to digitise standards and embed tools to help automate design processes, adopt off-site manufacturing and use connected and autonomous plant. As well as improving productivity, these approaches reduce waste and emissions from construction activities.

The long-term vision we set out for 2050 recognises UK digital, data and technology trends such as connected and autonomous vehicles and the electrification of transport to help achieve both vision zero and net zero. We also created a nearer-term vision for 2025, which was launched in 2021. And now we are supporting National Highways with a vision for 2025-30 as we continue to drive their digital transformation forward.

Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel fosters use of public transit

Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project will foster higher use of sustainable public transit in and out of the core of the city. WSP supports this work in many ways.

The Melbourne Metro Tunnel Environmental Monitor (MMTEM) is a key component of $10.9 billion Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project, twin nine-kilometre tunnels which will deliver a new dedicated pathway through the heart of the city for two of Melbourne’s busiest rail lines, creating space for more trains to run more often across Melbourne’s rail network.

Underground transportation projects tend to be complex. That’s even more so when they probe under the core of a major city, with a need to protect structures overhead, while still allowing public access to a passenger rail network.

WSP is playing an integral role as part of a team to deliver the tunnels, civil engineering, structures, mechanical and electrical rail infrastructure, and security and blast assessment.  

As well, we helped develop a way to manage the impacts of the project, through the Melbourne Liveability Monitor. This is a Cloud-based Internet of Things (IOT) monitoring platform which receives, aggregates and analyses data from sound, vibration, and air quality sensors, to enable communication with devices in the MMTEM Sensor Network. It has a streaming analytics engine, responsible for aggregating and validating telemetry, performing complex pattern analysis and forwarding results.

The Monitor helps alert managers to potential problems, keeping good relations with the many stakeholders with an interest in this ongoing project, supporting a more sustainable city of Melbourne.

Advanced information tools enhance Helsingborg city life  

The Swedish city of Helsingborg seeks to become a showcase of how information technology can improve energy efficiency, security and sustainability. 
Helsingborg, on the west coast of Sweden, has plans to become a leader in “smart city” development. The city has embarked on a five-year program based on the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform city life.

This includes a plan for smart lighting, connecting 30,000 light posts to improve citizen security and energy efficiency. This is part of a city-wide IoT platform that will connect sensory devices to allow collection and cross-analysis of data.

To support this, WSP has brought together a team of experts, including specialists in data, IoT development, Operations and Maintenance, GIS, and database design. Our work will include high-level design for upgrading the city’s existing GIS platform, system integration, training and support, wireless communication platform, and IoT specification and lighting with consideration for nature and wildlife.

This will deepen understanding of energy consumption, travel patterns and smart city management, supporting Helsingborg’s drive to create an exemplar of sustainability and liveability.

Advanced information tools enhance Helsingborg city life  

The Swedish city of Helsingborg seeks to become a showcase of how information technology can improve energy efficiency, security and sustainability. 
Helsingborg, on the west coast of Sweden, has plans to become a leader in “smart city” development. The city has embarked on a five-year program based on the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform city life.

This includes a plan for smart lighting, connecting 30,000 light posts to improve citizen security and energy efficiency. This is part of a city-wide IoT platform that will connect sensory devices to allow collection and cross-analysis of data.

To support this, WSP has brought together a team of experts, including specialists in data, IoT development, Operations and Maintenance, GIS, and database design. Our work will include high-level design for upgrading the city’s existing GIS platform, system integration, training and support, wireless communication platform, and IoT specification and lighting with consideration for nature and wildlife.

This will deepen understanding of energy consumption, travel patterns and smart city management, supporting Helsingborg’s drive to create an exemplar of sustainability and liveability.

Cloud Computing Study for Microsoft 

WSP was commissioned by Microsoft to carry out a groundbreaking study to assess the environmental impact of cloud computing. 

With cloud computing, companies move their IT infrastructure and content from a fixed network to the internet, so they no longer have the costs of maintaining servers and software, they can draw on effectively unlimited capacity as they need it, and files can be accessed from anywhere.

The study provided a quantitative and measurable analysis of the impact that cloud computing can have, directly compared to traditional deployment of IT within a company.

It has also been used as a model for the development of specific methodologies by the Carbon Trust and Global e-Sustainability Initiative to measure the direct and indirect carbon emissions of ICT.

Following the success of the Microsoft study, WSP also carried out a targeted piece of research with salesforce.com, a provider of cloud computing services to leading multinational companies. This demonstrated that its force.com IT platform emits 95% less carbon than traditional on-premise systems and is nearly 64% more efficient than private clouds.

The Microsoft study continues to be cited by academic and industry experts across the world and is used as the base for further work at Microsoft and other ICT companies.

Verifying embodied carbon reduction on an Auckland rail project

Reducing the carbon footprint of a major rail project in Auckland New Zealand was a priority – as was verifying results. Here’s how WSP used a “digital twin” to support this.

Embodied carbon – reducing the total greenhouse gas emissions generated to produce a built asset – is a vital part of the world’s race to net zero carbon. But how can project planners find the best route to those reductions, and then verify that this was achieved?

WSP supported this on the City Rail Link underground stations, tunnels, and rail systems project in Auckland NZ, helping meet goals of a 15 percent embodied carbon reduction from the original plans, through a “digital twin.” A computerized model of the project, the “twin” allows testing of a range of materials and methods in a virtual environment. As a result, potential problems and opportunities can be identified and resolved on a computer screen rather than later on site.

The digital twin also supports life cycle analysis of the project – not just in construction and materials used, but in operation and at the end of the project’s useful life.

Reusing existing foundations cuts embodied carbon in London building

Owners of a new highrise in London had high targets for sustainability. Innovative engineering by WSP, including re-using existing foundations, helped serve this priority. 

Property developers seeking to develop a mixed-use tower in the City of London saw a potential opportunity at an abandoned construction site – a chance to create something better. 

One problem: an earlier failed construction project had left behind a three-story basement with nine floors of concrete core.  

Rather than demolishing the existing structure and beginning again, our team found a way to successfully re-use all of the existing foundations and half of the basement, to reduce the embodied carbon in the foundations of the new building by 70 percent. 

With our client keen to make their building smart as well as sustainable, our Smart Places team looked for ways to integrate systems including technical electrical systems, security and fire systems, to benefit future users. 

This building at 22 Bishopsgate, the second-tallest in Western Europe, is an example of how innovative use of existing assets, plus a focus on reducing the carbon footprint of the operating building, supports the goal of net zero carbon.

Driving sustainability through ESG metrics software implementation

A global company needed to track progress and set priorities for improving sustainability. We helped them select, customize, and implement a software platform to achieve this.

The digital transformation of the sustainability program of a global food and beverage company is moving faster thanks to a software platform WSP* implemented. This platform includes data management for greenhouse gas emissions, utilities, environmental, health and safety, quality, and climate across various business units, for over 1,400 facilities globally.  

Through a series of workshops, testing, and training sessions, we worked with internal corporate and site level stakeholders to select and customize a software solution that would meet site specific and organizational unit reporting requirements, and sustainability goals.  

The new system replaced several legacy systems. It provides an improved centralized data source for reporting purposes, including global sustainability reporting such as CDP, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).  Our digital solutions, sustainability, and environment experts have enabled the prioritization and implementation of follow up actions.

The new platform supports our food and beverage client through more informed decision-making and enables communications of their business actions to support ESG strategy.

*At the time of the project, work was contracted to Golder, which was later acquired by WSP.