issue two: may 2009 - Halcrow

Larry Ellison, founder of the Oracle software empire,famously quipped: “When you innovate, you’ve got to beprepared for everyone to think you’re nuts.”in actionHalcrow is clearly ready for sideways glances and furtive whispers.The company’s innovation fund pumps revenue from tax creditclaims into an ongoing research and development programme.Established in 2007, the fund backs projects that channel researchknowledge into new and improved products and services.The technology and innovation subcommittee allocates the grants,with individual projects able to secure up to £150,000 per year for amaximum of three years. Large scale or cross-business projects topthe list for investment, which may supplement existing businessgroup or external funding sources.CanuteDS:managing flood risk£180,000 over 18 monthsMaking huge strides in flood risk modelling and decision supportsoftware, this project is helping maintain Halcrow’s position as theleading integrated flood risk management consultancy.As the waters receded after the UK’s sodden summer of 2007, theForesight Future Flooding report warned that flood risk in urban areascould jump by a factor of up to 20 over the next century. Given thisleap, existing flood risk policies will be ill-equipped to cope.While flooding stems from different sources – rain, river or sea –flood risk models tend to focus on the chief threat. By its very nature,climate change presents a series of unknowns. Sea level rises,intense rainfall and storm surges are on the cards, although no-onecan foresee the ferocity or full range of potential scenarios.Bolstering the tools available to decision makers, CanuteDS willhelp those responsible for managing flood risk navigate a paththrough present and future uncertainty, delivering sustainable, robustinvestment decisions.✉Tim Wells – wellst@halcrow.comAsset managementtoolkit£77,000 over 12 monthsDeciding when and how much to invest in infrastructure is a constantchallenge for asset owners. Striking a balance between capital andoperational expenditure while weighing up potential risks to servicedelivery is no easy task. Owners often struggle to determine theoptimum time to repair, replace, or intervene to slow the rate ofinfrastructure decline.Positioning Halcrow at the forefront of asset management, this projectfocuses on developing a software tool to optimise the design and realtimeoperational control of water distribution networks.Using the existing ENCOMS in-house software package as a startingpoint, the project aims to enable broader applications, and is exploringthe potential for integration with Halcrow’s shoreline and nearshoredata system (SANDS).A cutting-edge genetic algorithm optimiser underpins Halcrow’srapidly evolving asset management toolkit. “In layman’s terms, thegenetic algorithm will automate and accelerate complex decisionmaking and find the best solution in a fraction of the time that it wouldtake to solve the problem through trial and error,” explains projectmanager Paul Conroy.✉Paul Conroy – conroyp@halcrow.comGot a bright idea? Visit the innovation fund site on Halnet under knowledge.28Vox | issue two