ENSR
ENSR is a leading Australian professional services firm that provides a broad range of services in environmental, OHS and natural resource management. ENSR was established in Newcastle in 1973 and has grown to nine offices nationally and 220 staff.
Its clients and projects span remote, rural and urban areas and its commitment to clients is to provide smart, practical and sustainable solutions that add value. Recently the company became part of AECOM, a global technical services provider with 32,000 staff worldwide.
Challenge
ENSR manages many projects around Australia, all requiring individual solutions. When it comes to environmental solutions such as site remediation, the company already has respected consulting expertise in house. It requires partners in remediation who can deliver its recommendations on the ground.
For various clients ENSR has investigated:
- Adding remediation design, construction and maintenance to its in-house skill set.
- Outsourcing the various remediation stages to 3rd parties while managing the process.
- Using pilot scale remediation units to collect specifications in situ before design and construction of full scale systems.
Each approach has advantages and drawbacks, and each has the potential to utilize prime ENSR resources in non-core activities.
Solution
ENSR heard about The Remediation Group through recommendation from another project. This first engagement showed HLA the practical, hands-on approach which is not always typical of the industry yet a trademark of The Remediation Group. Since then, over several major remediation projects involving hydrocarbons and chlorinated compounds, ENSR has gained the best results from:
- Including the Remediation Group at the initial site evaluation stage.
- Inviting the Group’s early input to system design.
- Encouraging the Group’s input throughout the remediation process including treatment methodology, system design, site issues and maintenance changes.
- Enabling the Group to anticipate and resolve contingencies at the planning stage.
- Working with the Group as partners rather than contracted builders of pre-specified designs.
Results
For ENSR, the mark of success is when key client stakeholders lose interest in the remediation project completely and focus elsewhere. As this has been the outcome on more than one occasion, ENSR continues to use The Remediation Group for selected remediation projects.
Feedback
"With The Remediation Group, we know the problem will be fixed and will work in practice, not just on paper. We regard them as partners not contractors, who understand the issues both short and long term. They know the remediation process thoroughly and provide valuable early insights that can be critical to success."
Dr Bruce Anderson, Principal Environmental Scientist, ENSR