protecting the grid

Protecting the grid

Meeting New Cybersecurity Standards

2013 No. 3

Burns & McDonnell

also inside Calm After the Storm Smooth Move PublicWayTM Saves the Day

2013 No. 3

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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.

Jeff Greig Senior Vice President

Business & Technology Services

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2013 No. 33

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Technical Q&A: Chemical Storage Safety

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

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.

Q : What rules and regulations affect the storage, handling and use of hazardous chemicals on-site?

A: Owners of plants that store and use hazardous materials face a maze of regulatory and legal requirements, and often turn to professionals for help.

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.

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

important to determine which code (and which version of the code) is enforced by the authority having jurisdiction.

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.

Among items included in codes, which protect workers, neighbors, and first responders, areautomatic 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.

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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 TeamWhen 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.

“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 LabsSuch 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.

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 ContactsIn 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.

2013 No. 355

RailRoad Tiesdarwin desen is the Rail Jack of all Trades

Early StartDesen’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

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

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.

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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.

Building MomentumOver 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.

“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 StartIn just two years with Burns & McDonnell, Desen has already connected with numerous clients on rail projects. General engineering consulting (GEC) contracts have already

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.

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.

“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 AheadWhile 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

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.

“Very rarely do we find somebody who can float between transit rail and cargo rail as effortlessly as Darwin can.”

Darwin Desen was the project manager for the design and construction of the Norfolk Southern Auto Mixing/Distribution Center in Kansas City, Mo.

2013 No. 37

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

project was to improve reliability of the existing 26-kV yard through new 230-kV feeds. Reworking the Plan 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.

“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.

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,

meaning critical equipment would be installed approximately 6 feet above its existing grade elevation.

“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.”

“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.”

Need for SpeedDuring 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

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Superstorm Sandy Forces Accelerated Schedule for Switching Station

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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 SceneIn 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 custom-designed 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.”

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.

Moving ForwardDespite 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.

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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.

2013 No. 39

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Evolving Cybersecurity Standards Present a Moving Target to Utilities Seeking to Safeguard Critical Assets


Protecting the grid


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 BackThe 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

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)

Modeling, Data and Analysis (MOD)

Protection and Control (PRC)

Transmission Planning (TPL)

Voltage and Reactive (VAR)

Emergency Preparedness and Operations (EOP)

Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)

“One of NERC’s biggest challenges has been to create

cybersecurity standards that

keep pace with the escalating threats

the industry faces.”

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2013 No. 3

“It’s our job to do everything in our power to prevent anyone from using

the power industry’s enormous resources against us.”

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Revolving Door: 5 Standards, 6 YearsThere’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

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 high-priority critical assets.

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 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.

Control centers rank as high-impact facilities for cybersecurity protection.

Executive OrderWill 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



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 CybersecurityEnsuring 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

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.”

More on NERCAnother NERC program requires utilities to validate their transmission line ratings. Read more at www.burnsmcd.com/nercratings

2013 No. 31313

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Project: Nuclear Power Training UnitLocation: Charleston, S.C. Client: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast

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.

Nuclear Training Site Gets a Facilities Boost

“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.

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Project: Colmery-O’Neil Veterans Administration Medical Center RenovationsLocation: Topeka, Kan.

Client: Veterans Administration

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.

Burns & McDonnell was initially slated to design the 18,000-square-foot, 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.

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.

Building a Better Place for VA Dementia Patients

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.

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.”

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.

2013 No. 315

[O N S I T E ]

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,

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.

BackgroundEnable 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.

Smooth MoveWhen a Massive Tank Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There on Site

Smooth MoveSmooth MoveSmooth MoveSmooth MoveShipping Logistics Ease Pressuresfor Delivery of Massive Surge Vessel


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.

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[O N S I T E ]

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.

ChallengesEven 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.

SolutionsEnter 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

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.

“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.”

Cranes handled the move’s final few feet.

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.

“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.”

OutcomeThe 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

2013 No. 3

[N E E D T O K N O W ]

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.

Making ConnectionsLorenz 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.”

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 CommunicationJoab 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 ApplicationsThese 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.

Onward: Communications Strategies Build Public Support for Projects on the Move

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Communications Strategies Build Public Support for Projects on the Move

[O F F L I N E ]

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.

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.

“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.

“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,

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

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.’ ”

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 Saves the DayWeb-Based Conflict Resolution Portal Makes Capital Improvement

Planning and Maintenance Work More Efficient

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.


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