黑洞社区

Engineer URS has hit back at contractor Costain in the firms鈥� ongoing High Court battle over an alleged failure to spot design defects on a 拢300m energy-from-waste facility in south London.

URS has lodged its amended defence in response to a 拢10m-plus claim lodged against it by Costain, both filed at the High Court and seen by 黑洞社区. The claim relates to design problems on the Riverside Resource Recovery Facility in Belvedere, which burns rubbish to power 100,000 homes.

Costain was design and build contractor on the plant, working for overall engineering, procurement and construction contractor Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI). Costain hired URS to independently check design work for the plant, produced by engineer Jacobs.

Costain claims URS failed to alert it that Jacobs鈥� designs for steel supports to two grab cranes, which transfer waste into containers leading to furnaces, would not withstand fatigue for the intended 40-year design life, meaning they had to be replaced at a cost of 拢6.1m.

In its defence, URS claims it was 鈥減revented from checking Jacobs鈥� steelwork design by lack of information鈥� until mid-2009, by which time 鈥渟ignificant construction was underway and steelwork was already being fabricated鈥�.

URS claims that at a May 2009 meeting with Costain, it was orally agreed that URS would, from that point, only be required to check later designs than originally intended for the steelwork; namely that steel fabrication drawings issued by steelwork subcontractor Bourne complied with 鈥渇or construction鈥� drawings by Jacobs.

URS claims it subsequently raised 18 unanswered technical queries with Costain about the steelwork, including one in June that identified a 鈥渇undamental flaw鈥� that a key support 鈥渨as overstressed by 31%鈥�.

URS further claims it had 鈥渘o requirement to carry out a fatigue analysis鈥� as Costain alleges and makes 鈥渘o admission鈥� the steelwork required a 40-year design life.

URS also claims Costain 鈥渄id not take reasonable steps to mitigate its loss鈥� and if it had acted more promptly could have limited its loss to 拢1.8m. In the claim, Costain said it had resolved separate disputes with HZI and Jacobs over the scheme. Costain said it had settled a claim made by HZI for 拢6.8m, while Costain had separately 鈥渟uccessfully pursued鈥� Jacobs for damages at an adjudication, in which it was awarded 鈥渓osses up to the contractual cap contained in [Jacobs鈥橾 design contract of 拢2m鈥�.

HZI, URS and Bourne declined to comment. Costain and Jacobs were contacted for comment. The case with URS is ongoing.