McConnell Dowell is proud to have won the Health and Safety award at the CCNZ Canterbury Contractor of the Year Award for the Lyttelton Deluge Upgrade Project based in Christchurch.

Members of the project team attended the awards evening and it was great for our team to be recognised by the industry for what is truly a great reflection of everyone working together to complete this high-risk project.

Due to the live tunnel environment the upgrade was subject to significant HSE risks, the judging panel commended how we continually challenged ourselves to develop a creative methodology in order to achieve the scope, all whilst following the highest health and safety standards. The award was based on our safety record on the contract (60% of marks) and the company in general (40%). The project recorded both zero Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (RIFR) and Lost Time Injury (LTI) Frequency Rates.

The Lyttelton Tunnel Deluge and Associated Works project included removal of 2.2 km of concrete asbestos water supply pipe and replacement with a stainless-steel pipe, installation of a new CCC sewer pressure main to service surrounding communities, installation and commissioning of a deluge fire suppression system within the tunnel including a dedicated reservoir, major upgrades to the tunnel’s communications, public address systems, and new CCTV system, construction of a new fire pump house with two diesel powered pumps and improvements to tunnel ventilation fan drives.