Contents

1.0 Introduction

1.0.1 What is brown-field project?

1.0.2 What is green-field?

2.0 Features of Brown field project

2.0.1 Engineering & Design

2.0.2 Organizing

2.0.3 Coordination

2.0.4 Materials Management

2.0.5 Shut-down planning

2.0.6 Capital Repairs during Modernization

2.0.7 Construction Management

3.0 Brown field project in United States

4.0 Summary

1.0 Introduction:-

1.0.1 What is Brown field project?

The term ‘Brown field’ has many definitions, they all are same in meaning but the presentation of the term is in different manner. ‘...land previously used for industrial purposes, or certain commercial uses, and that may be contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution and has the potential to be reused once it is cleaned up’. If we translate into software term then ‘...project or codebase that was previously created and may be infected with poor practices, structure, implementations and moral but has the potential to be revived through comprehensive and directed refactoring’. At last we can say that Brownfield is abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use.

A project implemented in the precincts of a working plant or working facility is a brown-field project (BFP). Revamping, retrofitting, technology upgradation, replacement, rehabilitation reconstruction, modernization etc come under the category of BFPs.

The most common BFP is the modernization or partial renovation of a running plant. The most important success criteria of a BFP are:

Minimum obstruction to production operations, caused by plant shutdowns and supply disruptions.

Successful new construction.

Minimum damage to the existing installations.

Perfect tie-in and matching of the new facilities with the existing ones.

In the United States city planning jargon, Brownfield land (or simply a Brownfield) is land previously used for industrial purposes or certain commercial uses. The land may be contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, and has the potential to be reused once it is cleaned up. Land that is more severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site, does not fall under the Brownfield classification.

1.0.2 What is Greenfield?

A common term in software development is 'Greenfield'.  The term is commonly used to describe a project that is starting completely from scratch and thus having no existing code base. One of the terms that is often used to describe code that exists is 'legacy'.  Unfortunately the term 'legacy' has connotations that lead people to think about applications that have out lived the life of the technology that they were implemented with and no longer are being actively developed.  For some people this will make them think of mainframe, green screen, COBOL, FORTRAN and other technologies.  Because our minds tend to sway to distant applications and technologies like this, we create a gap between Greenfield and legacy where the technology is either relevant, or nearly relevant, and the application is under active development. Applications like this are something that we regularly see in the industry.  More often than not, when you're hired onto a project, either as an employee or a contractor/consultant, you will be stepping into a project that is already under development.  How do you describe that project to your mates?  It's certainly not Greenfield and if you mention 'legacy' people will ask you how you ended up working on mainframes.  Neither do the situation justice.

2.0 Features of BFP :-( Brown field project)

2.0.1 Engineering and Design:-

Project Engineering (PE) scope describes below:

Layout of the new facilities with perfect integration into the existing facilities, with dovetailing correlation.

Relocation and rerouting of existing utilities and services lines as may be necessary.

Minimum use of ground space, minimizing horizontal layouts, and keeping in mind the possibility of future expansion.

Correction of any defect in the layout of the existing facilities or service lines.

Minimum obstruction to the plant operation during construction.

Perfect matching to the new process technology used in new facilities with the existing one.

Standardization of raw materials, feedstock, spares and maintenance machinery.

In BFPs, the engineering department has the additional responsibility of supplying information on the existing underground installations and service lines to facilitate diversion and digging for civil works.

Planning:-

BFP planning should take care of the following additional aspects:

Site clearance to locate the new facilities.

Relocation of displaced storage yards, dumping ground and/or other installations.

Rerouting of service line.

Dismantling of equipment and installations to be refurbished or replaced.

Protection of underground and overground installations during dismantling.

Cleaning and rectification of the dismantled equipment and their refurbishing.

Carting away debris, and site clearance.

Dumping of debris.

Stacking of reusable equipment and materials.

Refurbishing facilities.

Operation of production units during construction.

Shut downs.

Planning of these aspects calls for considerable experience and imagination. Any shortcoming in planning can have serious consequences both on the operation of the existing production faculties and the construction activities. The planner of BFP has to work within several limitations as he is required to fit the new construction into an operating plant, within the available space, with minimum obstruction and damage.

2.0.2 Organizing:-

The project team in a BFP has to necessarily include the operation and maintenance personnel representing the various

production segments affected by the project. The project team for BFP and plant relocation project (PRP) must be formed before the start of engineering and design itself.

The project organization that is built for BFPs should be capable of understanding the basis requirements of a plant continuing its production operations in the midst of construction activities and handling the additional activities involved in them.

2.0.3 Coordination:-

Conflicts between the O&M (Operation and maintenance) personnel are common in BFPs. The success of project management in BFP would, therefore, depend a great deal on the PM’s (Project management) capability to handle conflicts. Although the concept of and integrated project team organization can reduce conflicts. A BFP demands a tremendous amount of coordination among the departments of production, maintenance, services and utilities, engineering and project construction. Coordination should be a vital responsibility of the project team which is represented by all the departments concerned. It must be remembered that rivalry between O&M and construction personnel in a BFP can strangle the production and also make the construction project fail.

2.0.4 Materials Management:-

In BFPs, as well as in Plant relocation projects (PRP), the procurement and fabrication would depend greatly on the extent of reusable old equipment and materials. The technology employed in the modernization and the newly added facilities will determine the use of existing critical equipment. So planning for procurement should start with: (1) evaluation of the suitability of the existing equipment with the new technology, (2) assessment of the usability of the equipment and materials, and (3) identification and listing of the parts to be purchased/fabricated

and those to be rectified/modified/refurbished. This assessment is to be done in three stages namely, (I) while considering the technology, (II) on inspection of the existing plant before dismantling and (III) after dismantling.

2.0.5 Shut-down planning:-

It is usual that during modernization activities, production operations and services continue in vital industrial and infrastructural plants and facilities. For example, a major steel plant cannot be totally shut down for 3-4 years to modernize or renovate a few sections or segments or add some more facilities. Only essential minimum shut-downs shall be taken to facilitate construction, so that production loss is kept to the minimum and movement of goods continues.

There are two categories of shut-downs-one, a temporary shut-down to facilitate some construction activity and the other, the permanent shut-down of a unit to dismantle and rebuild the unit itself. Shut-down planning shall cover production units, traffic movements, power and water supply and other utilities. This planning should be done jointly by the representatives of all the departments concerned, using a meticulously calendar-time-phased network, with perfect coordination and communication among the members of the project team.

2.0.6 Capital Repairs during Modernization:-

When plant unit is scheduled to be shut down permanently for modernization in the near future, it is usual to operate it with only the routine running maintenance, without any expensive capital repair. But, if the schedule goes haywire and the shut-

down is delayed, the unit’s efficiency will dwindle without capital repairs, and thus, its operation will become expensive with diminishing output. This is a vital point which should engage the planner’s and executing team’s attention. A capital repair just before a permanent shut-down can prove to be wastage. The solution to this problem is strict control on shut-down schedules and construction schedule.

2.0.7 Construction Management:-

Construction Management (CM) practices in both GFPs and BFPs are basically the same. But the nuances of a brown-field project will have a significant influence on every aspect of CM in a BFP. What is required to be done to face them is to prepare a checklist of all CM activities, study each of them with references to the practices and requirements of the operating units and the constraints of the brown-field, and then modify their modus operandi so that they can be accommodated despite the constraints in the activities. CM can benefit from the existing organization and management practices which can simultaneously serve both the production and construction activities. The total requirements of the modernization project’s resources and CM practices shall be listed out and compared with what is existing, to identify what parts of the existing organization, infrastructure, capital equipment, maintenance facilities, communication network, general office services, systems and procedures, office equipment, logistic arrangements, insurance and risk management, legal aid, etc., can be made use of economically in the construction. After such identification, the project team shall approach the top management and get the necessary executive orders issued, so that various heads of departments throw open their doors to the team to avail of the required resources and services. A few aspects which need particular attention in the management of a BFP construction are below.

Safety

Employees, third parties, construction equipment, and existing installations are more susceptible to accidents in a BFP than in a GFP, because of congestion and simultaneous multiple operations. Production, dismantling and construction, all taking place side by side, with all the related work operations, traffic movements and services, would increase the chances of accidents. All these dangers can be averted only through intensives training in safety practices, actual implementation of safety codes, and vigilant supervision. The total team has to be conscious of this requirement. Top management must include safety in the list of matters needing topmost attention.

Security

The presence of numerous construction workers in the plant precincts and hundreds of vehicles of all categories plying in and out would be a potential threat to the security of the plant and the enterprise’s goods and personnel. Controlling the entry and exit of a few thousands more men than usual in the operating plant, keeping watch on their movements and behavior in the plant area, checking the documents and contents of each and every vehicle, documenting the goods brought in and taken out, including debris and scrap of the dismantled units and excavated earth, and ensuring the security of the installations and the owner’s movable properties is a challenging task to be handled with considerable intelligence and care, in a BFP situation.

Environmental care

Dumping of dismantled debris, plying of numerous vehicles, movement of wagons, obstruction and defacements caused by congestions and diversions, housing and sanitation needs of the construction work force temporarily brought in, etc., would pose threats to the environment. To protect the environment form these threats, the designers and planners must do the necessary planning for environmental protection sufficiently in advance in the threatened area.

Welfare

Welfare facilities built inside the plant would suddenly face an enormously enlarged demand with the influx of the construction work force. Facilities like washing area, urinals and lavatories, drinking water supply, canteens, resting places, first-aid centers, hospital, bicycle parking place, crèche, etc., would come under the strain of such a demand. The project planner have to take necessary measures sufficiently in advance to supplement the facilities suitably so that the existing O&M employees do not become discontented, and at the same time, the construction men get at least the minimum facilities at the site.

3.0 BFP in United States:-

Brown-fields are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations.

In the United States city planning jargon, Brownfield land (or simply a Brownfield) is land previously used for industrial purposes or certain commercial uses. The land may be contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, and has the potential to be reused once it is cleaned up.

Land that is more severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site, does not fall under the Brownfield classification. Mothballed brown fields are properties which the owners are not willing to transfer or put to productive reuse.

3.0.1 Innovative redevelopment strategies:-

A number of innovative financial and remediation techniques have been used in the U.S. in recent years to expedite the cleanup of Brownfield sites. For example, some environmental firms have teamed up with insurance companies to underwrite the cleanup of distressed Brownfield properties and provide a guaranteed cleanup cost for a specific Brownfield property, to limit land developers' exposure to environmental remediation costs and pollution lawsuits. The environmental firm first performs an extensive investigation of the Brownfield site to ensure that the guaranteed cleanup cost is reasonable and they will not wind up with any surprises.

After the dot-com bubble of 2000, many venture capital firms looking for new businesses in which to invest have done so in brown fields. Venture capital investments in Brownfield-related businesses have included companies developing new cleanup technology, companies that do remediation, and development projects in Brownfield lands.

Innovative remedial techniques used at distressed brown fields in recent years include bioremediation, a remedial strategy that uses naturally occurring microbes in soils and groundwater to expedite a cleanup, and in-situ oxidation, which is a remedial strategy that uses oxygen or oxidant chemicals to enhance a cleanup. Often, these strategies are used in conjunction with each other or with other remedial strategies such as soil vapor extraction. In this process, vapor from the soil phase is extracted

from soils and treated, which has the effect of removing contaminants from the soils and groundwater beneath a site. Some brown fields with heavy metal contamination have even been cleaned up through an innovative approach called phytoremediation that uses deep-rooted plants to soak up metals in soils into the plant structure as the plant grows. After they reach maturity, the plants – which now contain the heavy metal contaminants in their tissues – are removed and disposed of as hazardous waste.

Research is under way to see if some brown fields can be used to grow crops, specifically for the production of bio fuels. Michigan State University, in collaboration with DaimlerChrysler and Next Energy, has small plots of soybean, corn, canola, and switch grass growing in a former industrial dump site in Oakland County, Michigan. The intent is to see if the plants can serve two purposes simultaneously: assist with phytoremediation, and contribute to the economical production of biodiesel and/or ethanol fuel.

3.0.2 Post-redevelopment uses:-

Some state governments restrict development of Brownfield sites to particular uses in order to minimize exposure to leftover contaminants on-site after the cleanup is completed; such properties are deed-restricted in their future usage. Some legally require that such areas are reused for housing or for new commercial use in order not to destroy further arable land. The redevelopment of Brownfield sites is a significant part of new urbanism. Some brown fields are left as green spaces for recreational uses.

For historical reasons, many Brownfield sites are close to important thoroughfares such as highways and rivers; their

reclamation can therefore be a major asset to a city. Portland, Oregon, has pioneered the use of road and rail infrastructure to support the cleanup and reuse of Brownfield sites. Another example is the Atlantic Station project in Atlanta, the largest Brownfield redevelopment in the United States.[ In Seattle, rusted remains of a gas factory were left in place to add character to Gas Works Park.

But one of the most well-known areas in the United States for Brownfield redevelopment is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has successfully converted numerous former steel mill sites into high-end residential, shopping and offices. Several examples of Brownfield redevelopment in Pittsburgh include the following:

In Homestead, Pennsylvania, the site once occupied by Carnegie Steel has been converted into a successful commercial center, The Waterfront.

In Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, a former slag dump for steel mills was turned into a $243 million residential development called Summerset at Frick Park.

In the South Side neighborhood, a former LTV Steel mill site was transformed into Southside Works, a mixed-use development that includes high-end entertainment, retail, offices, and housing.

In the Hazelwood (Pittsburgh) neighborhood, a former Jones and Laughlin steel mill site was transformed into a $104 million office park called Pittsburgh Technology Center.

In Herr's Island, a 42-acre (170,000 m2) island on the western bank of the Allegheny River, a former rail stop for livestock and meatpacking were transformed into Washington's Landing, a waterfront center for commerce, manufacturing, recreation and upscale housing.

3.0.3 Regulation:-

In the United States, investigation and cleanup of Brownfield sites is largely regulated by state environmental agencies in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many of the most important provisions on liability relief are contained in state codes that can differ significantly from state to state. The EPA, together with local and national government, can provide technical help and some funding for assessment and cleanup of designated sites. They can also provide tax incentives for cleanup that is not paid for outright; specifically, cleanup costs are fully tax-deductible in the year they are incurred.

3.0.4 Barriers to redevelopment:-

Examples of brown fields that were redeveloped into productive properties

Many contaminated Brownfield sites sit unused for decades because the cost of cleaning them to safe standards is more than the land would be worth after redevelopment. However,

redevelopment has become more common in the first decade of the 21st century, as developable land grows less available in highly populated areas. Also, the methods of studying contaminated land have become more sophisticated and established.

Many federal and state programs have been developed to help developers interested in cleaning up Brownfield sites and restoring them to practical uses. Some states and localities have spent considerable money assessing the contamination on local Brownfield sites, to quantify the cleanup costs in an effort to move the redevelopment process forward.

In the process of cleaning contaminated Brownfield sites, surprises are sometimes encountered, such as previously unknown underground storage tanks, buried drums or buried railroad tank cars containing wastes. When unexpected circumstances arise, the cost for clean-up increases, and as a result, the cleanup work may be delayed or stopped entirely. To avoid unexpected contamination and increased costs, many developers insist that a site be thoroughly investigated (via a Phase II Site Investigation or Remedial Investigation) prior to commencing remedial cleanup activities.

3.0.5 Valuation:-

Acquisition, adaptive re-uses, and disposal of a Brownfield sites requires advanced and specialized appraisal analysis techniques. For example, the highest and best use of the Brownfield site may be affected by the contamination, both pre- and post-remediation. Additionally, the value should take into account residual stigma and potential for third-party liability. Normal appraisal techniques frequently fail, and appraisers must rely on more advanced techniques, such as contingent valuation, case studies, or statistical analyses.

4.0 Summary:-

Management of a brown-field project in the precincts of an operating plant calls for much more imagination, detailed planning, meticulous; schedule control and integrated team work, involving the operation, maintenance, engineering and construction departments of the enterprise. Slippage in one activity can lead to serious ripple impacts on many activities, with adverse results. At the same time, a construction project inside an operating plant complex has to face several constraints, dependencies and hazards, many of which are not present in a new or green field project (GFP). Therefore, the engineering, planning and execution of a BFP have to be done with the involvement of experienced executives from the various functional departments, desirably those who have preciously handled BFPs, and also by going into the lowest level of work breakdown structure and working methods. The least production loss, the fastest work completion, minimum damage to the existing plant units and service lines, and perfect matching of the functioning of the old and new facilities should be there among the objectives of a BFP.

With the fast advancing technologies changes and rising cost of equipment and materials, more and more of BFPs can be expected to come up in INDIA, for modernizing production technologies, improving product qualities, and raising productivity and profitability. Environmental considerations also necessitate plant modernization. Project economy will necessitate reusing equipment to the maximum possible extent.