Sharing Innovations

Sharing best practices within a group and a company both working together: that is the objective of the VINCI innovation awards and the Eurovia experience feedback awards. These two prizes reward ideas, tools and products that contribute to sharing and valorizing knowledge in all activity sectors. Solutions that provide concrete benefits to teams, clients, users...

Whether it is improving safety on a job site or creating a new tool that makes a task easier, or by designing a product, The Vinci Innovation Award, open to all employees, rewards new innovations used in the field. In 2009 Eurovia submitted 219 entries, of nearly 1,725 to the VINCI Innovation Awards, nearly 31% more than in 2007. This is proof of the involvement of Eurovia's teams in this project.

At Eurovia, innovations, handy gizmos and even original ideas are made available online by everyone, through the Neva intranet,

in the Experience feedback database. This data is then used for the Experience Feedback Award, created in 2007, and open at the international level since 2009 (North America, United Kingdom, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic). Prizes are awarded every two years for the four best acknowledged projects, in addition to two special edition prizes for projects that have been best used by the company.

Terre Armée combines reinforcements, facing panels, and recycled demolition byproducts

Terre Armée consists in reinforcing backfill with steel to create a retaining wall with a modular precast concrete facing. Convention steel reinforcement has been replaced by synthetic materials (Geostrap for reinforcement and Geomega for the connection between soil reinforcements and facing panels) for use in corroding environments (dock walls).

The Geostrap system, however, had a short life cycle due to its use in high-alkaline environments. The R&D department at Terre Armée (SoilTech) developed Geostrap PVA (polyvinyl alcohol). It was used at the DLB (Eurovia) crushing site in Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise region. Using Geostrap PVA, on-site demolition byproducts were used to produce backfill for the loading dock and access ramp to the hopper. Work was completed in 15 days and required only 5 people.

This process received a Sustainable Development Prize in the Materials, Processes, and Techniques category.

Recycled materials and cold processing for low-energy road pavement

The need to reduce the environmental impact of our activities and respond to our clients' development-related expectations compels us to use recycled materials and cold processing techniques. In late 2008, DJL Construction, a Eurovia subsidiary in Canada, produced its first low-energy road pavement for the city of Montreal.

Low-energy road pavement (featuring reduced thickness layer) combines a Recyflex insulating layer consisting of reprocessed gravel, a Recyflex bitumen and cement emulsion layer, and an Ecolvia bituminous concrete emulsion surface layer. The worksite's environmental impact was gauged using Gaïa.BE: this type of road pavement reduces natural resource use by 25% and greenhouse gas emissions by 31%.

This process received a Sustainable Development Prize in the Materials, Processes, and Techniques category.

A stage play helps to prevent workplace accidents

"Attention travaux," Eurovia's stage play on preventing workplace risk, which won a 2007 VINCI Innovation Award, has been adapted… for Belgium. A tailored version was presented to 1,200 employees of CFE's construction department, followed by discussion on enhancing workplace safety. In 2004, the accident frequency rate at CFE was above 51.

An initial initiative, consisting of a film followed by discussion, led to the drafting of 10 safety rules. A year later, the accident rate had dropped to 27.9. In late 2008, following the staging of the play, it dropped further to 23.7. The stage play was also seen by 600 project and contract managers. All suggestions made during discussion periods led to renewed action on the safety front.

This initiative was awarded a Dissemination prize in the Research Dissemination category.

Eurovia Tours promotes pavement hydrostripping

In 2005, in efforts to support the development of Agrevia®, a process that brings out durable colour through mechanical surface treatment, the Tours division set up a hydrostripping workshop. This easy-to-use and high-performance technique was submitted to the 2007 VINCI Innovation Awards. The division has since widely publicized this solution. Their first target was external: clients.

Internally, Eurovia's entities in the region were informed through the Neva intranet, a presentation was prepared for divisional managers in the centre-west delegation, and documentation was sent to all regions in France. Over the 105,000 m² of pavement treated with Agrevia® hydrostripping, over 55,000 m² are beyond the division's perimeter of action. In addition, new applications are under development, including sealant stripping for engineering structures and the cleaning of pedestrian zones.

This technique received a Dissemination Prize in the Vendor Dissemination category.

Inertia-absorbing hammer for pavers

Installing sidewalk tiles and kerbstones, which can weigh as much as 250 kg, requires the use of rubber mallets or hammers. Rebounds and vibration that travel up the handle of these devices cause pain, fatigue, and musculoskeletal disorders. The EJL Lille-Flandres division has designed an inertia-absorbing hammer inspired by the shock absorbers found in the old 2 CV cars.

A mobile balancing device is built into the hammer, which provides greater strike force and effective rebound energy absorption. Rubber buffers on the hammer heads help protect tiles and kerbstones. And, compared with a conventional hammer, this device costs less to manufacture.

This tool received a Grand Prize in the Materials and Tools category.

A bucket rack that facilitates and optimizes storage

A trenching bucket, loading bucket, draining bucket, hoist block, forklift - the Mecalac is used for many purposes on public works projects. All it lacked was a storage system. Eurovia Dala designed a customized metal rack with multiple benefits, including reduction of falling risk, no need for manual handling, no need for transport by truck, buckets in close proximity to machines, and more orderly work conditions and therefore reduced accident risk.

In the evening, 40 seconds is all the time that is needed to safeguard the device: the arm is simply placed over the rack, thereby preventing the possibility of theft.

This system was awarded a Grand Prize in the Materials and Tools category.

Insulating stakes to prevent electrocution

Metal stakes that are used as markers or to cordon off a specific area at worksites can sometimes strike and breach an underground electrical cable (which can conduct up to 20,000 volts). This represents a major risk for employees assigned to the task of installing the stakes. The division in Basse-Normandie worked closely with a plastics expert to design an insulating plastic and fibreglass stake with a metal end with a protective capacity of up to 100,000 volts.

The new stakes are lighter and more flexible and feature higher-resistance heads. At first, the new stakes were used at Company worksites; in the medium term, their use will be extended to other settings.

This tool was awarded a Materials Prize in the Materials and Tools category.

Orthoplast®, a new portable sealing solution

Since the 1970s, Eurovia had been using a binder that was very difficult to transport as a sealant for engineering structures with steel decks. The challenge was how to convey the sealant to worksites in regions where the Company had no binder production plant. A case in point was the Grande Ravine viaduct at La Réunion.

Following two years of effort and testing, Eurovia's research centre developed Orthoplast H®. This new sealing complex is transportable and consists of the prefab sheet - which replaces the cast sealing membrane - and a coating with a modified and additivized binder designed to improve ease of handling. Its cost is comparable to the previously used process. Following its inaugural use at La Réunion, Orthoplast H® opens up new markets abroad for Eurovia which were previously inaccessible due to the complex and costly logistics associated with the former process.

This new process won a Grand Prize in the Materials, Processes, and Techniques category.

Viasphalt®BT: environmentally friendly low-temperature asphalt

Poured asphalt coatings consume a great deal of energy as a result of its high production temperature, which is close to 240°C. The negative environmental impact of asphalt production is due to the heating of the mix ingredients and the time required for mixing, which generate large volumes of greenhouse gas emissions....

In efforts to reduce air pollution and related nuisances, Eurovia's research centre has developed low-temperature Viasphalt BT, a process that yields a 60°C to 80°C drop in production temperature depending on the type of asphalt as well as more comfortable paving conditions. The process results in major energy savings and virtually eliminates vapour emissions.

This process received a Special Sustainable Development Prize in the Processes and Technique category.

Retractable lane safety divider system

Roadway worksites that operate under traffic involve risk to both workers and drivers. In response to this risk, project managers often request the use of modular lane dividers. However, installing and moving conventional lane dividers at the start and end of work shifts requires specialized machinery and additional labour as well as storage and removal capacity. Consequently, Eurovia developed a retractable lane divider system to facilitate the process of installation and removal of lane safety dividers.

New formula for high-performance concrete

High-performance concrete is produced through the use of microsilica in the manufacturing process. This complex process raises production costs by 40 to 60%. A new formula for high-performance concrete has replaced microsilica with basalt powder. The mineralogical reactivity of basalt powder and its high content of particles smaller than 0.

001 mm are properties that help to bind cement pores to form the new concrete formula. Zeolites in the basalt (1 to 3%) also play a role in the reaction. This process has been patented in the Czech Republic. Compared to previous solutions, the basalt powder formulation results in a reduction of cement dosing to 50 kg/m³ and an increase in the resistance capacity of the anti-freeze agent and, consequently, the strength of the concrete.

VINCI Innovation Awards

Eurovia is rewarded at the VINCI Innovation Awards ceremony. Twenty-one projects gained recognition in the contest’s regional editions, including 5 Grand Prizes.

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Talents

Developing our Talents

Eurovia supports the commitments included in the VINCI Manifesto to promote gender equality, equal access to employment for the disabled, welcoming people from various nationalities and recognition of seniors and their expertise.

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