Environmental project management using fast‐track methods to save time and money

Abstract

AbstractIn 1992, Eaton Corporation, a major manufacturer of vehicle components and electrical and electronic controls, implemented a fast‐track remediation method to expedite the installation of a groundwater recovery and treatment system to contain and mitigate a chlorinated solvent plume at an industrial site. This dual‐track method included fast‐track and turnkey project management techniques. Our goal was to expedite the containment and removal of identified contamination, which would protect the environment, minimize future liability, and significantly reduce remediation time and costs. This goal was in the best interests of all concerned—Eaton, the community, and the state regulatory agency. This strategy took the project from dual‐track concept approval by the regulatory agency to remediation system installation and start‐up in less than eight months, cutting over two years from the standard Remediation Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) approach, with consequent earlier contaminant containment. Total remediation costs were half of what they would have been under the standard RI/FS procedure for this site.