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Whether for civil engineering works or engineering
support on environmental projects, ICF International provides
the perfect blend of hands-on engineering expertise,
environmental knowledge, and appreciation for management
concerns.
Our engineers have the analytical skills and construction
know-how to help our clients manage risk on complex
engineering projects, together with the environmental
experience to team effectively with environmental specialists
to design and build solutions to environmental problems.
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In addition, we develop comprehensive, prioritized assessments
of facilities, structures, and industrial sites; identify
vulnerabilities; evaluate and enhance their preparedness;
and manage the response to an intentional attack. Read more
about our critical
infrastructure protection services.
We add ICF International's perspective on policy and regulatory
drivers to help our clients optimize their project strategies
and achieve their core business objectives. We serve clients
in the chemical, construction, mining, petrochemical, petroleum,
power, transportation, water resources, and waste management
industries, as well as U.S. and foreign government agencies.
Our Approach
ICF International offers a structured, performance-based approach
to engineering design, construction, and performance evaluation.
Our value-engineering methodology engineers a facility for
its design life by imposing an objective-prediction-measurement
feedback loop that creates a buildable design, ensures construction
in accordance with the design, and confirms that the as-built
project meets its intended objectives. We have successfully
used this approach for more than 25 years on new projects
and to extend the service life of existing facilities.
Our Services
Engineering Analysis
Engineering design requires application of fundamental principles
of physics to the materials and processes used in construction
in order to determine a project's feasibility and safety.
Our engineers—through education and experience—have
the knowledge and tools to apply these principles to real
world problems, such as:
- Static and seismic slope stability
- Stability of deep excavations
- Shallow and deep foundation capacity
- Evaluation of liquefaction potential
- Groundwater and aquifer modeling
- Finite element simulations
Forensic Engineering
Forensic Engineering seeks to determine the cause of an engineering
failure or accident. ICF International has extensive experience
in investigating, determining, and explaining failure causes
for project owners, insurance companies, and law firms. We
pride ourselves on giving our clients verifiable, objective
analyses and balanced, straightforward appraisals—not
just the good news. Our services include:
- Review and interpretation of geological and geotechnical
data to identify key material properties
- Analysis of design documents, construction records, and
monitoring data to clarify the sequence of events leading
to and the conditions at failure
- Design and supervision of site investigation, field instrumentation,
field sampling, and laboratory testing programs to gather
additional data and evidence
- Litigation support and expert witness testimony
Geotechnical Safety
and Risk
Geotechnical engineers and project owners constantly deal
with uncertainty due to the variability of the natural materials
with which they build. They must constantly balance the economic
costs of overly conservative designs against the potential
economic, human, and environmental risks of a project failure.
ICF International's Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Safety
Program provides a proven methodology for evaluating, minimizing,
and monitoring the risks inherent in geotechnical structures
from conceptual design, during construction, and throughout
the project's service life. Our program has the following
components:
- Establishment of Performance Criteria
- Design Assessment
- Field Measurement System
- Construction Assessment
- Performance Monitoring
- Performance Evaluation
- Safety Assessment
- Contingency Planning
- Remedial Measures
Earth Structure
Design
ICF International's geotechnical engineers have experience in
all aspects of the design of earth structures, including earth
dams, slopes, embankments, landfills, and excavations. Our
services include:
- Definition of project objectives
- Site investigation
- Conceptual and detailed designs
- Alternative design selection
- Material property evaluation
- Design analyses
- Cost estimates
- Production of construction drawings
- Specification writing
- Bid evaluation
Construction Support
Geotechnical construction often encounters subsurface conditions
and involves construction details that require field decisions
to keep a project moving on track. Our veteran "dirty
boots" engineers know heavy construction. We speak the
language, know the heavy equipment, understand contractors'
time and budget constraints, know the construction methods
and materials, and understand site safety.
We apply our valuable construction experience to smooth project
progress from start to finish, with pre-construction constructability
reviews and construction quality assurance and quality control
(QA/QC) programs. We often act as an owner's representative
to monitor construction progress, ensure specification compliance,
and make field design modifications. Our engineers have Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations
and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) health and safety certification
for projects at potential hazardous waste sites.
Environmental Engineering
Environmental projects often require the same engineering
disciplines as other civil works. From groundwater flow, vadose
zone multiphase mass migration, and contaminant transport
to earthmoving, site supervision, and project management,
ICF International's engineers have the experience to design and
implement environmentally sound solutions to challenging client
concerns. We design systems for groundwater contaminant monitoring,
product recovery, hydraulic containment, contaminant extraction,
in situ treatment, ex situ treatment, and enhanced biological
degradation of pollutants. We design impoundments, seepage
barriers, dikes, ponds, and wetlands to protect and restore
fragile habitats. Our combined knowledge of groundwater flow,
chemistry, and advanced treatment technologies produces results
tailored to the individual circumstances of each project.
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SELECTED PROJECTS |
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SELECTED CLIENTS |
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- Ambiente, S.p.A., Italy
- General process engineering contractor, Italy
- Major integrated steel producer, Indiana
- Major international chain of hotels and resorts
- Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.
- Phosphate mining company, Florida
- Unidad Ejecutiva de Servicios Públicos
(UESP), Colombia
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England
Division
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
1
- Zinc smelter operator, Italy
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DETAILS OF SELECTED PROJECTS |
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Litigation Support and Slope
Stabilization for Residential Developer in Puerto
Rico
Our client faced funding a multimillion-dollar
stabilization of a landslide that threatened a
large residential area. Our geotechnical team
reviewed the design of the planned stabilization
project and determined not only that the proposed
solution would not solve the problem, but also
that better results could be obtained by stabilizing
the active landslide with a pumped well drainage
system. We later built redundancy into the drainage
system with additional wells, a backup generator,
and an ongoing Geotechnical Safety Program. The
engineered solution has withstood the test of
time, several hurricanes, and the scrutiny of
engineers and lawyers representing the residents,
the city, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Emergency Engineering Support
for Industrial Plant
Our client faced penalties of $1 million per day
for late completion of a cooling water intake
structure when bubbling sand boils at the base
of an excavation-stalled construction. Our engineers
reviewed the excavation support and dewatering
designs, modified the geotechnical instrumentation
system, performed hydrogeological modeling and
excavation stability analyses, and directed the
emergency response to water intrusion problems
encountered during construction. Our value engineering
analysis, safety and performance assessment, constructability
review, ability to integrate multinational subcontractors,
fast track response, and on-site construction
support by a senior engineer allowed our client
to meet the plant's strict shutdown schedule.
Superfund Remediation Design
in Maine
The Non-Time Critical Removal
Action Design for the former Eastland Woolen Mill
Site in Corinna, Maine, required the remediation
of soil and groundwater contamination from dye
additives discharged into the East Branch Sebasticook
River. The primary chemicals of concern included
dichlorobenzenes and other Dense Non-Aqueous Phase
Liquids (DNAPLs) that settled into the fissured
rock beneath the river. This Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
project included delineation of soil source contamination,
excavation of over 70,000 cubic yards of contaminated
soil with treatment by thermal desorption, and
pilot design and testing of in situ treatment
solutions. Civil works associated with the removal
action included the designs for building demolition
and relocation, highway and bridge demolition,
a relocated highway, new highway and pedestrian
bridges, and a relocated river channel.
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Geotechnical Safety Program
Rescues Endangered Fuel Distribution Facility
in Venezuela
Our engineers manage risk for the Venezuelan national
oil company under a Geotechnical Safety Program.
The program deals with important, complex geotechnical
facilities by engineering a facility for its design
life. In a recent project, a deep landslide rendered
an important fuel distribution center uninsurable
and inoperable. The moving soil mass carried seven
aboveground fuel storage tanks, two water tanks
used for fire fighting, and numerous pipelines
and pumping facilities. Our engineers designed
and helped build remedial measures to control
the landslide, allowing the plant to reopen. The
stabilization avoided construction of a replacement
facility with savings of over $100 million.
Open Pit Mine in Italy Converted
to Secure Waste Repository
The conversion of an Italian open pit mine to
an environmentally secure facility for smelter
waste required confirmation that the design and
construction met technical and regulatory objectives.
Our independent assessment identified design inadequacies
and exposed constructibility issues that required
changes in materials, equipment, and methods.
Specific design modifications addressed slope
stabilization; elimination of a slope erosion
protection system; substitution of a waste product
for sand in a drainage layer; elimination of internal
compacted slope berms; and the development of
an innovative porous concrete for drainage, erosion
control, and final slope preparation. The value
engineering reduced costs, reduced construction
time, increased the environmental integrity of
the facility, and proved valuable in obtaining
the operating permit.
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