A floodplain and a critical species habitat, found in minutes and designed around

The challenge

The environmental services group at a large EPC was siting a workspace near an electric substation. The group was asked to build a permitting matrix for the project and to flag any potential environmental risks.

Both of the constraints that turned out to matter here, a floodplain and a critical species habitat, are the kind that trigger lengthy permit applications. Found early, they are a siting decision. Found late, they are a schedule problem.

What they did

The project manager used Pivvot's data layers and visualization to assess the area:

• The project area checked against floodplain and critical species habitat within minutes of opening the analysis
• The permitting consequence understood before the matrix was written not after it was submitted
• A nearby alternative location identified outside the floodplain and further from the habitat

Within minutes, she was able to see that the project area was in a floodplain and near a critical species habitat, which would require lengthy permit applications.

Pivvot use story, permit matrix and environmental risk

The result

The project manager recommended moving the workspace to the nearby suitable location. That one decision reduced the number of permits required, shortening the project schedule, and removed the environmental impact risk from the project entirely.

The group describes the change in its own work as being more consistent, more accurate, and most importantly more efficient. The permitting matrix stopped being a document assembled after siting, and became an input to it.