Fairview Cove
Envision Services
Halifax Port Authority
Streamlining sustainable
supply chains
Congestion of the downtown core of Halifax has been a long-standing grievance of the community. The current location of the Marine Container Examination Facility (MCEF) requires trucks to travel through the downtown core of Halifax and cross the A. Murray MacKay Bridge (MacKay Bridge) to be processed, and then return across the Mackay Bridge to the FCCT rail connection.
Fairview Cove site (highlighted in grey and green to the left of the purple and yellow infill land), Credit: Halifax Port Authority
luuceo has the ability to not only complete the required task but they do so in a unique way by involving their clients in the experience, which adds unexpected value to the deliverable.

Fairview Cove diagram, Credit: Halifax Port Authority
What is the Envision™ framework?
The Fairview Cove Marine Container Examination Facility (MCEF) project (the Project) was developed to improve the efficiency, safety, security, and operations of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) required container examinations by building a new MCEF within the Port of Halifax next to the Fairview Cove Container Terminal (FCCT). The new MCEF will optimize rapid and reliable container inspections and helps to achieve the Port’s net-zero emission goals.
The project eliminates container truck movements between the terminals (FCCT and South End Container Terminal) and the existing MCEF, located in the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, thus alleviating congestion. The Project will improve turn-around times, reduce truck traffic in the down-town core, generate additional employment opportunities for the local community, enhance security, extends the life of the MacKay Bridge, reduce Port congestion, and reduce GHG emissions.
The project sought to use the Envision framework to deliver the project, following the recommendations from a best practices review and Envision gap analysis of HPA projects. luuceo joined the project to lead the Envision scope. An initial baseline assessment was developed for the project, which included strategies for improved sustainability performance. During early design, luuceo met with the design team to discuss potential strategies that could be adopted by the project. As the project’s design progressed, we tracked and managed the project’s performance through documentation collection and validation.
Sustainable design features of the Project include the use of rainwater harvesting and the installation of a photo-voltaic system to produce renewable energy on site. The Project also enhanced the resilience of the Project by completing a climate change vulnerability assessment and incorporating design decisions to address these vulnerabilities. The building has also been designed with low flow and energy efficient fixtures.
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