Category Archives: GI

ANOTHER SLOPE STABILITY ASSESSMENT

We have been working in recent months on a sub-consultancy basis to support a housing developer resolve a slope stability issue on a confidential site.  The geological conditions at the site indicated periglacial landslips may be present, with consequential slope stability and retaining wall stability issues.  Working closely with the developer and structural engineer, we have undertaken investigations of the site and are presently resolving whether the current design needs to be amended at all.

Though a small commission, the project is a good illustration of the benefits of taking a multi-disciplinary approach to solving a problem.  If you need any support on your earthworks projects then feel free to call our Dr Andy Goodwin to discuss how we could assist and add value.

 

CPD IDEAS…..

Over the last month or so our Dr Andy Goodwin has been posting ideas for CPD on LinkedIn.  The suggestions largely come from his experience as a lead reviewer with the ICE and are targeted in particular at graduates.  However, everyone benefits from CPD so don’t be put off the ideas if you are not a graduate.

Ideas suggested so far include:

  • The Brundtland report, “Our Common Future”:  this includes the oft-quoted definition of sustainable development “meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow” (see page 16 para 27 of the pdf for the full definition “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”).  Graduates pursuing professional qualification with the ICE should know this, and ought to read the report (or at least look over its 300 pages to get a sense of what it is all about).
  • Research and assessment of the issues that can arise when using pyrite-rich fills below buildings and in earthworks. Two references are provided as starters in this field. The first link takes you to a pdf copy of an expert report on issues found affecting buildings in Ireland – it is 200 pages long so if pushed for time just read the Executive Summary! The second is a paper from 2011 on the implications of the phenomenon for earthworks that explains the science aspects as well as being practical.
  • The subject of ethics and ethical behaviour regularly comes up both at ICE professional reviews and when Andy is mentoring graduates. It is an important topic that merits thought and deserves a perspective from outside the ICE, nut just from within.  It is suggested that it is worth looking at the Royal Academy of Engineering work on this topic.

Happy reading!

By the way, if you want to LinkIn with Andy yourself and catch up with his new posts as they are issued then feel free to invite him to join your network!

HOWARD MEDAL WINNER

We are very pleased and honoured to announce that a paper jointly published in 2016 by our Dr Andy Goodwin with Simon Ellis (Mott Macdonald), Liz Laycock (Sheffield Hallam University) and Chris Hurst (Mott MacDonald) has just been awarded the Howard Medal by ICE Publishing.  The paper, entitled “Use of crushed brick in reinforced earth railway structures”, was published in ICE’s Construction Materials Journal.  Targeted at improving the sustainability of the development, the work reported is based on a short practically-focused research project undertaken in association with Sheffield Hallam University with a clear focus on assessing the suitability of crushed bricks to be sourced from a viaduct for re-use as engineered fill.  It shows the benefits that can be gained from integrating focused research into a large project.  

More details of the project can be seen in the paper, which can be downloaded for free from http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/coma.15.00014.  All of the authors are looking forward to attending the Awards Ceremony in October 2017 and to receiving their medals! 

NEW LOGO UNITES TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY!

We have just developed a new logo which incorporates both our training and consultancy arms in a consolidated form.  We hope you like it!

Rest assured that the websites for each part of the business will continue as they are so you can still follow whichever part you are interested in, or both.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want further information on either.

UNDERSTANDING A COAL MINING INVESTIGATION

In case you missed it, Tim King of The Coal Authority posted on LinkedIn a really useful article on understanding a coal mining investigation.  It includes information on workings, collapsing ground and effects on rock structure, and shows how important it is to interpret your GI data with care.   It is useful reading for anyone working in coal mining areas.  For more information, follow this link.