Subadra Awarded Multi-site Remediation Portfolio

We have been awarded a major remediation portfolio by one of the UK’s biggest fuel retailers. The multi-site portfolio will see us working at a sites across the UK using a wide variety of both in situ and ex situ remediation techniques. We understand that a key reason for us winning this work was our ability to provide cost-effective turnkey solutions, integrating site investigation, laboratory testing, fate-transport modelling and remediation design and implimentation using solely in house resources.

Lab Flies Through UKAS Audit

Last week saw the arrival of two UKAS auditors to carry out their annual inspection of our laboratory. Most years this is a ‘surveillance’ visit completed in a day but every four years UKAS carry out a root and branch review of everything that we do. This year was one of those years.But after comprehensively checking, witnessing and reviewing everything our lab does, UKAS confirmed our accreditation to ISO17025 and MCerts standards. This means that our can continue to offer the fastest turnaround for soil and water analysis in the UK, with over 90% of all results provided within 5 working days. For further information contact Kate Clark on 01296 739423.

Subadra Go Bananas

Replacement Pipework

We certainly get to work at a wide variety of different sites, but a call from a major banana distributor was a first even for us. The underground pipework carrying fuel to supply their trucks had failed and required urgent replacement. At short notice we were on site replacing the corroded steel pipework with modern plastic equivalents. We sampled the soil around the failed pipework and our in-house laboratory was able to confirm within 24 hours that no significant ground contamination had occurred. Within 36 hours the fuel supply system was back in commission and the banana trucks had started rolling again.

Pile Probing Record Smashed

Tom joins the 100ft club

Tom Petzing, one of our Geoprobe operators, last week smashed our long-held drilling record completing 218m (yes, that really is two hundred and eighteen metres) of pile probing in a single day. The deepest location was probed to a depth of 32.4m, or 106ft in old money, which means that Tom joins our Managing Director as a member of the elite Geoprobe 100ft club. Well done Tom, the t-shirt is in the post!

Is the Economy Starting to Improve?

Plate Bearing Test for Piling Rig Mat

OK we can’t really claim to be representative of the economy as a whole, but our recent workload suggests that construction activity is at last starting to pick up. In particular, our CBR and Plate Bearing teams have had their busiest month ever: in fact, they’ve been so busy that we have had to invest in more equipment to meet demand. We’re also seeing an upturn in demand for pile probing surveys which suggests that more constuction projects are getting into the ground. If you’d like to discuss your requirements for any of these services then please contact us here.

Black Gold?

Sadly not in this case. But what do you do if you’re digging a hole and it fills with a horrible mixture of black fuel and water? Call Subadra of course! We are able to guide you with all aspects of contaminated ground from waste disposal or how to minimise the impact on your development programme to how to discharge your planning conditions.
The site  in the photo is a filling station that is currently undergoing a full site redevelopment. When the contractor opened up the forecourt to remove the below ground fuel tanks the excavation filled with a heady mix of petrol and diesel that had accumulated over the years around the off-set fill points.
We were on-site within 2hours of being contacted. We collected water and soil samples from the excavation that were run through our in-house hydrocarbon laboratory. The results were issued within 48hours allowing the contractor to efficiently deal with the soil disposal and avoid costly delays to the works programme.

Subadra Appointed to Advise Retail Motor Industry Federation

Subadra have been appointed by the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) to provide specialist environmental advice to their members. The RMI represents the interests of petrol retailers and forecourt operators across the UK. They provide support on matters ranging from contaminated fuel problems to getting a better deal with your fuel supplier.
We join their technical support team in providing practical and sensible advise for all matters associated with fuel leaks, spills and ground contamination issues.
Whether you need guiding through the planning process during a site redevelopment or you suspect you may have had a fuel leak – we can help.
Please contact James Edley(Tel. 01296 739412 or email) for further information.

Subadra win multi-site forecourt investigation package

Subadra have recently been awarded a package of investigation works by one of the major oil companies.  We were selected based upon our continued excellent working relationships with the end client and their project managers , continuing to provide a high quality service and as always being able to offer cost effective site investigation services.

Particular praise was made of the quality of our tender submission, highlighting key areas of excellence and capabilities which enabled the client to quickly and easily conclude that we were the service provider best suited to complete the works.

The works package includes investigating 12 retail filling sites using our GeoProbe direct-push drilling system.  The majority of the chemical analysis will be completed by our UKAS accredited laboratory. The reporting deadlines for the package is six weeks from the point of instruction.  Contact value: ~£55k+

There are always cost savings to be made when multi-site packages are being completed and we like to pass these savings onto the client.  If you have a small network of filling station sites or are a ‘Top-50’  operator and need an environmental survey get in touch to discuss our highly competitive rates.

Subadra Complete New Fuel Storage Facility For Millenium Seedbank

This month saw us complete construction of a new fuel storage facility for Royal Botanic Gardens’ Millenium Seed Bank. A key aspect of the project was to ensure that the Seed bank was continuously supplied with fuel (used for heating greenhouses) as any protracted outage would have had dire consequences for the seeds. In the event the switchover was completed without a hitch.

Subadra were responsible for all the civils works (constructing the tank base and retaining walls, installing a dedicated drainage and spill capture system, electrical installation etc. Our partner, Vectec, were responsible for supplying and installing the tanks and associated pipework.

Contract Value: £50-100k

Foundations for Key City Data Centre

Whilst much of our work in carried out in the provinces we sometimes dabble with high finance in the City.

Subadra played a key role in the development of an £80 million multi-storey data centre facility in London’s docklands area. We were brought in at the inception of the project to carry out a geotechnical and environmental investigation to determine ground conditions.

Our investigation comprised a network of boreholes across the development area that were used to collect soil samples for analysis and groundwater and hazardous gas monitoring points.

The site was especially tricky geotechnically, comprising areas of in-filled docks, some highly contaminated and others containing very soft silts and clays.

We used the data to assist with foundation design and the classification of waste soil.

Contract value: £20-50k