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Plate Bearing Testing

To meet the needs of the increasing demand for offsite construction for modular structures, highlighted by the government’s awarding of £3bn modular schools framework, we have invested in another set of fully accredited plate bearing testing equipment for assessing the suitability of temporary foundations or siting crane outriggers.
 
Of course, for those larger projects, we can offer full geo-environmental investigations, topographic surveys, utility surveys, laboratory testing, infiltration testing and CBR testing, all using our own equipment.

For more information, please contact Steven Partridge – 01296 739413

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Under Pressure

We do a lot of plate bearing and CBR tests every year. We can generally complete up to ten in a day, depending on ground conditions; softer ground takes longer to test. Our test kit is fully calibrated and we can provide you with results on the day of testing. If you’d like to know more then please contact Steven Partridge – 01296 739413.

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Back to School

We were recently appointed to complete Geo-Environmental Investigations at two new school sites, to be constructed using the latest modular construction methods.

Our investigation involved 100m of linear drilling, environmental and geotechnical laboratory testing, over 50m of dynamic probing, soakaway testing, trial pits, CBR tests, Plate Bearing Tests, Topographic surveys, CCTV surveys and utility surveys. All the site works were completed within 3 days and reports issued within 2 weeks.
Surely that gets an A*!

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Accuracy v Precision

We live in an age dominated by IT and its ability to crunch data. Without doubt this can yield significant benefits, but do we sometimes lose sight of reality as a result?

We were recently asked by a regulator to supply CBR results to two decimal places. Now, we can calculate data to any number of decimal places using the IT tools available to us, but just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Anyone familaiar with CBR testing will know that the test just isn’t that accurate. Quoting a CBR result to the nearest 0.1% might (just) be realistic for soft/loose materials. But quoting a result to the nearest 0.01% implies an accuracy that just isn’t warranted. The precision of the answer isn’t justified by the accuracy of the test.

So this is a plea for regulators (and anyone else for that matter) to apply a little common sense, and to remember the difference between accuracy and precision.

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Rapid ‘CBR’ Testing

Clegg Impact Hammer

Let’s face it, sometimes you just need CBR results fast. Really fast. Maybe you need to identify any soft spots in a piling mat or in a road sub-base before the compaction plant leaves site. Or – be honest – maybe you just forgot to get the required testing done in time. Either way, we have a solution for you. We can test your sub-base using our Clegg Impact Hammer, typically completing 80+ tests in a day with results available immediately. Although the CBR value measurements aren’t as accurate as those obtained from a conventional test, we reckon they are acceptable for about 90% of the enquiries we receive.

For further information please contact Steven Partridge – 01296 739413

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Chilling Out at Heathrow

Terminal Four at Night

Working ‘airside’ at Heathrow Airport is always a challenge, but when our client contacted us requesting plate bearing testing of the ground prior to them lifting a new chiller refrigeration unit using a mobile crane at Terminal Four we were happy to help.

The only kind of chilling our engineer enjoyed was the cool breeze while he worked through the night to ensure our testing was completed safely, on time and on budget, allowing the aircraft stand to open in time for the first plane arrival.

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Somewhere Under The Rainbow….

Dynamic Sampling Rig
Dynamic Sampling in the Rain

……is our mini dynamic sampling rig! In fact, its photographed here having its oil checked during a day’s work at a site on the south coast.

The geotechnical survey, which comprised standard penetrations tests (SPTs), dynamic probing, CBR tests and plate bearing tests, was designed to allow the design of foundations for a leading supermarket chain’s new store.

The site had a history of industrial development so, not surprisingly, it was littered with large, buried concrete obstructions from previous structures (foundations, beams and piles). We will soon be returning to complete pile probing at each of the new pile locations to enable the augers of the piling machines to keep turning thus avoiding expensive standing time.

Hopefully it will have stopped raining by then…..and no, sadly, we didn’t find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

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Plate Bearing Tests for Wind Turbines

Concrete Base for Turbine Tower

SSE Renewables, in partnership with the Port of Tilbury, is installing four wind turbines at Tilbury Port in Essex.  The project is currently under construction. Once complete, their wind power will provide 50% of the Port’s energy needs. But late on Wednesday the project ran into problems. No plate bearing tests had been carried out to assess the stability of the outriggers of the giant crane that would lift the turbine nacelle and blades into place. We were contacted at 1pm the following day and were on site within 2 hours. We completed plate bearing tests at each crane location and by the time we left site at 8.30pm the first crane was moving into position, the project back on track.

For more information or to arrange plate bearing testing, please contact Duncan Eastland Tel. 01296 739431

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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.

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CBR Testing for Highways

Our geotechnical site  teams have been kept busy this month carrying out in situ CBR testing for a major road development project in Essex. We have tested the density of the sub-base along the length of the highway extension, with each test accurately located using our Leica TotalStation surveying equipment.

Contract Value: <£10k.

For further information go to : CBR Testing or contact Duncan Eastland – 01296 739431