Geotechnical – Page 5

10 February, 2016

Subadra Score 96% in HSE Audit

We’re pleased to be able to report that we have recently scored 96% in a Health and Safety Audit conducted by one of our clients, a major oil company. The score recognises the significant investment – of both time and money – we have made to ensure that we aren’t just ‘good enough’ when it comes to the management of health and safety, but that we are the ‘best of the best’.

If you’d like to know more about how we manage health and safety, including our bespoke Prism.NET software solution, then please contact Duncan Eastland – Tel: 01296 739431

5 February, 2016

Earth, Wind and Fire…mostly Fire

It’s never good when your business premises are reduced to ash in a raging inferno. But this was just the scenario faced by one of our clients, when their car showr0om and repair workshop has burnt down overnight.

We were on hand the next day, working closely with both the fire brigade and the demolition crew. We were able to obtain the vital geotechnical data necessary to allow design for the new buildings to progress.
Here you can see our Terrier rig taking soil samples and completing in situ standard penetration tests and dynamic probes to depths of up to 15m.

Now the flames have died out, the demolition has been completed and the new structure has been designed. Our client is well on the way to be back in business.

18 January, 201618 January, 2016

Somewhere Under The Rainbow….

……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.

25 November, 201513 July, 2018

Could Death be Fatal?

We are used to dealing with potential contaminants from a wide range of industrial sources. Our specialist risk assessment department employs a number of modelling techniques to determine what potential long-term risks could be posed to human health or environmental receptors. But in a slight change to the norm, we’ve recently completed a risk assessment to determine the potential risks posed by a lack of human health!

We were commissioned to assess the suitability of a plot of land for a potential future cemetery. A combination of desk-based research, borehole investigations using our Terrier drill rig and fascinating (!) mass flux/fate transport calculations were used to complete the assessment following Environment Agency guidance.

If you’d like to commission a quantitative risk assessment – either for the living or the dead – then we’d be delighted to assist you. Please contact our risk assessment team for more information.

8 October, 201513 July, 2018

Centre Point, London – Pile Probing Plus

The prestigious Centre Point Building, located at the end of Oxford Street in London, is currently undergoing major refurbishment as its converted from offices to luxury apartments. The work requires additional pile foundations to be installed, both around the building and in the existing basement car parks. The only problem was that no-one could be really certain what else might be in the ground beneath the site.

We were called in to carry out pile probing for the 100+ piles to be installed. Careful planning ensured that we were able to work around the numerous HV cables, tube and Crossrail tunnels beneath the site, identifying obstructions in a number of locations. On such a congested site it was not possible to simply reconfigure the foundations and relocate the piles.

Instead we returned to site and using a DTH hammer, we were able to break up the obstructions in situ, without disturbing the surrounding structures. All part of our Pile Probing Plus service.

For more information please contact Duncan Eastland – 01296 739431

7 October, 20157 October, 2015

A Week in the Life…..

No-one can say that our workload isn’t varied. Last week one of our drilling crews completed the following schedule:
Monday – Geotechnical investigation including U100 sampling and SPT testing with our Terrier drill rig;
Tuesday – Water well installation using rotary rock roller with our Commachio 205;
Wednesday – Environmental investigation at a filling station using hollow stem augering, again with our Comacchio 205, while a new canopy was being installed;
Thursday and Friday – Deep water well installation using down the hole hammer to penetrate into a limestone aquifer.
We love a bit of variety in life and this week has proved it so. Time for a rest…….next week looks busy………

9 July, 20159 July, 2015

Coal vaults – FAQs

We get asked a lot of questions about coal vaults: who actually owns them, who is responsible for them and how practical they are to convert into habitable space. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has published this leaflet which gives a useful insight into how they are dealt with by local authorities. If you are thinking of converting your coal vault and would like further information, please contact Duncan Eastland (Tel. 01296 739431).

12 May, 2015

Greek Myth?

Actually, there is nothing mythical about Subadra being commissioned to install shallow monitoring wells at the Daedalus Airfield Development! We constructed several shallow wells over the course of two days using our Hollow Stem Auger drilling system.

Lee-on-Solent is known for its sand and a dense gravels which are more or less guaranteed to make drilling difficult. So to avoid this we used our powerful Comacchio drilling rig which ensure we reached the target depth at all the drilling locations with minimal disruption to the site. We then installed 50mm diameter wells to allow future groundwater sampling. All our materials were sourced locally to enable us to take the minimum of equipment and vehicles thus reducing our carbon footprint for the works.

We even had time to the collect soil samples for the Principal Contractor and get them
analysed for WAC by our in house lab facility. As a result of our prompt and efficient service the client retained us to carry out a more detailed geotechnical investigation at the site. No myth there then!

13 April, 2015

Everybody Breathe In

Terrier - Restricted Access — Terrier – Restricted Access

The combination of restricted head room and a ‘confined space’ presents major obstacles to any site investigation. However, our Terrier rig was able to gain access and complete a geo-environmental investigation in such a space. Its quite amazing where this little rig can get.
Access was through a standard doorway working with an overhead ceiling clearance of
less than 30mm with the machine set up. Precision operation was required to ensure we completed five boreholes, each to 6 metres in depth, with SPTs every metre, all in a safe and efficient manner.
The nature of the confined space meant that exhaust gases from the Terrier’s engine had to be vented to an outside area. We used an extendable sectional exhaust pipe to ensure a safe working environment. But just in case we also carried out carbon monoxide monitoring to ensure our crew’s safety.
Even better, our work was completed without the need to close the car repair workshop we were working in. allowing our client to continue panel bashing, filling and spraying to his hearts content.

26 January, 2015

Free Water Supply?

We’ve recently completed construction of a water well to supply a popular car wash facility in the Swindon area.

Working closely with the main contractor, our careful pre-planning enabled us to install a 40m deep water well in challenging geological conditions, requiring 25m of retrievable casing to be used, all without affecting the site’s redevelopment programme.

On-going site contamination issues dictated that the borehole construction had to be professionally approved and tested before use. But the results of the post-development pump testing confirmed the well would supply a clean water yield in excess of the client’s requirements.

The savings in water supply costs for our client equates to a significant increase in their future profits. What difference would a free supply of 20,000 litres of water a day make to your business?

Contact: Angus Gale Tel: 01296 739471