Last week we undertook window sampling and installed monitoring wells at one of the largest recycling processing depots in the UK. Have you ever wondered what happens to your recycling after it gets taken away? Well it will likely end up at a processing centre similar to this one, where the waste is separated, segregated and prepared for recycling.
It was eye opening to see the scale of the operation. Usually when we drill, our rig is one of the bigger vehicles on site, but this time our van mounted Geoprobe was dwarfed by some of the other machines on site.
Heathrow Third Runway
OK so we can’t say whether this will (or should) get the final go ahead from government. But what we can say with absolute confidence is that we have more experience of working airside at Heathrow than any other geo-environmental consultant.
We are the only consultant with permanent airside passes, both for our staff and our vehicles. We are also well versed in navigating our way through the airport’s complicated permiting system.
Just last week one of our investigation teams worked through the night to install several deep monitoring wells adjacent to one of the existing runways. The third runway will need thousands of similar geotechnical borehole drilling in the next few years. We believe that having an airside presence and an in depth knowledge of the geology gives us a head start when it comes to providing this service.
For more information please contact James Skinner – 01296 739411
Cathodic Protection
Drilling large diameter boreholes at a brownfield site to install anodes for a cathodic protection system requires a rather eclectic combination of skills.
Working in a tight space, to a detailed specification, we achieved an anode installation through a complex sequence of geological strata. Clean drilling techniques required us to install an environmental seal through surficial gravels and 30m into underlying clay. We then extended the boreholes through 20m of Thanet sands and 10m of flinty chalk. To complete the anode installation we then tremmied sacrificial coke contact media into the borehole’s response zone with the remainder of the boreholes being grouted back to the surface with bentonite.
Our team consisted of drillers, environmental engineers, mud technicians and cathodic protection engineers, all working together on a busy site to ensure the client got the installation required whilst working within the Environment Agency guidelines. The anodes will now ensure the pipelines are protected for the next 100 years.
If you’d like to know more or if you have an installation requiring cathodic protection be installed then please contact Angus Gale – 01296739433
Tight Fit?
When it comes to sites that have narrow or restricted access, we reckon that there is no better drill rig than our Terrier. It may be the baby of our drilling fleet, but don’t let its diminutive size fool you.
In the past year it has worked in basements, narrow side passages between houses, amid demolition debris and in a host of other conditions that would have precluded larger rigs being used.
If you add in the fact that it can work on inclines as steep as 30 degrees I think you’ll agree that our Terrier is a little gem.
This week we’ve been using the Terrier to carry out post-demolition verification sampling. We’ve been able to pick our way through the demolition rubble, getting access to the entire site to drill a pattern of boreholes to 5m depth.
For further information, or to discuss your drilling requirements, please contact Angus Gale – 01296 739433
Northern Powerhouse?
We like to feel that we’re contributing to the Northern Powerhouse and this week saw us working in Manchester on a project to construct student accomodation in the city centre. Our role was to clear locations of buried obstructions prior to piling commencing.
We successfully cleared 30 locations to 8m depth in a single day – a total of over 250m linear metres of pile probing. With the piling rig arriving the following day, the result was a happy client.
The fact Manchester was enjoying its warmest day of the year so far was a pure coincidence, though it was a welcome surprise not to get wet*!
For more information or to get a quote for pile probing at your site, please contact Steven Partridge – 01296 739413
[* The editor used to live in Manchester]
What TLC Can Achieve
Our Terrier drill rig, Tinky, recently celebrated its sixteenth birthday. In that time it has had 2 new head gaskets, 15 calibrations, 22 oil changes and services, 2 new tyres, 2 new tracks, 1 rebuilt mast frame, 1 new radiator , 1 new weight guard and a new fan. We know that good maintenance is the key to keeping any machine working and we like to think we’ve done our Terrier proud. It has certainly paid us back.
It may be sixteen years old but last week it still managed to dynamically sample 25m of weathered sandstone to 5m depth with SPT tests every metre plus completing an additional four dynamic probes to competent bedrock at 9.5m and installing four gas monitoring wells to 1.5m. All this in two days including a round trip mobilidsation of over 300 miles. Hats off to Tinky.
We are looking for dynamic sampling operatives. If you think you fit the bill then give Angus Gale a call on 01296 739400 or email your CV to Angus Gale.
We Want You…..
We have an opportunity for a full time operator for our window sampling/dynamic rigs. We offer training/mentoring to help you achieve NVQ in Land Drilling and we are looking for someone who will eventually progress to lead driller on our more complex drill rigs.
You should have experience in a range of plant operation, maintenance, have a positive attitude and good work ethic.
Ideally, you will also have C1+E or minimum BE endorsements to your driving licence. However, we offer training for these for the right applicant.
Please apply in the first instance by sending your CV to Angus Gale.
Subadra Partner with River Thame Conservation Trust
River Thame Conservation Trust and Freshwater Habitats Trust, along with their partners Waddesdon Estate and the Environment Agency, are creating an exciting wetland mosaic on the floodplain of the River Thame, close to our offices in Stoke Mandeville.
They contacted us to ask for our help drilling boreholes and installing groundwater monitoring wells to investigate the underlying geology and hydrogeology of the site. After hearing about the positive impact that the project will have on the local wildlife, we offered to provide a drill crew for the day free of charge.
We know that worthwhile projects like these rely on the goodwill of local people and organisations to make them happen and we’re really happy to have been able to play our part. Despite the hailstones and mud (really, lots and lots of mud – they don’t call them wetlands for nothing) everyone had a worthwhile and fun day.
We look forward to visiting the new wetland when it’s been completed ….but perhaps we will wait until the weather has improved.
Water water everywhere….
Something is stirring deep in the Cotswolds….
It may not be quite as lucrative as hitting black gold, but it’s still mighty satisfying to ‘strike’ water as we successfully carry out another water well installation for a private client.
Our Comacchio rig drilled through nearly 40m of clay and limestone in around 4 hours before reaching a productive aquifer. Once we’ve finished installing the well casing and pump, the high quality water it produces will be used to supply an ‘eco-house’ being constructed on the site.
If you are interested in having your own water well installed then please contact Duncan Eastland – 01296 739431 – for more information.
Why You Should Be Using A Qualified Driller
Drilling has tradionally been pretty poorly regulated. Light cable percussion rigs (more commonly known as shell and auger rigs) still dominate the UK drilling market. They are crude, simple to operate and provide low quality samples but they live on because they are relatively cheap.
One reason they are cheap is that their operators are unqualified. Drilling has been seen as a job not a career. But lack of proper training has led to a woeful safety record; it is rare to see a 40-something shell and auger driller who still has all his fingers intact.
The British Drilling Association (BDA) has been working hard for some time now to encourage clients and consultants to require drillers working for them to hold a professional qualification – in this case an NVQ in Land Drilling. All our drillers hold this qualification. Our latest trainee, Alex, completed his NVQ this week.
If you’d like to know that your drilling requirement is going to be fulfilled safely and professionally then we’d be love to talk to you. Please contact Angus Gale (Tel: 07748 358304) for more information.