In September 2015 we had a technical paper published at the XVI European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Edinburgh. The paper is based on work undertaken in support of URS (now AECOM) in the design of a coastal protection scheme. Titled “The design of an anchored pile retaining structure to control landslide regression at Lyme Regis, UK”, the authors are Corrado Candian (formerly URS, now COWI), our Andy Goodwin, and Dimitri Daskalopoulos (URS). We are very pleased to have worked with our partners on this paper and look forward to working with them further.
Surepath Training have for many years been providing mock interview training courses across the UK for a major international consultancy. Typically three or four courses per year are run, for three or four delegates each time.
Delivered by our Dr Andy Goodwin, who is a very experienced ICE reviewer, the aim of each course is to re-cap the review process and provide candidates with tips for success, before each candidate undergoes a full length mock interview based on their draft professional review submission. Individual feedback is provided to each candidate on their submission and performance at interview, to maximise their chances of success at review.
Though necessarily challenging the courses are always well received by the candidates and the course contributes to the high success rate of candidates sitting their reviews. If you would like to develop a similar course for your company please contact Andy and he will be pleased to discuss how we could help. Alternatively if you have only a small number or occasional candidates we do run our own open course bi-annually – just contact us for more details.
Our Dr Andy Goodwin was invited back for the third year running to deliver a short course on engineering geology to third year students in Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Over three weeks he helped the students understand the relevance of engineering geology to civil engineering through the use of case studies and anecdotes from his thirty years of experience. On the way he taught them too core aspects of geology including rock types and their characterisation, geological structures, and geological mapping and sectioning. The students all seemed to enjoy the course even though they had to do an on-line test afterwards to summatively assess their learning!
Following up on our CDM 2015 briefing sessions earlier in 2015, we recently ran a morning training session for over 40 staff for a major international consultancy in London. Delegates attended the course either in person or joined the course from regional offices via an internet delivery method.
The aim of the course was to provide clear information and guidance on the changes to the Regulations and the actions that will be required from Clients, Designers and Contractors to meet them. Due to the bespoke version of the course, specific reference was made to
geotechnical and geo-environmental works to suit the needs of the Client. It was very well received and as with all our courses it was backed up by a clear set of notes for future reference.
Following the success of this course and its remote delivery, we would be very pleased to work with you or your company to deliver a similar course or any other bespoke training you need to address your business needs. If interested please contact our Andy Goodwin to discuss how we may be able to bespoke a cost-effective course to meet your needs.
We are running a bespoke course on geotechnics for a site investigation company in the UK. The aim was to broaden the existing skills profile of their staff in the design of shallow foundations, piled foundations, retaining walls, and slope stability. We worked with them to design a course that met their specific needs and could be delivered in half day sessions over several months to allow the skills to be developed progressively.
We would be delighted to work with you or your company to deliver a similar course or any other bespoke training you need to address your business needs. We are skilled at helping you identify the core areas to be developed, and at designing a course that addresses those areas through a combination of taught material and worked exercises. If interested please contact our Andy Goodwin to discuss how we may be able to bespoke a cost-effective course to meet your needs.
We are currently running a bespoke course on foundation engineering for The Coal Authority over two days. We worked with them to design a course that met their specific needs, was tailored for a small group, and which provided excellent value. It includes too information on the new British Standards for retaining walls and foundations. The course has received excellent feedback and it is now being developed further into a new course to be delivered from 2016 onwards.
If you have even a small group of people needing training then contact us to discuss how we may be able to bespoke a course to suit your needs whilst making it cost-effective too.
Important updates to British Standards commonly used by geotechnical and structural engineers have been published:
BS 8002: 2015 Code of practice for earth retaining structures. This revised and updated standard conforms to the latest EN and EN ISO standards and provides recommendations for the design, construction, monitoring, and maintenance of earth retaining structures. It provides additional information to the recommendations in EC7 for surcharges, unplanned excavations and prop loads, and provides detailed recommendations for the content of Geotechnical Feedback Reports in accordance with EC7.
BS 8004: Code of practice for foundations. Providing recommendations for the design of both shallow and deep foundations to meet the latest EN and EN ISO standards, the new standard provides additional information to EC7 recommendations for spread foundations, provides recommendations for the design of piles that reflect modern practice, and and provides detailed recommendations for the content of Geotechnical Feedback Reports.
All related courses offered in 2016 will make reference to the new standards and provide guidance on their use in practice. Please contact us for the details of the revised course details.
Those pursuing professional qualification with the ICE, whether on a formal training scheme or not, may not be aware that the ICE has over recent months been updating its suite of guidance documents. The main documents we feel may be of use are listed below, all of which are available to download for free if you are a membe:
We appreciate that if you are not on a training scheme with a Supervising Civil Engineer then you may not be familiar with the routes and may need some support. If you have any such mentoring support needs or feel a course wold assist you then feel free to contact our Andy Goodwin on 01246 807808 for some free initial guidance . Alternatively you can contact us via the contact page on the web site.
For those interested in geotechnics we thought you may wish to know (if you weren’t aware already) that a suite of updates to the current British Standards have been published:
BS EN ISO 10319: 2015 Geosynthetics. Wide-width tensile test.
BS EN 14199: 2015 Execution of special geotechnical works. Micropiles.
BS EN ISO 18674-1:2015 Geotechnical investigation and testing. Geotechnical monitoring by field instrumentation. General rules.
PD CEN/TS 16660:2015 Characterisation of waste. Leaching behaviour test. Determination of the reducing character and the reducing capacity.
Readers are referred to the BSI for further details about the standards.
We recently ran a bespoke version of our ever-popular ‘Mentoring on Geotechnics for Engineering Geologists’ course for a major consultancy in one of their regional offices. What was different about that course? By working with them we found a way to deliver it cost-effectively for us both even though they only had two staff needing training. Quality was not compromised, and as ever feedback from the course was excellent.
If you have just two or three people needing training then contact us to discuss how we may be able to bespoke a course to suit your needs whilst making it cost-effective too.
