Author Archives: Andy Goodwin

NEW DATE FOR TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING COURSE

We are pleased to announce that we are re-running our technical report writing course on Wednesday 31 May in Chesterfield.  It is ideal for those wishing to develop their reporting skills and / or who are about to start writing their Professional Report for their ICE Professional Review. The course covers a breadth of topics including report styles, writing for impact, planning and sorting content, and structuring reports. In addition several practical sessions on the good use of English to improve clarity and readability will be included.  It will include both pre-course and in-course work for the delegates to practice their learning and receive formative feedback. Please contact us asap if you and / or your colleagues would be interested in joining us for this course.  

TECHNICAL REPORT TIPS

Skilful writing can give you a real business advantage as it allows you to better persuade, influence and communicate often complex ideas to non-specialists.  Knowing how to write a clear and concise report will greatly improve the efficiency of both companies and the individuals they employ. We offer a technical report writing course that is targeted specifically at engineers and based on extensive industry experience at the sharp end.  As a taster, set out below in brief are five key things that you need to consider when writing a technical report. 1.  What is the Purpose of the Report? There are numerous types of report, such as feasibility reports for a Client wanting to make an informed decision and reports on investigations that are required to satisfy statutory bodies. The purpose and level of detail required for each report varies so before you start writing make sure you know the purpose, the information needed and any specific requirements for the report. 2.  Make Sure it is Clear! Any report needs to be structured so that the reader can easily find their way around it.  Not everyone will want to read every word of that long report that took you so long to write, so think first about your audience and their needs. Only then should you set out an easily navigable report structure that presents your findings simply and logically. 3.  Write for Impact What is the aim of the report and what actions / outcomes do you expect? Knowing this will allow you to identify the key messages that you want to emphasise and balance the report to suit.  It will also help you cut out the waffle we can all put in – include only what is needed, not what you find interesting.  Use figures and tables judiciously, and use appendices to present secondary data that does not need to clutter up the main text. 4.  Use Good English A well written report depends on clarity of English, so make sure it is grammatically correct, unambiguous and written in an appropriate tone.  Remember your report needs to be readable too, so write in plain English.  Consider varying the sentence length and phrasing to keep the text fresh.  Avoid jargon and abbreviations where possible. 5.  Check Your Report If you originate a report then take ownership of it and make sure you check it before passing it to others for a formal check.  Allow plenty of time for checking and any amendments that may be needed. We cover a lot more on the course, and applying the lessons taught on it could save you a lot of time and money whilst also improving the perception of yourself and your findings. Our next technical report writing course is running on Wednesday 31 May in Chesterfield.  The course includes both pre-course and in-course work for delegates to practice their learning and receive formative feedback. To book onto the course please call Julie or Andy on 01246 807808, or email us at enquiries@surepathtraining.co.uk.  We look forward to working with you.  

NEW LOGO UNITES TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY!

We have just developed a new logo which incorporates both our training and consultancy arms in a consolidated form.  We hope you like it!       Rest assured that the websites for each part of the business will continue as they are so you can still follow whichever part you are interested in, or both. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you want further information on either.  

DELAY AND DISRUPTION PROTOCOL

Though we all hope to avoid delays and disruptions on our construction projects, when they do occur it is best to have a clear approach set out to help resolve matters.  That is why we thought it would be useful to bring to our visitors attention that a second edition of the delay and disruption protocol has been issued by the Society of Construction Law in February 2017.  It is intended to be used to determine extensions of time and compensation for delay and disruption, and recognises that transparency of information and methodology is central to both dispute prevention and dispute resolution. If you wish to download a copy of the protocol (for free) follow this link to the Society’s web pages.  Graduates pursuing qualification with the ICE may find this useful to peruse too as part of their general preparation for their professional review.

LYME REGIS UPDATE

Following the publication of our joint paper on the stabilisation of a slope at Lyme Regis in 2015 (at the XVI European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Edinburgh), readers may be interested to know that a further paper has just been published in Volume 170 of the Proceedings of the ICE, Civil Engineering.  Entitled “Stabilising Lyme Regis – a strategic approach” and authored by Roger Moore et al, the paper presents a useful perspective on the range of design and management options available to address coastal instability.  It is well worth a read in our view, though we can’t reproduce it here due to copyright.  Check it out on pages 63 to 70 of Issue CE2, dated May 2017.  A copy can be viewed here if you are an ICE subscriber.

COURSES IN MAY 2017

We have numerous courses coming up in May that may be of interest.  They include:
  • Ground risk management for managers on 9 May
  • Essentials of Project Management on 16 May
  • Retaining Wall Design – Principles and Practice on 18 May
  • The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Written Exercise on 25 May
Each course is running in Chesterfield.  Discounts are available for group bookings or delegates attending more than one course. Please call or email us to reserve your place on a course.  

IPD ONLINE UPGRADE LAUNCHED

The long awaited IPD Online upgrade has been launched this month.  It is used to support ICE members on an ICE Training Scheme or following a mentor-supported training programme.  The ICE has information on the upgrade available using this link if you are registered with them. Having used it already, our Dr Andy Goodwin has prepared a brief summary of the key changes that he has come across:
  • The interface is much improved, simpler and easier to navigate than previously.  This is great news as those who used it previously will know it was anything but quick and easy before!
  • Existing trainees have had all their previous information transferred to the new platform so they do not need to do anything other than log in and continue using the system.  Again, great news.
  • As a mentor it is easier to see how up to date your trainees are, and it is easy to download a summary report on trainee progress (including evidence and feedback, annual appraisals and completions).  This will aid offline reading if required, and allow the trainee to keep a hard copy record too.  Care will need to be taken by the SCE / mentor to avoid breaching confidentiality by sharing the e-report though.
  • No longer do trainees need to record attribute evidence under each of the sub-attributes, which greatly speeds up data entry by the trainee and approval by the SCE / mentor.  It will also make it easier for the SCE / mentor to make a judgement overall on the competence level achieved against each attribute group.  No longer will each trainee have to show achievement of all sub-attributes to the same level notionally – they just have to record evidence and show competence ‘in the round’.
  • All evidence previously submitted against the sub-attributes has been carried over automatically and collated under the attribute group.  It is not easy to see under which sub-attribute the previous evidence related though.
  • The competence level for each attribute group is meant to have been automatically set to the lowest level previously signed off for any one of the sub-attributes.  On the whole this has happened but not always.
  • An important exercise for the SCE / mentor to undertake now is deciding whether the assigned competence level for the attribute group as a whole is reasonable.  Unfortunately having made an assessment the SCE / mentor can’t just go in to amend the automatically allocated sign-off level.  Rather they have to wait until their trainee submits some evidence for review, but it will be easy at that stage to upgrade the assigned competency level.
  • There remain 3 competency levels (Knowledge, Experience and Ability), but to aid differentiation between IEng and CEng candidates Ability can be signed off to Ai and Ac respectively.
  • Improved help support is also available.
Overall the new system seems much improved and more efficient, but the proof will come over time as everyone uses it. If you are in need of mentoring, or need a mentor for your staff, then please contact Andy on 01246 807808 or email him at andy.goodwin@surepathtraining.co.uk.  He will happily talk you through what we could do for you to add value to your existing arrangements and processes, without any obligation.  

TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING COURSE DATE ANNOUNCED

We are pleased to announce that we are re-running our technical report writing course on Wednesday 31 May in Chesterfield.  It is ideal for those wishing to develop their reporting skills and / or who are about to start writing their Professional Report for their ICE Professional Review. The course, which has received excellent feedback previously, covers a breadth of topics including report styles, writing for impact, planning and sorting content, and structuring reports. In addition several practical sessions on the good use of English to improve clarity and readability will be included.  It will include both pre-course and in-course work for the delegates to practice their learning and receive formative feedback. Please contact us asap if you and / or your colleagues would be interested in joining us for this course.  

MORE BESPOKE MOCK INTERVIEW COURSES COMMISSIONED

Surepath Training have been commissioned once again by a large multi-national consultancy to run several mock interview courses for graduates pursuing professional qualification in the Autumn review sessions with the ICE.  Each course will run over one day in 3 centres across the UK.  The course involves the candidates submitting their draft Professional Report in advance, based on which the candidates undergo a mock review and then receive individual feedback on their report and their interview. If you have a group of people needing training in this or any other skill area then contact us to discuss how we may be able to design a course to suit your needs and add value to your service provision.

COURSES IN APRIL AND MAY 2017

We have numerous courses coming up in April and May that may be of interest.  They include:
  • CDM 2015 – Two Years On on 25 April
  • Slope Stability – Principles and Practice on 27 April
  • GI design to EC7 on 4 May
  • Ground risk management for managers on 9 May
  • Essentials of Project Management on 16 May
  • Retaining Wall Design – Principles and Practice on 18 May
  • The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Written Exercise on 25 May
Each course is running in Chesterfield.  Discounts are available for group bookings or delegates attending more than one course. Please call or email us to reserve your place on a course.