Category Archives: Standards

COURSES IN OCTOBER 2017

With summer over, and new graduates starting maybe, now is a good time to look at your staff development needs.  We have numerous courses coming up in October, including: Geotechnical Design to Eurocode 7, 3 October 2017 (£295 + VAT)  This course looks at the practical application of EC7 in design using worked examples and discussion sessions.  It provides the equivalent of 1.5 days training in a ‘long day’ format. Essentials of Project Management, 12 October 2017 (£220 + VAT) Especially useful for those looking to sit their ICE review in 2018 and those new to project management, the course examines what constitutes good practice to deliver a successful project. Retaining Wall Design – Principles and Practice, 17 October 2017 (£220 + VAT) The analysis, design and performance of gravity and embedded retaining walls will be explored using worked examples and with reference to current design codes. ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Written Exercise, 19 October 2017 (£220 + VAT) Lead by an experienced ICE reviewer, the course is aimed at those sitting their professional review in 2018. It will explore what makes a good Written Exercise before discussing typical questions. 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. Remember too that all courses can be run bespoke for your company if there are sufficient numbers – just call us to see what we could do for you.  

ADDITIONAL MOCK INTERVIEW COURSES COMMISSIONED

Surepath Training has had their commission from a large multi-national consultancy extended to run an additional mock interview course for their graduates pursuing a professional qualification in the Autumn review sessions with the ICE.  The new course takes the total to four, all of which will run in August 2017.  Each 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. In addition, we have been commissioned to support a new mentee during his preparations for his professional review.  This bespoke support package culminates with a mock interview and individual feedback, again in August. Our Dr Andy Goodwin delivers each of the courses, based on his extensive mentoring experience and his role as a lead reviewer for the ICE.  If you have a group of people needing training in this or any other skill area then contact Andy to discuss how he may be able to design a course / mentoring programme to suit your needs and add value to your service provision.

COURSES IN JULY & AUGUST 2017

The summer holiday season is almost us but there is still time to invest in yourself or your staff with some high quality training.  We have numerous courses coming up in July and August that may be of interest, many of which are designed to be especially useful for those preparing to sit their ICE Professional Review in the Autumn session.  The courses include:
  • Ground Investigation Design to EC7 – The Essentials, half day course on 4 July (£125/delegate)
  • Introduction to Health and Safety Law, day course on 11 July (£220/delegate)
  • Mentoring for Civil Engineers on Engineering Geology, ‘long day’ course (equivalent to 1.5 days training) on 13 July (£295/delegate)
  • The ICE Professional Review – Overview & Preparation, 25 July (£220/delegate)
  • The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Interview, 8 August (£295/delegate; strict maximum of 4 delegates)
  • Managing and Leading Teams, on 17 August (£220/delegate)
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. Remember too that all courses can be run bespoke for your company if there are sufficient numbers – just call us to see what we could do for you.  

CPD IDEAS…..

Over the last month or so our Dr Andy Goodwin has been posting ideas for CPD on LinkedIn.  The suggestions largely come from his experience as a lead reviewer with the ICE and are targeted in particular at graduates.  However, everyone benefits from CPD so don’t be put off the ideas if you are not a graduate. Ideas suggested so far include:
  • The Brundtland report, “Our Common Future”:  this includes the oft-quoted definition of sustainable development “meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow” (see page 16 para 27 of the pdf for the full definition “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”).  Graduates pursuing professional qualification with the ICE should know this, and ought to read the report (or at least look over its 300 pages to get a sense of what it is all about).
  • Research and assessment of the issues that can arise when using pyrite-rich fills below buildings and in earthworks. Two references are provided as starters in this field. The first link takes you to a pdf copy of an expert report on issues found affecting buildings in Ireland – it is 200 pages long so if pushed for time just read the Executive Summary! The second is a paper from 2011 on the implications of the phenomenon for earthworks that explains the science aspects as well as being practical.
  • The subject of ethics and ethical behaviour regularly comes up both at ICE professional reviews and when Andy is mentoring graduates. It is an important topic that merits thought and deserves a perspective from outside the ICE, nut just from within.  It is suggested that it is worth looking at the Royal Academy of Engineering work on this topic.
Happy reading! By the way, if you want to LinkIn with Andy yourself and catch up with his new posts as they are issued then feel free to invite him to join your network!

HOWARD MEDAL WINNER

We are very pleased and honoured to announce that a paper jointly published in 2016 by our Dr Andy Goodwin with Simon Ellis (Mott Macdonald), Liz Laycock (Sheffield Hallam University) and Chris Hurst (Mott MacDonald) has just been awarded the Howard Medal by ICE Publishing.  The paper, entitled “Use of crushed brick in reinforced earth railway structures”, was published in ICE’s Construction Materials Journal.  Targeted at improving the sustainability of the development, the work reported is based on a short practically-focused research project undertaken in association with Sheffield Hallam University with a clear focus on assessing the suitability of crushed bricks to be sourced from a viaduct for re-use as engineered fill.  It shows the benefits that can be gained from integrating focused research into a large project.   More details of the project can be seen in the paper, which can be downloaded for free from http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/coma.15.00014.  All of the authors are looking forward to attending the Awards Ceremony in October 2017 and to receiving their medals! 

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS SHORTAGE – MORE TRAINING NEEDED

We would say more training is needed wouldn’t we?  Well we have turned business away and advised people that a particular course is not the best option for them, as we believe in providing good advice and support.  However we wanted to draw your attention to an article today (12 May 2017) in Development Finance Today that reports a growing issue in the construction industry.  The article can be found in full here, with key excerpts reproduced below: “The increases in workload are contrasted with a skills shortage, as 53% of respondents stated that a shortage of skilled labour is a key impediment to growth, up from 50% in the previous quarter….  ….Improved education pathways and training could be the most effective policy response to alleviate labour supply pressures, with 59% agreeing with this idea, while 31% of contributors felt direct government subsidisation of training would be the most effective solution.” We hope this provides you with some food for thought.  If you wish to discuss how we could help you address your skill development needs then just call Andy Goodwin on 01246 807808 on a free no-obligation basis.  Options available include a SWOT analysis of the skills you already have, provision of appropriate training, and / or mentoring and coaching support to staff to help them develop more effectively.  We look forward to hearing from you.

CPD IDEA – BRUNDTLAND REPORT

We thought it worthwhile re-posting  an update made to LinkedIn by our Andy Goodwin on 12 May 2017, as those not on LinkedIn may miss it: “At the risk of making this a regular Friday afternoon post, I have another idea for some CPD over the weekend that is aimed particularly at graduates.  As an ICE Reviewer I regularly hear graduates trot out the Brundtland definition of sustainable development when discussing Attribute 7, but few seem to have ever read the original report.  If you haven’t then you ought to at least look over its 300 pages to get a sense of what it is all about.  It is freely downloadable at http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf.  It is not an easy read but it is worthwhile and you should at least find out where the Brundtland definition of sustainable development is set out. ” Happy reading!

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.