LATE OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2018 COURSES

We have a selection of upcoming courses in late October and November, including: All these courses are 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.  

NEWS SNIPPETS

As regular readers know, we have a section on CPD in most of our newsletters, with links to follow-up information.  As a new idea, we are going to start to capture also some broad news items that affect the industry and ourselves.  We found the following news snippets and links useful and we hope you agree. British Standards and Brexit  – This is a common topic on our courses so the recent statement from BSI that they will continue as a member of ISO, IEC, CEN and CENELEC is likely to be of interest to many.  They went on to state “UK stakeholders have overwhelmingly expressed their support for the UK to remain committed to the adoption of international and European standards as the national standard, used as today.”  More information on what this means can be found by using this link, and their February 2018 standards position statement can be read here. Planning Update – The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has recently been updated and on 1 October 2018 new Regulations will come into force regarding pre-commencement conditions.  A Quick Guide on the changes has been prepared by Lithos Consulting, who we thank for their permission to circulate their guide. BIM Update – The first two international standards relating to the organization of information about construction works are to published in late 2018.  They are BS EN ISO 19650–1 (concepts and principles) and BS EN ISO 19650-2 (information management in delivery).  These standards will supersede BS 1192 (principles) and PAS 1192 part 2 (capital/delivery phase) respectively. An update that should help answer some of the questions on the UK transition can be found here. Health Safety and Welfare – Though industry magazines regularly carry HSW news, we find it useful to keep an eye too on the latest HSE press releases.  There were numerous construction related posts just in July and August, which highlight that we as an industry need to keep emphasising and focusing on HSW throughout a project. If you want to register to receive our newsletter, just follow this link and enter a few details.  Rest assured we will protect your privacy.

PREPARING FOR PROFESSIONAL REVIEW IN SPRING 2019

Our programme of courses that were designed to help candidates prepare for their professional review in the Autumn 2018 session are now complete.  Now the focus moves on to supporting prospective candidates for the Spring 2019 session.  This includes the following courses:
  • The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Written Exercise on 22 November
  • The ICE Professional Review – Overview and Preparation on 4 December
  • Mock interview courses in early 2019 (dates TBC) 
If any course is of interest then please contact us for details and / or to make a booking.  Equally, if you want to know what other courses may assist you then feel free to contact us.

CPD IDEAS

We have a regular section on CPD in our newsletters, with links to follow-up information.  They are useful for anyone but are especially useful for graduates pursuing professional registration with the ICE.   In the latest newsletter (to be issued shortly) we provided two CPD ideas: NEC4 – The NEC form of contract was born out of the Latham and Egan reports.  It went on to become the form of contract recommended by the ICE, replacing the ICE 7th Conditions of Contract.  It emphasised a collaborative approach and provided a range of forms for different risk sharing approaches.  NEC3 has now been replaced by NEC4 and graduates sitting their review ought to be aware now of the main changes.  A good starting point may be found here. Sustainable Development – Some time ago, in 2008, Constructing Excellence “recognised the need for a ‘Plain English Guide to Sustainable Construction’ after a large number of comments from their membership about the lack of clear, concise information on the subject.”  They have produced a useful guide that we recommend graduates read as a starter.  There have been developments since of course, as covered in previous newsletters. If you want to see other CPD ideas, you can look back at previous newsletters by following this link.

EXCELLENT FEEDBACK FROM MOCK INTERVIEWS

We have recently completed a total of 14 mock interviews across the UK to help candidates prepare for their professional reviews with the ICE.  Feedback has again been excellent, including:
  • “Course was very good and there was no aspect of it I would have changed”
  • “The facilitator had a raft of experience and knowledge on the overall ICE review system. A ‘walking data base’ I would call him!”
  • “Specific feedback was received at the end of the session – very useful”
The focus is now on the actual review sessions, with our Dr Andy Goodwin reviewing in York soon.  We wish everyone sitting their review the best of luck, and especially one of our mentees (you know who you are…) who sits his review in London shortly!

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2018 COURSES

Full details of all courses can be seen in our latest calendar.  Selected highlights include:
  • Pile Foundations – Principles and Practice on 20 September  LAST CALL
  • Introduction to Health and Safety Law – 9 October
  • Mentoring for Engineering Geologists on Geotechnical Engineering on 11 October
  • Slope Stability – Principles and Practice on 18 October
  • Earthworks – Principles and Practice on 25 October
All courses are running in Chesterfield unless stated otherwise on the calendar.  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.  

SPECIALIST COURSES FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY

Over recent months we have delivered a further two bespoke half-day courses for a large local authority:
  • Timber Design to EC5
  • Masonry Design to EC6
Each course was delivered with the support of specialist tutors who are experts in each field.  Feedback from both courses was excellent, and showed how full day day courses could be adapted to half day formats cost-effectively for small groups. If you feel your organisation would benefit from a short course or series of half day courses, then just call us to discuss your requirements and see how we could help you.  Equally, if you would like to run a bespoke course on a topic we don’t usually cover then please contact us and we will happily see if we can run a suitable course using specialists in the required field.

SUCCESSFUL COURSE ON UPDATED SOIL NAILING STANDARD

We reminded our readers a few months ago that BSI has reviewed and updated the UK’s soil nailing design standard.  In their release, BSI stated:

“BS 8006-2 Code of practice for strengthened/reinforced soils ‒ Part 2: Soil nail design gives recommendations and guidance for stabilizing soil slopes and faces using soil nails. As there is no corresponding EN or ISO standard, BS 8006-2 is the national de facto soil nailing design standard in the UK and Ireland.” Following issue of the standard, we were asked if we could deliver a bespoke course for a consultancy to help them update their design practices.  A workshop based course was developed with Paul Roberts, a Geotechnical Regional Director with AECOM, and it was successfully delivered in June 2018.  It was a pleasure working with everyone on the course. If you have a need for a specialist course that we don’t usually offer then please contact us to see if we can help.  We have numerous contacts in the industry and regularly provide bespoke courses for companies to address their specific needs.

AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2018 COURSES

The summer is almost here, though with the heatwave it feels like it has been here a while!  We still have plenty of courses coming up, and in fact now is a good time to book your training for the Autumn.  Full details of all courses can be seen in our latest calendar.  Selected highlights include:
  • Contractual Awareness, on  2 August
  • The ICE Professional Review – Preparing for the Interview (maximum of 4 delegates), on numerous dates in August and early September
  • Slope Stability – Principles and Practice, on 13 September
  • Pile Foundations – Principles and Practice, on 20 September
  • Ground Investigation Design to EC7 – The Essentials (half day course), on 27 September
In addition to these standard day courses, we are running our Design Programme on Shallow Foundations and Settlements.  This programme of 6 evening  courses allows delegates to explore the subject matter in more depth than possible during a typical day course. All courses are running in Chesterfield unless stated otherwise on the calendar.  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.  

MOCK INTERVIEWS FOR PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS

It’s that time of year again, with candidates for the Autumn 2018 professional reviews with the ICE having to submit their applications in w/c 16 July.  We wish the best of luck to everyone, though good preparation is the key to success!  We offer a range of courses that address aspects of the professional review, and others that address common areas of weakness at review such as management and contracts.  A summary of the courses we commonly suggest to candidates may be found here. The most common courses we run at this time of year are our mock interview sessions.  These are, or should be, one of the last parts of your preparations and we highly recommend them.  Run by a very experienced ICE reviewer for no more than 4 people each day, the course begins with an overview of the review process from a reviewers perspective before each candidate experiences a mock interview.  All candidates watch each other so everyone learns from everyone else too.  Though challenging as you would expect, the courses are run in a supportive and constructive atmosphere.  Individual feedback on your draft Professional Report and your performance at interview is provided after the course. So far we have 6 dates in our diary but places are running out.  If you wish to receive more information or wish to book onto one of these courses then please contact us.