Surveying & Engineering

The business prides itself on its strong engineering background and capabilities. We have teams of office engineers and site engineers to ensure projects are completed accurately to the client’s requirements.

The office team will look at the projects from the tender stage, creating 3D models of the proposed finished earthworks. The Trimble software that we use allows us to look at projects volumetrically, comparing various options from changing levels to different construction depths. We take each site and apply value-engineering principles to give us a competitive edge, as well as provide the best solution for the client. With the ground stabilisation expertise within the group, our geotechnical engineers can compare the potential benefits of adopting this solution against traditional earthworks where conditions allow. We also explore the benefits of changing the proposed finished levels to take advantage of getting the site’s earthworks to balance. There are substantial savings achieved when the export and import of materials are minimised. During the modelling process, the engineers look for potential layout and level problems and feed these back to the designers. As well as calculating the quantities for the projects, the office engineers produce a series of drawings to present our workings to the client and site teams. They also export the data in various formats for the use of our site engineers and machine-controlled plant on site.

The site engineering team are on hand throughout the UK to establish ground control, set up local base stations, undertake topographical surveys, general setting-out and checking of completed surfaces. They are equipped with Trimble GPS and UTS instruments to ensure the projects are built accurately from day one. The engineers also support our expanding fleet of machine-controlled plant. We have over 50 machines with Trimble 3D capability, used to trim the earthworks and dressings to set tolerances. The machines that have this ability include bulldozers, excavators, graders, scrapers and levellers. They can be connected to remotely from the office, allowing the transfer of designs and system checks. Our long-standing relationship with Trimble has enabled direct improvements within their hardware and software products.

We also have the capability to undertake aerial surveys using the latest drone technology. Drones are used to save time in the field and provide an instant snapshot for progress calculations. We are fully licensed by the CAA to perform aerial work and have several trained pilots. The use of drones can minimise the risks associated with site personnel amongst heavy construction plant. They also reach areas of the site that are too dangerous to access on foot and prevent on-site activities from having to stop.
From start to finish, our comprehensive team of engineers are on hand to ensure projects are completed successfully.