In 2013 reports of illness among residents in Gorebridge, Scotland led to the discovery that carbon dioxide was entering newly-built homes. A total of 22 residents from an overall total of 165 in the affected area were reported to have contacted healthcare services between September 2013 and September 2014. The most common complaints were headaches, dry coughs, dizziness and anxiety. The town is in a former mining area and the development was underlain by old mine workings with shafts present nearby.  Subsequent investigations led to the residents being re-located and 64 houses being demolished.  Whilst it is arguable whether demolition was appropriate or necessary, a subsequent study by the Scottish Government recommended that consolidated guidance was required for the industry on the investigation and assessment of mine gas risk.

More recently one of the authors has been involved in a site in Northumberland which has very similar circumstances; reports of illness that are symptomatic of exposure to high levels of carbon dioxide followed by investigation and discovery of gas inside the properties.  However, in this case a robust investigation followed that determined the points of gas ingress to the properties.  This found that the gas was only entering via open, unsealed ducts containing water pipes (also likely the case at Gorebridge).  Once these were sealed the gas ingress stopped and the properties were shown to be safe.

In response to the recommendations in the Scottish Government report, in late 2021 CL:AIRE published its Good practice for risk assessment of coal mine gas emissions.  The guidance draws on the experience of the authors who all have a good understanding of the issues that caused the Gorebridge incident.  It provides a pragmatic but robust framework on which to base a mine gas risk assessment.  It is important to note that to those that undertake mine gas assessments that they should not just go straight to the Decision Support Tool in Figure 13.1 without reading and following the advice in the rest of the guide.  In particular there are other key reference documents that must be read in conjunction with the guide, as explained in Section 7, Useful Information Sources.

Key take points are:

• Mine gas risk assessments and mitigation design should be carried out by ‘competent persons’ as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in England and equivalents in the devolved governments.
• It is important to understand the different methods of working coal, the effect this has on the likely presence of a mine gas hazard being present below a site and the corresponding risk of emissions into buildings. At the very least, CIRIA Report C758D (CIRIA, 2019) is considered to be essential reading for anyone undertaking mine gas risk assessments.
• As with any other ground gas assessment development of a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) to avoid an incomplete mental model of the problem is a vital part where there is a source of mine gas, as well as its use in the interpretation of any gas monitoring data.
• Risk assessment using the gas screening values and the ‘points system’ in BS 8485 on its own is not likely to be appropriate where there is a risk of mine gas emissions on sites with complex CSMs or where mass advection of soil gas could occur. Detailed quantitative assessment of gas emissions may be necessary.
• Finally, risk assessors should consider the effect of foundation construction and other buried infrastructure on migration pathways and the integrity of any barrier layers. The risk assessment should be revisited once all below ground, foundation and slab designed has been fixed to make sure it is still applicable.

At the site in Northumberland an old, unsealed borehole or grout hole is considered the most likely migration pathway for the gas to have reached housing.  It is vital that after the site investigation or gas monitoring is complete that any boreholes, probeholes, grout holes or wells are decommissioned and sealed to prevent them acting as migration pathways for mine gas. advice on the expectations and requirements of borehole decommissioning has been provided by The Environment Agency and SEPA. In this respect the co-ordinates of all holes should be accurately recorded on the logs. The use of plastic liners that are left in place in grout holes are the major concern for gas migration as they can leave a void around the outside that can form a pathway.

Potential areas of uncertainty in mine gas risk assessment and the effects of future changes in climate should now also be considered. A mine gas risk assessment should be awarded similar resource and effort as would a mineral risk assessment.  It is important to recognise that this requires site specific investigation and assessment for relevance and credibility.  Generic statements are not deemed appropriate and although a precautionary approach should be applied to any risk assessment, this is not an excuse to invent hypothetical or extremely unlikely hazards or consequences. Bias can occur when there is a desire to be cautious, prudent or conservative in estimates that may be related to harmful consequences. Yet such can also lead to the  delivery  of unnecessary and costly remedial intervention despite a  low probability risks being present. Transparent critical thinking is required in reporting that evidence based.

The CL:AIRE guide can be found here.

CL:AIRE will be running training courses throughout 2022 on how to apply the advice provided in the Guide.  These will be delivered by the authors of the guide so will you get a first-hand understanding of the theory and thoughts underpinning it.

Article provided by Steve Wilson (The Environmental Protection Group Ltd) and Alex Lee (WSP)

Image credit to Amy Juden, EPG Limited

Full Name: Rob Terrell

Job Title: Senior Geotechnical/Geo-Environmental Engineer

Company: Ground and Water Limited

What is your background and how did you end up working within the geotechnical industry?

Following 4 years of University study, I embarked in a career in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering at Ground and Water. In 2016, I started as a field technician, where I learnt the physical and practical aspects of the geo-engineering industry. One year on, I transitioned to the engineering career path, applying and developing my knowledge of soil mechanics and chemistry, before steadily progressing to the senior geotechnical/geo-environmental engineer I currently am.

What does a typical day entail?

Whilst devouring some muesli, I refamiliarize myself to my project spreadsheet and prioritize tasks. Whilst undertaking the reporting, modelling or sample assessing I prioritise, I also make sure to check in with my mentees, technicians and site workers, providing guidance when needed. Another part of my day is guaranteeing client satisfaction, whether that be from hitting deadlines, providing project aftercare, or ensuring project-specific requirements are accounted for.

Within your career to date, what is your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement to date would be an ongoing and constant one; watching my mentees and colleagues develop and learn their craft, becoming competent and assured geo-engineers. I really enjoy transferring and sharing knowledge and experience to my colleagues, which is an integral part of my senior role within the company.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Being in a small (but swiftly growing) company, there is a real family feel and my colleagues are genuine friends who make the days more enjoyable. I am grateful that they support me not only at work, but outside of work also.

What are the most challenging aspects of your role?

The industry is fast paced and can be very demanding at times, which can often take its toll; luckily, I have a good team around me and a proactive mindset which mitigates this stress greatly. Comfort food also helps!!

If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same career path for yourself? And if not, what would you change?

I believe it is beneficial to undertake a technical/site based role so that you fully understand the basics as well as the importance of detail. Then when you are an engineer, you know what is required during site investigations at the earliest opportunity. Therefore, I am happy with the path I took.

What AGS Working Group(s) are you a member of and what are your current focuses?

I am part of the geotechnical working group as an early career member. Within the group, I am part of a sub-committee working on developing guidance and standards regarding underpinned basement foundations. I am also co-writing an article on how site investigations and sampling can be more sustainable.

Why do you feel the AGS is important to the industry?

I’ve always believed collaboration is key to success, and by bringing together specialists from across the UK, we can all learn from each other and encourage sustainable change within the industry.

What changes would you like to see implemented in the geotechnical industry?

I believe that there is great potential for the geotechnical industry to become more sustainable, whether it is small factors like using reusable/recyclable material, to larger factors like engineering design. A global mindset shift is required to ensure we have a healthy world in which to thrive on.

Lastly any advice or words of wisdom that would you give someone who is either considering this type of job or who are progressing towards chartership?

Work hard, but never forget that rest is equally important and a healthy work life balance is essential. A stressed and overworked brain will do nobody any good. All work and no play etc..!

The appended table provides an extract from the analytical results of a Waste Acceptance Criteria test (WAC) from an anonymised site. Such testing can be expensive and yet the need for such testing continues to remain, at times, misunderstood by both clients and consultants. Indeed, there remains a fundamental degree of confusion as to the purpose of WAC testing, even 15 years after they were first introduced under the UK implementation of the Waste Framework Directive. WAC testing is only used to determine how a waste will behave once it’s buried in a landfill. This is carried out primarily through analysis of leachate derived from that waste during laboratory analysis. It cannot be used to determine whether a waste is hazardous or not.  Whether a waste is hazardous is dependent upon the Hazardous Waste Regulations and is established by reference to the Hazardous Waste List of the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) on the basis of the absolute amounts present in a substance.

To reiterate, WAC testing is inadequate on its own for allowing the disposal of soils. The same material must also be tested for total concentrations which should be used first to define its hazardous characteristics or classification. Logically, WAC testing should only be considered if the soil is known or very likely destined for disposal of to a Licensed Landfill. Consequently, in the interests of sustainability, reducing costs, reducing sample jars, laboratory time and equipment, we should not by default schedule WAC testing during a typical site investigation. Submission of waste soils to a landfill accompanied only with WAC results could also result in refusal to accept. Refusal cannot only offend but can also be very costly and embarrassing.

To restate the point, WAC tests are a secondary layer of classification emplaced to ensure that as a waste material they are suitable for placement and compliance within the target landfill without generating a future leachate problem at the same receiving landfill. The test is required only after waste classification has defined its hazardous properties and only determines whether the waste is suitable for deposition at an Inert, Stable Non-Reactive or Hazardous Waste landfill. There is nothing much else you can do with WAC test results.

As already noted, the primary classification of waste soil as Hazardous or Non-Hazardous is made using the results of analysis of total concentrations of the hazardous substances that could be in it, not the amount that potentially comes out after WAC leachate testing. This requirement for solid analysis derives from the Waste Framework Directive (enshrined in UK law) and is the process used to define the absolute hazardous properties that a material might have. These properties determine at a very fundamental level as to how you must treat it as a material for disposal, handling and storage purposes including the application of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations to even get it off-site.

The list of potentially hazardous substances for which you should be analysing should be based on the desk study and the ground investigation findings. Indeed, most of the data required for primary classification is often already available from the initial ground investigation without further need nor cost, so you can get twice the value for your analytical sample costs. The data you need to characterise a waste may already be in your reports, hopefully stored in an AGS4 or similar format so you can forward it directly to your waste contractor for characterisation. If in doubt during the investigation phase as to what you might actually need to categorise, think ahead so as to ensure that you have enough primary data for a waste contractor to classify the soil at a later point. There is no need to schedule expensive WAC tests when often they are not needed nor assume on the occasion of landfill disposal that they alone will satisfy the expectation of the receiving landfill. If in doubt, ask an expert and think the process through.

If this monologue still leaves you wondering, there is a great video about tea bags here https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6686937368596885504/

The AGS published excellent practical guidance in 2019 “Waste Classification for Soils – A Practitioners Guide” https://www.ags.org.uk/item/ags-guidance-on-waste-classification-for-soils-a-practitioners-guide/

Article provided by Marian Markham (Land Quality Associate Director at Jacobs) and Chris Swainston (Principal Environmental Engineer at Soils Limited)

The process of returning to work offices in mid-2021 following a year and half of working from homes has prompted another (probably 4th time in 32 years) major purge of our company “hard” technical libraries.  Over the past 18 months I’ve personally struggled in not having my paper “hard” technical library available to me, and in particular those proven “old” papers that we refer to time and time again.

This most recent major purge made me reflect that the digital business world that we work in is not perfectly suited to learning, remembering and using the lessons that our forebears took the effort to write down and disseminate.  Of course, some technical papers can be found “digitally” in pdf format somewhere on the internet, some legally accessible, albeit surprisingly costly.  However large hardback volumes of proceedings from e.g. the international conferences of the 1970s and 1980s etc. aren’t so easily accessible online.

In parallel I reflected on how I learned much of my own personal “geotechnique” over several decades, and I reflected that a lot of it came from sitting on floors in various company, Institution and university libraries in between bookshelves, seeking out and reading papers in Géotechnique, QJEG, Canadian Geotechnical Journal, the numerous ASCE proceedings, Soils & Foundations to name but a few.  A positive by-product of that was the list of further references in all those papers, along with the other papers in whichever volume I was looking at, which then took me off on other journeys of discovery.

Therefore, in the spirit of prompting and promoting the dissemination of lessons learned long ago, this paper is the first in hopefully a series of articles on technical papers that experienced geotechnical practitioners rely on and return to over and over.

The following is a selection of 6 of my “go to” papers, which have been most useful to me over 3 decades plus of geotechnical engineering practice, mainly in design, along with some notes of why I find them useful or what they mean to me.  These are Technical papers, from conferences and proceedings – not books, not technical reports.  They are the ones that are in the folder immediately to hand (pre-COVID), and are well worn and have been stapled and sellotaped together several times.  They have personal annotations over figures and highlighter shading of key paragraphs.  I have deliberately limited myself to only 6 papers – it would have been easier to have 12 or 22 or more ! As a result I haven’t included a number of great papers on for example, railway track and sub-grade engineering from India, Japan, and the US which were vital in the early 2000s when the UK were designing and constructing both light rail systems without a modern UK track-bed and subgrade design method – if you are interested, then research the papers of Gerald Raymond, J T Shahu, and Li & Selig.

I add the caveat I am not including any of the Rankine Lecture papers – they are well known, free and online https://www.britishgeotech.org/prizes/rankine-lecture .  It was nice re-reading the list of Rankine lecturers again whilst preparing this article.  Sutherland’s 1987 lecture on Uplift Resistance was my first during my industrial year when I was encouraged to attend by my work colleagues.  I regret missing Peter Vaughan’s in 1994 while working away, but particularly memorable and useful lectures to me were those by Poulos 1989, Burland 1990, Simpson 1992, Clayton 2010, Lacasse 2015 and Jardine 2016. My personal close winner is the still unpublished David Hight lecture in 1998.  I look back at those papers in particular and note however that my preferences might be biased by being lucky to have worked alongside those authors at some point in my career, or used their work for my own research.  If you haven’t read the Rankine Lectures, I encourage you to do so, and those might be interesting ones to start with.

In concluding, it occurred to me that the following 6 papers appear to be the source of widely used design charts and rules of thumb, and I then wondered how this non-digital knowledge and “rules of thumb” will be used in “digital” and AI-influenced designs of the future.  And that reinforced my resolve to start off this series of papers.

“Fraser & Wardle”  (1976) “Numerical analysis of rectangular rafts on layered foundations” Geotechnique 26 No 4 pp613 – 630

This, along with my Craig “Soil Mechanics” 3^rd Edition textbook is probably the most “re-sellotaped” in my collection.  The paper is primarily focussed on design charts derived from 1970s numerical analyses for the design of uniformly loaded rafts for settlement and bending moment, taking into account the relative stiffness of the raft and the ground.  Graphs of influence factors, settlement correction factors and bending moment influence factors are simply presented for a variety of relative stiffnesses (“Stiffness factor”) across various geometries of raft.  The results are extended to address infinite depth or multi-layered ground, and herein lies one of the “golden nuggets” of this paper.  The combination of Stiffness Factor of the raft/soil system and varying soil stiffness with depth allows the user,  probably after several uses of the method, to really get an understanding of the operating zone of influence beneath a slab, and what depth is most important to best characterise accurately by investigation to optimise settlement and bending moment, and hence slab thickness.  This acquired knowledge is vital to good geotechnical and structural engineering design.  The method and learning substantially avoids the need for complex numerical modelling, or at least allows one to challenge the predicted behaviours in numerical models.

James Penman extended this work in the early 1990s in his Imperial College MSc thesis using axisymmetric FLAC analyses, and this has proved to be useful for e.g. buried reservoir structures at the column/slab interface where moments and shears peak and change direction, and are therefore key elements of design of those structures.

“Burland, Simpson & St John” (1979) “Movements around excavations in London Clay”. Proceedings of the Conference “Design Parameters in Geotechnical Engineering” BGS London Vol 1pp 13 – 29

This is a good and comprehensive paper discussing  real ground movements and the factors controlling movements around deep excavations.  The paper presents back analyses and provides information on applicable operating ground design parameters, and provides a good summary of the real scale of movements to be anticipated.

What is particularly useful is the discussion around K₀ and earth pressures.  The Initial K₀ for embedded wall design can be a highly dominant factor in ground movement predictions, and values determined from e.g. Self Boring pressuremeters certainly, and to a certain extent from suction measurements on thin wall samples, can be very high.  The paper includes a very useful figure presenting horizontal and vertical effective stress and K₀ during unloading and reloading.

“Burland & Coatsworth”, (with acknowledgement to Burbidge) (1987) “Estimating the settlement of foundations on sands and gravels”  Proceedings  Int. Conference on Foundations and Tunnels, London, 24–26 March 1987 Vol 1, P1–6.

Marcus Burbidge’s original MSc thesis and his subsequent paper with Professor Burland was based on a very large number of case records of settlements of foundations, and this led to a relatively simple empirical basis for settlement prediction, and one which reflected reality whilst predicting settlements much less than many common approaches.  Coatsworth extended this original study with additional case records.

It is noted that for the most part, SPTs from the original case records were NOT corrected for overburden pressure, that the dominating depth of influence was <breadth of foundation, and that SPT be averaged only over that zone.  A simple Compressibility Index is derived and then used to determine settlements “at the end of construction”.  A really interesting and useful aspect of the method is that it also predicts long term (30 years) settlements, with these being larger than the end of construction settlements.  Many books tell you that settlements on granular materials are (substantially) complete at end of construction, yet the empirical results suggest that total settlements at 30 years are 150% for static loads, and 250% for fluctuating loads.

Apart from this really interesting facet, the great advantage of this empirical method is that one doesn’t have to try and work out what value of E’/N is applicable to a foundation load case, noting that the range of E’/N for granular foundations of varying load intensity is massive ! (see CIRIA R143 Clayton (1995))

(Note – you may wonder why I use the Burland & Coatsworth paper rather than the original Burland & Burbidge paper ?  Well, for daily design I only need the few graphs and equations which are summarised neatly on one single page in the B&C version, and hence that’s the one I reach for in my folder of useful papers!  But please do go and dig out the original B&B paper in the 1985 ICE Proceedings which has a lot more useful information and background to the method.)

“Bica & Clayton” (1992) – “The preliminary design of free embedded cantilever walls in granular soil” Proceedings of the Retaining Walls conference, ICE, Cambridge University, July

Adriano Bica’s PhD at University of Surrey was on free embedded cantilever walls in granular soils, and this paper to the Retaining Wall conference presents a number of highly useful design charts for depth of embedment and bending moment for embedded cantilever walls, based on model wall experiments  The experimental values of depth of embedment at failure were normalised and presented in design charts which are excellent and simple tools for very quick preliminary design without having to do WALLAP / FLAC etc. analyses.

“Black & Lister” (1978)– “The strength of clay fill subgrades : its prediction and relation to road performance” Proceedings of the conference Clay Fills, ICE London pp 37 – 48

This useful paper is a great summary of the relationships between CBR and shear strength for clays  – coarse granular soils are generally far less of an issue because their CBR is much higher, hence it is the low strength and plastic materials that cause us most concern.  As UK pavement design standards (e.g. the DMRB etc.) have ben updated and superseded several times, it is often difficult to know where the background and science supporting those methods lies.

“Boscardin & Cording” (1985) – “Building Response to excavation induced settlement”

Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,  ACSE 115 No1 January

There is a lot more in this excellent paper than just 2 key figures and 1 useful table, but those are what I reach for first . Figure 4 provides a chart of Horizontal Strain vs Angular Distortion and plots zones of differing damage showing the inter-relation and importance of these 2 factors in determining how much settlement is too much.  Figure 11 provides useful definitions of various different terminology used, which is helpful when speaking to asset owners and other engineers.  Table 2 provides the very widely used Damage Classification by description or by crack width.

In concluding, it occurred to me that these 6 papers appear to be the source of widely used design charts and rules of thumb, and I wondered how this non-digital knowledge and “rules of thumb” will be incorporated into “digital” and AI-influenced design approaches of the future.  And that reinforced my resolve to start off this series of papers, and hopefully will prompt other readers and practitioners to propose their own similar sets of “desert island geotechnical papers”.

Article by Steve Everton, Jacobs

 

 

 

The AGS are pleased to announce they are holding a new photography competition, this time to source a new striking cover image for the 2022 edition of the Loss Prevention Guidance.

This new document will consist of key papers which will provide members with in-depth advice and knowledge on multiple issues that could affect legal liability and financial exposure. Topics include liability, contract, insurance and health & safety. The AGS Loss Prevention Guidance was last reviewed in 2017 and the next review will be published in the New Year (2022).

We’re on the lookout for your most creative images which are reflective of the industry. Ideally, the image will be free of people, however this isn’t essential and we’re happy to consider all images of a geotechnical, engineering and loss prevention nature.

Entry into the competition is free and the winner of the competition will win a food hamper basket from luxury retailer, Fortnum and Mason, worth over £75, together with the prestige of their photograph featuring on this important document. Three runners up will each win a bottle of Champagne.

There are no restrictions on the photography equipment used, so feel free to use a phone, computer, tablet or a traditional hand-held camera to capture your image as long as the criteria below are met.

All entries will be reviewed by select members of the AGS Loss Prevention Working Group, who will decide on a shortlist and a potential winner. Full details will be announced in the April / May 2022 issue of AGS Magazine.

IMAGE REQUIREMENTS
The AGS are looking for high resolution jpeg images (300 DPI / over 1mb image file size) of a geotechnical, engineering or loss prevention nature. Images should be no smaller than 4200 x 3400 pixels. Please note that images in landscape orientation are preferred.

HOW TO ENTER
• Please email your image with;
o A short description of what it showcases and where it was taken (up to 50 words)
o Image credit information (if applicable)
o Your full name
o Company name
o Postal address
to ags@ags.org.uk with the subject title ‘AGS Magazine: Loss Prevention Guidance Photography Competition.
• There is no limit to the number of images you enter.
• The deadline for entries is Friday 25^th February 2022
• Entry into the competition is free

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
• Applicants must be aged 18 or over.
• All images must be high resolution and 300 DPI (dots per inch) / over 1mb image file size.
• Applicants must be based in the UK.
• Inclusion of any images on the final guidance document is up to the discretion of the AGS
• The photographer must have full copyright of all entered images.
• All images entered may be reproduced by the AGS and used in future AGS event and marketing literature without prior notice. This may include usage across the AGS’ social media channels, inclusion in the AGS Magazine, event programmes and on the AGS website. Please note that all images used will be credited.

 

Full Name: Lauren Hunt

Job Title: Geo-environmental Consultant

Company: Arcadis

I am a geo-environmental consultant with Arcadis and joined two years ago after graduating with a first-class degree in Geology, from the University of Leicester. I’m based within the Site Evaluation and Restoration (SER) team which works on a variety of environmental / geotechnical risk assessment and ground remediation projects. We provide sustainable solutions to a host of geo-environmental challenges and I am fortunate to be part of such a friendly team, getting to work with experts and specialists, learning and discovering more every day! Outside of work I play cricket, go on hikes, and I absolutely adore sloths!

What is your background and how did you end up working within the geotechnical industry?

I’ve been collecting rocks and fossils since I was about 3 years old and have been fascinated with the ground beneath our feet and the geological processes that have formed our planet. I really enjoy being outside and exploring so loved all the fieldwork modules at university, therefore I wanted a job where I could be most active and at the forefront of site work. I found the toxicology and geochemistry modules at university interesting and ended up writing my dissertation discussing the sources of Phosphorus, its fate in the environment, and its role in eutrophication. I learned about environmental consultancy, specifically land remediation at a university careers meeting, and knew it would be a good fit as I want to be part of making the world a better place. One of the most rewarding aspects of what I do is knowing how sites we are able to remediate end up providing sustainable and safe places for people to live and work!

What does a typical day entail?

That depends…no two days are the same! If I am based in the office, a typical day would entail geo-environmental risk assessment, baseline reviews, factual reporting or working on ground investigation specifications. If I am on site, I will be supervising drilling works, logging, groundwater / gas monitoring and sampling. I continuously engage with health and safety throughout all stages of the project, from planning to implementation on site, adopting the fantastic TRACK to 0 Heath and Safety Policy set by Arcadis. Throughout everything I do, I work with amazing people, learn new skills and gain a wide variety of experiences within geo-environmental consultancy.

Within your career to date, what is your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement in my early career is not one I can single out. I am most proud of the determination and drive I have shown as a woman in this industry disproving the stigmas facing women in construction and speaking out against site-based intimidation. I am proud of all the projects I have worked on and contributed towards and am proud to be part of an industry that is moving towards a future of exciting and equal opportunities and supportive and enriching working environments.

What is your favourite part of your job?

I love the variety in every day and how each different site I work on presents new opportunities for providing a better quality of life for local and wider communities. The variety constantly keeps me on my toes and presents new challenges to thrive on. I feel directly involved in the project lifecycle and undertaking work typically earlier on in this cycle means I have the opportunity to set a project on the right path, which is a great thing to be part of. Being at Arcadis also allows me to work alongside a rich ecosystem of teams and disciplines and my enjoyment within my role stems from helping Arcadis deliver valuable and high-quality projects.

What are the most challenging aspects of your role?

Possibly the most challenging aspect of my job that I have faced are the negative and discourteous comments sometimes received out on site about being a woman from individuals who fail to realise the incredible work that women are doing within construction. There is a fantastic change going on in the industry whereby women are empowered to take on roles in construction and engineering. Unfortunately, bias against women in construction / engineering still exists and the best thing that can be done is to open conversations about this topic at all career levels from the office and from site to oppress the stigma and change perspectives. Within Arcadis SER, a working group has been formed to address site-based intimidation and harassment. This includes any intimidation, confrontation, violence, bullying, sexual harassment and any situations which make individuals uncomfortable. This has formed an amazing platform to openly discuss these issues and support those that have sadly experienced this kind of issue. Additionally, being out on site all year round poses the challenge of working in all weather conditions and this in turn leads to complications around plant, monitoring, sampling and site safety.

If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same career path for yourself? And if not, what would you change?

I am new to the world of consultancy but I love it and would choose the same career path. It is the variety of projects I am involved in and the different challenges and tasks experienced every day that make it such a fulfilling and worthwhile career path. I am proud of what I have achieved since graduating and can see myself flourishing in this industry with many exciting opportunities to be taken in the coming years.

What AGS Working Group(s) are you a member of and what are your current focuses?

I am an Early Careers Professional within the Contaminated Land Working Group. Another Early Careers Professional and I are currently working on producing an interactive mind map that will house guidance, industry standards and useful documents containing best practice advice. This will provide a single source of truth and act as a platform for training and project support. The mind map is in its developmental phase and we are working on improving interactivity, application of updates and revisions and user experience. This will provide support to all career levels but primarily aid early career professionals to locate standards and undertake training.

Why do you feel the AGS is important to the industry?

The AGS is important as it brings together many industry specialists and allows everyone to keep up to date with standard changes and allows you to create a large professional network. The AGS also provides early careers professionals with guidance and training in the form of insightful webinars and a variety of online resources. It acts as a platform to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing across the industry, ensuring companies and clients work towards common goals.

What changes would you like to see implemented in the geotechnical industry?

I would like to see more women and minorities feeling empowered to take on a career in the industry, with increased opportunity for promotion and career development as well as support for roles out on site.

Lastly any advice or words of wisdom that would you give someone who is either considering this type of job or who are progressing towards chartership?

I believe the key to those wishing to embark on this career or to progress further towards chartership is to gain as much site experience as possible. This will help individuals put into context work that is undertaken in the office and consolidate an understanding of where the data comes from, how it is collected, the limitations of it and identify key observations that might be overlooked from desk studies. Longer term, this supports the writing of robust reports, improved all round health and safety best practice and not to mention the ability to see directly how the work you are doing contributes to the wider project in the real world.

Name: Susie Marley

Job title: Senior Geotechnical Engineer

Company name: Geotechnical & Environmental Associates (GEA)

 

What does the company do and what areas does it specialise in?

GEA is a geotechnical and contaminated land specialist. We carry out ground investigations, interpretive reporting and provide consultancy services, and specialise in basement impact assessments and ground movement analyses, foundation engineering and complex contaminated land investigations and consulting.

Where is GEA located?

Our head office is based in Ware, Hertfordshire, and we also have offices in Nottingham and Manchester, along with a shared workspace at The Building Society in London.

How many people does the company employ?

25 (and nearly 50 % of our engineers are female)

How long have you worked at GEA?

Five years

What is your career background, and what enticed you to work for GEA?

I started at GEA a few weeks after completing my final year undergraduate exams at Camborne School of Mines/ University of Exeter. I had completed a summer placement at a ground investigation company the year before and used that experience and some of the projects that I worked on as the basis of my dissertation, which led to an interest in pursuing a career in the sector. A number of things stood out at GEA, including the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects from small residential extensions to larger commercial basement type projects, and in varying ground conditions on projects across the country. Our Managing Director is of course extremely knowledgeable, but is also very approachable, which was clear from the start and can be invaluable. The company’s approach of getting graduates out on site straight away and working on their own projects early on appealed to me too, and the converted barn head office in a rural setting and perks like weekly fresh fruit deliveries and free gym membership were added bonuses! More recently, GEA have supported me in completing the Imperial College MSc Soil Mechanics course part-time, including a thesis project with some real site data incorporated into the laboratory research undertaken at ICL, and this is proving to be a of huge benefit to technical understanding and career progression.

What is your current role within GEA and what does a typical day entail?

As a senior geotechnical engineer, my role includes both office and field based roles, including specifying and pricing up new projects, completing desk studies including contamination risk assessments and basement impact assessments. I arrange and carry out all aspects of site work including setting out, instructing, supervising and working with crews, logging geology, logging foundation inspection trial pits and collecting samples, carrying out a range of in-situ tests and specifying standpipe installations. After fieldwork, I schedule geotechnical and contamination testing, carry out monitoring and groundwater sampling, review the fieldwork findings and write comprehensive (interpretive) ground investigation reports including preliminary pile designs, retaining wall parameters, hydrogeological assessments and quantitative contamination risk assessments. I update clients/ structural engineers/ architects throughout the project and liaise with Local Authorities, and keep track of project spending against the budget and produce bills of quantities. Over the past year I have also started carrying out Ground Movement Analyses, including Thames Water Asset assessments and Building Damage Assessments under the guidance of more experienced engineers. I also take an interest in new starters and enjoy taking them out on site to help give them as much early site experience as I benefitted from when I started, and keep our Engineers Handbook up to date with our processes. I am also looking forward to helping out in any way that I can with the company’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon. It may sound cliché but a typical day is hardly ever the same, and could involve a number of any of the above!

What are the company’s core values?

Enthusiasm: we enjoy what we do and are passionate about doing our best every day.  We nurture ideas, promote excellence, and find creative ways to eliminate obstacles to achieving objectives.  We share our enthusiasm and passion with our clients and suppliers.

Kindness: We are kind to each other, our suppliers and clients, and to the environment.

Integrity: We act with honesty, fairness, and respect for clients and colleagues alike and strive to do the right thing always.

People: We embrace the collective experiences, varied skills, and unique talents of every member of staff.  We encourage development and reward performance and treat people equally without prejudice.  Above all else, we provide an environment in which our staff can thrive.

Innovation: we encourage curiosity and new ideas, learn from mistakes, and constantly strive to exceed expectations.  We always look for new and better ways of doing what we do.  Through innovation, we generate better solutions for our customers and our staff.

Safety: we place the safety and wellbeing of our staff at the centre of everything we do.

Sustainability: we are committed to monitoring and reducing the environmental impact of what we do.

Community: we are mindful of the communities in which we work and committed to giving to those in need.

Are there any projects or achievements which GEA are particularly proud to have been a part of?

GEA are particularly proud to have built a good reputation for quality reports. Our main achievement is to have developed a company that is well-regarded and successful, provides an excellent place for people to work and a quality service to clients.  This is reflected in the fact that most of our work is repeat business and generated by recommendation. We have built an established reputation for dealing with particularly difficult contaminated land conditions in a number of London boroughs.

We are proud to have worked on a number of projects with extensive and high specification investigation at the high profile former US Embassy, carrying out interesting foundation analyses at Westminster Abbey, and providing investigations and complex ground movement analysis on the congested Creed Court site, and a number of other large projects are detailed on our website. Completing a ground investigation overnight at the Museum of Childhood, enabling it to reopen as normal the following day, is a project that I personally am particularly proud of.

How important is sustainability within the company?

It is one of our core values and we have a number of schemes in place, such as no general bins in the office and extra recycling facilities, sample bags made from recycled plastic, and new electric vans on the way to replace diesel ones. We also don’t print anything, including reports or emails, unless essential. We are part of the UK Climate Business Hub and hope to be part of the solution as a SME, with plans to go further and find and implement more sustainable solutions.

How does GEA support graduates and early career professionals who are entering the industry?

Firstly, we aim to recruit graduates and promote internally, and believe in empowering engineers and providing support to enable them to take on responsibility as soon as they are able, and have a Geological Society of London accredited GEA Training Guide to help engineers work towards chartership. All engineers are supervised by a more senior engineer, and ultimately by our Managing Director, to provide support at every stage of a project.

We were one of the founding industry partners for the University of Portsmouth BEng Engineering Geology and Geotechnics bursary scheme. We have a placement student with us for some 44 weeks at the end of their second year of study, as well as an 8-week period at the end of their first year. We also frequently take 6^th Form students for work experience from local schools to give them an insight into a career in geotechnical engineering.

How has COVID- 19 effect the day to day running of the company? How have staff adapted?

GEA have always had a flexible approach to working and we all have laptops so that we can work at home or remotely, so the transition to full-time home working was very straightforward.  We have now returned to the office, but with a combination of home and office working.  Some site work was impacted during the first lockdown during the uncertainty over whether ground investigations should be continuing, but this was fairly short-lived and other than introducing new health and safety measures it didn’t really affect us.

Why do you feel the AGS is important to the industry?

It provides a voice for the industry when required, encourages collaboration between members and allows us to demonstrate our commitment to clients.

What are GEA’s future ambitions?

• To achieve net zero carbon
• To continue to improve and grow through providing a quality service
• To provide a positive and enjoyable working environment for our staff

GEA were headline sponsors of the Geotechnical Engineering in a Net Zero World webinar. To view the webinar click HERE.

On 25^th November 2021, the AGS held their most successful webinar to date on the subject of, Sample Disturbance – What is it? This free, virtual event was sponsored by SOCOTEC and saw over 1000 delegates register to attend from over 40 countries across the globe.

The event was spearheaded by Peter Reading with an aim to stimulate a discussion and start a process whereby the industry can start to decide on factors which might build a disturbance classification.

The webinar itself was chaired by Sally Hudson (AGS Chair and Regional Manager & Associate at Coffey Geotechnics Limited), and our three guest speakers included David Norbury, John Powell and Tom Lunne.

David Norbury (Director at David Norbury Ltd) discussed sampling methods and sample disturbance and checking up on the disturbance. John Powell sparked a debate on sample disturbance in stiff clay and finally, Tom Lunne (Expert adviser at Norwegian Geotechnical Institute) looked at sample disturbance in soft clay, causes and how it can be assessed. The event finished with a joint Q&A and discussion on samples.

This webinar also covered:
· The sampling process and methods which may provide a Class 1 sample
· What constitutes a Class 1 sample and how do we recognise sample disturbance
· Are there grades of disturbance what is acceptable
· Should there be a scale to enable technicians and laboratories to recognise and report the degree of disturbance

This virtual seminar and all speaker presentations are available for free view on the AGS website. Click HERE for full information.