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Testconsult is NCE Consultant of the Year Finalist
For the second year running, Testconsult's growth and technical expertise in the construction sector has been recognised by the
New Civil Engineer and the Association of Consultancy and Engineering and has been selected as a Specialist Consultant finalist at their annual awards ceremony, held recently in London.
Testconsult is heavily involved with testing and instrumentation on a...
Testconsult Harlow welcomes Neale Walden as General Manager - March 2013
Neale Walden has recently joined Testconsult as General Manager of our Harlow Laboratory. Neale is bringing over 30 years of management, sales and techncial experience to Testconsult, from both the civil and electro-mechanical field.He will be leading the existing and growing team at our Harlow operation to provide our growing list of customers with all their construction materials testing needs.
Testconsult to present challenging paper at pavement conference - February 2013
Please make a note of the forthcoming conference in Liverpool on
Sustainable Construction Material and Pavement Engineering and Infrastructure on
27 and 28th February 2013 at John Moores University.
Testconsult will be exhibiting and we would welcome an opportunity for a chat, so please do come along and visit us on our stand.
Richard Stain and Mark...
Indian Technical Visit - Dec 2012
Testconsult recently participated at the annual Indian Geotechnical Conference, this year held at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. Over 600 participants took part in the conference covering advances in geotechnical engineering. Testconsult director, Huw Williams, presented a technical paper on the advantages and limitations of currently available non-destructive testing methods.
Testconsult is a CHAS Accredited Contractor - Nov 2012
Testconsult is now accredited under the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS).
This reduces duplication in supplying Health and Safety compliance information to contractors and CHAS buyers, and confirms Testconsult's commitment to providing a safe place to work for its employees. To obtain this accreditation CHAS has assessed Testconsult on the following:
Foundation checks on Hungarian Power Lines - November 2012
Testconsult has just completed trials in Hungary to demonstrate the effectiveness of our TDR2 and BGCMap systems for assessing the dimensions and condition of transmission line foundations. In conjunction with local consultant Energin and power line company Mavir, trials were carried out over a section of line south west of Budapest.
Both of these systems are now becoming used by line...
Fibre Reinforced Concrete Testing Accreditation – November 2012
Testconsult specialist testing laboratory in Harlow has recently obtained UKAS accreditation for assessment of fibre reinforced concrete. Testconsult is now one of the few UK laboratories accredited by UKAS to carry out Flexural Strength testing to BS EN 14488- 3: 2006 and Flexural Tensile Strength testing to BS EN 14651:2005+A1:2007.
This type of testing is being used to demonstrate...
Flexible Scope for Site Testing Laboratories – November 2012
Testconsult has recently obtained UKAS “Flexible Scope” of accreditation for geotechnical and materials testing throughout the UK and Ireland.
This enables Testconsult to establish and run UKAS accredited laboratories anywhere in the UK and Ireland with relatively short notice, for a range of common tests in accordance with our scope of accreditation. A flexible scope of...
Sonic Logging at Crossrail – October 2012
Testconsult’s foundation testing department are currently working on their forth Crossrail site at Paddington Station in Central London. Testconsult are sub-contracted by Cementation Skanska to carry out sonic logging on a range of deep piled foundations and diaphragm walls up to 65 m depth across the whole project
Testconsult’ s involvement started in 2011 at Pudding Lane, next to...
Historical Buxton Pump House Tested - October 2012
St Anne’s Well Pump House was built in 1884 opposite the famous historical Crescent in Buxton town centre, and visitors could 'take the waters' there until as recently as 1981.
The building is now being refurbished as part of the National Lottery-funded Buxton Crescent project. Vinci Construction UK Limited
has been awarded a preliminary enabling contract from...
Monitoring Ship Canal Bridges – October 2012
Latchford High Level Bridge was built in the 1890’s and spans the Manchester Ship canal 23m above water level over a distance of about 60m. The cantilever bridge was apparently built at the say so of a major shareholder of the ship canal company, so he could drive his horse & carriage straight through from his home south of the canal to Warrington town.
All of the...
Wind Farm Ground Improvement Verification – August 2012
Testconsult foundation testing department have been actively involved throughout the ground improvement process at a remote and exposed wind farm site in the east of England. Ground improvements are being made for crane pads to lift the giant wind turbines into place. Testconsult were asked to verify ground improvements initially made using vibrated stone columns through a peat stratum. Engineers were...
Hammersmith Flyover Monitoring – August 2012
Testconsult were recently working with Mabey Hire Ltd for Transport for London (TFL) to help solve problems with Hammersmith Flyover in London.
Testconsult were commissioned to supply and install instrumentation and monitoring equipment, together with internet based data management services in connection with emergency propping installed by Mabey Hire on the flyover.
Two piers...
Sonic Logging in Azerbaijan - July 2012
Azerkorpu are one of the largest civil engineering contractors in Azerbaijan, and are currently constructing stations for the extended Baku metro system. Construction involves installing deep diaphragm wall units around the station perimeter and the stringent Korean specification calls for sonic logging on a high percentage of panels to confirm integrity over the full depth and section.
Plate load testing at Cammell Laird wind farm facility - July 2012
Testconsult laboratory site teams have recently carried out 60 plate load tests at Cammell Laird shipyard, which now houses one of Europe’s largest wind farm component storage yards.
As part of a €2 billion development to build one of the largest offshore wind farms in Europe, Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited is developing critical dockside and lay down facilities at the...
Concrete Condition survey in Baltic Triangle, Liverpool – June 2012
The Baltic Triangle on Liverpool’s waterfront, which was abandoned in 2007 as an early victim of the “credit crunch”, looks finally set for completion.
Possibly a sign that the country is climbing out of recession, fresh plans are now being drawn up for the £65m development of a luxury hotel and apartments.
Testconsult were called upon to carry out a...
Dynamic Pile Testing on Marine Piles, Southend Pier – June 2012
Following a fire which destroyed Southend Pierhead in 2005, a new development is underway which will accommodate a multipurpose cultural centre and caf. The building is to be located on the existing cast iron piled section of the Pier Head and the single storey building is designed with a wave form room to reflect its location of the sea.
Testconsult were commissioned by Kier London to carry...
Cyclic Pile Load Testing on Railway - June 2012
The railway station at Great Central in Loughborough has seen many interesting events in it’s past, perhaps one of the more most interesting recently includes the BBC Top Gear Episode “Car Trains”, this month the railway saw perhaps a more unusual sight upon its picturesque landscape.
Although the test was somewhat ambitious but not entirely stupid, Testconsult were...
Vibration Monitoring on M6 Motorway – June 2012
The M6 is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom and one of the busiest
. Early in June 2012 Testconsult was asked to contribute in a Highways Agency Project. The task for our engineer team was to monitor the vibration levels on the bridge. The purpose of this monitoring was to observe the levels of vibration and compare them with the governing standards. The ultimate drive for this project is the...
1200 ton Static Load Test in Azerbaijan - June 2012
As part of a large scale pile load test for a new bank in Baku, in Azerbaijan, Testconsult were asked to provide a monitoring system capable of measuring the strain at various pile depths whilst under load. The piles in question were approximately 25m in length and 1.2m in diameter, with the load applied in stages up to 1200 Tonnes.
Testconsult’s instrumentation department created a...
Large scale shear box for Trondheim University - May 2012
Trondheim University NTNU has recently taken delivery of a SB2010 large scale shearbox, designed and manufactured by Testconsult Equipment. The equipment is being used by the rock mechanics department to assess the strength of the interface between tunnel lining materials and rock, using custom designed shear box inserts.
Testconsult Equipment is able to modify any equipment and software that...
FWD under assessment - Watch this space! - May 2012
Testconsult are undergoing their first UKAS assessment for their Falling Weight Deflectometer.
Testconsult have owned and operated a FWD for several years, using it both on highways and airports. But there are no international (or national) standards defining the device unambiguously, in particular the pulse shape of the load applied. Testconsult have produced...
Vibration Scanning for Olympic Scanners – May 2012
GE Healthcare are installing two “state of the art” MRI scanners at the Athletes village on the Olympic Site. Proper foundation design and vibration control measures are essential to ensure good quality images. Richard Stain, Testconsult director, has been retained by GE to carry out a vibration survey of the site and to advise on foundation design. “The...
Pyrites Causing Upheaval in Ireland – April 2012
Damage caused by pyrites has now become a major issue particularly in Ireland where the use of pyrite laden aggregate has been widespread.
Pyrite (FeS2 Iron Sulphide) is a common mineral, of which traces are often found in sedimentary type rock used to make crushed stone for backfill. In the presence of water and oxygen the pyrite crystals expand and swell, which can cause any retaining...
Testconsult is Specialist Consultant of the Year finalist – April 2012
Testconsult's continued growth and technical expertise in the construction sector has been recognised by the
New Civil Engineer and the Association of Consultancy and Engineering, by being selected as a Specialist Consultant finalist at their annual awards ceremony, held recently in London.
Huw Williams, Director at Testconsult says "The diversity of contracts we are involved with...
440 Tonne Offshore Pile Load Test in Guinea, West Africa - March 2012
As part of a new project to exploit the mineral wealth of one of Africa’s poorest countries, Testconsult were invited by the Guinea Alumina Corporation to perform a 440 Tonne static load test on an offshore test pile. Testconsult’s client on the project was SETH S.A., a Portuguese specialist marine construction company. Bechtel International were the main contractors on site, with design work...
New Testconsult Spanish JV win Crossrail contract - February 2012
Testconsult are delighted to announce the formation of a new joint venture company with Euroconsult SA of Madrid.
The new company,
Eurotestconsult UK Ltd
was formed specifically to work for Spanish contractors operating in the UK.
Director, Dick Stain said “We have had links with Euroconsult for many years and have worked extensively in...
Middle East seminars on NDT a success - February 2012
Testconsult recently presented two seminars on up-to-date foundation testing methods in Dubai and Qatar. Both seminars attracted a large audience of engineers from though out the region, including UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi.
Huw Williams, key speaker at the seminars is a Director of Testconsult and sales manager for specialist testing equipment manufactured by Testconsult Equipment.He stated...
Testconsult win Cheshire reinstatement assessment work – January 2012
This month sees the start of Cheshire West and Chester local authority reinstatement testing program.
Testconsult, in partnership with the TRL have been awarded the contract to undertaking sampling and testing of utility reinstatements across the county. This work involves coring through repair work to carry out visuals assessment to check layer thickness and laboratory testing to measure...
Testconsult Expands in the South East - November 2011
Testconsult in Harlow has increased its capacity to meet an increasing demand for its services in the South East. It has relocated to larger laboratory premises in Harlow, enabling Testconsult to expand the range of services offered in the region.
Mark Collyer, Harlow Laboratory manager, says “Our constant aim is to provide exceptional customer service. A recent customer...
Testconsult Octopus helps to foil robberies - October 2011
As part of ongoing improvements to ATM installations, Testconsult were commissioned to set up a live test on a simulated ram raid and attempted theft of an installed cash machine, at a high security test facility close to Manchester.
The ATM was installed with improved restraining fixtures by the manufacturer. Holding down chains were then instrumented with strain gauges, which were...
Testconsult and TRL in Partnership – September 2011
We are delighted to announce a partnership arrangement between TRL and Testconsult.
Once a government organisation best known for impact testing of vehicles, the TRL is now an independent and world class supplier of transport consultancy and expertise. Testconsult offers complementary services, such as UKAS
accredited testing services and specialist equipment manufacture. The two...
Pottery works being brought to life in Stoke on Trent – August 2011
The former Enson ceramics works in Longton is being given a new lease of life. The grade-II listed building, dating back to 1882 has been derelict since the 1970’s and is now due to be rehabilitated into the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence, which will teach construction skills to around 400 student’s each year.
Testconsult was recently commissioned by...
Pile Testing in Boomtown Dubai – August 2011
Testconsult were recently involved with pile integrity testing on the prestigious new Dubailand project, situated in the desert, a few kilometres outside of Dubai City in the United Arab Emirates. Dubailand is set to become the world’s largest theme park, hotel complex and retail mall. The vision of the project will attract the tourist dollar to Dubai and diversify the long term economy of the...
SIMBAT Dynamic Pile Testing in Malta – August 2011
Work has started on a new ferry terminal in Cirkewwa, Malta. The project budgeted at €12 million, will include a passenger-handling building with a capacity for 800 people together with an elevated foot passenger gangway, a new bus terminal, vehicular marshalling and parking areas and a new police station. There will also be upgrades of the existing quays including a new berth at the north quay and...
Testconsult Engineers conquer 3 Highest Peaks in Great Britain – August 2011
7 fearless ‘mountaineers’ left Testconsult’s Warrington headquarters one Saturday morning aiming to raise the company flag on the three highest peaks in the UK in 24 hours. Every last detail was planned in advance,
including risk assessments, rations, liquids and transport – or so we though until the restricted 56mph minibus turned up!!
Everything would now...
Sonic Logging at Bodrum Airport, Turkey – July 2011
Turkish piling contractor, EGE Zemin has recently taken delivery of a new SCXT2000 sonic logging system for quality control of bored cast in place piles they are installing for the new international airport extension at Bodrum Airport in Turkey.
Piles have been pre-selected for testing and prepared by installing steel tubes over the full depth of piles, in excess of 20m. Sonic logging...
TDR2 Pile Testing System goes Arctic - July 2011
Testconsult Equipment has recently been awarded the contract to supply the Russian Federal State Power Company FGCUES with 30 TDR2 Pile Integrty Testing systems to assess the condition and integirty of transmission line tower foundations across the Russian electricity network grid.
FGC UES operates power grid equipment in 73 regions of the Russian Federation, covering over 13.6 million...
Octopus climbs shaking tower - June 2011
Built in 1970, the mining towers of Boulby originally had a 30 year life span. Now 40 years on and looking to upgrade the towers through demolition and repair, Jacobs employed Testconsult to monitor movement, angle, acceleration and permanent displacement of the buildings. These readings are then used for various alerts and reporting through the internet with a live results service.
The...
Olympic Effort by Testconsult Harlow - June 2011
Testconsult’s Harlow materials testing laboratory is at the forefront of the gigantic effort underway to construct the London Olympic venue in east London. We are manufacturing, collecting and testing thousands of concrete test cubes, to ensure the quality and strength of concrete, with daily site visits to a number of contractors on the site.
In addition, we are carrying out plate...
Bridge Monitoring at Spaghetti Junction - June 2011
Mabey hire services together with Testconsult is employing a sophisticated computer-controlled monitoring system to ensure safety at a bridge repair project on the Gravelly Hill Interchange (better known as “Spaghetti Junction”) in Birmingham.
Principal contractor Amey is overseeing repairs to the half-joints on the elevated concrete structure at Junction 6 of the M6 where it...
Tension Pile Tests on busy A14 - June 2011
Helical steel piles have recently been installed along the A14 and A45 trunk roads by ScrewFast Foundations Limited, forming foundations for an elevated platform and new roadside matrix information signs. Testconsult Limited was called in as an independent specialist test house to verify the tensile load capacity of piles at several locations along the route.
All testing was carried...
M56 Bridge Instrumentation - May 2011
Testconsult have recently completed the installation of a complex Octopus instrumentation and monitoring system on one of the more venerable bridges over the M56.
The instrumentation and monitoring system was installed on behalf of highways consortia A1+, the local MAC agent for motorway maintenance. The project involved installing numerous strain and temperature sensors connected to an...
Blackpool Tower under Investigation May 2011
Testconsult have been commissioned with assessing the strength of the structural concrete in the buildings beneath one of Britain’s most famous seaside landmarks - Blackpool Tower.
As part of a major refurbishment, Testconsult is undertaking an investigation of both concrete and cast iron structures which support this famous bulding erected over one hundred years ago....
Foundation Testing in Sri Lanka - April 2011
Geotest, a geotechnical testing company based in Colombo, recently took delivery of a new TDR2 pile integrity testing system. Their purpose - to provide the most advanced pile testing service in Sri Lanka.
Huw Willliams, Director of Testconsult was on hand to provide staff training, and also took advantage of the visit to present a technicial seminar to the Sri Lanka Geotechnical Society....
DIY in Doncaster - April 2011
Testconsult recently completed materials testing on one of the largest warehouses, being constructed for B&Q at Doncaster in the UK. During construction of the new internal floor slab to the unit, measuring in excess of 775000m2, Testconsult carried out routine quality control of concrete and fill materials for clients Chalcroft Construction & Stanford Industrial Concrete Flooring....
SPT Hammer Calibration first in Portugal - April 2011
Geocontrole, based in Lisbon, have become the first company to carry out SPT Hammer Energy analysis in Portugal, to ensure that their SPT testing equipment fully meets the requirements of Eurocode 7.
By setting up their own SPTMAN testing system they can ensure that SPT hammers can be regularly testing as and when they are pulled off site for servicing, or testing on site, as was the case...
FWD Testing for Airbus A380 at Gatwick Airport - March 2011
When Testconsult were asked by Richard Moore, Technical Director of TPS Consult, to carry out some taxiway evaluation testing at Gatwick Airport, we were delighted to respond.
With one of the few Heavyweight Deflectometers in the country, a PRIMAX2500 HWD
, Testconsult are well placed for evaluation of both runways and taxiways, many of which need deflection testing to check they can...
Dublin Airport Runway Assessment - Feb 2011
Testconsult were recently employed By Dublin Airport Authority to carry out independent bituminous materials testing & compaction evaluation on runway 10/28 at Dublin Airport. The work was carried out at night to avoid disruption, by Testconsut Ireland Director, Michael Robinson, who stated "it was like history repeating itself, as I was involved with this runway construction project...
Foundation Testing Simbat Midirig takes to the Air - Feb 2011
Testconsult foundation testing department's 2.5 ton Simbat Midirig took to the air recently on two dynamic pile testing contracts.
The first project was for the Environment Agency, to dynamic test piled foundations adjacent to the River Humber. The piles formed the foundation for a crane base, to lift giant sluice gates for the river.
The second contract was for MG Construction,...
Testconsult Ireland on the Eirspan Program - January 2011
Testconsult Ireland in partnership with Cumnor Construction have just completed bridge testing and investigations of 90 bridges in Cork, Limerick, Clare and Kerry. The testing and investigations were carried out to provide the consulting engineers with the information needed to carry out a structural assessment of each bridge in accordance with the Irish bridge management programme 'Eirspan'.
SPT Hammer Testing in the Gulf - January 2011
Testconsult was recently in the Arabian Gulf to provide training for SPT Hammer Energy Analysis testing equipment, supplied to Gulf International Inspection Company, based in Kuwait. The SPTMAN system was chosen because of its user friendly interface, and easy reporting software, which will enable GIICO to ensure that all their SPT hammers are operating correctly and in a specified range.
The...
Roof Load Testing - A novel approach - December 2010
Testconsult have developed a novel method of roof load testing. Engineers came up with the idea when brainstorming after being approached by a leading British sports car manufacturer. Conventionally a load test on a roof would involve either loading on top of the roof with kentledge or suspending weights beneath to the required proof load. This was not an option in this instance due to access...
Testconsult Appoints New Distributor in Russia - Dec 2010
Testconsult have signed an agreement with Russian equipment distributor 'JSC' Panatest, to promote and sell their equipment in Russia. We are now supplying Russian Language pile testing and corrosion monitoring equipment, specially adapted to suit the local harsh environments, with Panatest providing local technical support.
Testconsult was in Russia early in 2011, to promote the new equipment...
Monitoring Historic Goole Railway Bridge - Oct 2010
Goole Swing Bridge is a six-span bridge, situated between Goole and Saltmarsh carrying two tracks over the River Ouse. At the time of its construction in 1869, it was thought to be the second largest railway swing bridge in the world.
Differential expansion of the bridge as a result of solar radiation on the steelwork has caused misalignment of the rails after swinging the bridge to allow...