Having assisted with ground risk management and carried out surveys at over 70 Southern Water sites in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, the ground investigation team used a variety of techniques such as Geobore S rotary drilling, cable percussion drilling, driven windowless sampler boreholes, trial pitting and concrete coring to recover ground samples. These were then submitted to Socotec's in-house laboratories for environmental and geotechnical analysis.

Working via early contractor involvement as a key supplier, Socotec provided CMDP with crucial information on a range of ground conditions in order to meet particular project requirements. This included determining foundation requirements for new assets, deciding whether specific protection was required to install ferrous pipelines and ensuring that waste acceptance criteria (WAC) of surplus excavated material was responsibly removed from the site and transferred to the appropriate licensed facility.

"We are proud to have established a close working relationship with CMDP by assisting with the management of ground risk over the last five years," said Clare Chapman, operations director, Ground Investigation, Socotec UK. "The collaboration across the AMP6 framework recently hit a £1 million [US$1.2 million] value of work, with zero health and safety-related incidents being reported across all 70 sites, all contributing to Socotec's status as a market leader in site investigation and health and safety compliance." 

"Over the last five years, Socotec's Ground Investigation team has always been on hand to provide professional geotechnical support to the various projects CMDP have completed, as well as supporting other elements to de-risk our projects into delivery, such as asbestos surveys," said Brian Penny, construction and delivery lead, CMDP. "Discussions are now ongoing as to how we can increase our collaborative efforts with Socotec moving forward, and we look forward to maintaining a strong working rapport with the organisation in the future."