Latest Project - Structure Investigation

As you know we are the place to come to when you have a puzzling problem.  And so it was with a recent project.  "We want to know why our parapet posts are swelling" 

There were a list of likely causes suggested including internal gas pressure, fabrication errors or water in the posts.  Our team prepared a plan to safely investigate the issue, including for the risk of drilling into a gas filled vessel.

Paint thickness measurment on site

The works, undertaken overnight, included air sampling and the use of video recorded borescope examination.

The findings were reported to the client with the likely cause being less exotic than many postulated by others - but then isn't that often the case.

If you need a structure examined to determine the cause of a defect, as part of an assessment exercise or event to prepare 'as built' drawings Contact us 01270 589615

Safety Update - Dubious Advice

I recently saw this photo posted on Facebook,

It's not true! specially in our line of business

Seriously, if you want safety advice give us a call.

Tel: 01270 589615

Up and Under Foundation - Annual Review

We work very hard to do 'Good Stuff' for our clients then use some of the money we earn to do more 'Good Stuff' here is a link to our 2012 review.

Annual Review

Thanks for helping make all this possible.

Project Report - Great River Ouse Bridge

Out in the dark again, I am sure some of our guys are developing echo location and the ability to hang upside down by their feet ............ actually ;o)

Today's project report is a short one about a pretty large Principal Inspection.  It included a delamation (hammer tap) survey and concrete testing of the 7 span Great River Ouse Bridge near King’s Lynn for Atkins.

Hammer testing all surfaces

The testing comprised 8 No. test panels to the soffit and 4 panels to each of two piers.  We chose to use an underbridge unit, as the most effective means of gaining access to the soffit above the river and waterlogged spans.

Presentation Dates and Venues

Innovate to Succeed

This presentation will use the Menai Bridge as a backdrop to illustrate how today’s engineers can use innovation to further their own careers while enhancing the performance of their employers and fulfilling the needs of clients and society.

The presentation will feature Andy’s normal lively style and will be illustrated with real adrenaline filled examples where problems were solved and money was made. 

Andy has been an ICE Fellow since the age of 36 and is the managing director of the Up and Under Group.  The Up and Under Group is a Crewe based asset management company, is involved in many sectors including consultancy and contracting.

Andy was also an Olympic Torchbearer on the Crewe leg of the Olympic torch relay.  Andy was nominated because of his work with founding and running the Up and Under Foundation, part of the Up and Under Group. The Up and Under Foundation is a charity set up to help improve young people’s lives through adventure. Much of the funding for the charity comes from the group companies.

Dates and Venues

14^th Jan 6.30pm CIHT, E Mids, Coates Bldg, University Park, University of Nottingham NG7 2RD

15^th Jan Noon, Atkins, BW Claydon Country House Hotel, 16-18 Ipswich Road,
Ipswich, IP6 0AR
16^th Jan 6.30pm CIOB, Llandrillo College, Rhos on Sea, LL28 4HZ

17^th Jan 6 for 6.30pm, ICE, RNLI College, West Quay Road, Poole BH15 1HZ

18^th Jan AECOM, Noon, AECOM House, 179 Moss Lane, Altrincham, WA15 8FH

21^st Jan Alumni Common Rm, Manchester Business School, Booth Street W, Manchester M15 6PB.

The events on the 15th and 18th are not public events.

If you would like to book a new CPD event please contact emma@upandundergroup.com details of the events available can be found here

Safety Update - Winter Vomiting Bug

Or more correctly Norovirus; as the name suggests, a virus. It causes gastroenteritis (stomach upset) which is often dubbed winter vomiting disease as it is far more common in the winter months (although it does cause infection all year round). It is very infectious with only a few virus particles required to cause infection.

The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The onset can be very sudden and the vomiting quite dramatic (projectile vomiting). There is no specific treatment for the infection, other than to stay at home, drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and let it take its course. Most people make a full recovery within 1 to 2 days.

Because the virus is so infectious, outbreaks are common, with person-to-person transmission rates being high. Immunity to norovirus is short-lived and there are different types of norovirus, so don’t assume that if you have been infected recently that you are now protected.

The virus will be present in very high numbers in the vomit and faecal material from an infected person, and it is capable of living for several days in the environment. If you think you are ill with norovirus, it is recommended that you do not visit your GP (as this increases the risk of spreading the disease). If, however, you are ill for longer than a few days or you are already suffering from a serious illness – contact your surgery by phone to ask for advice.

To stop the spread of norovirus – practice proper hand hygiene (wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water), do not prepare food for others while infected (if possible avoid the kitchen altogether while you are ill), do not share towels or flannels, clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces (any hard surfaces contaminated with vomit or diarrhoea should be immediately cleaned and disinfected with household bleach), wash contaminated laundry thoroughly (handle the soiled items carefully, preferably wearing rubber gloves.

So there is is a concise guide to winter vomiting disease - stay healthy!

Guest Appearances

We have been appearing in other people's blogs ;o)

http://swindonphotojournalist.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/12-12-12-a-cold-and-frosty-day-in-swindon/#jp-carousel-289

One for Matt Sol

Some Useful Thoughts as we Start the Year

The following is apparently part of a commencement speech Bill Gates recently gave at a High School. The subject, 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. I think there might be something in here for everyone.


Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

2013 CPD Events

We will soon be out on the road with CPD events, just for fun here is a promo for January's events (the times are approximate)