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.

Latest Project - Waterloo

No, not the battle, the ABBA song, or even the sunset, it's the Bridge we are talking about today.  Bridges over the thames hold a special place in our hearts at Up and Under. 

The inspection of Battersea Bridge in 1988 was our first and since then we have undertake dozens of projects on 15 of the road crossings on the tidal Thames in the centre of London.

Correct Bridge....... Check!

They are all special in their own way, either because of their design or because of a feature of the particular project, but most of us enjoy the time in the spotlight that Tower bridge commands.  Anyway, back to today's story:

This job comprised the inspection of the internal parts of the piers.  We collected a range of condition and dimensional data in order to prepare a report for our client. 

It is essential everyone knows what they are doing here!

The project relied on a wide range of our skills.  Working on the Thames requires consideration of tides, arrangement of safety boats and liaison with the Port of London, with whom we have an excellent, long standing relationship.

Mucky but still smiling

Internally we needed a carefully devised combination of confined spaces and rope access techniques plus bridge engineering expertise to meet the technical and safety elements of the brief.

This is the type of job where we excel and we will be back in London very soon to examine another landmark.

Rope access or confined spaces, inspection or maintenance contact us 01270 589615

Latest Project - M5 Motorway Inspections

Being access specialists doesn't mean we always go for the most exciting means of carrying out an inspection.

On the contrary we select the most appropriate means of access, giving the client the best value solution.  Recently while conducting a hammer tap and visual surveys of the 4 side spans of 2 I/C bridges on the M5 we emplyed the most appropriate means  which was

Scaffold Tower

Oh yes and we needed some

Rope Access

This bridge is interesting in that it has been strengthened using bonded steel plates; these were also included in the inspection.

We chose rope access to undertake the inspection of the soffit above the revetment, while tower scaffolding was selected, for its efficiency, in the areas of the soffit between the bottom of the revetment and the pier.  Having a multi skilled team of inspection engineers made this switch between techniques practical and efficient.

The works were completed by Kev, Darren, Rob and Stuart to te satisfaction of all concerned.

For complete solutions, rope access, confined space, conventional or access over water, contact us 01270 589615 

Project News - Hamble Bridge

Working with Enterprise Mouchel we recently completed the inspection of the Hamble Bridge on the M27, near Southampton.  Our team of engineers used industrial rope access techniques to complete a visual inspection and paint inspection in accordance with Highways Agency Standards BD63/07 and BD87/05.

 

Much of the structure had to be accessed using aid climbing techniques.  During the works we had a safety boat in attendance.

In addition to the above water works we also undertook a diving inspection of the two central piers.

Cooperation is te key to successful completion of this type of project.  We have a number of landmark stucture projects either ongoing or in preparation, follow us here or on facebook to keep up with all of the latest news.

Chester Forum - Innovating Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs

Andy sharing some ideas on the subject of innovation from the SME standpoint

Latest Project News - Tunnels with Towers

We recently completed the inspection of the ventilation towers to the Tyne Tunnel.  Conventional rope access was preceeded by the application of centuries old technology to get ropes up and over the rim of the the ventilation towers, the highest being over 40m high.

Big!

 The inspection, carried out by our engineers, was completed in accordance with Highways Agency Standard BD63/07.

Getting hands on

The methods used ensured that we we were able to access all areas of towers with no need for installation of any fixings/anchors.

Best off all the tunnel remained open to traffic throughout these works.

Inspections, testing or investigations our award winning team will find a solution that works for you, contact us  01270 589615

Community Good Stuff

Andy stepped into the breach today after a last minute call from Cheshire East Parent Carer Support Service. "Could you please bring over your Olympic Torch on Saturday?"  The Cheshire East Parent Carer Support Service & Cheshire's Disabled Children's Database were holding a Family Fun Day in Sandbach and were in need of a Torch at short notice.

The Torch has arrived if you would like to see it - with Cat Radio

 Andy spent about one and a half hours at the event allowing the youngsters and their parents to get their hands on the Torch and get the all important photographs.  As always it worked its magic and was surrounded by smiles. 

It's mine ;o)

Organisers and helpers at the event

In addition to the fund raising and grant giving of the Foundation, this type of commuity involvement forms a significant part of the value that The Up and Under Group brings to society.  By emplying our services you not only get quality services, technical competence and best value; you make this Good Stuff possible. Thanks!

CPD Feedback

The first CPD event of Andy's 2012/13 tour happened last night and it looks like it got off to a great start.  One person said " This is my first ICE event, I was absolutely blown away by your talk, excellent!"  This made the drive down and back through torrential downpours worthwhile.  There are further events in November and January at various locations around the UK.

Feedback

If you want more information or to book a CPD presentation see this link for details.

Free CPD Seminars

We are once again offering a range of lunch time CPD seminars to professionals and trainees in the construction, maintenance and asset management industries.  If you want us to present at your office or site please contact us.

Some of the subject matter

Those of you who have attended our talks in the past know that they are not thinly veiled sales pitches.  They are packed with useful practical information.  They typically last 30 minutes plus as much time as you need for questions.

Andy in full flow

You want more info click here

Weekend Volunteering

Two members of the Up and Under team spent the weekend at the Conway Centre on Anglesey assisting with adventure activities over the weekend.

One spent two days with groups walking in the Glyders.  One day was graced with near perfect weather conditions.  The views from Tryfan were exceptional, especially when nearby Glyder fach was shrouded in tumbling cloud.

The other team member spent two days coastal traversing, assisting the centre instructor to safely facilitate two groups of ten youngsters in climbing and open water swimming activities around the dramatic coastline of Holy Island.

We have supported less well off youngsters in attending this centre for a number of years and this type of interaction helps us to understand both the needs of, and the benefits to, the young people we help.

On Saturday evening another 100 people got to have their own Olympic Torch moment when once more Andy's Torch did the rounds.  For some this was the highlight of another fantastic weekend at the Conway Centre.

Up and Under Group Asset Management Success

The Up and Under Group were named the 16th largest UK Consultant in list of "Top Firms in Facilities/Asset Management" in the 2012 NCE Consultants File.

keeping good company

This largely reflects our sucess in the areas of highway and rail bridge inspection and maintenance projects.  Other projects include condition based asset management projects for building stocks and even a project to monitor the condition of statues, flagpoles and chimneys for a client.  It isn't often that coming face to face with a gargoyle leads to success.

We go way beyond inspections so if you want a reliable asset management partner call us on 01270 589615 or visit www.upandundergroup.com.

What a week!

Earlier in the week we were runner up in the Sentinel Business awards in the Training Excellence category, but last night things got a lot better with The Up and under Group winning the ‘Mornflake Oats Award for Innovation’ at the High Sheriff’s Awards for Enterprise.

Making it even sweeter the certificate was accompanied by a cheque that just about equaled our annual turnover in our first year of operation, 25 years ago, in 1987!


In other news Rob Hughes completed the Cheshire Cat Cyclosportive on Sunday (102 miles) and made it up Mow Cop killer mile.

No surrender! Rob rides up the Killer Mile

Tom Hutchinson representing Up and Under DH race team came 3rd in category in the 2011-2012 Winter series round 4 at Cannock Chase.
http://www.rootsandrain.com/race928/2012-mar-25-2011-12-the-winter-series-4-cannock-chase/

All in all a pretty good week

Up and Under Downhill Race Team Latest

Supporting sporting teams has long been a part of what we do at Up and Under and in 2012 we will be supporting our very own downhill bike race team, the following is a report from their first outing:

Pearce Cycles Downhill Series 2012 – Round 1

The Up and Under downhill race team (Rob - Hughes, Director Up and Under Limited - , Tom and John) had an encouraging first race of the season – Pearce Cycles Downhill Series Round 1 at Bringewood near Ludlow.


After a fairly relaxed day of practice on Saturday with dry dusty conditions the mood was a bit tense come Sunday morning, as the ground was damp the sky was grey and the open section was a bit slick. However, at the end of practice the track was dry.

First Runs:
John sets off 5th in category and sets a solid time of 2:41.227

Tom roles down the hill 23rd off the line to provisionally take 1st in category with a 2:34.610, after pulling an ‘ET’ over the finish jump. Crowd loving it!

Rob follows him down as his 30second man to take 1st by just over half a second (Up and Under in positions 1 and 2).

A further 29 riders come down in category pushing the team to 12th, 13th and 31st but second runs remain!


Second Runs:

John makes it down knocking almost 2 seconds off his first run, maintaining 31st position.  Tom feeling the pressure collects two trees in the last section (no real harm done) but still crosses the line taking 0.23 seconds off his first run time, finishes 18th.  Rob has an impressive incident free run taking just over 3 seconds off his first run time, finishing in 9th (target of a top ten result achieved).

Full results at:
http://www.pearcecycles.co.uk/results_pcss12_round_1
and for the extra stats:
http://www.rootsandrain.com/race1217/2012-mar-18-pearce-cycles-1-bringewood/

Bring on round 2! (At Hopton Woods, Nr. Craven Arms on the 21st & 22nd April)
Free camping for anyone that wants to

Up and Under Challenge 25

So next week we celebrate our 25th Birthday.  We will be doing lots during the year and we will keep you informed of the various activities.

The first event we are revealing is an opportunity for you all to join us, get active, have some fun and challenge yourself.  "Challenge 25" is your sporting roadmap to our action packed 25th birthday year.  There will be prizes galore, opportunities to get your picture on the web site and lots more.

Se the details below:

Click to enlarge!

Making a video

When we came into work last Thursdaay we were unsure as to what would be expected of us.  We were going to be making a 3-5 minute video for the Cheshire High Sheriff's Awards ceremony.  We have done a fair bit of TV news slots, but this did not prepare us for the 6 hours of filming required to get the dialogue and scenes finished for this professional quality piece.  It was a real 'lights, camera, action' event..... and they do shout 'Action!'

Andy gets a grilling

Proper Hollywood, where's the catering trailer?

The video will centre around Innovation at Up and Under from the early involvement in the introduction of rope access to the uk scene - yes we were in right at the start - to the adaptation of existing products and technologies to solving clients problems.

Rope access, especially its use on bridges, was part of the early years of the Up and Under Story.  At the outset rope access was focussed on high rise buildings and offshore structures.  It was the combination of engineering competence and access skills, then as well as today, that made Up and Under rope (and confined spaces) teams obvious choices for technical bridge inspection, testing and investigation projects.

After basic rope access we concentrated on the use of materials borrowed from other industries and successfully utilised in the asset management sphere.

Strengthened and adapted lighting trusses from the film and stage industries have been developed and used by Up and Under over the years to successfully complete a range of projects covering bridges, buildings and even cliff faces; taking trusses from rock and roll to stabilised rock!

The final part of the film concentrated on our capability to provided a variety of maintenance activities on structures over flat or slow moving water using sectional pontoons originally developed for military activities.  These are available to provide stable platforms for inspection towers or repair/construction activities; all without causing interferance to the structure above.

These innovations have saved our clients literally hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years.  Every day we provide solutions to your problems with value, safety and efficiancy at the heart of every decision.

That was the subject of the video.  It will be shown at the Awards Dinner at Chester University on the 29th March and hopefully we will bring home an award, if we are a runner up it will still be testament to our performance over 25 yers and will not lessen our commitment to solve your problems. If you've not worked with Up and Under before, call us, we'll surprise you. 

Shrove Tuesday at Up and Under

Andy had to put up with a bit of ribbing at lunch time today when he was company tosser. 

What?!? I here you ask, he was in charge of making pancakes!  Tradition was upheld with a Shrove Tuesday lunch consisting of pancakes garnished with either sugar and lemon or swiss chocolate.  Grant managed to mix the two with a combination that Heston would have had something to say about, chocolate AND Lemon.

Flipping heck!

Donations from the Up and Under team raised £20 for the Up and Under Foundation which is about the same amount of weight that we put on between us! 

This is why we do it!

25 years of running the Up and Under group and this is the best thing I have ever read.  We helped this young lad with funding, through the Up and Under Foundation, so that he could attend a course at the Conway Centre. 

If you are a one of our clients you can feel proud because a percentage of every invoice we send you goes to help youngsters like this one.  As part of the Up and Under family you help to make these fantastic things happen. 

Recognising Excellence

The Up and Under Group are pleased to announce that they have been selected as a finalist in the Sentinel Business Awards 2011.The award we have been shortlisted for is the Training Excellence award in recognition of the efforts we put into the development of our team.

This award nomination follows our double success in the S Cheshire business awards as Employer of the Year 2010 and 2011.  Since receiving the second of these two awards we have been encouraging best practice amongst other employers by a variety of means including 1 to 1 meetings with business owners and last week we hosted a lunch for all of the Award nominees in the Emplyer of the Year category.  Obviously with a meeting of this type there are many common experiences and opportunities for exchange of ideas.

The winners of the Sentinel Awards will be announced on the 27th March at a gala dinner at the Kings Hall in Stoke.  Whatever the outcome we are already reaping the rewards of our investment in the people that make Up and Under special.

Grant's Leap of Faith



Beautiful workspaces created by Zenith Interior Contracts

Grant Williams, Director at Up and Under (Specialist Contracts) Ltd, comes from the world of ceiling tiles, glass partitions and exquisite joinery provided by Zenith Interiors Contracts - the company he founded, which is now part of the Up and Under Group.


The walk to work

Here though, he shows he has no fear of the outdoors by joining his Specialist Contracts team on a project to remove potentially dangerous loose material off a disused railway viaduct.



It doesn't look too high..........

Until you look at it like this!

Up and Under in the Media - Again

Following our winning the S Cheshire Employer of the year award we seem to keep getting our faces in publications so for completion here is the latest, the S Cheshire Chamber of Commerce Mag.

Don't we look smart ;o)