Innovative Thinking

It is an exciting time for the UK’s civil engineering industry with plenty of significant projects on the horizon. This work is increasing pressure on project managers, many of whom are overseeing larger, more complex projects with teams working across multiple projects at any given time.  With major engineering projects…

Many challenges in construction and engineering involve dealing with complex information out on site. Away from the clean confines of an office, it can be difficult to ensure the right things are done in the right place at the right time.  David Pinches, chief product officer at software specialist Causeway…

Climate change is one of the most pressing problems society faces, with the UK government in real danger of missing its 2050 net zero carbon target. It is vital that the rail sector continues to drive the shift of passenger and freight journeys from road to rail. But more than…

Bauer Technologies is an expert in the foundations sector and is well known for the installation of vertical tunnelling foundation elements. A landmark project was the installation of the three up to 120m deep diaphragm wall shafts, with diameters of between 8m and 35m at Woodsmith mine in Whitby, North…

Highways England’s £43M M6 junction 19 Improvement Scheme is at the intersection of the motorway and the A556 between Cheshire and south Manchester.  Over 65,000 vehicles use the junction 19 interchange each day and it requires improvement to meet an expected increase in traffic resulting from Manchester Airport’s expansion and…

Waterman Aspen uses a range of methods to cut the carbon content of roads projects.

Part of Network Rail’s £1.2bn East Coast Upgrade is a grade separated dive under at Werrington  near Peterborough. It will increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), and increase freight traffic on the slower Stamford and Spalding Great North Great Eastern (GNGE) lines.  This will be achieved by…

Rail bridge inspections can no longer be left to traditional approaches and techniques. The speed and accuracy required to competently assess rail bridge stock dictates that the old ways of doing things simply can no longer be applied. A case study of a complex PTSI Rail Bridge Assessment highlights the…

Sopra Steria is pioneering a platform which can help rail sector employers identify and address competence gaps as the industry prepares for a post-Covid workload boom.

With increasing pressure on water resources, can marginal gains move water supply closer to net zero? By Steve Leigh and Richard Leigh.