Testconsult gets further contract boost from Crossrail.
Testconsult secures three further contracts on one of the biggest civil engineering projects in the UK.
After four years of materials testing on the Government's highly prestigious Crossrail transport scheme in London, Testconsult has secured three further contracts on one of the biggest civil engineering projects in the UK.
The additional work is a mark of great confidence in the industry-leading provider of monitoring, instrumentation and testing services which joined the James Fisher group in 2015. In addition to concrete testing at Farringdon station, the new contracts include foundation testing at three different underground stations, and structural monitoring on the Canning Town Flyover.
The Canning Town Flyover project demanded a degree of ingenuity from the engineering team headed up by Testconsult director Simon French. The job involved monitoring this monolithic concrete structure while Crossrail bored a tunnel underneath. Testconsult's job was to help ensure the flyover stayed open throughout construction as it's a critical transport connection to London city airport handling a huge amount of passengers daily.
The project involved installing Testconsult's tilt sensors and digital levels to monitor the position of the structure and using hydraulic jacks to safely lift and lower the structure as required.
Simon explains:
'We were able to provide a robust and accurate solution which, to the best of my knowledge, has never been used elsewhere.'
The concrete testing contract is focused on the reconstruction of Farringdon underground station. Thousands of sample concrete 'cores' (each 100mm in diameter) are being taken, checked and logged with their compressive strength, consistency and homogeneity in various conditions and drying stages. This means working through the night.
'We have a dedicated team of 18 staff working there seven days a week and 24 hours a day. Whatever time it is, the lab is always open!'
Explains Gary Foy, director at Testconsult.
A separate team has also completed testing of the load-bearing piles at Paddington underground station, Pudding Mill Lane (next to the Olympic park), and Bond Street.
Iwan Jones, director at Testconsult explains:
'With UKAS accreditation we've got the capability to deliver the tests in-house and we also manufacture the test equipment ourselves.'
