"Being able to offer our clients a joined up service, from the initial surveys right through to the detailed design and project management really enables us to deliver best value."
Give your project the right start
Significant investment is being made in our ageing railway system but many years of neglect and ad hoc improvements have left a legacy of stations and infrastructure with little or no accurate surveying record.
Commissioning surveys early on in a project cycle provides comprehensive and accurate baseline data enabling the designer to fully visualise complex rail infrastructure and get the design right first time.
What may appear flat to the naked eye may actually be tilted, or what appears to be a 2m gap may be fractionally more or less – very important if you are about install a prefabricated bridge structure that needs to fit like a glove within a tight possession, as happened on a recent rail project in London.
Existing surveys of a bridge which was to be replaced were found to be inaccurate. The designer had to turn to their own in-house surveying team to repeat the surveys in order to allow them to get it right. The same problem was subsequently found at another station in the same scheme. Had the surveys not been redone, there would have been major problems on site, not least with bridges literally not bridging the gap. The early intervention of the designer combined with the accurate surveying techniques employed saved both time and the potential costs of having to fix the problem once on site.
Modern point cloud laser scanning techniques have significantly enhanced the ability of designers to visualise complex rail infrastructure. The data can be imported into CAD for rapid interrogation for use by designers and architects.
Hyder Consulting has extensive experience over a comprehensive range of surveying techniques that come together to form a complete package. The recently added in -house Ground Investigation team, led by Colin Plumb, completes the suite of surveying services.
Since its establishment in 2006, the engineering surveying team has grown exponentially and we have a strong team of experienced surveyors, CAD and engineering support. As surveyors with engineering backgrounds we understand that surveying represents the first stage in project design. Our early involvement enables us to help the client define their vision and so develop a survey plan, incorporating all the necessary surveys, be they above or below ground or both, and undertaking them all in one go.
Colin Plumb Technical Director for Geoscience, says “We offer an integrated service; Geotechnics, Topographic and Utility Surveying, Contaminated Land and Ground Investigation, providing our clients with a complete customised in-ground solution”.
By combining Ground Investigation and Topographical Surveying we can present an accurate picture of what is under the ground as well as the layout and space above the ground. We can also monitor the ground and the surrounding area for surface and subsurface movements arising from below ground construction, all the things you can’t see, as well as over ground visual monitoring. The results of this can then be cross-referenced to environmental factors such as high tide levels or seasons.
Dan Roberts, Geospatial Service Manager at Hyder says “It doesn’t matter what field you are in, or what environment, we can accommodate you”.
Working closely with the Rail team Hyder Consulting has successfully delivered designs for projects at Sandhills Station, Bootle Oriel Road, Chorley Buckshaw, Epsom Station and some nineteen stations on the North London Line where Hyder was appointed as the principal consultant for this prestigious railway improvement project. We are about to embark on extensive point cloud laser scanning along with other surveying techniques at Whitechapel Station as part of the Crossrail scheme.
Mac Alghita – Managing Director of Rail at Hyder commented “Being able to offer our clients a joined up service, from the initial surveys right through to the detailed design and project management really enables us to deliver best value. The teams work very closely together and are constantly in touch to make sure the surveyors are delivering exactly what the designers need to fulfil the aim of the client.”
Please contact us to discuss your surveying and rail projects. For surveys, call Roger Barsby on 07748 188683 or email roger.barsby@hyderconsulting.com, for rail, call Graham Fifoot on 07796 300377 or email graham.fifoot@hyderconsulting.com
This article appeared in Railway Strategies magazine in July 2010.