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The first edition in our new Spotlight series! This month the spotlight is on measured building surveys. As land, engineering and building surveyors this is one of the key areas of our business. Measured building surveys is a diverse area which often sees us working alongside architects and developers on a variety of projects including houses of any size and shape, historic and listed structures as well as commercial buildings such as retail, offices, warehousing and agricultural.
No amount of technology will put our trusty tape measure into retirement, however we pair traditional tools with the latest technology to deliver top quality surveys for our clients.
Our experience, knowledge and technology allows us to deliver photographs, drawings and models but we don’t stop there. Our number one priority is client satisfaction so we also go above & beyond to ensure that all of our surveys that are fully layered with detailed annotations.
Don’t just take our word for it... “Chris, John and Grantham Coates Surveys have been our main supplier of measured building surveys for over seven years now, always with precise accuracy and attention to detail. They often deal with clients on our behalf and conduct themselves in a highly professional manner. I would happily recommend GC Surveys” Mark Powles RRA Architects To read more about our measured building surveys click here. To talk to us about a project of your own, contact us on 01789 764420 or info@gcsurveys.co.uk
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With the end of 2018 near, we are reflecting on some of our best bits! Here’s just a few of our highlights from this year…
A bridge too far...never! In 2018 we have completed loads of railway bridge surveys including batches of 30+ in Wales and over 40 on London North Eastern line! Knowledge is power Surveying can take us to some hard to reach places, on land and water. This summer, Scott and Jack travelled to the Bristol Marine Academy for a two day course where they achieved their Powerboat licenses. This will enable them to access sites safely via the water when required. Well done both! Stepping back in time One of our favourite projects this year was a survey steeped in history. We were commission to obtain position level and gross volumes of two World War Two era tunnel complexes beneath the old Rover plant at Longbridge. Pictures below show then and now... Glitz and glamour There is no limit to the depths we will go to for a survey and a prime example of this is what is affectionately known in the office as ‘a poo pipe survey’. We are in the midst of scanning three chambers to ascertain the depth and alignment of an operational trunk sewer. Working below ground carries risks so the GCS team are all Confined Spaces trained. 
Near & Far We are often called upon to undertake laser scan surveys on areas that are going to be used for projection. Projection is a popular choice for large scale events and, working in conjunction with Projection Artworks, our laser scan surveys have been used to help the likes of Warwick Castle and The Macallan Distillery. At Warwick Castle, our survey was used to inform an epic projection-mapping of Guy of Warwick; The Dragon Slayer, defeating the Dragon! For our next projection project we travelled to bonnie Scotland for a two day survey helping Macallan prepare for the opening event of their £140million distillery!
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And finally a top secret highlight, we can’t disclose all of the details just yet but we undertook a huge topographical survey of 30+ hectares of forestry commission woodland, surveying every tree over 300mm! It was a four week project that involved the whole team on weekly rotations. Watch this space for more details! 2018 was a fantastic year and we can’t wait to see what 2019 brings! In the meantime, we’d like to wish all of our clients, suppliers and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to seeing you in 2019. Earlier this year the Environment Agency warned that climate change was causing rising water levels and would therefore increase the risk of more frequent and dangerous flooding. These risks also pose a threat to infrastructure. There are thousands of railway bridges across the UK and one of the biggest threats to safeguarding our rail networks is the risk of scour affecting the bridge structures. Scour assessments have always been a vital tool in terms of monitoring and maintaining Network Rail infrastructure but this is becoming of increasing importance as predominantly Victorian engineering comes under threat from increasingly unpredictable weather and flood events. Here at GCS, we have many years experience providing scour assessment and scour protection surveys. For the scour assessment surveys, we provide our clients with elevation, cross section and long section information, enabling river modelling as part of the overall assessment. As you can see from the below images of a laser scan as part of a topographic scour protection survey, the detail we can get with a laser scanner is incredibly useful:  Performing a scour assessment survey allows the level of risk to be determined. The assessment delivers a low, medium or high rating. If the risk level is sufficiently high, we may then be asked to carry out a full scour protection survey. The scour protection survey delivers a high level of topographic and cross section detail to enable greater accuracy modelling as well as facilitating design of protection. Scour surveys, whether for assessment or protection, can be challenging for many reasons such as remote locations, access challenges as well as unexpected changes in water levels due to weather. Protection of our railway bridges is often overlooked by passengers but scour assessments are an on-going necessity to ensure the safety and sustainability of future railway services. To find our more about our work on rivers and railways, visit our services page. Here at Grantham Coates Surveys, we believe in supporting fresh talent into the surveying industry. Jack joined us back in 2017, with no experience whatsoever but a real willingness to learn. Since then he has undergone training and is now the guardian of our laser scanning projects for Oakwrights. Nurturing fresh talent requires a blend of on the job training and certification courses. Throughout Jack’s time with us, he has received in-depth training from Senior Members of the GCS team in many locations across the UK. Including a trip to Jakarta earlier this year to survey a 'mountain' that was being constructed for the Asian Games opening ceremony. Alongside his on the job training, Jack has successfully completed the following certification courses:
Whilst training is still ongoing, Jacks knowledge and capability has progressed and he is now the proud guardian of our laser scanning work for the multi-award winning design and construction company, Oakwrights. “I'm really pleased to be given the responsibility of the Oakwrights jobs as they challenge me as a surveyor but also give me the responsibility to see a project through from start to finish. The training is tough but worth it and the support I have received from the guys has made my learning on the job really useful”
Once the model has been registered in the office, Jack will draft 3d sections, a plan and elevation details directly from the cloud to provide a 3d wire frame model, such as the one shown below, for the oak frame designers to finalise their dimensions.  Oakwrights philosophy is to pair modern methods and technology alongside traditional oak framing craftsmanship. “Grantham Coates Surveys have enabled us to design, manufacture and build bespoke oak frame extensions to any property knowing exactly what we’re building onto, making the process more efficient and better for every trade involved.” Head of Oakwrights Country Buildings & GreenRooms To read more about our laser scanning surveys, click here. We've recently had our website updated by Imargy limited. http://www.imargy.com/.
Imargy provided a first class service, working to a set timescale and budget all aspects were taken care of with regular meetings to discuss progress and direction. Thanks to Robin for a superb service. This is our first post since the new site went live, for previous postings please follow the Older Blogs button. October saw us provide an article to Rail Professional magazine https://e.issuu.com/issuu-reader3-embed-files/latest/twittercard.html?u=railpro&d=october_issue_v1&p=1 Please follow the above link to the digital magazine, our article on Survey for Scour Protection is on page 134. Bridge Scour Surveys September saw us carry out surveys at two bridges in Scotland. The purpose of the survey was to capture above water and below water details, specifically areas of undercut and missing concrete bag work. We carried out an out of bank topographic survey, full terrestrial laser scan of the bridge abutments, piers and deck. Below water details were captured by a 3D sonar scanner. Deliverables consisted of topographic survey detailing bridge layout (including deck), bed levels (from sonar scan), elevation drawings, laser and sonar scan point clouds. In addition, images from the point cloud were created detailing dimensions of areas of undercut and scour. We also issued a multitude of photographs and survey report covering control established and accuracies achieved. If you have a bridge or underwater structure that would benefit from a higher level of detail than would ordinarily be obtained by diving or a standard scour survey then please contact us for a chat. We can carry out bridge surveys to pretty much any specification you need. With RISQS approval railway structures are a speciality.
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Grantham Coates Surveys Limited
2 Arden Court Arden Road Alcester Warwickshire B49 6HN |
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