Best of 2018

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…

Caught on camera!

​In the spotlight
Earlier this year one of our very own team members, Scott, had his turn in the spotlight when he was filmed for Channel 5’s Paddington Station 24/7 whilst carrying out a roof survey on the Macmillan House/Paddington Station roofs.

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.

All aboard!
​Railways have always formed a big part of our work here at GCS and this year we went beyond bridges to perform around 10 station platform surveys including one for platform extension works.

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!

From dragon slaying to whisky making, our most exotic projection survey to date has to be The Asian Games. Two members of the GCS team went to Jakarta in July to scan the 'mountain' that had been constructed in the arena to enable projection mapping. The Mapped Video projection by Creative Technology took place during the Opening Ceremony of The Asian Games in August 2018.

Classified
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.