June 08 - Enverity Prestwick

Enverity are pleased to announce that their Prestwick Laboratory has achieved UKAS accreditation.  This will enable us to bring the Enverity quality brand into the Scotland market.  Click here to view the UKAS accredited services at Prestwick.  Over the coming months we will be expanding our existing services. 

For further information contact Chris Duddy, Laboratory Manager chris.duddy@enverity.co.uk

May 2008 - Continual Professional Development

In conjunction with the extensive testing services Enverity provide from their regional UKAS Accredited Laboratories throughout Great Britain, we are now offering tailored and bespoke training and presentations on a wide range of associated subjects. With the ongoing introduction of new and updated Regulations, Standards and Specifications, it can often be difficult for staff on large Civil Engineering projects to keep up to speed with the latest information and guidance. This can be especially true when considering the changes in guidance and regulations governing waste - what is a waste and when does a waste cease to be a waste?

As an example of the wide range of subjects readily offered to Clients, listed below are a number of presentations which have recently been provided to a number of Clients:

• Basic Geology

• Basic Testing Terminology

• Earthworks Classification and Testing

• Modification and Stabilisation of Civil Engineering Materials

• Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Ground Investigation

• Site Investigation Techniques

• Soil Description and Classification to new BS EN Standards

• The Testing of Pavements

28 February 2008

Extension to UKAS scope BS1377 Part 6: 1990 & Environment Agency R&D Technical

Report P1-398/TR2; January 2002

Enverity recently achieved a further extension to scope as part of their planned expansion and improved capabilities, which now includes Permeability and Accelerated Permeability in a Triaxial Cell. This electronically monitored system is capable of providing any of the optional supplementary information offered in the accelerated method.

For further information contact Brian Wells, Laboratory Manager brian.wells@enverity.co.uk.

November 2007
All soil and rock descriptions are currently undertaken in accordance with BS5930:1999:Section 6, BS EN 14688-1 and BS EN 14688-2 by fully trained and experienced staff, giving clients a valuable aid in interpretation of test results, and a greater opportunity for detection of anomalous materials identifying ‘made ground’.

For further information please contact brian.wells@enverity.co.uk.

August 2007 - UKAS at Enverity
In addition to our existing UKAS accreditation Enverity have recently achieved further accreditation for four methods at their Peterborough facility, these included CBR, Compactions, Vibrating hammer Compactions and Sieves.

The UKAS annual audit was a great success for our Peterborough, Newark and Daventry locations as full accreditation was maintained for both laboratory and field work.

We will continue to extend accreditation coverage for tests over the coming months.

Our schedule will be updated shortly and can be found by clicking on the UKAS logo on our Quality page.

For more information, please contact brian.wells@enverity.co.uk.

January 2007 - Enverity assists leading contractor complete road resurfacing works
Enverity has recently completed an intensive period of night works on busy city arterial works for a leading UK contractor. The contractor resurfaced a number of roads located throughout Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire during December. Enverity's services were required to ensure the quality of materials used and quality compliance of the finished roads.

The contractor was required to undertake the works under a series of 'lane rental agreements' and complete them during night and weekend working in order to cause minimal disruption to traffic. Enverity audited the tonnages of materials delivered on-site and subsequently used during the road resurfacing. Of critical importance to the success of the resurfacing was the temperature of the asphalt materials, which was monitored by Enverity to ensure it complied with preset limits. During and after the works, Enverity conducted a wide range of in-situ and ex-situ testing to verify the materials, including correct texture depth and surface regularity of the new road surfaces.

The roads resurfaced are part of the client's ongoing project which is over £1million in value.

For more information, please contact Ian Gardner.

January 2007 - Enverity provides client with quick turnaround of results
Enverity has recently completed a number of large-scale projects for one of its biggest clients in the Peterborough area. One project in particular involved a large volume of tests including over 100 triaxials and 150 particle size distributions. Enverity successfully exceeded the strict deadline that the client had specified for the results. Undoubtedly, the client benefited from Enverity being able to employ all three of its laboratories on this project. For further information, contact Ian Gardner.

November 2006
Following the integration of a specialist geotechnical laboratory based at Peterborough into Enverity, it was necessary for this laboratory to be inspected and assessed by UKAS for inclusion on Enverity’s accreditation schedule. This was undertaken towards the end of November and successfully completed. At present we are awaiting the updated UKAS schedule to be provided, however by following this link you can download a copy of the current schedule for your reference.  The presence of this specialist geotechnical laboratory within Enverity bolsters the highly comprehensive testing services we were already able to provide, bringing added benefits to current and future clients. For a comprehensive list of Enverity’s testing services, please follow this link.

October 2006
With the nights closing in, and Christmas already on the horizon, October was an ideal opportunity for everyone to catch their breath, and indulge in a little R & R. With this in mind, a nights entertainment was laid on at the various locations to repay all the hard work and effort that everyone had put in this year. Each of the laboratories chose a social activity, with these ranging from a bowling trip, to a night at the dogs! With our rapid expansion and numerous changes experienced by staff, this came as a bit of light relief and an opportunity to take stock of where we were and what we had achieved in the last nine months.

September 2006
From September 2006, all Enverity laboratories are employing the laboratory management system developed by the Keynetix software house, and known as KeyLAB. After a short period of development and live trialling at selected laboratories, a fully functioning and working version was rolled out. The full adoption of this management system has many direct and indirect benefits for clients including remote electronic scheduling, AGS data transfer, electronic reporting and identical report certificates from all laboratories. With the ever increasing testing facilities and capabilities within Enverity, a continual program of further development of this software package will progress and to reflect the needs of our clients and the business.

For further information on this development and the beneficial impact it can have, please do not hesitate to contact Ian Gardner. A version of the basic electronic schedule which works as a Microsoft excel spreadsheet can be downloaded by following this link, or a bespoke schedule reflecting your own testing requirements can be developed rapidly upon request.

July 2006 – Enverity completes in-situ and laboratory testing for Roller Compacted Concrete
Enverity has completed a large and complex in-situ and laboratory based range of testing for Roller Compacted Concrete Ltd. The project was completed over a four week period with a range of diverse testing required to be carried out, both on-site and within the laboratories of Enverity. Roller Compacted Concrete, or RCC as it is now commonly known as, takes its name from the methods used in its construction. High compaction paving equipment is used to place the concrete and rollers complete the compaction. RCC has the same basic constituent materials as conventional concrete, but it is a drier mix, stiff enough to be compacted by vibratory rollers. The benefits of utilising this method are many, and for those interested in this form of construction, we would recommend following this link to their website.

June 2006 – Enverity laboratory successfully completes UKAS Accreditation visit
Enverity’s Daventry laboratory has recently successfully completed its UKAS Accreditation visit. This compliments and expands on the wide range of construction materials testing which was already undertaken in accordance with this exacting quality assurance scheme. Since the laboratory had only been in operation since the start of April 2006, the rapid manner in which this location was able to organise, schedule and successfully undergo this vigorous inspection is testament to the quality of the staff, equipment and commitment of Enverity in the provision of excellence in testing services. For a schedule of UKAS Accredited tests, please follow this link.

May 2006 – AGS Software and Laboratory LIMs
A comprehensive software system is now being introduced across all Enverity laboratories, providing an intrinsic management tool which not only helps the control and administration of the laboratory service, but has added benefits to clients. The new software is provided by Keynetix and is fully compatible with the requirements of AGS formatted reports. Our laboratories now have the ability to receive testing instructions and requirements electronically from compatible AGS users, as well as being able to export all reports in AGS format.

April 2006 - New laboratory opens in Daventry
A new Enverity testing facility has opened in Daventry, providing a comprehensive construction materials testing service, including on-site and laboratory testing. Heading up this new operation will be Darren Berrill, Laboratory Services Divisional Manager and Paul Taylor, Site Services Divisional Manager. Both Darren and Paul had previously spent many years working in construction materials testing for one of the UK’s largest test houses, and have joined Enverity as part of the continued expansion of the testing services. Since joining they have teamed up again with Ian Gardner, Technical Director, to reform a highly successful and widely regarded partnership in the construction materials testing field.

The Daventry Laboratory will provide the full range of testing services offered by Enverity. For more detailed information on this service please contact Ian Gardner.

October 2005 – Enverity onwards!
Xplor Limited acquires Newark Laboratories, and re-names this comprehensive construction materials testing service as Enverity in order to better reflect its national geographical coverage. In line with the inclusion of the laboratory and as part of the Xplor Ltd business plan, an intensive recruitment program is underway with new and exciting opportunities. For more detailed information on this expansion of testing services please contact Ian Gardner or Terry Stafford.