New construction industry guidance on the mitigation of UXO risk

With the green shoots of economic recovery daring to show, the UK’s most experienced UXO research team are thriving on their reputation for offering realistic and pragmatic risk assessments for unexploded ordnance (UXO) hazards on sites in the UK. 

Zetica has a dedicated team of 5 researchers providing unrivalled experience, knowledge and understanding of UXO hazards in the context of a proposed development.  Zetica’s clients keep coming back for more, realising that trying to save costs at the desk study phase often only results in higher costs during construction, as poor quality research usually leads to an overcautious risk assessment.  Zetica’s research team are repeatedly asked to review desk studies from others, in order to ensure that a reasonable assessment of the UXO risk has in fact been made. 

Zetica’s expertise and experience has substantially influenced the newly published CIRIA guidance document ‘Unexploded ordnance (UXO) – A guide for the construction industry’ (CIRIA reference C681, 2009). Examples of Zetica’s work are included alongside case studies based on Zetica’s experience.  Zetica’s risk assessments already exceed the basic recommendations contained within the CIRIA guidance.

Access Zetica’s free unexploded bomb risk maps (http://www.zetica.com/uxb_downloads.htm) as a starting point to weigh up risk.

Zetica plans to enhance its on-line tools with UXB risk maps centred on redevelopment zones such as Merseyside and Coventry and enhanced risk zoning for the London UXB risk maps which will include information from World War One (WWI) bombing records. 

Senior geophysicist joins Zetica

We are pleased to announce that Brian Barrett has joined the company as a senior geophysicist.

Brian obtained a BSc (1st class honours) and an MSc from Adelaide Australia , and a PhD at Leeds University in Glaciology and Geophysics in 2007. Before joining Zetica, Brian was a postdoctoral research Assistant at Swansea University responsible for processing and interpreting ground penetrating radar and borehole thermometry data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Brian has published a number of papers in scientific journals such as Geophysical Research Letters, Groundwater, Exploration Geophysics, Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics, and the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Brian has particular expertise in electromagnetic and resistivity methods for groundwater quality characterisation and ground penetrating radar including physical property determination from radar velocity and attenuation, and multi-frequency and multi-polarisation surveying.

Brian will work with the environmental and engineering geophysics team as senior data processor and take a lead role in training technical staff. He will also be a key figure in developing and implementing new geophysical applications.

Stop Press: Hearty congratulations to Brian, Sarah and Ethan for shepherding baby Myra into the world on the 2nd September 2009.

New project portal to manage survey results and information

Consistent, clear and effective communication is an essential part of any successful project. When project participants span a large geographical area and have overlapping project interests, communication becomes more difficult and time-consuming.  

Potentially useful information can gather dust when hidden in a quagmire of diverse information sources with a lack of organisation and consistency between them. Consolidating information sources in a single coherent location for all participants can speed up delivery and reduce the risk of delays.

Zetica has developed a project portal which will be available to clients to intuitively manage site investigation information including:

• Desk studies
• Topographic surveys
• Geophysical surveys
• Trial pit and borehole logs
• Contract documents
• RAMS
• GANTT charts
• Etc

The portal supports a multitude of raster and vector data formats and map projections to OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standards. Linked documents offer handy access to related documents in PDF, DOC, XLS etc formats. Scaled drawings in various formats (DWG, DGN, SHP) can also be accessed via a linked drawing library.

The website is accessible by login with a name and password. Once logged in users only have access to data specific to their account.
Collaborative content authoring is available via a Wiki interface allowing users with permissions to update libraries and / or key descriptive text. 

Email projects@zetica.com for more information or to request an on-line demonstration.

Case study – location of pre-Civil War era tunnels

Zetica was approached by the Aynho Historical Society to assist with their project to map a possible network of tunnels beneath parts of Aynho, a beautiful historic village north of Banbury. 

A proving phase of geophysical surveying was carried out over 2 days including over a known tunnel which collapsed and was entered and photographed in 1995.  Four methods were tested including electromagnetic profiling, electrical resistivity tomography, ground penetrating radar and gradient magnetometry.

The survey successfully located the known tunnel (see extract below). Discussions are underway to plan a follow-up survey of the area to confirm the presence of other tunnels.

Lunchtime Seminars

Zetica offer a popular seminar on the uses and abuses of geophysics. Engineers are brought up to date on the latest geophysical methods available in the market place and interesting areas of research and development. The presentation normally lasts 45 minutes and is case history-based with a 15 minute discussion session following.

Click here to email Ellen Stevens to discuss your requirements and arrange a seminar at your offices.