PAST EVENTS

24th July 2008 – A3 Hindhead Tunnel – Site Visit

Work has commenced on the long awaited A3 Hindhead Tunnel and Southern Branch members were recently privileged to be hosted by the Highways Agency and their Constructing Engineers, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited to have an insight of the project and a tour of the site covering the entire 6.5 kms including construction of the 1.8 km, twin bore tunnels. This was an oft-postponed visit but our patience was well rewarded by and extremely interesting and informmative tour conducted by Paul Arnold, Highways Agency Project Director and Paul Hoyland, Contract Director for Balfour Beatty. A full report of the visit is available here for downloading.

19th June 2008 – Annual General Meeting

The Region's AGM took place this year at the National Trust Wey Navigation Centre, Dapdune Wharf, Guildford. We were delighted to welcome the newly appointed IHIE Chairman, Tony Sharp, who braved the elements by coming to Guildford on his motorbike! As ever this venue made for an enjoyable and informative day for the 16 delegates who made the effort. A report of the event is available for you to download here.

15th May 2008 – Southern Branch Winchester Seminar

Under the title "Drive for Safety – the professional engineers business", Southern Branch provided another excellent "value for money" and informative event to over 74 delegates. A wide range of subjects were discussed to provide engineers with additional tools in their armoury to create a safer environment for all classification of road users. A more detailed report of this event is available here.

11th March 2008 – London Olympics 2012 – Delivering the Challenge

Having won the opportunity to stage this global event, the UK has to demonstrate its ability to deliver the undertakings it made in its submissions to secure this showpiece. Clare Springett of the Olympic Delivery Authority provided an excellent insight into the challenges that confront her colleagues in providing a comprehensive and safe transportation delivery service to the Olympic Family and spectators. A report of this event can be accessed through this link.

Career Development Presentations - January and April 2008

With the support of Surrey County Council and their Highways Partners, Carillion plc and Ringway Ltd., Southern Branch held career development seminars for engineering staff on the East and West management areas of Surrey. This was a new innovation for the Branch and was well received by the delegates who attended. A report of these events can be accessed from this link.

23rd November 2007 - Annual Wine & Wisdom quiz night

Southern’s now legendary annual charity Wine & Wisdom quiz night was held in Ripley Village Hall where 11 teams gathered on a November Friday evening to pit their knowledge against each other to win the Challenge Shield. The results of our efforts culminated in the presentation of a cheque for £700.00 to Trudi Harris, Chairman of Cherry Trees, which was handed over by Branch Chairman, Alison Coffey. Oh, and the winners... "The Nightmare" team from Surrey Laboratory, Merrow prevailed by a margin of 2½ points over the second place team "Past & Present." A full report of the 2007 Wine & Wisdom evening is available here.

Wednesday 17 October 2007, Ground Surveys Technical Presentation by Geotec

With the stark pronouncement that "in 2005/6 at least 77 ‘road workers’ were either killed or seriously injured due to underground apparatus strikes", Nigel Knowles, Managing Director of Geotec Surveys Limited, accompanied by Martin Lambe (Regional Sales Manager) started an informative and interesting presentation to 25 delegates at Southern Branch’s October technical presentation.

Highway works are included within the general description of ‘construction’ which unfortunately has the highest rate of industrial injuries in the United Kingdom, many of which are avoidable. Referring to the new Codes of Practice under the CDM Regulations 2007, Nigel reminded delegates of the statutory obligations to enhance safety and reduce the levels of inconvenience resulting from ‘underground strikes’. Highway works are included within the general description of ‘construction’ which unfortunately has the highest rate of industrial injuries in the United Kingdom, many of which are avoidable. Referring to the new Codes of Practice under the CDM Regulations 2007, Nigel reminded delegates of the statutory obligations to enhance safety and reduce the levels of inconvenience resulting from ‘underground strikes’. The problems did not only affect the industry but there was evidence of ‘DIYers’ endeavouring to save money but failing to carry out simple investigations. One such adventurer incurred a repair bill for £25,000 for damaging a fibre optic cable. Makes digging the garden seem quite exciting!!

Nigel outlined the values of the service provided by companies like Geotec in the surveying field giving clear illustrations of the mass of services that lurk just under the surface of our road network – some as shallow as 15mm! Given the presence of the old favourites of gas, water, electricity which is now augmented by cable communications in many cases there simply isn’t the room for more services and, more importantly, room for error. Every now and then the surveys revealed what is hidden in the land but that which isn’t or shouldn’t be there, unexploded ordinance and the occasional human remains have been known to be detected. Nigel rounded off the presentation with a series of case studies to demonstrate the congested state of our highway network (both above and below the surface) and fielded questions from delegates. We are grateful to Nigel and Martin for giving their valuable time to the Branch members.

The response to this event was excellent and we are considering repeating this presentation with a venue in Sussex/Hampshire to enable members in that area to attend. Please keep a watch on the web site for further information.

Wednesday, 19th September 2007 - Operation Orpheus, Dartford Tunnel

A fascinating insight into the preparation for the Major Incident Exercise held in June 2006 in the Dartford Tunnel was given by Andy Mack of Le Crossing to 19 delegates at Ringway Specialist Treatments, Dunsfold. Including a dramatic video that captured the atmosphere of the event, it was evident that this was a significant test of the emergency services to prepare for the unthinkable. A full report of this event is available in PDF format