BridgeZone engineering consultants combine numerous disciplines

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Inspecting structures with difficult access involves numerous disciplines, all of which exist on the fringes of the civil engineering industry but are seldom carried out and delivered by practising civil engineers. BridgeZone Ltd, an engineering consultancy, not only provides a suite of access solutions but is able to offer the benefit of qualified civil and coastal engineers who undertake the core works themselves. This makes liaison between the access technician and the client/consulting companies substantially more fluent whilst maintaining high standards of safety and good practice to meet their needs.

BridgeZone is a full member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Association of Diving Contractors as well as being a full operating member of IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) and is registered with the HSE to perform UK inshore and inland diving operations. The company provides professionally qualified and experienced civil engineers, trained in all access techniques – these include a commercial surface supply diving capability, confined space operations incorporating full breathing apparatus for hostile conditions, and rope access techniques. The team offers an alternative to standard ‘working at height’ restrictions and access to most sub-surface and confined space environments in order that examination, survey, investigation and assessment of structures can be carried out.

High resolution imagery

Much of BridgeZone’s specialist activity is in the rail sector where it works under a framework contract to fulfil inspections and condition surveys involving more than 2,300 structures across the network including bridges, viaducts, culverts, walls and coastal defences. These require difficult access inspections every one to three years – that equates to an average of 850 annually. It’s not surprising then that BridgeZone’s portfolio is impressive. The Royal Albert Bridge, Severn Tunnel, Forth and Tay rail bridges, Ryde Pier and Newcastle’s High Level Bridge have all been the subject of inspections by the company.

But to remain competitive it needs to be resourceful, innovative and efficient. Using its extensive knowledge of the sub-surface industry, BridgeZone has invested heavily in new equipment. For instance, it has been trialling the use of Sonar scanning for underwater inspections. Such methods have been used for nearly two decades but the ability to produce high resolution images under a broader range of water quality and flow conditions has only recently become feasible.

During and after flooding events, many of the waterways crossed by our rail network exhibit poor water quality, low visibility and can be very fast flowing. The technology can help to identify features that require more detailed examinations by engineer-divers involving zero-visibility dives – these require the diver to inspect intuitively using touch – and during spate-flow conditions with the inherent risk of scour.

BridgeZone has recently tested the technology with great success on the Royal Albert Bridge and presented the findings to Network Rail with a view to using it during and after flood events, which the company is frequently required to attend. Flood response is necessary to ensure that bridges are structurally sound and their integrity has not been compromised during spate/peak flow conditions. This demands an inspection of the foundations and sub-structure before the bridges are declared safe and opened to traffic.

BridgeZone - Twerton tunnel
Rope access inspections of the east portal of Twerton Tunnel

Dropping down

The company also provides a rapid response rope access call-out facility, most recently used on New Year’s Day. Then, engineers were asked to abseil into a 72m deep masonry ventilation shaft, extending vertically to the Down-side of Dinmore Tunnel near Leominster on the Shrewsbury-Hereford line. The request was made following reports of ice build-up observed within the shaft during the recent cold snap. The potential of ice falling onto the track – or worse, through the cab of a train – was considered a risk best mitigated by deploying rope access engineers to remove the ice. They also examined the integrity and surface condition of the brickwork that forms the cylindrical construction of the shaft. Fortunately, on that occasion, no significant defects were found and any substantial ice build-up was removed. As a result, normal operation of the train service – which had been running at caution through the tunnel – was allowed to resume.

Shaft and tunnel portal examinations constitute a large part of the difficult access inspections carried out by BridgeZone. Box Tunnel – Brunel’s iconic tunnel near Bath – is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line and creates its own unique challenges. Due to the size and ornate nature of the listed western portal, rope access has proven to be the most practical, efficient and least invasive approach for gaining direct access to the structure – and the technique also allows full structural examinations to be carried out on a regular basis.

BridgeZone - diver
A diver gets up-close with a pier of the Forth bridge

Clear vision

From its inception in 2003, BridgeZone has grown steadily year-on-year. “It started on a kitchen table seven years ago and now we employ over 50 engineers with offices located in Tiverton and Nottingham”, comments company founder Dave Rylatt. “It’s all about giving the customer the certainty he needs – that we can deliver a UK-wide high quality service consistently to programme, often in appalling conditions. Safety is paramount to us so the training provided to our teams has to be ‘top-notch’ so with that level of financial commitment, we only want the best people”.

Paul Marshall has recently joined the senior team as Managing Director. He adds that “Dave and I go back a long way so when he approached me to help him take the business forward, I jumped at the chance. Our combined management strengths are paying dividends – with his operational nous and my strategic approach, we have now a clear vision of where the company is going and how we are going to achieve it. We will not be diluting our proposition of inspecting the ‘uninspectable’ but will be adding synergic activities to broaden the sector base and mitigate business risk.”

One thing is for certain – when many companies are struggling to find enough work to fill their order book, BridgeZone continue to go boldly forward.

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