Product Development

In areas of engineering where there are no national standards or design guidance it is imperative that clients, engineers and regulators have clear evidence of adequate product performance as this dilemma invariably means they are totally reliant on the data and design information provided by the product manufacturers.

We often see this scenario in the sustainable drainage and contaminated land remediation sectors, where design guidance and testing protocols are either relatively new or evolving and consultants may not be fully aware of the appropriate design requirements and procedures

Our track record, spanning two decades, in the involvement of the development of product testing procedures and the development of design guidance in the contaminated land and sustainable drainage sectors. This, combined with our ongoing partnerships with academic institutions, accredited testing houses and trade associations, provides us with a unique ability to offer specialist advice to design consultants, contractors and manufacturers on matters relating to existing or proposed testing methods and design methodologies in these sectors.

Examples of our service include:

• Production of guidance on the structural design of modular geocellular drainage tanks (CIRIA and British Plastics Federation)
• Production of guidance on the hydraulic, structural and water quality performance of pervious surfaces along with design guides (CIRIA and Interpave)
• Production of practical guidance to engineers, regulators and designers about assessing ground gas risk and the design of appropriate protection measures (CIEH and CIRIA)
• Testing and validation of sustainable drainage components to demonstrate hydraulic performance, structural stability and pollution removal performance
• Performance testing of tree root protection systems
• Measurement of permeability of membranes to hydrocarbon/VOC vapours.