Ground Engineering News and features on all aspects of geotechnics, engineering geology and geo-environmental engineering 
Breaking Ground is the voice of the geotechnical industry. The podcast is supported by Ground Engineering magazine and the Ground Forum, the umbrella body for the ground engineering sector.
Hosted by Steve Hadley, the podcast covers a wide range of ground engineering related topics. Key themes include sustainability, design, commerce, diversity, health and safety, welfare, construction techniques, education and industry challenges.
If you’re part of the ground engineering sector – or if you’re thinking of joining – there will be something here for you.
If you are interested in sponsoring an episode, please contact the sales team at Ground Engineering.
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Breaking Ground: Episode 32 – The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3)
This episode of Breaking Ground focuses on the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3) and its Ground Engineering Subgroup (GES). Host Steve Hadley and Federation of Piling Specialists (UK) and European Federation of Foundation Contractors secretary Ciaran Jennings meet BP senior geotechnical engineer and chair of IOM3’s GES David Waring, Bam Ritchies engineering manager and sectary/committee member of the GES Emily Wood and IOM3 director of membership Paul Skerry.
Founded more than 150 years ago, British engineering institute IOM3 started out as the institute of metals, while mining was added later. It then also began to look at activities related to the development of other materials such as woods, plastics, glass and rubber.
IOM3 comprises 22 different technical communities, of which the ground engineering community is one. Currently, around one third of its membership is involved in mining activities.
Breaking Ground: Episode 31 – Paul Beetham on lime stabilisation
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley and Federation of Piling Specialists (UK) and European Federation of Foundation Contractors secretary Ciaran Jennings meet Nottingham Trent University associate professor in geotechnics Paul Beetham.
The episode is focused on the different uses and challenges related to lime stabilisation. As a soil stabilisation specialist, Beetham is particularly interested in what happens to lime when it is mixed into the ground.
Wet ground is a major problem for construction sites as it makes it much harder for operatives to drive plant across sites. In the UK, lime in the form of a finely ground power is often used to dry the ground out. It is mixed into the ground and quickly used to condition and dehydrate it in a process that is known as lime improvement. Beetham also talks about the use of lime stabilisation on High Speed 2 embankments.
Breaking Ground: Episode 30 – Luisa Hendry – the Scottish Geologist
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley and Federation of Piling Specialists (UK) and European Federation of Foundation Contractors secretary Ciaran Jennings meet Story Contracting senior engineering geologist Luisa Hendry.
Hendry’s love of geology stretches back to her childhood. She then gained a BSc degree in Earth science from the University of Glasgow, and a course she took in her fourth year called engineering Earth science opened her eyes to engineering geology.
She has recently gained a viral following on social media for her videos about geology. You can find her as @ScottishGeologist on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn and @ScotGeologist on X.
This episode of Breaking Ground is brought to you by Geofem.
Breaking Ground: Episode 29 – Palak Shukla, Tony Bowerman & Natalie Wride on social mobility and careers
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Steve Hadley hosts the podcast with Federation of Piling Specialists (UK) and European Federation of Foundation Contractors secretary Ciaran Jennings.
They are joined by Ramboll design engineer Palak Shukla, Atkins Réalis senior geotechnical engineer Tony Bowerman, and Mott MacDonald senior geotechnical engineer Natalie Wride.
Hadley begins the discussion by talking about social mobility in the context of careers in the ground engineering industry, and asks the panellists: “Why is this issue so important?”
According to the podcast guests, the ground engineering industry needs to do more to attract a diverse workforce that includes people with different socio-economic backgrounds, lived experiences and alternate ways of thinking.
This episode of Breaking Ground is brought to you by Geofem.
Breaking Ground: Episode 28 – Geofem’s Skevi Perdikou on remote sensing technologies
In this episode, host Steve Hadley meets Geofem technology manager Skevi Perdikou. The company is a specialist in the application of remote sensing and visualisation technology for monitoring infrastructure and geotechnical assets.
These technologies are becoming increasingly important tools to use along with traditional and complex geotechnical models when assessing events such as dam, slope and cliff failures.
Geofem has been involved in the development of sensing technologies for the past six years, with part of the business now dedicated to satellite sensing. The company was originally established in 2007 as a geotechnical engineering consultancy mainly concentrating on finite element modelling.
Perdikou notes that the company’s ability to bring together the geotechnical and remote sensing parts of the business makes it unique in the sector.
This episode of Breaking Ground is brought to you by Geofem.
Breaking Ground: Episode 27 – Hock Liong Liew and Javier González Martí on the observational method
In this episode of the podcast, host Steve Hadley joins Mott MacDonald technical director Hock Liong Liew and Geotechnical Observations commercial manager and senior instrumentation and monitoring (I&M) specialist Javier González Martí at Mott MacDonald’s offices in London.
Liew kicks off the conversation by outlining why there is a need for the observational method, which was developed by the father of soil mechanics, Karl Terzaghi, in 1945. The idea was later defined, and the procedures of the method laid out, by civil engineer Ralph Peck in his 1969 Rankine Lecture. The method was then formalised in the Eurocode in 1987 and the most recent version of Ciria 760 includes a process for using the method.
Geotechnical instrumentation is key to the method as it is used to monitor how the ground behaves and how structures behave while the design is being implemented. The observational method can be applied to any geotechnical problems – embankments, tunnels and even underpinning work – and can create cost and time savings as well as carbon savings.
This episode of Breaking Ground is brought to you by Geofem.
Breaking Ground: Episode 26 – Lifetime achiever Dinesh Patel, part two
This is the second episode dedicated to the life and career of Arup fellow and director Dinesh Patel, who was the first ever recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 GE Awards.
After asking Dinesh Patel about his childhood and early career in part one, Breaking Ground host Steve Hadley turns to Patel’s more recent achievements in part two.
Of particular importance to Patel was the work that he did following the Gujarat earthquake in India in 2001, in which Patel lost family members. Thousands of people died in the earthquake, and Patel says that many of those casualties were because none of the buildings in the region were designed properly.
Seeing this, Patel decided to get involved to make sure that the buildings would be built back safely. As a result, Patel collaborated with other engineers to author a seismic retrofit guide to help homeowners rebuild their homes.
Breaking Ground: Episode 25 – Lifetime achiever Dinesh Patel, part one
Breaking Ground podcast host Steve Hadley met with Dinesh Patel at Arup’s Charlotte Street office in London to chat about Patel’s long career in geotechnics, how he first got started out, and the challenges he has overcome along the way. This is the first of two episodes delving into his career.
Patel is a world-renowned expert in geotechnical engineering, who has, in Hadley’s words, reached “legendary status” after being awarded the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 GE Awards. His acceptance speech at the ceremony touched many in the audience because of its particularly personal message, which related Patel’s journey into this country.
Patel wants to share his story with the sector, particularly younger ground engineering professionals, to show that being from a minority group is “hard work”, but it shouldn’t stop anyone from developing a successful career.
Breaking Ground: Episode 24 – Luke Deamer, Erica Russell & Alice Berry on sustainability
In this episode of the Breaking Ground podcast, host Steve Hadley chats to returning guest Arup geotechnical and sustainability engineer Alice Berry, Keller group sustainability manager Luke Deamer, and Russell and Dawson senior consultant Erica Russell.
Hadley and his guests discuss the pressing challenge of limiting the rise in average global temperatures by reducing our carbon emissions. While the average global temperature has risen by around 1.1°C since 1880, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has put the Earth on track to exceed 2°C of warming.
The guests explain some of the terminology being used in discussions around carbon and look into how the ground engineering sector can transition to a low CO2 future and ultimately achieve net zero.
Breaking Ground: Episode 23 – Paul Nathanail, Carrie Rose & Ian Evans on contaminated land
In this episode of the Breaking Ground podcast, themed around contaminated land, host Steve Hadley chats to Land Quality Management technical director Paul Nathanail, Atkins associate technical director Carrie Rose, and Arcadis senior technical director Ian Evans.
Work in the contaminated land sector is about helping clients understand and manage land contamination risks. As the podcast guests note, this work is interdisciplinary and attracts specialists with a range of expertise.
The three experts go on to review some common sources of ground contamination, as well as methods of investigation and containment. They also provide insights into how contamination is represented in popular culture, referencing the films Deepwater Horizon and Erin Brockovich.
Breaking Ground: Episode 22 – Carla Martín Clavé on carbon
In this episode of the Breaking Ground podcast, host Steve Hadley chats to Jacobs engineering geologist Carla Martín Clavé who was the 25th Glossop Award winner for her work highlighting the role of engineering geology in the energy transition.
Clavé completed her PhD in underground gas storage in salt caverns at the University of Nottingham, sponsored by the British Geological Survey.
She has also done a lot of volunteering work related to the energy transition – or the move away from a system based on fossil fuels to a system based on renewable energy systems and cleaner sources of energy – and has collaborated with the European Association of Geosciences and Engineers.
Breaking Ground: Episode 21 – Rebecca Penn, Martin Griffin & Gary Evans on neurodiversity
In this episode, host Steve Hadley chats to Balfour Beatty finance analyst Rebecca Penn, Knight Piésold senior engineer Martin Griffin and Plowman Craven head of client engagement Gary Evans about neurodiversity.
They discuss some of the types of neurodiverse conditions, the most common of which include dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
The guests also delve into their experiences of being neurodiverse and working in the construction industry, and how having a neurodiverse team can positively affect your organisation and make it more effective. They also look at the support systems and resources that should be available to neurodiverse students and employees.
Breaking Ground: Episode 20 – Alex Petty on geology
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley chats to Stantec geotechnical services lead Alex Petty who is from the UK and is now leading teams in Western Australia.
He moved to Australia in 2011 and was initially offered a role as a geotechnical engineer with Aecom in Perth. He describes the work as an “eye-opening experience”. He talks about some of the exciting projects and unique geology found in that part of the world.
Petty, who is keen on sharing knowledge and best practice on social media, is particularly passionate about the link between geology and geotechnics and how understanding the fundamentals of geotechnics at various stages of a project can really benefit construction solutions.
Breaking Ground: Episode 19 – Bold as Brass
Tarmac geotechnical manager Katherine Evans has set up Bold as Brass, a new network for women in construction, quarrying and mining on LinkedIn.
It was created so that women could have a place to network and support each other. In addition, there is a group for allies, as all genders are responsible for culture change within the industry.
“I wanted to give women a place they felt safe to discuss issues and network without toxicity; everything else has been a by-product of our members’ ideas,” Evans says.
In this episode, she is joined by friend of the podcast and Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions senior geotechnical design engineer Fiona Connor to discuss some of the issues facing women in the construction industry.
Breaking Ground: Episode 18 – Jim Williams on archaeology and construction
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley chats to Jim Williams who works for Historic England, which advises the government on the historic environment.
Williams helps to carry out Historic England’s mission to “champion heritage to improve people’s lives” by managing a team of science advisors across the country.
It is their job to help local authority archaeologists with the scientific aspects of the archaeology that they see on a day-to-day basis. This includes offering advice on scientific dating, on different methods of geophysical surveys, how to deal with human remains and environmental sampling.
Williams notes that the historic environment and its study through archaeology is important, as it plays a key role in the planning and development process.
Breaking Ground: Episode 17 – Yuli Doulala-Rigby on geosynthetics, product types & applications
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley chats to Chaido (Yuli) Doulala-Rigby who has previously represented the International Geosynthetics Society on the Ground Forum.
They begin by talking about Doulala-Rigby’s journey into geosynthetics. After starting out as a tunnel engineer working on the Jubilee Line extension, she moved to Hong Kong to work on slope stability projects. After 10 years there, she moved her family back to the UK and started working for Tensar.
It was at Tensar – which invented geogrids in 1978 – where Doulala-Rigby became fully immersed in the world of geosynthetics. Since then, she has become increasingly involved in the IGS, for which she was a chair between 2016 and 2018.
Doulala-Rigby is keen to promote geogrids as playing a key role in sustainable temporary and permanent works geotechnical solutions. She also goes on to bust some myths about women in engineering and offers an inspirational tale for others to follow.
Breaking Ground: Episode 16 – George Tuckwell & Richard Pidcock on geophysics
This Breaking Ground episode discusses the range of geophysical techniques available to ground engineers, as well as their many applications.
Host Steve Hadley is joined by RSK director of geosciences and engineering George Tuckwell and Central Alliance joint managing director Richard Pidcock.
Although Hadley touched on the use of airborne geophysics techniques in a previous episode, here he covers a wider range of techniques and explores how each technique works.
Hadley notes that those who work in the piling sector are more used to using conventional ground investigation techniques. But since geophysical technology is evolving all of the time, it is becoming increasingly popular in ground investigations.
Breaking Ground: Episode 15 – Talking slopes with professor Neil Dixon
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by retired Loughborough University professor of geotechnical and civil engineering Neil Dixon.
Dixon discusses his research into how acoustic emission monitoring can be used to detect slope movements and to provide an early warning system for landslides around the world.
With former colleague civil engineering senior lecturer Alister Smith, Dixon helped to create a commercial acoustic emission slope monitoring system, developed with a global leading geotechnical instrumentation company.
Hadley and Dixon conclude the episode by discussing what can be done to attract more people into geotechnics and why funding is crucial in developing talent and technologies.
Breaking Ground: Episode 14 – Geophysics takes to the skies
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Steve Hadley is joined by Emerald Geomodelling CEO and founder Andi A Pfaffhuber and the company’s principal engineering geologist Chris Pressdee.
Hadley learns more about airborne geoscanning survey technology and its uses around the world. The guests explain how the survey data can be combined with conventional borehole data and enable machine learning to develop sophisticated 3D models of the ground.
This offers the potential for early identification of appropriate construction techniques and infrastructure routing choices.
Emerald Geomodelling grew out of 10 years of research and development at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
Breaking Ground: Episode 13 – Vicky Gutteridge and Jim Gelder talk mental health
In this special episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by Ollie Foundation executive assistant to the CEO and community advocate Vicky Gutteridge and Mott MacDonald technical director Jim Gelder. The guests discuss the difficult topics of mental health and suicide in the context of the construction industry.
The Ollie Foundation provides wellbeing, prevention and intervention events, training, talks and panel events for professionals, parents and students. Through its work Ollie aims to reduce both the stigma and the fears people have in talking about suicide.
Gelder recently took the bold step of speaking publicly about coping with depression. A move that will help remove the stigma around mental health illnesses and give others the confidence that the industry is full of supportive friends and voices.
Breaking Ground: Episode 12 – Steve Thorpe and Conrad Stewart on the Big Borehole Dig
This episode delves into the Big Borehole Dig – a British Geological Survey (BGS) project to improve the availability and accessibility of borehole data. Steve Hadley is joined by BGS geospatial technician Steve Thorpe and Harrison Group data manager Conrad Stewart to discuss the project.
From asking whether we should be openly sharing more information as a way of contributing to the greater good, to whether Minecraft is the key to engaging younger people with geology, this is a fascinating conversation.
Breaking Ground: Episode 11 – Patrick Lane-Nott on Hypertunnel
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by Patrick Lane-Nott, Hypertunnel’s director of engineering. The tunnelling start-up aims to reimagine the world of underground construction through artificial intelligence, machine learning and swarm robotics.
Discussing the history of tunnelling, Lane-Nott says that the main elements of tunnelling using a tunnel boring machine have remained the same for almost 100 years. Hypertunnel, on the other hand, aims to approach tunnelling “in a very different way to current methods” and make it faster, safer and cheaper.
Breaking Ground: Episode 10 – Roni Savage on starting out, growth and leadership
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Jomas Associates managing director Roni Savage talks about why she started her geotechnical engineering and environmental services business twelve years ago, its growth and the schemes she has been involved with as a business leader.
Savage discusses her many other roles within the construction industry, from acting as a mentor to aspiring engineers, to her role as construction policy chair for the Federation of Small Businesses. Her cross-industry experiences have taught her that the collaboration of different experts on construction projects is key to how we can work better together as an industry.
Breaking Ground: Episode 09 – Ian Webber – Expert witness
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Federation of Piling Specialists chair and host Steve Hadley is joined by Coffey Geotechnics director for Europe and the Middle East Ian Webber.
Webber shares the story of his career so far, starting with how he established himself in the industry and going all the way through to his experiences of being an expert witness for legal cases more recently.
Breaking Ground: Episode 08 – Dave Petley on climate change and slope behaviour
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by Dave Petley, pro-vice-chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Sheffield. He is a geographer, scientist and global expert in slopes and landslides.
Petley talks about slope stability and what effect climate change is having on the way slopes behave, while also giving listeners a refresher on anything they might have forgotten in this area since leaving university.
Breaking Ground: Episode 07 – Dimitrios Selemetas, Alice Berry & Graham Webb on GE autumn conferences
AKT II technical director Dimitrios Selemetas, Arup associate Alice Berry and WSP associate Graham Webb join host Steve Hadley to discuss the Basements & Underground Structures and Instrumentation & Monitoring conferences, which were held by Ground Engineering magazine in early October 2021.
Selemetas, Berry and Webb all presented at the conferences, which highlighted just how much there is going on in geotechnics. In this episode, Hadley explains more about the event for those who couldn’t make it, and the guests discuss in more detail the themes that they covered in their presentations.
Breaking Ground: Episode 06 – Richard Fielden on groundwater and dewatering
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Steve Hadley is joined by WJ Groundwater managing director Richard Fielden, who also chairs the British Drilling Association, to talk about the world of groundwater and dewatering.
Fielden started his career in the piling industry, working on a big basement project in Central London. He realised here that big holes in the ground interested him, and this led him to take an interest in groundwater and dewatering.
The world of piling and the world of groundwater have a huge number of crossovers, and the episode covers a lot of ground from skills and the market to developing kit.
Breaking Ground: Episode 05 – Derek Pennington and geotechnics across the globe
In this episode, host Steve Hadley, who is the chair of the Federation of Piling Specialists, is joined by Derek Pennington, consultant of Pennington Geotechnics, who has also served as a geotechnical services specialist for Transport for NSW. He is Breaking Ground’s first international guest, who joined Hadley over Zoom from his home in Australia.
Pennington talks about his geotechnical career, which has taken him across the globe from Singapore to Afghanistan, and also across a number of different roles – both within industry and the academic world.
He also opens up about his experience of being a gay man working within the construction industry, as he hid his sexuality for the majority of his career.
Breaking Ground: Episode 04 – Julia Hill, Emily Riley & Nick Koor on recruitment, education & development within geoscience
In this episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by Roger Bullivant geotechnical engineer and Federation of Piling Specialists Early Careers Group chair Julia Hill; CGL senior chartered engineer and British Geotechnical Association Early Career Group chair (in London and the South West) Emily Riley; and University of Portsmouth’s School of Environment, Geography and Geoscience associate head of research and innovation Nick Koor.
The guests discuss what falls under the umbrella term of geosciene, what educational routes there are into this sector, and the plethora of jobs and opportunities that are available within this space.
Geoscience is the study of the planet, looking at how various geological processes have influenced the way the planet works and looks. Geoscientists and geotechnical engineers then analyse how this affects our built environment, as well as us as human beings. Instead of the outdated view of geoscience as a “dirty subject”, today it can been seen as part of the solution to climate change.
Breaking Ground: Episode 03 – Jane Towse-Laval and Philip Hines on joint ventures & an industry update from Nia Kajastie
In this episode of Breaking Ground, Steve Hadley is joined by Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering business director Jane Towse-Laval and Soletanche Bachy UK group managing director Philip Hines to discuss joint ventures, a business model which has become more popular in the last few years – what are they, how do they work in practice, and are they a good idea?
Hadley is also joined by Ground Engineering editor Nia Kajastie to talk about forthcoming GE activities – something which will become a regular feature of these podcasts – and to provide her insight into current infrastructure projects, including a progress report on High Speed 2.
Breaking Ground: Episode 02 – Michael Chendorain & Bean Beanland
In the second episode of Breaking Ground, host Steve Hadley is joined by Arup associate director and global lead for geothermal and groundwater engineering Michael Chendorain and BBH Energy principal consultant and Heat Pump Federation director Bean Beanland.
The discussion in this episode focuses on geothermal energy in the UK, starting with how it has been used throughout history, then moving on to what is happening now and how the geothermal energy landscape could look in the future.
The guests discuss how people do not necessarily think about the UK as a geothermal place, yet there is a lot of opportunity to develop ground energy systems. Geothermal could have some practical and financial benefits, but it could also help to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint. It needs to be sunny for solar and windy for wind, but from a ground source perspective, the UK is very well suited to harvest ground energy on a bigger scale.
Breaking Ground: Episode 01 – Yvonne Ainsworth & Martin Pedley
In the first episode of Breaking Ground, Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions director Yvonne Ainsworth and GSS Piling managing director Martin Pedley discuss the Piling 2020 conference, held in March 2021.
Hosted by Federation of Piling Specialists chair Steve Hadley, the first episode of the podcast delves into the topics, papers and conversations from the virtual piling event.
The roundtable discussion covers themes including sustainable materials, new techniques, design and analysis.
Yvonne Ainsworth, one of the organisers of the event, and Martin Pedley, a keynote speaker, give listeners a real taste of what went on if you were not able to attend, and provide some additional detail for those that did.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 12 – Jyoti Sehdev, Richard Totty & Fiona Connor
In this episode of the Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by Jyoti Sehdev, chartered engineer and group equality, diversity and inclusion lead at Costain; Richard Totty, senior design engineer at Bachy Soletanche and ambassador for Stonewall; and Fiona Connor, lead project geologist at Applied Geology and InterEngineering’s representative at the Ground Forum, to discuss what it’s like to be LGBT+ and working within the construction industry.
The conversation covers issues that LGBT+ people face such as the challenges of coming out at work and the prejudice that people can encounter while going about their day-to-day job. They also talk about the support that they’ve had, how LGBT+ allies within the workplace can really make a difference, and what we can all do to help make construction a more diverse and inclusive industry.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 11 – Jim De Waele
In this episode of the Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by Jim De Waele, president Europe at Keller.
De Waele has been one of the most prominent players in the UK foundation market for nearly thirty years and now as group strategy director and president Europe for Keller, he talks about some of the biggest global issues that are affecting the construction industry across the world.
From discussing the European reaction to Brexit and how it may harm the UK skills market to the impact that the coronavirus has had in different areas, this conversation covers many of the current major talking points but also goes in to great detail in some interesting areas – for example, De Waele talks about his involvement in the writing of the ICE Specification for Piling and Embedded Retaining Walls, and how much of the world looks to Britain when it comes to standards.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 10 – Anusha Shah
In this episode of the Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by Anusha Shah, director of resilient cities at Arcadis and future president of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The current focus of ICE under president Rachel Skinner is on net zero carbon emissions. Shah has always had a passion for the environment, and she will continue this work by focussing on resilient cities. In this conversation, she talks about what lessons we can learn from projects around the world – for example, how the Netherlands are constantly redeveloping their flood defences rather than reacting once a flood has happened, and about the East Coast Resilience Project in New York, which is looking to create multi-functional structures where a flood defence is integrated with open space that the public can use as beauty spots too.
She also talks about her involvement with the Thames Estuary Partnership and the Tideway Project – and what effects this project will have on the quality of the water in the River Thames once it’s completed.
Finally, Shah speaks about gender diversity and inclusive design, and how this is an issue that needs to be tackled by society as a whole, not just in the construction industry. She discusses fairness, inclusion, BAME representation and respect. She concludes that we made the systems, so we can remake them too.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 09 – Alasdair Henderson
In this episode of the Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by Alasdair Henderson from Bam Nuttall. Henderson started with Bam Ritchies in 1996 and rose to the role of divisional director before being invited to join the executive board of Bam Nuttall.
He is also a former chair of the Federation of Piling Specialists, and Hadley describes this conversation as one of the most enlightening he has ever had. Henderson talks about the wider industry and what changes could be made to create a better working environment as a whole, but also gives advice for individuals looking to progress in their career in the construction industry.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 08 – Jim Branch & Robin Styles
In this episode of the Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by Jim Branch and Robin Styles from Hanson Concrete to learn more about one of our industry’s most important materials – concrete.
Hadley talks to the duo about what goes into it, how it’s made and how it can play its part in a low carbon industry in the future – and importantly, how working together can lead to the best solutions to reduce waste, cost and energy.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 07 – Ruby Wax & James Rudoni
In this month’s Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by writer, actor, comedian and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax, and James Rudoni, the managing director of mental health charity Mates In Mind.
Mental health issues have always been a problem within the construction industry, and in this podcast, the guests discuss the potential reasons behind this – but also, importantly, what we can do to help each other.
We would encourage you to share this podcast with your networks if you feel inclined to do so, as by talking about mental health openly and honestly, we can help to remove the stigma around it.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 06 – Nirmal Tiwari & David Major
In this month’s Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast, Steve Hadley is joined by David Major from the FPS Early Careers Group to talk about a busy summer period and what’s coming up.
He is also delighted to be joined by experienced ground engineer Nirmal Tiwari, who discusses some of the world famous projects he’s worked on during his many years in the industry and some of the intricacies of them, and he reveals that he’s got no intention of stopping work any time soon.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 05 – Andreas Körbler
Steve Hadley is joined by Andreas Körbler, Keller’s business unit manager for South East Europe & the Nordics.
Körbler talks about what it takes to get to the top in ground engineering and also about his role as president of the EFFC, discussing some of the initiatives that they’ve got planned over the next few years.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 04 – Anthony Oloyede & Ebenezer Adenmosun
Steve Hadley is joined by the president of the LABC, Anthony Oloyede, to discuss building control procedures, LDSA pile design guidance and the Construction Youth Trust. Ebenezer Adenmosun, the owner of Geofirma, tells us about his career journey and the role of mentoring in developing young people.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 03 – Suzannah Nichol
Chief executive of Build UK, Suzannah Nichol, joins FPS chair Steve Hadley to discuss the building industry’s response to the Covid pandemic.
They look forward to the recovery of the industry including development plans and efforts to modernise. Hadley then summarises current and future FPS activity.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 02 – Tony Suckling, David Major & Dave Trotter
In episode two of the podcast, FPS chair Steve Hadley talks to A Squared Studio director Tony Suckling about advanced geotechnical design techniques.
He welcomes leader of the FPS Early Careers Group David Major to discuss professional development.
Then he spends time with Dave Trotter of Fatigue Science looking at how technology can help us manage tiredness in the workplace and beyond.
Federation of Piling Specialists Podcast: Episode 01 – Tim Chapman
In the first episode of the FPS podcast, chair of the FPS Steve Hadley talks to Tim Chapman, leader of Arup’s London-based infrastructure group.