November 2013 saw the annual London Survey Dinner hosted by SCCS – The Survey Equipment Company. The event saw 120 leading members of greater London’s geospatial community past and present gather at the Dover Street Restaurant in Mayfair for a reception, networking dinner and awards presentation. Within a lively atmosphere of chatter and live music the invited guests enjoyed drinks and a three course dinner and the chance to catch up with peers, a broad selection of SCCS staff and even a few competitors late into the night.
For the first time at the event SCCS awarded three awards. The winners were chosen in three categories. Most Innovative Use of New Technology, Technical Collaborator of the Year and SCCS Partner Project of the Year.
Most Innovative Use of New Technology was presented to Nigel Drayton and Ian Campbell of Costain working on the National Grid London Power Tunnels-Costain Skanska JV project for their early adoption of the Leica MS50 Multi Station for monitoring the thickness and profile of the sprayed concrete lining being applied on the project. The use of MS50 saved significant time and provided richer data than the previously used standard survey practice.
Technical Collaborator of the Year was presented to Steven Thurgood of Skanska Civil Engineering for his approach to developing, communicating and sharing best practice. Steve and his Costain Skanska JV engineering surveying team at Crossrail Paddington C405 have made significant developments in geospatial practices and practical monitoring solutions. The project runs the world’s largest homogeneous Automatic Total Station network operating on Leica GeoMoS software, with 46 Leica TM30 networked instruments measuring approximately 2100 prisms per cycle with up to 8 cycles per day. Steven has consistently been proactive in sharing information for the benefit of the project, Crossrail and the wider industry.
SCCS Partner Project of the Year was presented to Michael May, representing the Victoria Station Upgrade project currently being undertaken by Taylor Woodrow BAM Nuttall JV. The project, involving both above and below ground works for London Underground is complex in nature and TWBN have worked closely with SCCS to develop systems and practices for precise monitoring and control that would previously have been outsourced. This spirit of partnership and shared development has been to the benefit of both the contractor, SCCS and ultimately the client as the project is currently progressing on program.