Drawing on extensive civil and geotechnical design experience to provide a design assurance service through design reviews, independent checking, and validation.

After 20years since founding the multi disciplinary P&S Consulting Engineers Ltd sees a return to my primary interest in all things geotechnical.

The majority of geotechnical engineering design projects I have undertaken have been within a multi-disciplinary environment. Successful integration of geotechnical engineering within broader projects requires understanding interdisciplinary connections and how geological conditions can affect construction methods, materials, and project timelines. These close collaboration with professionals from other disciplines together with effective communication are essential to convey ground engineering findings and their implications to other team members, ensuring everyone understands the potential impact on the overall project.

The identification of geotechnical hazards and the assessment of risk are fundamental aspects of each commission I undertake. For every project, I use systematic procedures as a framework to ensure risks have either been designed out or effectively managed. I review the geotechnical risk register for each project throughout the project lifecycle as more information becomes available or additional hazards are identified. On a practical level, this involves initially reviewing all available ground-related information and, if necessary, suggesting additional investigations to better understand the ground conditions or to investigate areas where ground or laboratory testing may be lacking.

From an early stage in my career, I have been involved in developing innovations related to the use of geosynthetics in geotechnical engineering, particularly reinforced soil structures. I was part of the team responsible for advancing new design methods, which resulted in the publication of the first British Standard for reinforced soil, BS8006. I have since been a member of the BSI committee responsible for updating the Standard and we have recently drafted the National Annex for the 2nd Generation Eurocodes.

I have published papers advancing the understanding, acceptance, and use of geosynthetics within the civil and geotechnical industries and have presented at numerous workshops and conferences in the UK and overseas.

As a founding director at P&S Consulting Engineers Ltd in 2006, I took ultimate responsibility for delivering technical solutions for a range of geotechnical activities, including piling, retaining walls, embedded retaining walls, foundations, slope stability, deep excavations, and settlement analysis. My role involved managing, designing, checking, approving, and authorising both my own work and that of others in the design/checking team. Over a period of 20 years my design assurance role resulted in no insurance claims being made against the company, a statistic in which I take great pride.

Additional details can be found in my summary CV