Article Contaminated Land

NHBC Ground Gas Update – Site Assessment, Characterisation and Design of Gas Protection Measures

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Tags: article CIRIA CL:AIRE ground gases NHBC

NHBC have published an update to their 2007 technical guidance for low-rise residential developments on sites affected by ground gases. The original document, entitled ‘Guidance on evaluation of development proposals on sites where methane and carbon dioxide are present’, included a simple multi stage classification method for low-rise housing, commonly referred to as the “Traffic Light system”.  The fundamental guidance offered in this document remains applicable but, since its publication, there have been a number of advances in knowledge, including guidance on alternative approaches for characterising gas regimes and updated advice on the design of measures to deal with gas risks.  These include the Characterisation of gas risks without gas monitoring on low-risk sites (CL:AIRE, 2012), Verification of gas protection systems (CIRIA C735, 2014) and the British Standard Code of practice for the design of protective measures for methane and carbon dioxide ground gases for new buildings BS8485:2015.

The full article is available at: http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Builders/ProductsandServices/TechZone/NHBCStandards/TechnicalExtra/

NHBC summarise the new guidance and comment on where they consider it to be applicable.  They also explain where their Traffic Light classification can continue to be used, for a “typical house”, as detailed in the figure below.

NHBC

Model residential property developed for calculated maximum permitted gas concentration within the subfloor void.

 

They advise that:

  • There have been a number of recent UK publications offering alternative approaches to ground gas risk assessment and improved advice for the design and verification of measures to deal with gas risks.
  • Practitioners undertaking gas surveys and assessing the risks should be conversant with updated guidance.
  • Robust site characterisation is required to design gas protection measures, but designers must also have an understanding of building-related influences, as these significantly govern design and construction options for gas protection measures.
  • Gas protection design, installation approach and verification requirements should be agreed with NHBC in advance of works, as satisfying requirements after construction is extremely difficult, often more costly, and can be disruptive.
  • Specific requirements relating to gas protection measures may be applied under planning and must also be considered.
  • The NHBC Traffic Light guidance can be used where the development proposals are based on the ‘typical house’ used for modelling in the traffic light classification system.
  • Verification evidence will be requested for gas regimes at Amber 2. For developments where the Characteristic Situation is applicable, the BS8485 scoring system requirements should be adopted, and verification evidence could be required for gas regimes at CS2 or above.

 

References

NHBC Technical Extra, Issue 20, April 2016.

Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) Research Bulletin RB17 – A pragmatic approach to ground gas risk assessment. 2012.

CIRIA C735. Good Practice and verification of protection systems for buildings against hazardous ground gases. 2014.

BSI. Code of practice for the design of protective measures for methane and carbon dioxide ground gases for new buildings, BS8485:2015.

 

by Neil Parry

Article Contaminated Land

Contamination Expo Series – 12th & 13th October 2016

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Tags: article

The AGS has partnered with The Contamination EXPO Series, a major new European exhibition committed to providing the latest knowledge, products, and innovations to manage all aspects of contamination.

The series encompasses six different co-located events: Land Remediation Expo, Spill Response Expo, Clean Air Technology Expo, and Hazardous Material Expo, as well as Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Expo and Nuclear Decommissioning and Remediation Expo, all under one roof with their own conferences and workshops.

With 120 seminars and 200 suppliers, this lively environment will be the top networking event in the industry, bringing together all parties from across the sectors. For more information, or to register for your free tickets, please visit www.contaminationexpo.co.uk

Location

ExCeL, London

Event website

www.contaminationexpo.co.uk

Tel

+ 44 (0) 117 990 2005

Email

james.ashwood@prysmgroup.co.uk

 

Article Loss Prevention

Potential Pitfalls for an Expert Witness

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Tags: article expert LPA 62 witness

by Peter Witherington and Hugh Mallett

 

Many of us in the technical services industry aspire to be experts in our field.  To receive a request to provide expert witness services can be flattering and could be seen as validation of that status.  However, ultimately provision of this service can result in the requirement to provide expert evidence at an inquiry or in court where rules and behaviour can be very different to our day to day experience.

Therefore, before accepting instructions to provide expert witness services on a particular matter, practitioners from member companies would be well advised to;

  • refer to the recently published LPA 62 [Advice to Expert Witnesses] and
  • reflect upon the following Magnificent Seven potential pitfalls drawn from recent experience, that potential expert witnesses can face and must fully understand:

1.  Responsibility of an expert.

First and foremost experts must be aware that their responsibility is to provide independent evidence to the court unaffected by any desire to support their client’s case (see also LPA 62).  An expert should be formally instructed by the solicitor acting for the client and this should clearly define the terms of reference and responsibilities.

2. Ensure you are Fully independent.

Before accepting an instruction, an expert must carefully consider if there are any conflicts in the appointment.  This could be a question of being previously involved in the case, a connection with other parties dealing with or affecting the case or a less obvious connection with a matter that could influence the case.  As a minimum the expert should advise the instructing solicitor and be entirely transparent in the proof of evidence of the potential conflict and how it could have affected the opinions given.

3.  Ensure you really are an expert.

Although you might be expert in the general aspects of the case consider whether you truly are an expert in all the specific details you are required to give evidence on. For example you might be an expert remediation engineer but have never dealt with a petrol filling station. If the case is about a PFS, you should seriously consider whether you should accept or decline the instruction.

4.  Make sure you are fully conversant with all the documents

It is easy to be tripped up if you are unaware of documents. On cross examination of a politician who admitted she had not had time to read all the documents, the barrister stated “Madam, you do not have an opinion!”

5.  Make absolutely sure your proof of evidence is correct

There is nothing a barrister likes more than to find errors in a proof of evidence. So when writing your expert report or proof of evidence make doubly sure that everything is factually correct, that any calculations you have made are not flawed and your opinions cannot be disputed or undermined by virtue of simple factual or typographic errors. There is nothing worse than having to amend errors in a proof identified during cross examination and the barrister will use this to question the reliability of all your evidence. Although it is your evidence it always makes sense to get another expert to undertake a sense check before it is submitted to the court

6.  Do not be drawn under cross examination to stray beyond your area of expertise.

It is very easy to be drawn under cross examination to make statements that are be beyond your area of expertise. A common pitfall is to bluff your way through but this could destroy the credibility of your entire evidence. It is far better to admit the limitations of your knowledge and not offer an opinion that is outside your area of expertise.

7.  And finally

It is important to recognise the seriousness of being an expert. This is not just an exercise in mental gymnastics; beware that barristers do this day in day out and excel in getting under your skin to undermine your credibility – this is what they are paid to do! If anyone needs a confirmation of how merciless the process can be, it is worth reading the judgement of Justice Aikenhead on the Corby case and how he dealt with some of the witnesses.  But more important than personal credibility, many of these cases can affect the lives of real people (as in the Corby case) and we must remember we have a responsibility to them as well.

.

Article Laboratories

NEW EDITION OF BS 1377-1:2016 PUBLISHED

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Tags: BSI Labs

BSI published the sixth edition of BS 1377-1:2016 Methods of test for soils for civil engineering purposes – General requirements and sample preparation on 29 July 2016.
First published in 1948, and last updated to its fifth edition in 1990, some would say that an update to the Standard was long overdue, but the previous edition served the geotechnical laboratory testing community superbly well for over a quarter of a century.

The new edition begins the process of overhaul of BS 1377 as a result of “Eurocode 7”, and in particular the publication of the first of the new International Laboratory Testing Standards in the BS EN ISO 17892 series. Three have already been published, while a fourth is expected before the end of 2016 and there are another eight in the pipeline for 2017/2018.

The main changes to BS 1377-1 are:
i. Extend the calibration interval for balances from 6-monthly to annual (this alone should save most laboratories at least the cost of the new Standard in one year);
ii. Amend the requirements for calibration certificates to bring them into line with BS EN ISO 17025;
iii. Make reference to the BS EN ISO 17892 series of Standards, instead of the superseded BS 1377 tests, where these have been published;
iv. Refer to ‘water content’ instead of ‘moisture content’ (BS EN ISO 17892-1); and
v. Remove references to withdrawn BS Standards, and replace with the current BS, EN or ISO Standards.
The sixth edition is not a complete re-write, but it is an important stepping stone as more and more daughter-Standards from Eurocode 7 appear.
BS 1377-3: 1990, which is currently being rewritten, is the next scheduled revision.
Copies of BS 1377-1:2016 are available to purchase (hard or e-copy) from the BSI shop here.

Roger Brown
Associate Director – Laboratories
Fugro GeoConsulting Ltd
T +44 (0) 1491 820815 | M +44 (0) 782 783 9019
rm.brown@fugro.com |www.fugrogeoconsulting.com

Article News

Take the AGS-BDA Survey on Industry Standards

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Tags: AGS BDA Industry Standards news

The AGS and the BDA have collaborated to create a new taskforce to investigate what the UK Ground Investigation industry thinks of themselves particularly in relation to technical standards.

It is very much hoped that many people within the UK GI industry, from all types of organisation and at all levels, will now choose to participate in the survey linked below and in the subsequent discussions. The survey will close on 31st August 2016.

Take the Survey

Article Safety

AGS SWG Call for Safety Alerts

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Tags: appeal Awareness industry lessons learnt proactive safety alerts

Dear Member,

 

 

MESSAGE FROM THE SAFETY WORKING GROUP CHAIRMAN – CALL FOR SAFETY ALERTS

 

The Safety Working Group would like to encourage the sharing of lessons learnt from accidents, incidents and near misses on a more regular basis. This information is normally obtained from members of the group raising issues during the meetings which often have directly affected their organisations or through discussing Safety Alerts. However, we rarely receive Safety Alerts and so often the issues we can discuss are limited to the experiences of the members of this working group which can be argued does not necessarily reflect the industry or membership as a whole.

 

The wider construction industry seems to be much better at issuing Safety Alerts but many of these are not related to AGS member’s work and so often they are not relevant. It is the belief of the Safety Working Group that we are missing valuable ‘lessons learnt’ or an opportunity to raise awareness of current issues and we would like this to improve.

 

This is an appeal for the AGS membership to ‘up its game’ and to start being more pro-active in the generation of Safety Alerts. The issuing of Safety Alerts is a simple system which can be used to not only raise awareness of substandard products or poor practice but also to reiterate safety messages, provide lessons learnt and provide warnings. Some companies are reluctant to issue Safety Alerts as they believe that any accident, incident or near miss will look bad on them or clients may believe their organisation has unsafe practices. This is a very negative view of Safety Alerts whereas they should be looked at as a proactive approach to accidents, incidents and near misses and a desire to improve safety.

 

We would like to receive any Safety Alerts which have been issued to members but would also really like to receive Safety Alerts generated by our members. Please help.

 

 

 

Yours faithfully,

For the Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists

 

 

JULIAN LOVELL

Chair of the Safety Working Group

 

Article News Business Practice Contaminated Land Data Management Executive Laboratories Loss Prevention Safety

AGS Members’ Day: 7th April 2016

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Tags: ALcontrol Laboratories ALS Environmental Barbican CH2M Tunnels and Earth Engineering Concept Derwentside Environmental Testing Services Dunelm Geotechnical & Environmental Ltd ELAB Envirolab Equipe Group Fugro Geolabs Limited Geotechnical Engineering Limited In Situ Site Investigation Ltd members day Soil Engineering Geoservices Structural Soils Ltd

The AGS is pleased to announce details of Members’ Day 2016, which is taking place on Thursday 7th April 2016 at the prestigious Barbican Centre in London.

This full day seminar will see a number of industry experts present on topics unique to their experience and expertise. This year we’re pleased to confirm presentations on subjects including the Shape of the Geotechnical Engineering Industry in 2025, Assessment and Management of Unexploded Ordnance Risk in the Marine Environment, The Accelerated Programme for the Moorgate Shaft, Geosynthetics, and Geodata Management on the HS2 Project so Far.

Full details of this year’s speakers can be viewed AGS Members’ Day Programme 2016

This year’s event is open to both Members and non-Members of the AGS. To confirm your attendance, please complete the AGS Members’ Day registration form and return it to ags@ags.org.uk before Friday 25th March. There is no cost for AGS Members to attend Members’ Day, however Non-Members will be required to pay £85 (plus VAT) per delegate.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please note that registration forms received after Friday 25th March will not be accepted.

The AGS are pleased to announce that the following companies have sponsored this years event;

ALcontrol Laboratories is Europe’s largest independent provider of accredited laboratory testing services for the environmental industry, with over thirty years of global experience. They provide a range of tests including the following: TPH, PAHs, VOCs, phenols, PCBs, pesticides, metals and WAC testing.
www.alcontrol.com

ALS Environmental is a world-class analytical testing company supplying a wide range of expert services to the remediation and investigation markets. As an organisation ALS can provide you with UKAS and MCERTS accredited laboratory testing, in-field, real-time analysis and OnSite monitoring including sampling and Environmental Field Chemists.
www.alsenvironmental.co.uk

CH2M Tunnels and Earth Engineering teams work globally, designing and building infrastructure, underground space and natural resource solutions on behalf of our clients. Technology, innovation and delivery are key, as we integrate our strongest capabilities and experts from across the company to solve complex problems, add value and reduce risk.
www.ch2m.com

Concept specialises in the geotechnical, geoenvironmental and structural site investigation sector. We were formed some 18 years ago. Since formation we have grown to occupy a prominent role in our sector. In 2014 Concept were awarded both the prestigious Ground Engineering Award for the Best Ground Investigation Specialist in the UK and also the ICE London Civil Engineering Award for Greatest Contribution in recognition of the quality of the service we provide.
www.conceptconsultants.co.uk

Derwentside Environmental Testing Services offer a wide range of high quality accredited analytical testing services for the environmental, construction, waste, fuel and engineering industries. Our range of testing services cover the analysis of Land, Groundwater, Effluents, Waste & Gases, Fuels & Biomass, and Asbestos.
www.dets.co.uk

Dunelm Geotechnical & Environmental Ltd have 50 years’ experience as leaders in the field of ground investigation. Having complete accreditation for Quality, Environment and Health and Safety, our clients are afforded a first class service. Our highly qualified, experienced staff and in-house drilling services deliver an efficient and flexible service to all our clients.
www.dunelm.co.uk

ELAB specialises in the testing of soil, water and leachate samples as well as providing environmental monitoring equipment hire. Our analytical services cover inorganics and organics analysis, geotechnical chemical testing, metals analysis, as well as asbestos identification/quantification, waste characterisation testing and waste acceptance criteria (WAC). ISO 17025 accredited laboratories.
www.elab-uk.co.uk

Envirolab provides laboratory services spanning a broad organic and inorganic portfolio. Our reputation for excellence is built on continually providing our clients with reliable results delivered on time and within budget. Our UKAS and MCERTS accreditations guarantee our commitment to quality. We are the utterly reliable analytical laboratory.
www.envlab.co.uk

Incorporating Equipe Training and Equipe Geosolutions, the Equipe Group are at the forefront of the sustained development and growth of the geotechnical and drilling sectors. Equipe Training offer NVQs, industry specific Health and Safety training, along with geotechnical and drilling courses, whilst Equipe Geosolutions provide new, ground-breaking technologies such as KeyLogbook and SAFER-G.
www.equipegroup.com

Fugro is a leading international provider of geo-intelligence and asset information. Geotechnical capability includes a full range of terrestrial and marine in situ and laboratory based ground investigation services supported by a comprehensive geospatial and consultancy capability.
www.fugro.com

Geolabs Limited are a wholly independent testing-only company, providing soil, rock and aggregate laboratory testing services since 1995. Geolabs ensure a high quality, UKAS accredited service, for a wide range of tests with staff having a combined total of 400+ years of testing experience.
www.geolabs.co.uk

Geotechnical Engineering Limited was incorporated in 1961 and remains the largest privately owned ground investigation contractor in the UK. We provide an integrated service of utility surveying, drill rigs, insitu testing, laboratory testing and engineering services.
Our large fleet of drill rigs includes our in-house developed slope climbing P45s, P60s and P45K rigs, providing quality site data to the construction industry.
www.geoeng.co.uk

In Situ Site Investigation Ltd is a specialist geotechnical and geo-environmental site investigation company, which specialises in the use of Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) techniques and other related pushing technologies. We also offer a full range of pressuremeter testing services including cone pressuremeter, self-boring pressuremeter and high pressure dilatometer.
www.insitusi.com

Soil Engineering Geoservices is an award winning company and one of the largest providers of geotechnical site investigation, drilling & grouting and geotechnical laboratory services in the UK.
The business operates nationally offering both land and marine services from three offices at Leeds, Cleland in Scotland and Camberley, Surrey.
www.soil-engineering.co.uk

Structural Soils Ltd is a site investigation contractor with offices in Bristol, Castleford , Hemel Hempstead and Glasgow. The company’s has over 50 years of experience provides a sound knowledge of all aspects of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. As the company operates various boring and drilling rigs and associated equipment, an investigation can be designed to suit the client’s requirements and to obtain information in the most efficient manner.
www.soils.co.uk

Article Safety

Hard Shoulder, Near Miss. Stay Safe!

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Tags: Highways Near Miss Road safety Video Clip YouTube

Please click the below link to see a video clip of a near miss on the hard shoulder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JiOETTsHWI

If you have any safety alerts you think AGS members would benefit from please forward them to the AGS Secretariat at ags@ags.org.uk. Please note Safety Alerts provided to the AGS will be shared among all members and made available on the website for visitors.

Article Loss Prevention

Intellectual Property Rights

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Tags: copyright Intellectual Property Rights IPR Reports

The AGS has recently published a guidance document on Copyright issues arising from the use of consultants’ reports and drawings in the planning process, please click here to down for free.  It is based on a report prepared by Guy Lane of solicitors BLM following his presentation to the AGS members in March 2013.  It gives a useful basic overview of the concepts of copyright protection in the UK and what works created by AGS members may be subject to copyright.  A number of examples are given.

The topics covered include a description of the rights which copyright gives rise to, namely economic and moral rights, and who owns those rights and for how long. Infringement of copyright is discussed, as are defences to a claim of infringement, and remedies for infringement.

An important aspect of copyright law for AGS members is that regarding licences.   It should not be necessary for the AGS member to give his client copyright in the member’s work as a licence should be sufficient for the client to use the member’s work for the project for it was intended.  Some members might feel that this is unrealistic as their clients might expect that the copyright in the member’s work would pass to them.  However, giving the client ownership of the copyright in the work may inadvertently give away ownership of valuable know-how and/or stock-in-trade which the member then might not be able to use subsequently in other projects without himself breaching the client’s copyright.  The member should consider carefully before agreeing to such terms, and should discuss with the client the sufficiency of granting a licence rather than the copyright.

Members must also be careful in using material other than their own in their work. For example, using some short extracts from a report by another consultant supplied by the client, but for a different project, might breach the other consultant’s copyright as it is unlikely that a licence would have been granted for its use on the current project. AGS members should be careful with the use of data from other sources, for example borehole logs, and ultimately should seek advice from their solicitors if there is any uncertainty over the intellectual property rights.

The AGS Loss Prevention Working Group would like to hear of any problems, experiences, comments or views members have in relation to copyright issues. If members would like to share this information then please contact the AGS at ags@ags.org.uk.

 

Article News Contaminated Land Laboratories

Quality Results in Ground Investigation Seminar Presentations

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Tags: AGS Chris Swainston Chris Wallace Graeme Thomas Hugh Mallett John Powell Matthew Baldwin Quality Results in Ground Investigation seminar Roger Brown

The AGS recently held a Quality Results in Ground Investigation seminar which focused on site investigation, what laboratories can provide and the importance of quality sampling.

The event, which took place in Hamilton House, London on 14th October 2015, saw over 80 AGS Members and non-Members listen to seven key industry speakers including; Hugh Mallett (Technical Director, BuroHappold Engineering), Roger Brown (Associate Director, Laboratories, Fugro), Matthew Baldwin (Technical Director, Soil Engineering), Chris Swainston (Principle Engineer, Geotechnics), John Powell (Technical Director, Geolabs) Graeme Thomas (Assessment Manager, United Kingdom Accreditation Service) and Chris Wallace (Technical Manager, Geolabs).

To view speaker presentations from the event, please click on the below links;

 

Hugh Mallett, Technical Director, BuroHappold Engineering: Quality Laboratory Data – are Consultants Bovvered?

Roger Brown, Associate Director, Laboratories, Fugro: The Replacement of BS1377 has Begun

Graeme Thomas, Assessment Manager, United Kingdom Accreditation Service: Double Standards – Accreditation and Transition to New Standards

Matthew Baldwin, Technical Director, Soil Engineering: Sample Extraction

Chris Swainston, Principle Engineer, Geotechnics: Sampling Standards

John Powell, Technical Director, Geolabs: Ensuring Quality of Testing in the Geotechnical Laboratory – Proficiency Testing and What goes Wrong!

Chris Wallace, Technical Manager, Geolabs: Good Result/Bad Result

Article Loss Prevention

AGS Guide to Good Report Writing 2015

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Tags: definitions formatting good practice grammar language Report Report Style spelling

The AGS Guide to Good Practice in Writing Ground Reports has had a 2015 up-date and is now free to download, please click here.

Given that a large proportion of the product that AGS members sell is in the form of written reports, it is vital that this product is fit for purpose. Not only must reports be technically correct and prepared with due care and diligence, they should also look professional and act as an advert for the quality and competence of the author(s) and the Company publishing it.

The AGS guide provides advice to report authors and reviewers on report style, language and definitions. There is a considerable amount of detailed help on these issues in the appendices to the report that staff at all levels in member firms are well advised to read (and to return to).

Although the technical advice in our reports may be sound and competent, the value of that advice can be seriously devalued by some simple common errors in language, formatting, spelling or grammar. These errors often disproportionately adversely affect the perceived quality of the whole report including its technical competence and the advice presented.

My own magnificent seven “favourites” are;

1. Bullet points that do not follow the sense of the introductory phrase.
Activities on site comprise;
– There are unbunded oil storage tanks on site,
– A security guard with a big Alsatian.
2. Very long sentences with multiple verbs and subjects and which cannot be read without pausing for breath.
3. Sentences with no verb at all (and therefore make no sense).
An investigation report dated 2012 as part of a desk study.
4. The spurious use of capital letters.
A Total of fifteen Samples were analysed for a range of Determinands and Geotechnical Properties.
5. The use of vernacular or local dialect in written reports.
He should of ensured samples were taken.
    I instructed the driller to carry out SPTs at 1m intervals innit.
6. Repetition.
My unofficial record is seeing “the site” fourteen times in eight lines of text.
7. Incorrect use of apostrophes.
Apostrophes are used to indicate possession or missing letters. They are not used in plurals [PAH’s] or because there probably is’ one in the sentence somewhere so with any luck you will get it in the right place.

When writing a report (or indeed any official document) if in doubt about phrasing, terminology, spelling or grammar;

i. Use the AGS Guide,
ii. Refer to a dictionary, thesaurus and guide to grammar (e.g. Fowlers) as appropriate, and
iii. Read (and enjoy) Eats, shoots & leaves (Lynne Truss).

And final, please advertise the free availability of the AGS Guide to Good Practice in Writing Ground Reports to all staff in your Company.

Prepared by Hugh Mallett, Loss Prevention Working Group Chair

Article Laboratories

GEOTECHNICAL LABORATORY TESTING TO BS EN ISO 17892: Briefing Note (updated December 2015)

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Tags: Labs methodologies progress standards Technical Specifications test procedures

GEOTECHNICAL LABORATORY TESTING TO BS EN ISO 17892: Briefing Note (updated December 2015)

BSI recently published the first two Standards in the series BS EN ISO 17892 with a third standard to be published in the next few weeks. On the day they are published, they supersede the equivalent test methods in BS1377.  This note is intended to keep you updated on progress on further Standards in the series. The note will be updated regularly.

Background:

In 2004 CEN and ISO published 12 documents in the series EN ISO/TS 17892. These are Technical Specifications, not full Standards, and as such their use is not mandatory. In 2010 CEN and ISO agreed to upgrade these to full EN and ISO Standards.

With CEN leading, and with active ISO participation, CEN Technical Committee 341 (currently Chaired by the UK’s John Powell, and with BSI providing the Secretariat) appointed a Working Group (WG6, with the UK’s John Masters and then Roger Brown as Convenor, and Alastair McKenzie as Technical Editor) with a mandate to re-write the 12 TS documents so that they get wide-spread acceptance world-wide.

Process:

The WG has been working for several years, and has the target to complete all 12 by the end of 2017 ahead of a planned up-issue of Eurocode 7 (BS EN 1997-1 and BS EN 1997-2). The WG consists of technical experts from more than a dozen countries, who are working together to write the Standards encompassing good practice from around the World, using routinely available existing equipment.

Once the WG has produced an acceptable draft, it is put into the public domain for comments in a process called “Parallel Enquiry” (parallel because CEN and ISO run it in parallel, but independently). Draft Standards are in the public domain and available for comment for several months. The WG then gets the comments back to address, either to incorporate into the draft if they agree with them, or to give reasons not to if they disagree. Once the draft is revised, it then goes back to the CEN and ISO Member countries for Final Vote. If successful, CEN and ISO translate the Standard and publish simultaneously in English, French, German and Russian.

UK Implementation:

As members of CEN, the UK must adopt and publish the new Standard within 6 months of publication by CEN and ISO, and simultaneously must withdraw any existing conflicting National Standard. With the first two, BSI published them the same day as CEN and ISO.

Testing can continue to the equivalent BS1377 methods, for example if a contract with a client requires it, but if so, they will need to be reported as for example “BS1377-2, Clause 3.2 – Superseded”.

The list overleaf details the 12 Standards in preparation, and the current status of their progress towards publication.  Note that the final choice of which test procedures will be in the EN ISO Standard for permeability has not yet been confirmed. Other test methods might be added after these 12, but no decisions have been made yet on what tests these should be.

New Standard Test Superseded/will supersede Current Status Publication            
BS EN ISO 17892-1 Moisture/Water content BS1377-2, Sub-clause 3.2 Published 31/12/2014
BS EN ISO 17892-2 Bulk density BS1377-2, Sub-clauses 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4 Published 31/12/2014
BS EN ISO 17892-3 Particle density BS1377-2, Sub-cause 8.3 Approved for publication 15/01/2016 (1)
BS EN ISO 17892-4 Particle size distribution BS1377-2, Clause 9 At Formal Vote early 2016
BS EN ISO 17892-5 Incremental oedometer BS1377-5, Clause 3 Submitted for Formal Vote mid 2016
BS EN ISO 17892-6 Fall cone No BS equivalent Reviewing public comments mid 2016
BS EN ISO 17892-7 UCS test BS1377-7, Clause 5 Parallel Enquiry imminent (2) early 2017
BS EN ISO 17892-8 UU triaxial test BS1377-7, Clause 7 Parallel Enquiry imminent early 2017
BS EN ISO 17892-9 CID, CIU and CAU tests BS1377-8 (replaced in its entirety) Parallel Enquiry imminent early 2017
BS EN ISO 17892-10 Shear-box and ring-shear BS1377-7, Clauses 4, 5 and 6 Under revision in WG6 late 2017
BS EN ISO 17892-11 Permeability tests BS1377-5, Clause 5 and BS1377-6, Clause 5 Under revision in WG6 late 2017
BS EN ISO 17892-12 Plasticity Index tests BS1377-2, Clauses 4 and 5 Under revision in WG6 late 2017

 

  1. ISO (but not CEN or BS) published an incorrect version on 25/11/2015. The corrected version is due to be published 15/01/2016.
  2. “Imminent” means within the next few months

Future of BS1377:

Four clauses as noted above in BS1377-2:1990 have been withdrawn already. BS1377 will need substantial updating as a result of the publication of the above new Standards. However amendments to BS1377 will lag behind the publication of the replacements, so for example if you buy a copy of BS1377 today, the four withdrawn clauses will still be present. BSI is currently reviewing what will happen to BS1377 in the long run. The 12 new EN ISO Standards do not cover all tests currently in BS1377, so some of it will presumably need to remain in some form or other.

Differences to BS1377:

The EN ISO 17892 Standards contain a number of subtle differences to BS1377. Looking at Part 1 for example, the minimum masses for the water content test are different to BS1377 (although these now become recommended rather than mandatory) and there are minor reporting differences in the water content result (now required to be reported to one decimal place between 10% and 100% water content). And you will need to remember to now call it “water content” instead of “moisture content”!

Accreditation:

UKAS are already assessing laboratories against the two new Standards for water content and bulk density. Laboratories with existing accreditation to the equivalent BS1377 method can convert their accreditation by a self-declaration, although not many have done so to date. Although the changes are subtle, labs will have to undertake a proper change-management process, including re-training of for the new methods.

UKAS currently believe this self-declaration mechanism should also be applicable to the further Standards as they are published for those labs already accredited to the equivalent BS1377 methods.