ZÜBLIN receives Ground Engineering Award for Technical Excellence

In September 2022, a panel of judges comprising more than 70 experts from the construction industry selected ZÜBLIN Ground Engineering, together with project partners Arup, National Highways and Balfour Beatty, as the winners of the Ground Engineering Awards in the category of Technical Excellence. The prize was awarded for the geotechnical site trial at the A63 Castle Street improvement project.

In their congratulatory speech, the judges cited the excellent risk awareness of the entire team with regard to the geotechnical challenges of the project as a reason for their decision. They particularly commended the well thought-out risk analysis of what could go wrong in this challenging project, including the potential for high client costs, as well as the team’s efforts to reduce these risks and to achieve greater cost and schedule certainty for the client. The judges considered that the project demonstrates the exceptional teamwork between planners, contractors and consultants, highlighting their extensive expertise in ground engineering and the benefits of involving all project partners at an early stage.

“We have a fantastic team working for us in England who are doing an excellent job of delivering our ground engineering projects in the country. Winning this award is absolutely thrilling and a great tribute to the team and to our technical expertise,” says Holger Schmid, technical managing director of ZÜBLIN Ground Engineering.

The candidates for the Ground Engineering Awards were selected in a two-stage process from hundreds of entries. The winners were announced on 6 September 2022 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The winning project: geotechnical site trial at A63 Castle Street in Hull
In the centre of Kingston upon Hull in northern England, construction is currently underway on a 400 m long underpass beneath the A63. Even before the start of the construction work, the client was aware of the fact that the unique ground conditions in the city posed considerable risks for the project. Together with all parties involved in the construction, it was therefore agreed to carry out a geotechnical trial in order to test the combination of construction methods used on the challenging ground in advance. During this process, the team encountered special challenges with regard to the supporting fluids and binding agents used for soil stabilisation. Extensive laboratory testing and practical trials were carried out to find the best solution and to make the planned construction methods feasible before the start of the actual construction project. The result was a smooth start to the complex main part of the project with a considerably reduced level of risk.

“The unique thing about this project for me was the creation of the Geotechnical Steering Group, which was made up representatives from the client National Highways, the contractor Balfour Beatty, the planner Arup, various geotechnical experts and us,” explains Patrick Gabriel, project manager at ZÜBLIN Ground Engineering. “Within this group of experts, we exchanged ideas on a weekly basis and always made decisions together as a team.”