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What's New?
FPS ChairmanRobin Wood (Cementation) takes the Chair of the Federation
Revision of Working Platform CertificateWPC/3 has been issued and replaces WPC/2. The revised certificate requires greater clarity concerning the work area covered by the WPC and the position of the person who has signed it on behalf of the Principal Contractor. A second page (which can be printed on the reverse of the Certificate) gives detailed guidance to the Principal Contractor concerning design, installation and maintenance requirements.
FPS Guidance - Pile TestingThe FPS and Pile Testing Houses have co-operated to prepare 15 useful datasheets covering practical aspects of pile testing. The sheets are intended to be used by main contractors, piling contractors, specialist groundworkers, testing contractors, engineers and pile test designers and cover on-site requirements and co-operation; design, evaluation and interpretation; and safety considerations. FPS Electronic Bearing Pile ScheduleTo assist engineers and piling contractors in providing pile design schedules, the FPS has developed an Excel based spreadsheet tool. The tool is available for download from this website. More information and download tool NSCC Fair Payment Campaign
To support the campaign, sign up at the campaign website at www.fairpaymentcampaign.co.uk. For more information on retention issues, see the retention section of this website.
FPS Survey of Site Investigation ReportsThis document reports the results of a survey of over 200 projects carried out between July and September 2006 and highlights many shortcomings in the quality of Site Investigation Reports. Published Minimum Requirements for Site InvestigationThis document is a list of excerpts from published sources on the subject of minimum requirements for a site investigation. Introduction to the ICE Specification for Piling and Embedded Retaining Walls 2007 The new edition of the ICE Specification, to be published later in 2007, will be a radical overhaul of the first edition. A presentation at the ICE on 10 January outlined the changes and discussed the implications for technical development in the piling industry. Click here to download the full presentation.
Breaking Down of PilesThe adoption of a suitable pile breaking method can result in financial and program savings and, most importantly, will address and reduce potential health and safety issues. In this document, the FPS consider the different methods available.
Please click here to download this document.
Electronic tendering protocolThe FPS, in conjunction with the AGS, have produced a protocol to be used when tendering electronically for geotechnical works.
Please click here to download this protocol.
On-line bidding for foundation contractsThe FPS, in conjunction with the AGS, have also produced advice on the use of on-line bidding or 'e-auctions', in line with the recent European directive on this.
Please click here to download this position paper.
Schedule of Facilities and Attendances up-dated - May 2006In May 2006, the FPS up-dated their Schedule of Facilities and Attendances. These documents have been adopted by the Federation and widely used - saving time and money for both the foundation contractor and for the client. There are two schedules available:
Please click here to download both these documents.
What To Watch On JCT 05 ContractsIn 2005, JCT, as part of its new publishing agreement with Sweet & Maxwell, re-launched its standard forms of contracts. In order to achieve publication deadlines, compromises were made in relation to a number of clauses when JCT was revising and updating the suite. NSCC is currently discussing the implications with JCT and it is likely that the issues will be resolved shortly.
FPS' response In the interim, the longstanding FPS policy to support the use of unamended standard forms of contract has been suspended and Members have been advised to negotiate the problematic clauses.
The Design of Working Platforms for Tracked PlantOver the past 4 years the FPS has introduced a safety initiative to reduce the incidents on site due to poor working platforms. Prior to the initiative one third of all Dangerous Occurrences reported by FPS Members were related to working platforms. Every Dangerous Occurrence and every 'near miss' involving the platform is a potential fatality. Working Platforms must be designed, properly constructed and maintained for the plant which will use them. The initiative has already involved:-
The BRE design method for calculating the thickness of the working platform (eg for piling rigs and cranes) requires the use of realistic parameters for the properties of both the platform material and the underlying stratum. A paper discussing the relationship between the platform thickness to the choice of parameters is now available. Working Platform Design Sensitivity Also track bearing pressures calculated for use in the BRE design method are commonly much higher than given by a simple calculation of the total rig weight divided by the total track area. Calculation of the track bearing pressures in an appropriate manner consistent with the BRE design method is a fundamental requirement of its use and the use of bearing pressures calculated by any other means could potentially lead to an unsafe working platform design. FPS guidance on how to calculate pressures for the BRE design method can be found in the paper Calculation of Track Bearing Pressures for Platform Design Hand Arm Vibration and Breaking Down PilesReducing the risks of vibration-induced injuriesIn recent years the hazards of vibration-induced conditions such as ‘hand-arm vibration’ (HAV) and ‘whole body vibration’ (WBV) have come to the fore as a health issue in the construction industry. Through the CDM regulations the HSE are increasingly looking to designers to design out the risk of workers suffering vibration-induced conditions. In recognition of this the FPS encourages member companies to develop and use improved technologies to ensure that risk from the exposure of employees to vibration is either eliminated at source or, where this is not reasonably practicable, reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable. A major area where federation members are able to influence the risk of HAV and WBV is that of pile trimming. One method of reducing the work required to trim piles that is increasingly requested by clients is the use of debonding foam on pile reinforcement. The practical use of this method is discussed in an FPS Guidance Note.
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