ABOUT & SERVICES
Our Services
FEDS has provided civil and structural engineering services successfully to its clients since its inception.
Civil & Structural Design
We understand that the civil and structural design has to satisfy the conditions of the planning consent, but also that a development can be constructed in several ways using many different materials.
FEDS works closely with you and your design team to ensure that your requirements are incorporated into the design, with regard to materials, sustainability and cost, to ensure that you are completely satisfied with the design before construction starts.
FEDS has the experience and skills to carry out the civil and structural design to satisfy Building Control and, ensure that the proposed development is designed and constructed in the materials and to the quality you require.
Flood Risk Assessments
The Environment Agency has identified three main river flood zones with three flood risk categories; Flood Zone 1 is Low Risk; Flood Zone 2 is Medium Risk; Flood Zone 3 is High Risk. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) identifies what type of development can be constructed in each zone. It is important to establish which flood zone your proposed site is located in and if your proposed development is acceptable in the identified flood zone. The NPPF requires that your development must not increase flood risk at the site or surrounding area due to impedance of river flood water.
Regardless of the river flood zone, the NPPF requires that your development must not increase flood risk at the site or surrounding area due to rainfall surface water run-off. There must be no increase in rainfall surface water run-off from the post development site. Therefore, it is important to address surface water drainage issues and the utilization of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which can be used to mitigate any potential increase in surface water run-off and mitigate increased rainfall due to Climate Change.
FEDS has the experience and skills to conduct a Flood Risk Assessment that is appropriate to the nature and scale of your project. We can ensure that any potential implications of flood risk are understood and addressed using the most cost effective solution at the planning design stage, which can save time and money in later stages. Each site specific flood risk assessment, if required, is tailored to the scale of the site, the proposed development and the flood zone it is located in, to ensure a successful planning application.
Below is an example of a Flood Risk Map for Oxford, Oxfordshire.
Foul Drainage Assessments
Depending on the scale, nature and location of your development, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) may require a Foul Drainage Assessment (FDA) to be submitted to support your planning application. FDAs are usually only required for larger developments where it is uncertain if a connection to the public foul sewer is possible or if it is in a location where there are existing foul drainage capacity issues.
FEDS has the experience and skills to conduct a FDA, that is appropriate to the nature and scale of your project. We can ensure that any potential foul drainage implications are understood and addressed using the most cost effective solution at the planning design stage, which can save time and money in later stages. Each site specific foul drainage assessment, is tailored to the scale of the site, the proposed development and it's location, to ensure a successful planning application.
Project Management
Project management is the process and activity of planning, organising, motivating, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.
The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.
Site Waste Management Plans
Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) will help you manage site waste effectively at all stages during the construction of a project.
SWMPs became compulsory when the SWMP Regulation 2008 came into force. The regulation was introduced to help manage materials more effectively and could reduce the amount of waste produced to save money. These regulations require a SWMP to be carried out on any one construction site with an estimated cost greater than £300,000 (excluding VAT) before work begins.
This regulation was repealed on the 1st December 2013, however, the waste duty of care still applies when creating, storing and disposing of waste from any construction site.
SWMPs are still an important tool for construction companies and their clients, of all sizes, to improve their environmental performance, meet regulatory controls and reduce rising costs of disposing of waste.
Waste disposal costs can be reduced by reducing waste in the first place and also by segregating the residual waste which can then be reused or recycled, as shown in the DEFRA waste hierarchy triangle below. These measures can also benefit from lower landfill tax, as mainly inert waste would be finally disposed of in this way. Waste disposal costs include transport costs, additional labour costs which may be incurred through segregation, and landfill tax.
