Your site.
Your regional contact.

Yes, in all likelihood. The towns shown on each regional card are examples of where we work, not a boundary, and coverage is national across England and Wales, coordinated centrally and delivered through those regional routes. Send the site postcode and we'll confirm availability for that location and the tests you need. Sites a long way from the nearest listed town are routine, and mainly affect how the visit is planned rather than whether it can happen.

Not really. Testing is coordinated centrally and delivered across England and Wales, so the eight regional numbers are contact routes into one service rather than eight separate booking systems. Using the one nearest your site is the simplest way to reach someone dealing with that area, and the main line, 01908 505833, reaches us just as well. If the work spans more than one area, a single call still covers it.

Our established coverage is national across England and Wales, delivered through the eight regional contact routes. That doesn't mean a Scottish or Northern Irish enquiry is unwelcome: send the site postcode, the tests involved and your preferred dates and we'll tell you honestly whether we can cover it, case by case, rather than commit to something we can't deliver. Where we can't attend, we'll say so at the enquiry stage.

Yes. Because the work is coordinated centrally, a multi-site instruction is handled as one job rather than as separate bookings in each region, with one point of contact, one agreed method and one reporting format across all of the sites. Send a list of the postcodes with the tests required at each and any dates that are fixed, and we'll plan the visits in an order that suits your programme.

Often yes, but the method has to suit the access. Plate bearing testing needs a reaction load positioned over the test point, and in-situ CBR uses vehicle-mounted equipment, so a position a vehicle cannot reach may need a different approach. Portable methods such as LWD and DCP, hand sampling and scaffolding ground testing in tight positions are more workable in confined spaces. Permits, parking suspensions and restricted delivery hours are worth checking early, because they set the working window.

Traffic management, a confirmed access point and the sector inductions the principal contractor requires. Highways work usually means the testing has to fit a lane closure or a booked road space, so the window is set by someone else's programme and the test positions need agreeing before anyone travels. Who provides the traffic management is worth settling early, as is whether the work is daytime or overnight, because both change how the visit is staffed and planned.

Yes, where the access requirements can be met and are settled before a date is fixed. Sites of that kind usually need sponsorship by the principal contractor, named personnel submitted in advance, site-specific inductions and, in some cases, security clearance or escorted working, none of which can be sorted out on the morning of the visit. In practice that means allowing considerably more notice than an open construction site would need.

Out-of-hours, night and weekend working can be arranged where the programme needs it, and it is common on highways, rail and live operational sites. It has to be agreed when the work is booked rather than requested on the day, because it affects crew planning and, for laboratory work, when the samples arrive and are dealt with. Out-of-hours working is also one of the factors that affects the cost of a visit, so it is better raised at enquiry stage than at the gate.

Either works. Samples can be collected from site as part of a visit, or taken by your own team and sent in for testing; which is better depends on the material, the number of samples and whether the sampling itself has to be carried out to a stated method. Collection is usually the simpler option where it does. Where samples are being delivered, the arrival date is what the laboratory schedule is built around, so it is worth confirming in advance.

Same-day and next-day testing dates are available in many areas, though there is no single answer for every location and test. Straightforward ground or concrete testing at an accessible site is the sort of work that can often be picked up at short notice; anything needing traffic management, restricted-site access, specialist equipment or out-of-hours working needs longer. As a general rule, give as much notice as your programme allows, and call to check availability for your postcode and dates.

Travel is one of the things that affects the cost of a site visit, alongside the number of tests and positions, the equipment required, standby time, out-of-hours working and any reinstatement. Distance matters less than people often expect: a rural postcode isn't automatically dearer than a city-centre one, where permits, parking and restricted access can take up as much time. We quote the visit as a whole rather than itemising mileage.

Site postcode first, then the tests or materials involved, approximate quantities, your preferred dates and the specification or testing schedule if there is one. The postcode is what routes the enquiry, so it matters more than naming a region, and it lets us check access and availability at the same time. If access is restricted, or the dates are tied to a closure, a pour or a possession, say so in the first message. Call 01908 505833 or your regional number if it's urgent.