The right testing.
Quickly arranged.

Match each line of the schedule to a method rather than to a service name, then send us the schedule and we'll map it across. Specifications usually name a standard, commonly a BS 1377 or BS EN method, and that tells you whether the work happens on site or in the laboratory and what sample it needs. One line can also mean a suite: Type 1 subbase, for example, can involve grading, abrasion, soundness, sulfate, plasticity and frost heave testing.

On-site testing measures the material where it lies, in the condition it is in on the day; laboratory testing measures a sample prepared to a defined condition. Plate bearing, in-situ CBR, on-site density and slump testing answer questions about what is actually in the ground or in the truck. Classification, grading, plasticity, laboratory CBR and cube strength need controlled preparation. Compaction control uses both: on-site density results are compared against a maximum dry density established in the laboratory.

Ground bearing and classification testing usually come first, compaction and materials testing run alongside the works, and concrete testing follows the pour. Before construction that typically means CBR, plate bearing or soil classification to inform design. During earthworks and subbase construction it means compaction control, density testing, moisture condition value work and grading checks on imported fill or Type 1. During the pour it means slump or flow testing and cube making, and coring applies to concrete already in place.

Ground testing measures specific properties at specific positions, whereas a site investigation is the wider exercise of exploring, logging and modelling the ground before design. Our role is the testing part: in-situ methods such as CBR, plate bearing and DCP on site, and laboratory testing of soils and aggregates in support of a geotechnical investigation. The ground model and interpretative reporting are normally produced by the consultant or investigation contractor.

All three do, and it varies by project and by contract. Main contractors and groundworks subcontractors most often book ground, compaction and concrete testing because they hold the programme; consulting engineers and developers more often instruct soils and geotechnical laboratory work tied to design or a planning condition. We'll take the instruction from whoever holds it, and copy results to the engineer or client where that has been agreed.

We can carry out the sampling, and it is a service in its own right because a result is only as good as the sample behind it. The sampling method, container, preservation and transport conditions all have to match the material and the tests scheduled, and the quantity needed is worth agreeing before anything is collected. If your own team is sampling instead, tell us which tests are scheduled and we'll confirm what each one requires.

A site laboratory is a project-based facility set up on the site itself, with the equipment, systems and personnel matched to the material types and testing volumes of that job. It suits substantial earthworks and civil engineering programmes, where locating agreed tests on site reduces sample transport and gets results back quickly enough to keep decisions moving with the works. On smaller programmes, scheduled site visits with laboratory testing arranged alongside are usually the more sensible arrangement.

Yes. Tell us what the testing has to demonstrate and to whom, and we'll suggest the methods that normally answer that question, along with the sample quantities and site conditions each one needs. What we won't do is design your earthworks or sign off someone else's specification unseen: where a judgement depends on the material and how the result will be used, we'll set out the options rather than pick for you.

Usually yes, and combining tests on one visit is normally the most efficient way to use a mobilisation. Plate bearing and in-situ CBR positions are often done together, density and compaction testing can be combined across several layers, and fresh concrete sampling, slump testing and cube making are naturally one visit. What limits it is time on site, access between positions and whether a test needs a reaction load or equipment set up separately.

Yes. Construction materials testing can be coordinated as a programme across the life of the job, with ground testing, earthworks control, soils and aggregate laboratory work and concrete testing booked against your sequence rather than one order at a time. That usually means agreeing the methods, frequencies and reporting arrangements once at the start, then calling visits off as the programme moves. Send the testing schedule and the construction programme and we'll set it up that way.

Yes, we take on small and one-off jobs, and a single test at a single position is a normal enquiry rather than an exception. There is no minimum number of tests, though a site visit costs much the same to mobilise whether it covers one position or three, so grouping positions into one visit usually gives better value than splitting them across separate days. Laboratory testing can be arranged for a single sample.

The same information as for a single test, plus a breakdown by service: site postcode, the tests or materials involved, approximate quantities, preferred dates and the specification or testing schedule if there is one. For several services it helps to separate what happens on site from what happens in the laboratory, give the number of positions or samples for each, and say whether it is one visit or a phased programme. The enquiry form lets you tick more than one service.