Cheshire Branch Committee represents engineers in Cheshire. We hold a robust series of meetings in the Cheshire region. Meetings are generally based in the Chester/ Warrington area.
This year we are proud to hold twelve varied technical and social events. See our calendar for more information. The committee is always looking for new members from all grades of membership to help keep the committee fresh and proactive.
Keep in touch
Never miss another meeting again. You can now keep up to date in a variety of different ways. We’ll use social media to inform you about forthcoming events and other local engineering issues. You can use it to leave us feedback and give us ideas for future events. Join us now.
Follow us on Twitter. We are @ICE_Cheshire.
Join our Facebook Group. Institution of Civil Engineers – Cheshire Branch
Join our Linked In group: Institution of Civil Engineers – Cheshire Branch. Here you will find our latest events, our regular members, and discussion about topical issues.
Next meeting – BOOKING REQUIRED
Boat Lift and River Weaver Boat Trip
Date: Thursday 24th May 2011
Venue: Anderson Boat Lift, Northwich
Speakers: TBC
Groups: ICE Cheshire Branch
Time: 17.30 for boat trip, approximately 18.45 for presentation.
ICE Cheshire Branch invites you to join us on a cruise up the River Weaver including a trip on the famous Anderson Boat Lift. Our journey will be accompanied by an interesting commentary on the engineering history of the area and if notable structures.
After the cruise there will be a sit down buffet followed by a further technical presentation about the area.
This event is expected to be very popular and places on the boat are limited. This event is now almost fully booked. Once the "boat is full" we will add further names to the reserve list. To reserve your place now, please email antje.budge@hotmail.co.uk. For more information about this event, please see the event flyer. This event is kindly sponsored by Clark Drain.
News - ICE President in Cheshire Life
ICE President Richard Coackley has recently been featured in the magazine “Cheshire Life”. As part of the ICE’s efforts to improve the public’s awareness and understanding of engineering issues, the president discussed his role as at the ICE, the challenges facing the UK’s energy supply and the importance to providing a world class infrastructure to allow our economy to grow.
To see the full article, please follow the link to Cheshire Life.
Previous meetings
For more meetings reports, please see the previous meetings 2011-12 or previous meetings 2010-11.
Meeting Report – Construction Risk Management: “We Were Not Expecting That!” (17 April 2012)
On Tuesday 17th April, 60 engineers and safety professionals heard a very informative presentation by Graham Leech on his career in civil engineering spanning nearly 40 years, with particular reference to construction risk management.
Graham’s presentation highlighted the experience he had gained, and the lessons he had learnt, from a range of projects in the UK and overseas.
He started his career investigating box girder bridge failures in the early 1970s, following bridge collapses in Milford Haven and Australia. He witnessed the impact of flooding during the construction of what is now the M60 motorway between Sale and Northenden, when site cabins were washed away and bailey bridges were moved by the floodwater.
He worked on an irrigation scheme in the Sudan, where the remote location, lack of infrastructure and the risk of disease in the workforce were key problems to be overcome. Graham and his colleagues found that the humble Citroen 2CV was a better vehicle at dealing with the rough terrain than a Land Rover, so 20 were purchased!
Whilst working in Saudi Arabia, a colleague had a 3 day taxi journey to reach site, as the team back in UK did not appreciate the distances involved!
In Hong Kong he worked on a large land reclamation scheme, that required the material to be won from a nearby island. The geotechnical properties of the silt that was being used for the reclamation soon became apparent, when the reclaimed area moved one lunchtime!
The above notes only give a brief glimpse of Graham’s career, but he summarised the key aspects of risk management from his experiences as follows:
- Communications
- Information
- Adequacy of design
- Resources
- Plant & equipment
- Temporary works
- Quality assurance & control
- Method of measurement
- Programme
- Insurance
- Safety in use & maintenance
- Workplace conditions
- Legislation
- Local controls
- Human factors
- Experience
Committee