The Exova Magazine - Issue 4

Performance: Yas Island to Bridgwater

The Gripen: fighting pioneer

Hyder Consulting: environmental experts

It’s up to meInTeGrITy/Teamwork PerformanCe/InnovaTIon

Issue 4 www.exova.com

the burnIng Issue/exovaήfire

Inside this issue

SCoTTISH maGaZIne awarDS STAFF MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR 2010

ccording to the

Ancient greek myth, fire was gifted to man by prometheus, who stole it from the gods. It’s a gift that’s certainly double-sided

– while the combustion of fuel gives us heat and

energy on the one hand, making our contemporary lives

possible, fire can also cause terrible devastation.

In this ‘burning issue’ of The Exova Magazine, we see how our teams across

the globe save lives in the fight against fire. We also take a look at what ‘performance’ means, in the last of our special features on the exova values, while Kenny morrison and Jiri Fidranski share their thoughts on life and work. We hope you enjoy your magazine, and if you have any stories you’d like to see featured in the next issue, please do get in touch.

CLaIre PUrveS

Published by Exova in association with White Light Media www.whitelightmedia.co.uk. Editorial: Fraser Allen & Liz Longden Art Direction: Adam Wilson. Members of APA and PPA. Exova, Queen Anne Drive, Newbridge Midlothian EH28 8LP. www.exova.com

p4 knowing our value

Kenny Morris on marketing, management and Muhammad Ali

p6 snapshots

Ravi Paintal, Derek Sharp, and global news from across the group

p10 the bigger picture

How Exova helped to develop and test a groundbreaking fighter jet

p12 our values: performance

What does it mean to perform?

p16 blazing a trail

A six-page feature on how Exova leads the way in fire safety

p22 keeping the surroundings sound

Angela Mulgrew on the special partnership between Exova and Hyder Consulting

p24 personally speaking

Five minutes with Jiri Fidranski

[email protected]

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2 THe exova maGaZIne Issue 4

No.4 Labellingour clients?Food retailers and manufacturers of all sizes, including small local stores, and suppliers to some of the biggest manufacturers and major uK retailers.

what advice do we give?Our team of Food Technologists and Trading standards professionals assist in ensuring all the information on the food label is accurate, safe and legal. This means checking the ingredients are listed correctly, and that

any allergens or dietary information is accurate. We also look at the nutrition information, and any claims made about the product, such as ‘low fat’ or ‘may help digestion’ – claims which are strictly regulated in the eu.

what are the benefits of using exova?Accuracy means that our clients get products to market quickly and safely. This could save the cost of a product recall, or expensive last minute changes to packaging.

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New Group Sales and Marketing Director Kenny Morris explains why he chose exova, and shares his plans for the future

KnoWIng our vAlue

InTervIew

what made you want to join exova? It’s a good question, since I’ve spent the last 25 years in the IT Industry. The answer is that I specialise in building and leading sales and marketing communities, and, whilst exova is already a well-established company, it’s obvious to me that there could be phenomenal growth with a different, more proactive approach and attitude to selling. And, at the end of the day, joining exova as Global sales and Marketing Director, with the opportunity to drive high sales performance, was too much of a challenge to pass up.

what are your first impressions?At first I was simply staggered by the diversity of our global testing, advising and assuring capability, and in particular by the experience and capability of our people. It was also clear that we all belong to a very good company that has tremendous growth potential. However, given the many acquisitions in the years prior to the birth of exova, I sense there is still work to be done to make us all look, feel and behave as if we are all from the one family.

what are the challenges of marketing a global company in the 21st century? The challenges are numerous, complex and insurmountable – if you allow them to be. I have a more simplistic approach, however, which is based around identifying who we want to talk to and being clear about what we want to say to them. And, while there are the usual challenges – such as mastering communication techniques, IT, customer relationship management, market trends, target marketing, branding, and so on – I believe the toughest challenge in marketing is to understand the value of what you are offering to your target audience. If you have a good feel for that, then that makes the content and method of communication much simpler.

what’s your vision for exova’s marketing strategy?When it comes to customers and focusing on their needs, I am a great believer in fixing the things we aren’t so good at, and then doing the things you are good at even better. Couple the above approach with the fact that we are incredibly good at what we do, but not particularly well known to the wider market, and then you don’t have to be too clever to figure out a successful strategy. I will add, though, that I like marketing functions to be welded to sales functions, and so my personal preference for marketing spend is to be able to quantify the sales that will be achieved. I accept marketing communications, trade shows, conferences and so on are all a necessary part of this, and we will continue these.

what one thing would improve your working life?Can I have two things? And they would improve my whole life, not just at work: eating less trash, and exercising more. I can resist anything except temptation!

who most inspires you?Cassius Marcellus Clay – better known as Muhammad Ali. The ‘Louisville Lip’ was a supreme athlete and fighter, who changed the political attitude of continents by boxing in a ring, dancing and talking. He achieved much more than many governments, indeed superpowers, will ever achieve.

if you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?That’s a really easy answer for me – my wife and our kids. We only get together a few times a year now, as they all have their own lives to get on with. The banter is great and, whilst I have an endless list of people I would like to meet and dine with, they all take second place to ‘my team’ l


where’s home?

I am a wandering soul. I was born in Canada, grew up in Ireland, and have travelled the world for the last three decades. My home right now is in Nerja, near Malaga, in the South of Spain.

what’s on the coffee table?

There is always a good selection of magazines on horses, custom bikes and power boats, and a few copies of the Top Marques car magazine. And, if this article is any good, there will be copy of it on my coffee table for evermore!

tell us a secret...

It’s not really a secret that I played field hockey more than a hundred times for Ireland and Great Britain. What is a secret is that I always wanted to be a rugby player!

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new appointments, relocations,contracts won... we take a look atthe latest news from across exova group

new president in the americas

em you have a lot of experience – why did you join exova? rP A few different reasons. I have worked for public companies for most of my career, and I was intrigued by and attracted to the private equity business model. secondly, I wanted to be in an industry which was growing, and I firmly believe exova has the potential to grow at a much higher rate than any place I’ve worked in before. And the third

reason was my meetings with exova management, that got me fired up and convinced me that this was a team I wanted to be part of.

em what do you see as the main strengths of the americas division? rP We have a reputation for delivering high quality work, excellent service and offering a very high level of technical expertise across the group. We are recognized for the calibre

of the scientists and technical staff we have in our organisation. These give the region a strong foundation to build on and deliver our growth targets.

em How has it gone so far? Has it matched your expectations? rP There have been a number of surprises – for the most part good ones! There are a number of initiatives underway in the company – few of which I heard about as I went

through the recruitment process. since I started, I have visited most of the facilities in the Americas and gotten to meet most of the team. I have to say, I’m humbled by the calibre of the folk we have in our business. And the third pleasant surprise is there’s even more potential and opportunity for growth than I had anticipated when I made my decision to come here. so I’m going to be very busy, that’s for sure!

A warm welcome to Ravi Paintal, who has been appointed President for the Americas. Ravi, who brings more than 25 years of experience in oil field services, consulting and general management roles across a broad range of industry sectors, will be responsible for driving the direction of exova’s Americas business.

Issue 4 THe exova maGaZIne 7

website revamp a ‘hit’Hard work from the global marketing team has reaped well-earned rewards, with a surge in the number of visits to exova.com

With essential support from business leaders around exova, the team have enhanced the content on many sectors, creating new home pages, navigation bars, and features that make searching for specific information quicker and easier. To view the changes, visit www.exova.com and take a look at the Oil and Gas, Aerospace, Metallurgy and General engineering, Pharmaceuticals, environmental and Construction sectors.

The changes have helped increase traffic on the website from approx 4,000 to 16,000 per week, and page views from 26,000 to 67,000. There has also been an increase in the number of online quotes issued. “This has truly been a collaborative effort involving the extraordinary efforts of a multitude of sector experts from the global exova team,” says Rob Marner, Americas Marketing General Manager. “This will be a tangible competitive advantage for us in the marketplace.”

exova marketplace arrivesAn innovative new online service will be launched in January 2012, allowing exova employees to advertise personal items for sale via ‘Tools’ on exova-net. Functioning in a similar way to local newspaper classified sections or popular online auction sites, Marketplace allows employees to upload details of their items into a relevant section on the site, with the option of adding an asking price or accepting ‘best offers’. Photos of items can also be uploaded – even from mobile phones – and, to help international trading, the site even has an in-built currency converter. In

addition to personal items, the site also allows labs to trade and sell equipment that they no longer need. Marketplace can be accessed via exovanet, by all exova employees.

new home for exova omanexova Oman will be relocating its Muscat facility in 2011. The move

will be made as the lease on the current site expires at the end of this year, and gives the lab a great opportunity to expand

and upgrade.“From 2003 to date, the Muscat

facility has steadily increased in size in terms of staff levels and production output. The increase has resulted in the facility outgrowing itself, and the current mix of permanent and temporary buildings has increased such that we are unable to accommodate any more, even if we wanted to,” explains Tim Inwood, Operations Manager, exova Oman. “This situation, combined with the lease expiring, has provided us a positive solution to an increasing concern.” The new facility will be situated just 500 yards from the current site. Work is already underway, with a view to being completed by the beginning of January 2011 and fully operational by the end of January 2011.

great win for exova Qatarexova Qatar LLC is pleased to announce the award of a three year long-term agreement from

long-standing client, QDVC – a joint venture between Qatari Diar and Vinci

Construction. The agreement covers all multidiscipline

testing streams offered by the Doho facility, including

civils, metallurgy chemistry and environmental. estimated to be

worth approximately QR 10M (£2m) during this initial period, the contract is

mosque minaret

in nizwa, oman

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Greener, safer approach to IT waste

a new system for disposing of discarded computers and IT waste will be extended to europe and the middle east. The new approach will not only help to ensure that environmental impact is kept to a minimum, but will also help to protect exova’s data. The new system, which is already in place in the americas, is being introduced by manus mcGonigle, Group Chief Information officer. "Like much of the waste generated by our

organisation, waste IT equipment often requires special handling,” manus says. “IT equipment can contain toxic substances, which can be damaging to the environment. It may also contain sensitive data, which could be accessed by 3rd parties after disposal.” regional IT staff will provide assistance on request to ensure the safe disposal of any of your waste IT equipment, in conjunction with local waste management partners.

Neil Hold, General Manager, Qatar. “This undoubtedly played a major role in the selection of exova as their laboratory of preferred choice.” Neil cites his staff's high levels of commitment and dedication as another key factor in the clients selection process. And, thanks to the great work carried out in Qatar, an ex-exova client who has now moved to the Kingdom of saudi Arabia now proposes to use the services of the exova lab there. Congratulations to all involved in this great example of teamwork.

the largest secured in the laboratory’s history and is renewable after three years. This contract followed on from the award of a similar contract from Vinci Construction, worth QR 3M over a two year period, which also involved the provision of the country's first uKAs-accredited civils site testing laboratory. “The excellent relations built up between our two companies over the last three years has been forged on the back of high levels of customer care, along with a continuing, responsive quality orientated service,” explains

exova rated in top 250 pollexova has been named in a poll listing top private companies.

The list, compiled by British newspaper the sunday Times, compiles the 250 leading mid-market private companies in the uK, according to performance, over the last 12 months.

exova features at 132 in the table, which is based on the value of turnover for companies whose sales or operating profits have increased in their latest available accounts. exova last year recorded annual sales of £221.9m l


perFormAnce under pressure

It’s something that Aberdeen-based exova senior Lab Technician Derek sharp knows all about. When a critical situation developed off-shore in both extreme and volatile conditions, exova’s dedicated offshore emergency action team were urgently notified to mobilise their expertise.

The exova action team within the energy Division deployed Derek to carry out emergency testing on the Maersk GP3 oil production ship – situated in the North sea – after a fire had broken out on the flare tower, threatening the integrity of the structure, and the safety of resources and client assets.

“The fire had been burning with some intensity for about 20 minutes, and that could have compromised the integrity of the steel,” Derek explains. “In the worst-case scenario, there could have been damage which might have caused the structure to collapse.”

Responding to the critical client request, Derek was scrambled from Aberdeen and available on the scene in less than 24 hours. Once on the rig, working at a height of around 40 metres for up to three hours at a time, and using specialist materials that included highly corrosive and toxic nitric acid, Derek carried out precision metallographic work to ascertain if the tower had been damaged. Painstakingly polishing down the burnt metal to a mirror finish, he carried out on-site analysis with a small portable microscope, as

well as taking further samples to be examined in a lab. After a number of nerve-racking journeys up and down the tower, Derek was able to ascertain that the structure had sustained no permanent damage, and operations were able to resume, with the safety of the rig and personnel assured.

“Fires can easily lead to bigger problems and so they must be treated with utmost importance. These towers undergo regular maintenance work, so we had to make sure it was safe for people to get up and down,” Derek explains.

He adds: “The managing director of the client company intervened to make sure the rig was secured – an indication of how important this was. As far as he was concerned, he just wanted to get us out there to do the job, no matter what the cost.

“It’s a very good example of why exova invest heavily in ensuring teams are constantly trained to the highest standards. Delivering performance under pressure becomes second nature when our competency is so high within the industry, and we can react quickly to the unexpected, to meet our client needs, whatever the request may be.

“We get a phone call, and we move heaven and earth to solve the issues. I’d say we were a dedicated team of problem solvers” l

I f knowledge is potential, then performance is transforming that potential into action, sometimes under critical conditions …


The bIgger picTure

Designed to be a versatileand multi-role aircraft,combining minimal weightand maximum strength, the saab JAs39 GripenFighter revolutionised thefighter market when itbecame the world’s first 4thgeneration fighter. There arecurrently over 200 Gripensin service, employed by theswedish, Czech, Hungarian and south African air forces.

Gripen fighter

exova has played a crucial role in the gripen’s production, including:

l NDT inspection and the development of testing programs l material suggestion and qualification of composites, adhesives, honeycomb and metals l The development of surface technology, paint and lacquers l failure investigations l Fuel and lubricant testing and development of testing programs l Testing and development of lightening protection l The development of safe and life-extending repair and maintenance techniques l Development of safe recycling policies for composite and polymers


what does it mean to perform? In the last of our series examining exova’s four key values, we look at how exova stays at the top – and how it can go even higher


magine working in the glare of the Arabian sun, high over water, and in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius. And in these conditions, and under strict time

pressures, imagine being charged with assuring the quality and safety of key elements of a globally renowned multi-billion dollar development. This is the challenge which confronted a team of exova specialists, who were called in to assist on critical aspects of the $40 billion Yas Island project. The high profile construction project in Abu Dhabi caught the world’s imagination, with the creation of a spectacular state-of-the art racetrack, seven luxury hotels, a golf course, and Ferrari theme park – all constructed on a man-made island. Yet the glamorous setting and sleek, futuristic lines of the Yas development hardly hint at the challenges of constructing and working on the site in extreme environmental conditions. With a lead time of three years cut to just 18 months, an exova team of ten worked throughout the summer months, on a site of over 60,000 workers. Their task was to inspect and test the welding and coating quality of crucial structural steel elements to be used in the grid shell of the flagship Yas Hotel and track link bridge. To further add to the challenge, final stage inspections conducted on the grid shell after scaffolding had been removed meant the team had to work alongside roped access specialists to coordinate the final inspection programme. “Yas brought together a cocktail of

potentially dangerous risks – working at height, in extreme heat, sometimes over water, on a busy, congested construction site, whilst trying to deliver to a tight time schedule,” explains Huw Woodyatt, Regional Compliance Director, Middle east. “Yet in spite of the challenges, all of the developer's requirements were met – on time, and with no health or safety violations.”

oUr vaLUeS | PerformanCe


reliability, teamwork, agilityThe Yas Island project offers a perfect example of how europe HseQ Director Carol stewart defines ‘performance’ – “delivering accurate, reproducible results on time, every time, whatever the circumstances.” As part of her role, Carol oversees the accreditation of exova’s facilities in europe. As she explains, it's about gaining international recognition of exova’s ability to perform. “Our external accreditations give confidence to the client in the technical capability of our people, and our ability to deliver accurate, reproducible results that they can trust,” she says. “They basically enable us to tell clients ‘yes, we believe in the integrity of these results, we have a structured management system and the requisite level of checks in place to make sure the results we give you are correct’. “And we have to be absolutely confident in that, because our clients are making significant decisions on, for example, whether or not a piece of metal ends up in the undercarriage of an aeroplane – or a linking bridge over a Formula One racetrack.” The exova OCM laboratory in Anaheim, California, is one example of how exova leads the way in the global market. The facility recently joined a select club of only five commercial labs in the world when it achieved Nadcap non-metallic materials testing approval – two of the remaining four also belong to exova group. And, with 45 NADCAP composite test codes, the lab also has the widest scope of any NADCAP approved facility in the world. In fact, of the 111 permanent sites within the exova group, 90 hold IsO 17025 accreditation – the global standard for testing and calibration. Most of the remainder, which largely offer advisory and consultancy services, hold other relevant accreditations. In addition to IsO standards,

many sites also hold approvals from other industry-specific national or international bodies. Client approvals are vitally important too, often serving as a pre-requisite of being a recognised preferred provider within that client’s supply chain. Accreditation doesn’t just allow exova to access the best markets, however. Thanks to a multi-lateral agreement, which means national accreditations are recognised internationally, it also makes possible exova’s cross-group teamwork ethic. so the exova spijkenisse lab is able to send samples to be tested across its northern european labs, while remaining the single point of contact for clients; the Plzen and Newcastle labs can share their expertise in testing the mechanical integrity of aircraft; and operations in North America are able to contribute to projects being run in the Middle east, and vice versa. It means, in short, that exova can pool and leverage its vast reserves of expertise and maximise its performance across the planet. “Accreditation enables us to maximise the potential we have as a global business,” Carol explains. “If you think of what we do, it goes from radiography to food testing, to inspection of processing plants or bakeries, to making cans – so we’re unique in our diversity. And the fact that we can apply one generic accreditation standard, such as IsO 17025, to a whole range of industry sectors, just emphasises how agile we are as a business.”

taking it furtherMaintaining and certifying quality levels is only part of the story, however. For european Managing Director sean Kerr, high performance can only be truly claimed if facilities are exceeding customer expectations ‘on the ground’. He cites recent improvements

The yas Island

f1 race circuit

under construction


in the Bridgwater lab, uK, where on-time delivery has almost doubled from 50% to 96%, and the average test time has been reduced from seven to three days, as one impressive example. “exceptional performance like this is a key buying criteria for our clients, because it gives them a competitive edge. It’s something they are willing to pay a premium for, and is a differentiator in our markets,” he explains. “simply put, if we can deliver this level of performance consistently and in all of our facilities, our business will grow”. Key to the success of Bridgwater has been the introduction of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which aim to foster a culture of continual improvement by identifying priority areas that are essential for performance to be achieved, maintained and improved. They are ‘sMART’ – specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and time-based – and enable laboratories and regions to determine how well they are doing. Key operational KPIs include employee safety, which can be measured in the incidence of accidents. Quality, which can be measured by the number of defects recorded. Delivery, and absenteeism. Below these common KPIs, complementary indicators can be introduced for individual labs, according to their own specific needs and priorities. “The aim is for everyone to understand how their everyday actions impact on our ultimate goal of improving our performance,” sean adds. “It’s making sure we review our progress on a daily or weekly basis, and then adjust or act upon that information. It’s a continuous cycle of plan-do-check-act.” The KPIs have already been rolled out across the Americas and europe, and have recently also been introduced into the Middle east. so how has it gone so far? “speaking for europe, customer feedback and the early indications from our KPIs show that, while current performance varies by lab or division, there are definitely opportunities to achieve significant operational gains,” sean says. “Once we have embedded these KPIs into each facility, so that they become part of the everyday thinking, we’ll be able to see who’s doing well, and what they are doing differently to others. And then we can start to share those good practices across the business – be that through full Lean programs, 5s, or specific process improvements.” He adds: “Performance is about a continuous process of improving, and that’s what this is about – making us better, stronger, and keeping us at the top of our game”.

oUr vaLUeS | PerformanCe

nAture's greAtest perFormersW hen it comes to examples of great

performance, look no further than the natural world. one well-known example is the cheetah.

with a top speed of 70 mph, this big cat is the planet’s fastest animal over land and, with an

acceleration of zero to 20 metres per second in just two seconds, leaves most race cars chasing its heels.

Performance, of course, is about more than just speed, and in today’s energy-conscious world, the orangutan shines. native to a habitat poor in food resources, these slow-growing, low breeding

primates use so little energy that a fully active orangutan exerts less energy than a human

lying on a couch. Then again, for sheer brute force, nothing tops the dung beetle. most of these fierce-looking insects can roll up to 50 times their own body weight, but the male onthophagus taurus ups that to a staggering 1,141 times – the equivalent of an average person pushing six double-

decker buses full of passengers. anna’s Hummingbird is another

creature that displays extraordinary capacities. In 2009, researchers discovered that

the spectacular courtship drive of this diminutive bird reaches speeds in excess of 58 mph over just 100 ft,

causing a force ten times the pull of gravity – more than a jet fighter pilot can endure without passing out. Hurtling to the ground at 385 ‘body lengths a second’, the bird also outperforms a space shuttle re-entering the earth’s atmosphere (207 ‘body lengths’ a second). yet if performance is about speed, power and agility, then little can rival the human brain. able to change and model itself according to experience and environment, our brains contain more than a hundred trillion connections between neurons, each capable of performing 200 calculations every second, and sending impulses at speeds of up to 100 metres a second.


Cover feaTUre


from advising governments to testing consumer products, when it comes to fire, exova Group sets the standards that others follow


Cover feaTUre

1 Life-saving adviceThe catastrophic bushfires that raged across victoria, australia, in 2009, took the lives of 173 people, and injured 414 more. In the aftermath of the devastation, steps were taken by the australian authorities to standardise and improve the design and construction of private bushfire shelters, to ensure that, should the disaster ever be repeated, lives could be saved. and exova warringtonfire australia played a key role in reviewing draft documentation and helping to develop the Performance Standard published this year by the australian Building Codes Board.

2 fun, fast and fire-freeHaving created an innovative, multi-billion dollar leisure complex, it’s little wonder that the owners of ferrari world wanted the best provider of testing services in the world to test it. exova warringtonfire Consulting have continued exova’s participation in the construction and certification of the yas Island project by undertaking third party design, review and inspection audits on site, all relating to fire and life safety on the island’s ferrari theme park. This vital contribution has helped to ensure that one of the world’s most original attractions – offering roller coasters, racing simulators and 3D and 4D shows – will also be one of the safest.


4 Safe seatsIt’s not just about the bigger picture – it’s about the details, too. exova also carries out a range of testing on the materials and structures that make up passenger seats in train carriages. These include spread of flame and heat release tests, and smoke density and toxic gas emission tests.

a Burning Issue – the lowdown on firel Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material, via the chemical process of combustion. l Flames vary greatly in temperature. The coolest, of a barely visible red colour, are around 525 ºC. The hottest, coloured dazzling white, are around 1,500ºC. l Their typical ‘teardrop’ shape is caused by the effects of the earth’s gravity. In space, flames are spherical. l Researchers believe humanoid species were using controlled fire to make campfires as long as 790,000 years ago. l However, fossils of charred plants suggest that the first wildfires go back to a staggering 420 million years ago. l Today, burning fuel accounts for 80% of the world’s energy sources.

3 Shaping future transportIt’s not just companies that recognise exova’s expertise – international governments do too. exova warringtonfire is a key partner in the Transport fire Safety engineering in the european Union (TranSfeU) consortium – a pan-european research project set up to investigate the toxicity effect of fire effluents on passengers and crew in public transport guided systems. The project will make a major contribution to future fire safety standards and regulations, especially for trains operating across the european networks.

5 Protecting hospitalsCaring for the most vulnerable in society, our hospitals need to be amongst the safest of our buildings. working with one of the Uk’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of waste bins to the healthcare sector, exova warringtonfire devised and carried out testing to ensure that bins used in hospitals are non-flammable and able to contain fire without any external flaming or loss of structural integrity.

Cover feaTUre

6 Hands-on expertiseexova offers internationally-renowned consultancy, but our specialists aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty either. This was demonstrated by a recent research project carried out by our team in warringtonfiregent, Belgium, when they staged a dramatic ‘world first’ test scenario, setting a parked car alight in order to examine smoke and heat extraction systems, and the flow of heat and smoke generated by the fire. “for the first time, we can look in-depth at the scientific evidence of what happens to the smoke and heat in a typical car fire in a public car park,” explains Bart Sette, Technical Director of warringtonfiregent. “This will help inform new european standards being developed for this area of fire safety engineering – and ultimately help to protect and save lives.”

Pictures: Hilde Christiaens, Ghent University, Belgium


7 Tree-mendous!made of timber and situated eight feet off the ground, the spectacular treehouse set in the picturesque grounds of alnwick Castle in northumberland, england, is one of the quirkier buildings that exova teams have worked on. The restaurant and retail outlet complex required a robust fire safety engineering strategy to ensure it met Uk fire safety standards, tailored to its unusual design and combustible building materials – and exova’s specialists duly obliged.


middle eastern expertsHyder Consulting is a global, multidisciplinary, engineering and advisory consultancy, located in six regions around the world. We’ve been working in the Middle east, in particular, for about 45 years, where we have around 1,200 employees, spread out across offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Bahrain. Among the high profile projects we’ve been involved in is the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest tower – for which we were the engineering consultant.

Hyder Consulting’s environment division help ensure that some of the world’s leading construction projects don’t cost the earth. angela mulgrew, Director of environment, middle east, explains how exova help

CLIenT feaTUre I HyDer ConSULTInG

sizing the lay of the landOur role in environment is to help ensure our clients’ projects are environmentally sustainable and compliant with any environmental legislation, while still meeting their business objectives. For example, before any construction project can go ahead, it's important to assess what the impact on the environment will be. To do that, we need first to find out how sensitive the surrounding area is – and that’s where exova come in. They undertake tests such as continuous air quality monitoring and soil and groundwater sampling. These, along with other tests such as ecology and noise surveys, enable us to produce environmental Impact Assessments for our clients.

breaking new groundThe extent of some of the projects we work on is breathtaking. Masdar is a groundbreaking low carbon, low waste, development in Abu Dhabi. It is the landmark sustainability project in the Middle east, and we were one of the first consultants brought on board to get the project through the environmental permitting process. We also worked with exova on this. Projects such as these are fascinating and extremely exciting to be a part of, because you know that you’re working on something that’s never been done before.


winds of changeJust ten years ago, many companies were resistant to the idea of sustainability, but there has been such a change in the public attitude that these days there can actually be a stigma attached to not being sustainable. Clients now realise that demonstrating a responsible attitude towards the environment can actually give them a competitive edge.

the extra mileThe competition is tough out here, and there are a lot of local companies who don’t always apply the same levels of quality and standards to their work. But exova consistently keep their standards to the same level that they would undertaking the work in the uK, and that’s very important for us. We first worked with exova around five years ago, and since then their level of professionalism has made them one of our preferred suppliers. We also appreciate the fact that exova understand the demands of our clients, and that they are always willing to help us through problems in a way other suppliers aren’t – not only in providing a service, but also in terms of technical solutions. They give us that little bit extra, and go that little bit further.

a working partnershipI think the key to our successful working relationship with exova is trust. We work across all levels – particularly with Andy Parks, environmental services Manager, and Mark stowell, environmental engineer – and we’ve got a very open and transparent relationship. Because of that, we’ve formed a partnership that goes beyond the conventional supplier-consultant relationship and is based on mutual respect and a real sense of “We’re in this together.”

open, available, on the groundeffective and honest communication is key for us. We need to be open with our clients, and make sure we keep them up-to-date at all stages of a project, and that there are no surprises – if there are any stumbling blocks, they need to know straight away, because that will impact on construction dates. Technical excellence is also very important. We’re fairly unique here in that we’ve got a team of international staff, but we’re based locally. so we can provide international solutions, but we’re also here to talk to the client directly. That’s important, because clients appreciate being able to see the people they’re dealing with.


As a child, I was fascinated by aeroplanes. I loved to build and fly models of aircraft, and my heroes were the Czech pilots that fought with the RAF against the Nazis. They inspired me and helped fuel my imagination.

When I joined exova in 2007, I went back to my roots, having started my career as a young engineer in 1980, working on the structural integrity of aircraft frames. Over those 27 years, I’ve worked in a number of positions, including as vice president of engineering for one of the biggest Czech aircraft producers.

For my phd, I developed an algorithm for simulating fatigue testing, and almost 20 years on it is still used to certify both military and commercial airplanes. This year, exova has been tendering to offer this testing service to some of the North American producers, and I’m very happy to be part of the team on the other side of the table.

the fall of communism made a huge change to my career. For the first time, we were able to use our skills to co-operate, speak freely with, and contact anybody in the world. It was a tremendous opportunity, and very exciting. Anyone who hasn’t lived through such an experience probably can’t understand how that felt.

one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on was being responsible for a new military jet – the L159. Designed according to NATO standards, it’s been in operation in the Czech Airforce for ten years now – fortunately with

no accidents! It was the biggest military project of this country over the last 20 years, and so also one of the biggest challenges, and I’m very proud to have been a part of it.

other cultures may have a different way of thinking, but it doesn’t mean they are wrong. I used to work with a team of Taiwanese engineers, and, while it wasn’t always easy, we were able to create a very efficient team, learning from our different approaches and each benefiting from the strengths of the other.

globalisation has revolutionised the workplace. Now whoever can do a job the best will probably win that business – it’s a continuous struggle that forces us to be more efficient, and to strive to be the best in the world. During my career I’ve experienced many significant changes, but the biggest of all has been globalisation, because it has altered the way people think.

there is always something to learn from those around you, and the people I work with are my biggest inspiration. The greatest asset you can hope for at work is to be surrounded by a good team and good people.

the best advice I could give to a young engineer would be to keep learning. When I finished my studies, I imagined I would be a specialist in aircraft engineering, but knew nothing about management, international co-operation or finance. Real life is more complex than a degree, and so it’s important to adapt to the changing world and always keep your eyes and mind open.

Jiri fidransky, General manager, Plzen and newcastle

Personally sPeaking

Based in Plzen, the Czech republic, Jiri fidransky is responsible for a team of 38 in both Plzen and newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Uk, which together service the aerospace industry

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The Exova Magazine - Issue 4