Competition (Winter 2015) Make & Break

On Tuesday 17^th February at the University of Birmingham's Civil & Mechanical Engineering Building Design Centre we held our Make & Break Competition.

This year's brief was a bridge structure, with the aim to maximise both the clear span and the load-bearing capacity, whilst still building efficiently. Twelve teams competed against each other - including three student teams - to construct the best structure within the time of 60 minutes.

Testing at the end of the evening involved loading each bridge up after assessing its span and material use. The material and performance scores were then used to calculate the overall points total.

Prizes and certificates were awarded for first place, and to the best performing student team. Well done to "Hang on a Myy" from WSP UK - clear winners of this year's event. Some close results followed, with just 11 points separating the next three teams. 

The full results were:

1st - Hang on a Myy (WSP) - 310 points  -  WINNERS
2nd - Runder No Pressure (RNP Associates) - 247 points
3rd - Civilised Engineering Inc (WSP) - 237 points
4th - Tony Gee (Tony Gee & Partners) - 236 points
5th - Cov Uni Civils (Coventry University) - 211 points  -  BEST STUDENT  TEAM
6th - Warwick Official (Warwick University) - 179 points
7th - Eurovision (AECOM) - 114 points
8th - Design Engine (Design Engine Structures) - 107 points
9th - 3 beards and a Ken (Mixed) - 97 points
10th - UOB (University of Birmingham) - 96 points
11th - 4 engineers, 1 structure (WSP) - 91 points
12th - Waterman Birmingham (Waterman Group) - 37 points

For further information, please contact us at istructeymp@gmail.com or find us on:

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Post author: Tasha 

Site Visit (Winter 2015) - Timber Construction

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On the afternoon of the 22^nd of January 2015 graduates and students from the Midlands Counties group attended a site visit at Meadows primary school in Northfield which sits to the southwest of Birmingham city centre.

The project at Meadows primary school is the construction of a two storey classroom block to the existing building which utilises CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) as the main structural material.

Before entering onto the site the graduates and students heard from Kierton Risdale, Technical Manager for B&K Structures, CLT Supplier on the project. The young members learned about the benefits of Timber Construction, in particular CLT, its advantages over more traditional methods of construction, the manufacturer process, the company’s structure and its partnership between Austrian manufacturers Binderholz. The members also learned how CLT was being utilised elsewhere in the UK to construct high rise structures.

Once on the site our young members could see the CLT being constructed, at the time there was a 60 tonne truck mounted crane lifting in 8m spanning CLT floor panels. The Member also learned about some of the problems faced during the design of the CLT, such as resisting lateral loads with the shear walls, the integration between Sub-Structure and Super-Structure and how resistance to ‘sliding’ or the horizontal loads are achieved at this intersection.

A huge thanks goes out to B&K Structures for their time and effort spent showing the group around their site and for answering all the queries that the group had.

We would like to thank B&K Structures for hosting us.

For further information, please contact 
us at istructeymp@gmail.com or find us on:

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Post author: Tasha 

Winter Networking Event (Winter 2014)

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On Friday 5th December at the Blue Mango Indian Restaurant, Broad Street, the social highlight of the young members’ winter calendar took place! 

This informal meal and drinks was a great way to network with other young members in the region. It was the perfect chance for those who had not been to one of our events before to meet others and see what we do.

The Young Members’ Panel is coordinated by grads and students who organise both technical development and social networking events throughout the year. These contribute to the professional needs of young structural engineers, as well as provide ideal opportunities to share knowledge and experience.

For further information, please contact us at istructeymp@gmail.com or find us on:

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Post author: Tasha 

Project Talk (Autumn 2014)

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On Thursday 20th November over sixty people turned up at the University to hear from:

Martyn Noak

Principal Tunnel Engineer

at C2HM Hill

Martyn Noak is an engineer with a vast range of project experience. He has been involved in the management of multi-disciplinary tunnel and rail projects in London, including the Northern Line Extension, Tottenham Court Road Station Upgrade and the DLR extension to Woolwich. Martyn is ‘home-grown’ talent, having graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1995.

For further information, please contact us at istructeymp@gmail.com or find us on:

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FACEBOOK  

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Post author: Tasha 

Annual Awards Dinner (Autumn 2014)

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On Thursday 6th November, the highlight of the IStructE Midland Counties Regional Group’s social calendar took place - the Annual Awards Dinner!

This formal dinner took place at the botanical gardens, and was a great way to socialise with friends, colleagues and others in the industry. Prizes and awards for the best regional structural engineering projects were be presented, and many local companies attended, providing a great networking opportunity. 

The guest speaker was Gareth Chilcott, born in 1956 in Bristol and  a former rugby union player, who played at prop for both Bath and England. He made his England debut against Australia in 1984, and toured with the British Lions in Australia in 1989. Since then he’s acted in the revived stage play “Up ‘n’ Under”, and appeared in a rugby special of “Come Dine with Me”. 

Post author: Tasha 

Presentation Showcase (Autumn 2014)

On Thursday 23rd October 2014, three aspiring young members in the region presented their take on "Overcoming structural engineering challenges", competing for the inaugural Presentation Award. 

Within this theme, we heard about the following thee topics for 15 minutes each, after which we had the opportunity to reflect and ask questions of the speakers:

1. The challenge of uncertainty - Thilo Willems
2. Reciprocally supported pultruded GFRP modules - Harpreet Singh Sidhu
3. The behaviour of GFRP sections in compression - Oluwatosin Naiyeju

Harpreet finishing his presentation

Each presentation was of an excellent standard. Thilo brought his experiences from working at PM Group to the fore, highlighting the challenges arising from uncertainty in projects from an early stage, and how to manage change. Harpreet took us through his project on testing adhesive and mechanical connections between pultruded GFRP modules, whilst Oluwatosin demonstrated how these same modules behave in compression.

In terms of the award, it was a close one, but the judge awarded the results as follows:

1st place - Thilo Willems
2nd place - Harpreet Singh Sidhu
3rd place - Oluwatosin Naiyeju

Thilo receiving his award.

Many thanks to all three of the presenters for making the effort to enter this competition - by making the final all three had already gone through a short-listing stage, so well done!

Craig Mcfadyen (regional chair) rounding up

For further information or to register your interest in attending this event, please contact the Young Members’ Panel at: istructeymp@gmail.com

Post author: Tasha 

IStructE for students - Warwick (Autumn 2014)

We delivered a talk about the IStructE to Warwick Students.

Warwick student lecture

Post author: Charlotte H

Presentation Award (Autumn 2014)

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The aim of the presentation award is to encourage young members in the region to prepare and present on a topic related to structural engineering. The theme is open to wide interpretation, and this year is:

Overcoming structural engineering challenges

The competition provides an exciting professional development and networking opportunity, the prospect of enhancing your presentation skills and confidence, as well as the chance to promote yourself and your employer or university.

Finalists have been selected to give a presentation of up to 15 minutes There will be a further 10 minutes allowed after each presentation for questions from the floor.

From these finalists, the winner will receive the award and £250 whilst the runner up will receive £50.

To enter, synopses of less than 300 words were submitted by Monday 22nd September 2014 to istructeymp@gmail.com.

Entrants must be 28 years of age or below by 15/09/14. Please include your name, date of birth, address, email, and phone number. Synopses may not contain figures or tables. Entries are to be by a single presenter only. Presenters are permitted to enter in consecutive years, but must use different content.

For further information, please contact the Young Members’ Panel at: istructeymp@gmail.com

Post author: Tasha Scott  

Seminar (Summer 2014) - Oliver Broadbent

"Transforming Engineering Education - A brief history of ThinkUp"

Oli is a bright young guy, with degrees in Chemistry from Oxford and Civil Engineering from Imperial College. Having been an engineer at Expedition, he now runs Think Up, heading up their educational program development. Oli has a keen interest in media and communications and is both an enthusiastic blogger and amateur filmmaker.

The three themes of ThinkUp are: 

• innovation in engineering education; 
• inspiring career choices; 
• and skills for sustainable development.

Post author: Charlotte Homer

Career (Summer 2014) - Technical Assistant @ IStructE