Categories
Take a look at the 2022 categories below to find out more.
Award for Digital Innovation
This category is open to any geotechnical company that can show excellence in the way it has used digital technology to improve systems, performance, processes or project delivery within its own business between January 2021 and March 2022. Entries in this category should focus on business-wide innovations and, where applicable, be used on multiple projects. Project-specific innovations should be entered in the Technical Excellence category.
Entries could focus on a particular digital innovation, such as an initiative to improve safety, employment practices, collaboration or delivery, or present how digital innovation is fostered and encouraged across the business and the benefits this is driving.
The innovation could be site or office based, and entrants should present clear evidence of how the innovation has delivered performance, cost, health and safety or reliability for the business and how this benefits both clients and society.
Award for Equipment Innovation
This category is open to any company that can show excellence through new product or technology development for the ground engineering industry between January 2021 and March 2022.
Entrants must demonstrate how the innovative new product or technology has delivered benefits in health and safety, in-use performance, sustainability or cost during on site delivery of a geotechnical project. Evidence to show how the product or technology can improve the performance or quality of service that the purchasing company offers to its clients is essential.
Award for Technical Excellence
This award recognises a hi-tech advancement or concept that has helped a company improve its performance or delivery of a specific challenging element of a project, between January 2021 and March 2022. This category is not aimed at projects that have achieved overall excellence – such projects should be entered into one of the five project categories.
The entrant may have achieved technical excellence through producing a new approach to analysis or design, advanced techniques or procedures during design or delivery and/or working with its customers to improve delivery of a specific part of a project through technical refinement.
An entry should be for a single technical advance or development applied to a specific part of a project. Developments applied to a number of projects may be better placed in the Digital Innovation or Equipment Innovation categories.
The geotechnical work on the project presented must be completed at the time of the submission.
Community Engagement Award
This award will recognise a project with a strong geotechnical focus that has gone beyond the expected standard to engage with the community where the scheme is being delivered. Entrants must be able to demonstrate the steps taken and initiative to deliver community-based benefits or local stakeholder engagement through the work, between January 2021 and March 2022.
The award will also recognise the lasting benefit created in the local community and legacy of the project resulting from a high level of community engagement which goes beyond delivering the engineering aspects of the scheme.
Consulting Firm of the Year
This category will recognise the specialist geotechnical consultancy, or geotechnical division within a major consultant, that can demonstrate achievement of clear business milestones between January 2021 and March 2022.
The award will celebrate firms that have continually delivered innovation, quality and value during this period, while growing in terms of revenue, profits and staff numbers.
Entrants must demonstrate how they have improved their services and use evidence from projects to show how the business’s technical abilities have gone beyond the expected level of service for clients and the supply chain.
Contractor of the Year
This category celebrates the achievements of geotechnical contractors or specialist geotechnical divisions within general contracting firms that can demonstrate achievement of clear business milestones over the last year and a half. The award will celebrate firms that have continually delivered innovation, quality and value between January 2021 and March 2022, while growing in terms of revenue, profits and staff numbers.
Entrants must be able to use projects undertaken to show their technical capabilities in delivering projects beyond the expectations of their clients, within budget and on time.
Judges will also consider the contractor's approach to coping with challenges on site and interacting with the supply chain and look for evidence of commercial, as well as technical success across the period.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion
This award is to recognise industry-leading performance by a geotechnical organisation between January 2021 and March 2022 in making specific efforts to champion and develop a diverse and inclusive culture that permeates the workforce.
The entry should demonstrate how the business is championing change and fostering a more diverse and inclusive workplace for all employees. It should also describe how this is helping to attract and retain talent and include internal company initiatives to appeal to different people.
This can be illustrated at both head office and project level and can be focused on the role an individual is playing in driving change.
Ground Investigation Project of the Year
This category is for a ground investigation project that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, quality, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering between January 2021 and March 2022. Projects entered into this category should have elements within the design and delivery that were focused on minimising risk from unexpected ground conditions during the construction phase and should be able to demonstrate the steps taken to achieve this.
The entrant must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate what exceptional measures were taken or innovative techniques used to result in the project being delivered above the expected standard.
The ground investigation must be completed at the time of entry submission, but it is not essential for the project for which the ground investigation was undertaken to have started or have been completed.
Ground Investigation Specialist of the Year
Ground investigation contractors that can demonstrate achievement of clear business milestones will be rewarded in this category. Firms must be able to provide evidence of continued dedication to delivering innovation, quality and value between January 2021 and March 2022.
Entrants must be able to use ground investigation projects undertaken to show their technical capabilities in delivering projects beyond the expectations of their clients, within budget and on time.
Judges will also consider the ground investigation contractor's approach to coping with challenges on site and interacting with the supply chain and look for evidence of commercial, as well as technical success across the time period.
Health and Safety Award
Candidates for this award must demonstrate an initiative, operations process, innovation or piece of equipment that has clearly contributed to improving health and safety on a ground engineering project, between January 2021 and March 2022. The award can be for a company-wide policy that benefits geotechnical operations, or an initiative or technique applied to a specific ground engineering project. Entries must demonstrate how safety risks associated with the geotechnical element of the work or for the geotechnical workforce were reduced.
International Project of the Year Award
This award recognises projects that have delivered geotechnical excellence that stands out on the international stage between January 2021 and March 2022.
Entrants must demonstrate the project’s credentials in sustainability, health and safety and value engineering. In reaching their decisions the judges will take particular note of client satisfaction, geotechnical innovation, value for money, performance against prediction, the quality of design and construction, safety and application of innovation.
The geotechnical element of the work must be completed at the time of entry submission.
Rising Star Award
This is for UK-based geotechnical/geoenvironmental engineers with up to five years of industry experience, who have shown innovative thinking, astute business acumen, made a significant contribution to a project, or demonstrated technical ability through research. Entrants must be able to clearly define their critical input to work in one or more of these areas.
They will be judged on all-round ability - not only academic and work-related achievements - but also their enthusiasm for geotechnical or geoenvironmental engineering.
Entries should be submitted by either the engineer or their employer and should include a commendation from either a company training officer or a relevant senior engineer and an up-to-date CV.
Specialist Geotechnical Supplier of the Year
This category is open to businesses that provide services or supply materials to geotechnical contractors or consultants that can demonstrate achievement of clear business milestones between January 2021 and March 2022. The award will celebrate specialist geotechnical suppliers that have continually delivered innovation, quality and value within this period, while growing in terms of revenue, profits and staff numbers.
Entrants must demonstrate how they have improved their services and use evidence from projects to show how the business’s technical abilities have gone beyond the expected level of service for clients and also benefitted the supply chain.
Sustainability Award
Entrants for this category must be able to demonstrate an innovative, unusual, or cutting edge approach to environmental and sustainability issues on a geotechnical project, between January 2021 and March 2022.
This could be in the form of reuse of materials or existing structures/foundations, innovation in redeveloping brownfield sites or use of technology/design to reduce carbon emissions or any initiative that drives sustainability across the wider project.
UK Geotechnical Team of the Year
This award is open to any multi-company collaborative project team involved in the UK geotechnical industry either on a specific project or as part of a framework on multiple projects.
The success of the project team should be demonstrated in terms of how the team culture led to improved project delivery, how the entire project team were focused on mutual goals and joint activities that highlight outstanding performance.
Entries should demonstrate how the project team stands out against its competitors and how its performance or initiatives between January 2021 and March 2022 have either boosted its rate of delivery or produced outstanding results.
The entry can come from client, contractor or lead designer, but must be supported by the client and other parties involved in the team.
UK Project with a Geotechnical Value of between £1M and £3M
This is for a ground engineering scheme (as a standalone project or part of a larger development) with a contract value of between £1M and £3M that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering.
The entrant must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate what exceptional measures were taken or innovative techniques used to result in the project being delivered above the expected standard. A key element in deciding the winner will be the contribution of the entrant to the overall delivery of a project.
The geotechnical element of the work must be completed at the time of entry submission and is for work completed between January 2021 and March 2022.
UK Project with a Geotechnical Value of between £500K and £1M
This is for a ground engineering scheme (as a standalone project or part of a larger development) with a contract value of between £500K and £1M that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering.
The entrant must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate what exceptional measures were taken or innovative techniques used to result in the project being delivered above the expected standard. A key element in deciding the winner will be the contribution of the entrant to the overall delivery of a project.
The geotechnical element of the work must be completed at the time of entry submission and is for work completed between January 2021 and March 2022.
UK Project with a Geotechnical Value of up to £500K
This is for a ground engineering scheme (as a standalone project or part of a larger development) with a contract value of less than £500K that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, quality, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering.
The entrant must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate what exceptional measures were taken or innovative techniques used to result in the project being delivered above the expected standard. A key element in deciding the winner will be the contribution of the entrant to the overall delivery of a project.
The geotechnical element of the work must be completed at the time of entry submission and is for work completed between January 2021 and March 2022.
UK Project with a Geotechnical Value over £3M
This is for a ground engineering scheme (as a standalone project or part of a larger development) with a contract value of over £3M that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering.
The entrant must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate what exceptional measures were taken or innovative techniques used to result in the project being delivered above the expected standard. A key element in deciding the winner will be the contribution of the entrant to the overall delivery of a project.
The geotechnical element of the work must be completed at the time of entry submission and is for work completed between January 2021 and March 2022.