RSK Group plc services

Any chemical or product that is sold in the UK or European Union (EU) must first be assessed, approved and registered before it can be sent to market. For farmers, food producers, the chemical industry and the general public, registration means that the product can be supplied, sold and used safely. Every year, thousands of new products and chemicals are developed for the marketplace that will need to be registered. The laws that underpin this registration are complex, and a good understanding is key to a successful application.

Asbestos-related diseases are the largest cause of occupational-related deaths in the UK, claiming more than 3500 people each year. Alongside legionnaires’ disease, the control of asbestos in the built environment and on brownfield sites presents a significant compliance challenge to employers across the UK. Asbestos was widely used as a building material in the UK in the years leading up to its final prohibition in 1999, and significant legacy issues remain across the country.

With construction work typically involving multiple contractors, developers face the challenge of maintaining health, safety and quality standards across numerous companies and individuals. RSK and its subsidiary, Pellings, offers comprehensive clerk of works services as part of an award-winning multidisciplinary service, providing integrated design, property, facilities management and construction consultancy services to uphold standards throughout a project. We deliver an enhanced service by offering clerk of works expertise as either an individual service, or as part of a combined service with our construction consultancy and building surveying groups.

Major industrial, energy, waste and manufacturing sites require an environmental permit to operate under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) in England and Wales, and the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations in Scotland. Under this system industrial sites, referred to as installations, must hold a permit to operate, which, in turn, specifies the application of best available techniques (BAT) to either eliminate pollution altogether, or to reduce it to harmless levels. All emissions, including to air, water and land, and impacts on adjacent receptors need to be considered.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 place legal duties on virtually everyone involved in construction work. Any construction project lasting more than 30 days or involving 500 person-days of construction work has to appoint a CDM coordinator to advise on health and safety issues during the design and planning phases of construction work.

RSK can handle most aspects of noise and vibration impact assessments in-house, including noise and vibration surveys of existing scenarios, predictive consultancy, assessing sensitive developments and designing mitigation measures.

The advantages of remote-controlled pilotless aircraft, or drones, are wide-ranging, sometimes even life-saving: delivering life-saving medicine to inaccessible places or gathering geotechnical data for assessing a site’s ground conditions. Drones negate the need to shut down plants or areas of operation during surveying, thereby saving time and money. Compared with manned helicopters, drones get much closer to the surveying goal, which means improved data density and high-quality survey results. Factoring in faster data acquisition and higher data resolution, and it is clear why drones and drone specialists occupy a vital part of any project within the commercial, industrial and infrastructure sectors, including rail, oil, gas, telecoms and renewable technology organisations.

Legislation and regulations regarding air pollution are expanding and changing rapidly, as we become more aware of the dangers of releasing certain substances into the atmosphere and the health impacts that air pollution can have. Developers need to manage new and adapting regulations vigilantly to ensure compliance and maintain safe levels of emissions. RSK’s specialist Environment Health and Safety team offers air quality services at competitive rates, providing consultancy, design and engineering solutions for clients’ air quality, odour and dust challenges.

Archaeology and the historic environment are the physical representations of our past with the potential to expand and reshape our understanding of human history. However, development projects often regard them with trepidation owing to their reputation for delaying projects and increasing costs. Effective management of the historic environment can alleviate and prevent these issues while preserving the archaeological record for the public domain thus turning potential problems into opportunities. We specialise in understanding and meeting the needs of our clients to help them comply with the requirements of heritage legislation and planning policies while meeting best practice, standards and guidance for the heritage sector. Our in-house archaeology and heritage services can be offered directly to your organisation or as a part of an integrated team of specialists.