NDT Equipment

Ground penetrating radar

Radar is the first tool out of the van on most concrete work: reinforcement, post-tensioned tendons, conduits, voids, slab thickness. Three makes are carried so the antenna can be matched to the element.

• GSSI SIR 4000, StructureScan and FlexNX with the NXT antenna range. The main systems for slabs, walls and soffits, with antennas from high-frequency concrete work down to deeper structural scanning.
• Proceq GP8800 and GP8100. Stepped-frequency radar for close reinforcement and tight access, with the data worked up on a tablet at the element.
• Mala GPR. Deeper investigation of foundations, floors over fill, and ground beneath slabs; see pipeline and utility location.

Reinforcement and cover

• Hilti PS Ferroscan. Electromagnetic induction for bar position, spacing and estimated cover in a single layer close to the surface, and the better estimate of bar diameter where conditions allow. See Ferroscan surveys and reinforcement mapping.

Ultrasonics and concrete condition

• Proceq Pundit 8050 and PL-200. Pulse velocity to BS EN 12504-4 and pulse echo for thickness, voids and honeycombing from one face. See ultrasonic testing of concrete.
• Rebound hammer and pull-off rigs. Surface hardness and bond strength as part of a compressive strength assessment, never on their own.

Steel thickness and corrosion

• Olympus 38DL Plus. Ultrasonic thickness gauging of piles, tanks, jetty steel and gantries, including through coatings, for thickness testing and corrosion mapping.

Aerial

• DJI Matrice 400 with Zenmuse P2, T2 and LiDAR. Photogrammetry, thermal and LiDAR of roofs, facades, bridges and estates for drone surveying and thermal imaging.
• Flyability Elios 3. A caged aircraft for the inside of tanks, culverts, ducts and voids where a person should not go.

LiDAR and 3D capture

• Faro Orbis with SLAM. Walk-through laser scanning that turns a building or a plant into a measurable point cloud for digital twin and 3D modelling and for placing scan findings on a drawing.

Underwater

• Inspection-class ROVs with sonar and 4K video. Piles, quay walls, culverts, reservoirs and intakes from the bank or a boat, as described under underwater surveying and inspection. Diver work, where a job needs it, is arranged through commercial diving partners.

Handheld, vehicle-mounted and moisture

• Handheld inspection for the tight spaces and the toughest access.
• Vehicle-mounted scanning for long runs of pavement, track bed and tunnel lining.
• Leak detection and moisture surveys with Protimeter and thermal instruments.
• Structural and weld inspection, where visual and ultrasonic work is in-house and other methods are arranged through specialist partners.
• Concrete and construction: the full concrete toolkit on one page.

Calibration and reporting

Instruments are calibrated by UKAS-accredited laboratories where the work requires it. Every report names the equipment and settings used and the standard applied, so a second engineer can see how each reading was obtained. What a method cannot resolve is stated alongside what it can; see scanning before drilling for how that works on a typical slab.