When we survey the landscape around us, we are continually reminded of the efforts and creative genius of engineers - whether in the form of a new road bridge, an opera house, a town centre development, an airport or perhaps more in the public focus, major projects such as the Channel Tunnel.;This book gathers together contributions from 30 UK and overseas engineers who have influenced civil engineering in recent times. They were invited to write about their career and what encouraged them to be an engineer; who inspired them; what they found of interest; what fundamental principles they learned and carried with them; and more. The result is an accumulation of anecdotes, helpful advice and wisdom.;The book should appeal to anyone in the industry, but especially to young people who may be considering a career in this profession.

Refurbishment and repair accounts for approximately 50 per cent of annual construction turnover. It is therefore essential that practitioners and those students who aspire to work in this sector are equipped with the best tools to do the job. This book has been produced to fill that gap in construction literature. The nature of refurbishment and repair is markedly different from new-build work since it is necessary to work within the restraints of a pre-determind situation. Those who do so are faced with an existing building or structure that may be many years old. It may have been built to standards hardly recognisable when compared to those of today.It is therefore necessary to build safely and to match as closely as possible comtemporary standards on sustainability and energy conservation. It is also apparent that existing buildings may not conform to 21st century standards of structural analysis or stability - and yet have stood without distress for many years. Guidence is provided to deal with such situations together with ideas on how to assess the residual life of a refurbished or repaired building.First and foremost it is essential for those involved in this type of work to gain an intimate knowledge of the structure under consideration. This book suggests ways of seeking this knowledge. Failure to investigate the history of existing develpoments may add considerably to the cost of construction and, in the extreme, to structural collapse involving injury or loss of life. This book proceeds logically through the reasons to consider refurbishment and repair and offers advice on risks, discovery, contracts, materials, learning from the past and legal restraints. Best practice is illustrated by a series of case studies. Extensive bibliographies have been provided to assist those with the need for further research. "Refurbishment and Repair in Construction" provides a companion volume to "Site Engineers Manual" which will be available as a second edition.

Testing is a vital tool for the construction industry which is constantly faced with the demands of quality, durability and cost-effectiveness. Testing programmes ensure that materials will perform to their design requirements. There is an increasing demand for standard and non-standard tests for materials and structures. However, the planning, implementation and operation of a testing programme together with the collection and interpretation of data is no simple task. It is essential that the programme is established to provide answers to relevant questions and when the data has been analysed, that the correct action has been taken.;This series will deal with all materials of any import in construction. By building on a broad base, it will be possible for the reader to extract information on a specific topic or to gain a general appreciation of the requirements in testing programmes. A most useful part of these volumes will be to identify the tests and indicate where they might be used, or not, as the case may be.;This first volume is an introduction to the subject presenting information and guidance which is also applicable to all subsequent volumes. In addition to a brief histor