RSK Group Wins Queen’s Award

Queen’s Awards 2008 . Credit Geraint Lewis

Geotechnical specialists, RSK Group, have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, recognizing RSK Group’s achievements overseas in the areas of environmental clean-up operations, environmental impact assessments and geotechnical analysis on major infrastructure projects including rail projects, as well as their work in the reconstruction of Iraq from 2013 onwards.

The award recognises the international achievements of RSK Orbital, RSK’s aerial surveying division who work in the UK with Network Rail and in France with SNCF. Orbital Visivi Routeview conduct aerial surveying, creating detailed visualisations of features such as pipelines, powerlines, roads, railway lines, rivers, canals and coasts which inform infrastructure projects. The aerial imagery can be used to identify new rail routes, key constraints, stakeholder and authority presentations, and cow incursion, monitor land use and integrity and map  geological features/hazards.

These oblique images are overlapped with thousands of others to create visualisations of the entire rail network, which can be delivered as a virtual site visit, quickly and conveniently, allowing additional data to be overlaid. The system has also been nominated for UK Rail Industry Awards 2016 in the Digital Pioneer, Service Innovation and Subcontractor of the Year award categories.

Other rail services RSK provide are environmental assessments and assistance in asset management, geotechnical and sustainability management.

The Queen’s Award also recognises RSK’s geotechnical services in Iraq, including their work with the University of Basrah and their activities in rebuilding infrastructure in the country, utilising unmanned aerial vehicle surveys.

In reference to the recognition of their work in Iraq, Dr Alan Ryder, RSK Group’s Founder and CEO, said:

“We are deeply honoured to have been granted a Queen’s Award. At a time when others were reluctant to work in the Middle East, we saw an exciting opportunity. Our long-term commitment to working in the region is bearing fruit. With recent advances in our technical capability and investment in new partnerships, we continue to see potential to achieve more.”