Festive Cheer and a Message from our MD Russell Burton

All of the team at RAB wish all our clients, partners, suppliers and colleagues the very best for the coming Festive Season. We are all looking forward to a few days with family and friends, especially after such a busy and successful 2022.

Our Managing Director, Russell Burton, wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone and provide a brief update on the year:

Hi everyone

Just reflecting on another busy year at RAB dedicated to increasing resilience and reducing flood risk. It’s been a year of transition for everyone, adjusting to a post covid world with lots of new challenges. However, we’ve enjoyed a year of diversity at RAB, built on our Core Values:

We Build long-standing relationships with clients based on trust and credibility.

We’ve supported our regular clients including pioneering projects in UK warning systems, and continue to support the community of Doncaster to understand and resolve the flood risks following severe flooding experienced in 2019.

We Deliver resilience and flood risk solutions custom-made for our clients.

We’ve worked with new clients in the health, insurance, tourism, and water industries, and increased our overseas portfolio particularly in the Far East and the Caribbean. Whether it’s a flood risk assessment for a UK solar farm or increasing resilience to climate change in Bangladesh, New Zealand, Ireland or Bangkok, we tailor the solution to fit the client.

Recruit, train, and support colleagues who are passionate about our services.

We’ve welcomed 6 new colleagues to the RAB Team this year, and also supported our staff to gain qualifications in Building Surveying, Environmental Management and Civil Engineering.

We’ve now got four apprentices working and training with us. Nathan, our first apprentice, has now completed his apprenticeship and achieved a first-class degree in Civil and Transportation Engineering. He has now been promoted to the role of Consultant in the FRD Team.

Collaborate with our clients and across our expert teams to collectively achieve the desired outcomes.

Working collaboratively with clients and partners has been a key theme during 2022. The ‘Business as Usual’ Programme is a prime example. Our Engineering, PFR, FRD and Resilience team members have been working alongside our Collaborative Delivery Framework partners, supporting the EA with Asset Inspection, PSRA and the Post Inspection Process. The RAB Team have inspected over 8500 assets over 482 inspection days since 1 April. The programme was Highly Commended in the Flood and Coast Asset Management Excellence category.

Strive to innovate, improve, and learn by challenging existing methods and techniques.

This has been especially true for the PFR Team, with a significant role in developing the CIRIA PFR Code of Practice and developing & delivering CIWEM’s National PFR training programme.

Provide solutions that sustainably improve the environment.

The Marches Mosses BogLIFE project is designed to restore Britain’s third-largest lowland raised peatbog within the Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserves. We worked alongside Natural England, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Brian Killingworth, WSP and WM Longreach.

The project won both The Sustainability Award and overall Project of the Year at the 2022 West Midlands Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Awards and was shortlisted for the prestigious Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award for 2022.

All the above show we’ve achieved much for our clients this year and continued to develop and grow ourselves. We’ve introduced our hybrid home/office working environment and established an Environmental Management System certified to ISO 14001.

This has all been possible through fantastic team effort and working in collaboration with our friends in consultancy.

Looking ahead to 2023, we will strengthen and making new partnerships, delivering even greater value for money in an uncertain economic climate. Also building on our individual and company pledges to reduce our environmental impact and to become a sustainable carbon neutral company.

Here’s looking forward to an even better 2023. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Russell Burton, Managing Director