Page 13 - WM Donald Newsletter - Edition Six

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Phil is just one of many former employees who have rejoined W M Donald after periods away. It is a reflection of the company’s positive team culture and the variety of interesting projects it undertakes that make it difficult for people to stay away.
Scott Dickie worked for W M Donald for 4 years from 2010. Scott joined a subsea diving company in a project engineering role but in January returned as a member of Ewan Riddoch’s engineering team.
‘Every project is slightly different and the work is really interesting. As a family man, I value W M Donald’s financial stability.’
Scott and his wife Lindsey have two young sons, Murray and Taylor. Both are football mad and have already taken part in tournaments. Scott helps to coach Taylor’s Under-7s team and Murray’s Primary 3 school team.
Mark Stewart has rejoined the W M Donald QS team after a brief period away and is joined by Claire Robertson who is now a full-time QS after completing a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen.
Drumoak embankment takes some hammer!
Drumoak is a small village located between Peterculter and Banchory to the south west of Aberdeen. It was the birthplace of mathematician and astronomer, James Gregory, whose 1663 design* for a Gregorian telescope is still used today.
The River Dee runs alongside Drumoak and in 2015 Storm Frank caused considerable damage to parts of the historic embankments. Initial remedial works were undertaken to reinstate the embankment however they were flawed and water seeped through the embankment to adjacent fields.
To resolve the problem, the client’s consultant, WA Fairhurst & Partners, proposed the construction of a continuous sheet pile wall. W M Donald commissioned a detailed design and installed the 150m long sheet pile wall to a toe depth of 8m along the length of the embankment. A side grip vibrating hammer (Burnside Plant Ltd) was used to install the piles. Substantial boulders had to be removed by open cut slot trenches to enable the piles to be driven to the required depth.
The embankment design entailed raising the ground level on the field-side of the embankment. The additional ballast reduced the potential for further seepage.
*Gregory’s theoretical telescope design predates Isaac Newton’s reflecting telescope by five years.
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Triathlon on the bike