CRA Awards 2023: bigger, better & ready for nominations

Posted May 30, 2023

The CRA’s annual calendar has plenty of highlights, but our own awards are particularly special. They single out the companies, projects and people that exemplify the best in our industry and give us a chance to come together to celebrate our successes at a face-to-face event that has become even more important following the restrictions of the COVID pandemic. So we’re delighted to be launching the CRA Awards 2023!

We’re off to Liverpool!

If ever there was a city that knows how to celebrate, it’s Liverpool – and our 2023 awards on Friday 6 October are sure to be an evening to remember! We’ll be holding the ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Spa at 6 Sir Thomas Street. Save the date now and don’t leave it too late to book your accommodation!

Award categories for 2023

For the CRA Awards 2023, we’ve expanded our Awards and made it easier to enter the Concrete Society Awards’ CRA Repair and Refurbishment category at the same time by combining the entry form. Award nomination forms have already gone out by email – if you missed them, you can download them at the links below. Our award categories for 2023 are:

We’re delighted to give our fellow associations in the Structural Concrete Alliance – the Corrosion Prevention Association and the Sprayed Concrete Association – their own categories this year, meaning that you can expect to see even more of your industry peers at the CRA Awards 2023.

THE CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES IS FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER.

Last year’s CRA Awards winners

A quick recap on last year’s winners…

PROJECT OF THE YEAR UNDER £1M

Winner: EDF Energy Nuclear Powerstation Concrete Repair Project, CSC Services

CSC Services’ EDF Energy Nuclear Powerstation Concrete Repair Project was an innovative industry-first solution for a complex repair project helping to secure Britain’s energy supply during a time of crisis.

Scheduled maintenance work to keep Britain’s nuclear infrastructure in operation was complicated by unique access restrictions. CSC Services Ltd were tasked by EDF Energy’s Investment Delivery Team to deliver this project under extremely hazardous conditions working on the sea from bespoke NATO pontoons.

The project required concrete repair work to a 40-metre-long section of seawall that included crane support and cantilever beams above the nuclear reactor cooling water intakes. The beam had been in place and exposed to the elements for almost half a century. Over the last five years, areas had begun to spall and degrade. Heavy-duty netting was wrapped around the worst as a mitigation gap to allow diving operations on the course screens below to continue. However, this was not a suitable long-term fix as the concrete was so degraded nets were no longer sufficient and diver lives and station generation were both at risk. If the reactors were shut down by, or to facilitate, the repairs, the station would lose £600k of generation per reactor per day.

The steel rebar had corroded extensively, and concrete spalling was found to most of the beams and wall. The key challenge was access to the repair area, which was in direct contact with seawater with no access possible from the station itself, and eight-metre-high rising tides. Richard Page, Senior Project Manager at EDF Energy commented: “This approach was a first for EDF Hartlepool and the project was not only a success in that it was delivered to time and budget, but also mitigating the large risk to [power] generation.”

Highly commended: SEGRO Park restoration project, GUNITE (EASTERN) LIMITED

PROJECT OF THE YEAR OVER 1M and INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

Winner: Elvet New Bridge Concrete Repairs and Cathodic Protection, Durham, Balvac Ltd

This project demonstrates Balvac’s commitment to health, safety and wellbeing, technical excellence, continual improvement, and collaboration. It involved a sustainable solution to restore this iconic structure and significantly extend the life of the asset.

Located In the heart of Durham City Centre, Elvet New Bridge acts as one of the main transport links in County Durham, carrying the C98 New Elvet Road and its users over the River Wear. Working as Specialist Contractor for Balfour Beatty plc (Principal Contractor) and Durham County Council (Client), Balvac delivered this complex structural repair and protection works on programme and to budget, without realising the significant project risks that had been jointly identified and agreed prior to commencement.

Successful delivery was founded on collaborative Pre-Construction Stage working with Balfour Beatty, Jacobs (Principal Designer) and Durham County Council to develop phasing and working methodologies including the temporary access and support arrangements.

Project of the Year Highly Commended Concrete Repairs Limited

Sophie Everett