CCF SA Member Profile - FMG Engineering / FMG Research

MEMBER PROFILES

FMG ENGINEERING/ FMG RESEARCH

How long have you been in business?FMG Engineering (FMG) has been in business for more than 45 years. FMG Research, previously known as FMG Research House, has been delivering quality testing services to the building, construction and earth moving industries, as well as quarries and premix concrete suppliers since 1964.

Together, we have a strong heritage, as a leading provider of engineering services to the housing, commercial and land development industries, and as an industry leading NATA accredited laboratory with extensive experience in the fields of soil, aggregate and concrete testing.

Where are you located?FMG operates primarily in the South East of Australia with offices based in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

FMG Research is based in Norwood with additional mobile annex laboratory services that allow our field technicians to provide timely dependable results and clear advice in many of Australia’s remote locations.

How did you start your business?FMG was founded as Koukourou Engineers in 1972. From humble beginnings, located

above a fish and chip shop in Grange, the firm grew to be one of the leading private engineering firms. With an initial focus on residential engineering and footings, it was quickly recognised that a dedicated soils and materials testings facility would increase the service capability of the company. Subsequently, FMG Research was acquired and is now the largest NATA accredited soils and materials testing laboratory in South Australia.

What are your core business activities/specialties?

As a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, FMG is able to service all sectors of the construction, development and mining industries delivering quality, innovative engineering solutions for our clients and partners. FMG has engineers across Australia with diverse and broad ranging experience in many disciplines. Our strength is our ability to bring together teams of experts with the right mix of skills to deliver integrated solutions which match our clients' needs.

FMG Research has the ability to undertake an extensive range of soil and concrete tests to NATA certified standards, including:

• Standard/modified compaction testing

for maximum dry density and optimum moisture content

• California bearing ratio (CBR) tests – soaked, un-soaked and estimated

• Gradings and atterberg limits

• Emerson dispersion tests

• Soil suctions

• Soil permeabilities

• NATA logging of soil cores

• Shrink-swell characteristics of reactive clay soils

• Concrete core compressive strength testing

Testing procedures range from compaction tests for roads and subdivisions, to sophisticated shrink swell, soil suctions and instability index texts for more complex projects. With a Quality Management System certified to ISO 9001, our services include:

• Construction earthworks advice

• ITP preparation and management

• Geotechnical site investigations

• Pavement investigations

• Soil classification testing

• Level 1 compaction control

• Concrete sampling and testing

• Concrete design mixes

• Concrete core testing

• Borehole logging

• Aggregate testing

• Quarry quality control testing

• Plate Load testing

• Working Platform Certification in accordance with the BRE470

Completed project/products or services you have worked or have that you are most proud of?

FMG has pioneered many specialisations within the industry including environmental contamination testing and aquatic engineering. Our extensive history of research and development has led to many successful innovations, such as the Waffle Pod footing system, Vibrodynamic Compaction (VDC) and specialised software.

Our NATA accredited materials and testing laboratory, FMG Research, has a solid foundation built on quality service, quick turnarounds and a strong track record of providing reliable test results. Our strong reputation has been proven through our work on major and minor infrastructure projects.

FMG Research has played an integral role in the following projects:

• Northern Connector Project

• T2T Project

• Southern Expressway Duplication Project

• Tonsley Park Redevelopment

• Obahn Project

• Gateway Project

• Oaklands Rail Project

• Edinburgh Parks

How many machines do you have in your fleet and what types?

FMG Research provides laboratory and field-testing services in support of the Civil Construction Industry and our highly trained team is able to service large projects as they demand. We currently have 18 field units and can ramp up further as required by utilising our multiskilled laboratory staff.

At FMG we pride ourselves on staying ‘ahead of the curve’, having continuously implemented improvements and automation. Our field units utilise virtual technology to enable strong connectivity back to our

base laboratory from even the most remote locations across Australia. Currently we are looking to further improve the integration of our test data from the field, with direct entry into our reporting system via our cloudbased systems.

Our base laboratory undertakes the physical compaction testing required for the field density analysis on the samples collected by our field units. To increase our capacity and further improve our service and lead times, FMG have invested in automatic compaction machines. These automatic compactors provide consistency and minimise the manual component of our testing process. Additionally, FMG Research

has implemented an electronic reporting system, QEST, that integrates the data from both the field testing and in-lab analysis, allowing for automatic calculation and providing greater accuracy and faster report delivery times.

We are proud of our improvements and note that these gains in speed of delivery are now providing high value support to our clients.

How many staff do you employ?FMG employs approximately 160 staff, comprising engineers, scientists, support staff and a 50-strong laboratory team.

FMG Research enjoys providing opportunity to reward and train our staff. When making decisions on hiring we always consider the industry participation policy and see this as our way of giving back to the community.

Any other information:Further information is available by contacting Gary Turnbull.

FMG Engineering / FMG ResearchContact: Gary Turnbull – FMG Research Business Development ManagerP: 1300 986 878fmg.rh@fmgengineering.com.au